New Years eve is in a few days and you know what that means, party time! It’s the last night of the year to let loose, have fun, really enjoy yourself and get the new year off to a great new start. It’s the next morning, the first morning of the new year, that many of us will be hungover and saying I will never drink that much again. OK, we all say that and then we go doing it again and we somehow forget the horrible hangover that will need nursing the next day.
There are several things you can do to prevent a hangover from starting. Besides the obvious of not over drinking, the first and most important thing is staying hydrated. My husband taught me this trick and always works, you just have to make sure you follow it. Drink equal amounts of water for every alcoholic drink you put in your body. So you drink 1 glass of red wine, drink 1 large glass of water and so on. Water will flush the alcohol out of your body faster and help it stay hydrated which is the most important thing for your body. The next thing is food. If you have a hearty amount of food in your stomach, I’m not talking about a salad, you will feel better and you shouldn’t get sick. Well, unless you over do it with the alcohol and of course that will make you sick to your stomach whether you have a hearty meal or a salad in your stomach.
The next trick or cure again comes from my husband. One day, while feeling horrible from a night of drinking, he was having lunch with a Ukrainian friend who could see he was hangover. She suggested that he try this special Ukrainian cocktail to treat his hangover. The waiter brought out this beautiful flute glass filled to the rim with a yellowish-green liquid. At first he hesitated to drink it because he was informed that indeed it was pickle juice. Pickle juice? Huh? Like from a jar of gherkin pickles? Yup! So he chugged it down…as fast as he could so as not to spit it back out. You can imagine getting a whole glass of pickle juice to go down can be hard, not to mention the sour puckering that will leave your face looking like it’s being sucked in from somewhere inside your head, while your lips look like they are being sucked out by an invisible vacuum. Within a few minutes his sour upset stomach was gone, completely back to normal. Then adding food and lots of water and he felt so much better.
All you do is pour the pickle juice into a glass and drink. Make it pretty by adding a slice of pickle for decoration, how about some ice cubes too? It’s all about the presentation, well whatever helps trick your mind into drinking it. While it may not be the most delicious tasting drink in the world, OK it’s kinda gross just picturing it going down your throat, this does work. So if you find yourself in a hangover situation and you try this special pickle juice cocktail let me know how you liked it and how it worked for you. *To clarify any confusion when I say pickles I mean dill pickles or cucumber pickles, though I don’t see why other types of sour pickled veggies wouldn’t also work.*
nor I or my husband drink, ok, maybe one glass of wine on our anniversary but if by any chance we decide to start drinking I'll keep a jar of pickled lemons handy :)))
sorry, i couldn't stop laughing imagining your husband drinking in one sip a glass of pickle juice, brrrr
Hope you'll have a season full of joy
I have to keep this in mind. I was lucky on Christmas day…. hope it will be the same with new year.
Very appropriate! I love home remedies :) Judging by the pickle, it looks like a dill pickle mix – does sweet pickle juice work as well? Happy New Year, Nancy. I'll have to give this a try – although I'm having knee surgery on Wed. so don't think I'll be imbibing this New Year's Eve :(
Oh gee!! I think that would be the end of me if I attempted to drink that with a hangover. I had the same idea,and posted a hangover remedy but I think mine is a little less face puckering :) I do agree though, lots of fluid while you are in the party mood and lots more after.
HAHAHAH!!! What an awesome (and practical!) post! Knowing your limits and hydration are key. Will have to keep the pickle juice in mind. Genial, Nancy!
That it awesome! I don't drink at all except juice:) and I know more than few people who can use this! :))
I wonder if this would work for the cold I have, if I don't get rid of it, I don't think I will be drinking much anyways. It must have been hard to get down. Have a wonderful New Years!
-Gina-
What a great post, I love it! I never even thought of drinking pickle juice. I feel like it might be hard to get down especially if you have a queasy tummy. Interesting though I will have to try it next time I feel…icky haha
That's right. Let's loose it! I think I will be ok with hangover because I won't be able to drink much. However, this would be perfect for the hubs! I will just tell him to ignore the pills and try this drink instead. Happy Holidays Nancy!
Too cute, Nancy, and I could drink it! For sure. I like dirty martinis, so pickle juice is right up my alley (smile). I've never heard that it helps a hangover though-that's interesting;)
Oh, and I am about to e-mail you right now!! Yes….
Oh wow…that would be a tough one, lol
Your so well prepared :)
LOL, glad you guys like my goofy home remedy!
@Priscilla, I don't see why not. Best of luck and wishing you a quick recovery from your surgery.
@Gourmet Geataway, I'll stop by in a little bit.
@Gina, I don't know but you can try. Get better soon:)
@Ravienomnoms, Haha but it should work for your tummy.
@Stella, You're my hero! Great I think I know what about:)
@Alisha, I know right, hehe
While I know there are no hangovers in my future – staying hydrated has always been the key. Timely, informative and fun post!
Haha…I can imagine all those who have to drink this cocktail :D I'm glad I don't drink so I don't have to suffer drinking this :D I have to tell my friends who drink. Thanks very much for sharing. Happy Holidays!
This is pretty much the best news I've ever heard because I love to drink pickle juice all the time anyway! Just another excuse to have it on hand 24/7 :)
@Claudia, thank you!
@MaryMoh, Happy Holidays to you too and I hope you have a great celebration!
@Nikki, Glad I could bring so good news to one of your favorite drinks:)
Nuh uhh…
No way…
(Totally going to do it *wink*)
Back in college when I got home after partying I would always drink a lot of water, and use the bathroom once or twice, before going to bed. They say if you go to sleep still drunk you'll wake up with a hangover. Therefore I would drink water until the buzz wore off. I usually awoke the next morning feeling reasonably well.
The pickle juice didn't work too well for me. Back in the restaurant days I found 10 minutes in a walk in freezer after drinking lots of water works wonders! Happy New Year!
Awesome post and knowledge here! Have an awesome 2011…can't wait to see what you have in store for all of us!
amazing, that it has became known in other countries :-) thought only us, ukrainians, do it!
)) Oh, yes! This “unique coctail” is a universal nothern slavic hangover cure, not only Ukrainian. And really helps a lot.
But for it to help and not do any harm, the pickle juice must be of the variety that is very common in Slavic countries (or in Germany, for that matter) and much less common in others. That is, NATURAL LACTIC FERMENTATION pickle juice, and NOT A VINEGAR PICKLE liquid. The 2 most usual kinds are from either naturally fermented white cabbage (very close to sauercraut) or naturally fermented cucumbers. Juices from other fermented vegetables will also do the trick, these 2 are simply most common. By the way, this naturally fermented liquid is quite pleasant-tasting and is also used for soups and other dishes.
Drinking VINEGARY pickle juice is not really advisable.
– It might be too acidic and harm stomach lining.
– Also, one of the reasons for hangover is toxic acetaldehyde, which is produced in the course of breaking up either ethanol or vinegar. So adding vinegar on top of spirits wouldn’t be wise. ))
Pickle juice is also a quick and long lasting cure for heartburn. I have had several of my friends try this after many other traditional cures had failed (Tums, pepto, milk, etc.). I had them chug a glass of pickle juice and within 5-10 minutes, tah daa, no more heartburn and it didn’t come back, unlike the other methods which seem to work only temporarily.