Lo-cal Boozing

I am all about eating healthy, but that doesn't mean I don't eat junk food sometimes or don't drink alcohol. And there's tons of calories in alcohol. But I have come up with lower calorie ways to get your drink on, without adding too many more calories into your diet. Because those who know me, know I like my alcohol. It's so much easier to control what you consume, when you make it yourself. That goes for drinking alcohol as well. So let's get started!

I recently discovered this lovely and refreshing drink while grocery shopping at Whole Foods one day. This sparkling water is amazing and the best part is, it has nothing in it! No calories, no fat, no sugar, no CARBS!! And it's organic! It's just flavored carbonated water, so it has just a hint of flavor. And lemon is not the only flavor it comes in. It also comes in cucumber (my fav), mint, and blueberry. I've only had the cucumber and lemon flavors, so those are all I can vouch for. Unlike other sparkling waters, ex. Pellegrino, there's not a butt load of sodium in it, because it has zero sodium. This water is great paired with vodka. Especially the lemon flavor with citron vodka. And 2 ounces of vodka has only 128 calories, which is the amount typically put in a mixed drink when purchased at a bar. You can check out the company website if you'd like: http://www.rwknudsenfamily.com/products/sparkling-essence/organic-cucumber-new/. 

Another great mixer that can be used that has nothing in it is club soda. And club soda can be used in place of tonic, with certain alcohol (ex. vodka), because tonic actually has 124 calories in a 12 fl oz can. Which would be fine if you were drinking that by itself. But add that to the 128 calories per 2 fl oz in vodka, and now your over 300 EMPTY calories. You could use diet tonic water instead, which saves the calories and sugar, but I'm not a huge fan of artificial sweeteners lately. I actually have 4 cans of diet tonic water in my fridge I'm seriously debating opening and pouring down the sink, but Patrick drinks Gin and tonic, so I digress. Anyway, club soda + vodka (which I keep using as an example because it has fewer calories) + lime or lemon juice/wedges and you've got a good drink my friends. And the calories are solely coming from the booze. 

In general, clear liquors have fewer calories and such than the darker ones, or so I was once told anyways. But every now I then I like me some Captain Morgan!   

And what goes great with Captain? COKE! But definitely not regular Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Way too much sugar in that crap! I don't even know the last time I drank a regular soda. And again, since I have been TRYING to stay away from artificial sweeteners, when possible, a great substitution for regular coke is the Zevia brand cola. Which can be purchased at Whole Foods. The Zevia brand of sodas are sweetened with Stevia instead of sugar, or high fructose corn syrup, which has no calories. Zevia cola has no calories or fat in it. Again, not adding any additional empty calories or fat to the already 120 empty calories per 2 fl oz of Captain Morgan, you're already going to be consuming. You can check out the Zevia website at: www.zevia.com. 

Another way to keep the calories low when drinking alcohol is to drink any of the Skinnygirl brand products. Now I have NOT had any of these products, BUT I have had a few women tell me they have tried, specifically the Skinnygirl Margarita, and that it was very good. You can check out their many Skinnygirl options at: http://www.skinnygirlcocktails.com/the-cocktails/ready-to-serve-cocktails.

But my absolute favorite drink, whether I'm out or at home is a lemon drop martini. So I found a healthier way to make it. 2 fl oz of vodka (I like Grey Goose Citron), 2 tbsp of lemon juice, 1 packet of Truvia sweetener. You really have to shake this one up good to dissolve the Truvia, but Truvia has nothing in it because it comes from the Stevia plant, which is awesome! So once again, I'm not adding anything to the calories that are already coming from the alcohol. Obviously, if you're out and order this drink, it's not going to be anywhere near as healthy. So, it's better to just make this one at home.

But the best way to keep the calories low is to drink in moderation! Which I'm still working on. When you get to 4 or 5 drinks deep, you're looking at somewhere around 1000 EMPTY calories (which is so easy to do when you're out at a bar or club dancing freely drunk-Gulity!). Just in case you didn't realize that, by the way. I only really mentioned the things I actually drink here, because I can't vouch any other alcohol or mixer combination, except the Skinnygirl brand. But for those of you that drink other mixed drinks, hopefully, I inspired you to come up with lower calorie ways to enjoy your favorites.

Oh and for the wine drinkers out there, like myself, white wine typically has 121 calories per 5 fl oz and red wine typically has 125 calories per 5 fl oz. Just had to add that last one in. Didn't want the wine drinkers to feel left out! Thanks for boozing healthy!