What are the best non-alcoholic drinks to have with food?

Good food paired with an even better drink is one of life’s undeniable pleasures. When you have a match that hits just right, it’s likely to elevate the entire meal along with it. But sometimes the food culture is so saturated with the idea of drinking wine or beer with every meal that we sometimes forget that there are some great non-alcoholic drinks that go well with most meals. 

In fact, some studies have shown that alcoholic drinks don’t actually have an observable effect on how good your food tastes. To better motivate you to seek other possible beverage options, we’ve collated some of the best types of drinks to have with your meal of choice. 

The Best Type of Non-Alcoholic Drinks to Have with Food

Fresh Juice

You can’t beat a good glass of OJ when it comes to enjoying your breakfast in the morning. While a majority of the aisles in the supermarket promote a litany of different sweetened juice options, you’ll likely have the best experience drinking juice fresh from the fruit. What’s more is that, depending on the fruit you pick, fresh juice comes packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to get you started on your day. 

Coffee

For those of us who need something a little stronger in the morning (or even throughout the day), the iconic cup of coffee will do just right. Loaded with caffeine to give you that much-needed boost, coffee’s strong dark taste goes well with breakfast pastries and even heavier sandwiches. Just be careful with your intake as too much coffee is bound to get you a little more than jittery. 

Soda

We all know the sound that gets our mouths watering on a hot day. Best during the long summer days, a can of pop cracking open invites memories of barbeques and vacations at the beach. What’s great about soda, in general, is that it comes in so many different varieties these days that you can often explore so many different options without getting tired of any particular one. They even have diet options these days that retain that soda flavour without the calories!

Water

Last but not the least, the humble glass of water is often all you need to better round out your meal. Without overcomplicating things, water’s benefits include washing down stronger flavours, lightening rich notes, and even brightening up certain foods over the course of your meal. In fact, having water during a meal provides even more health benefits than you realize, breaking down the food you ingest much more efficiently and helping your body process the nutrients faster. 

Final Thoughts

Apart from various options available, you may also want to try non-alcoholic drinks like beer with your food (have a look at the best non alcoholic beer in the UK). Such drinks usually have minimal to zero alcohol content, which might assist in avoiding the adverse health effects of liquor on your body.

The next time you’re out and are considering your usual beer or wine to match your food, don’t forget about the gallery of options that are now available to you. You might even surprise yourself when you find a new favourite meal-time drink. 

Kelly Tate