Hello my blogging friends. Today's message is brought to you by the Letter A.
And that Letter "A" is for Alcohol. That's right my friends. I'm here to discuss some easy ways to cut out the calories when partaking in a few adult beverages. It is, after all, patio season where nothing is better than sipping an alcoholic treat amongst friends. You will fine me and mine at Ozona's on most Wednesday nights. Here are some tasty tidbits for your summer consumption. I hope you enjoy.
Let's talk about alcohol itself - between the liquors, there is very little difference. Take your pick - vodka, gin, whiskey, rum. They are all fairly comparable to each other. In Weight Watchers world, these components of alcoholic beverages are worth about 2 points.
Believe it or not, the alcohol is not what makes a mixed drink calorie heavy, it's the mixer. Keep your mixers in check, and you'll be a lot better off.
JUICES — Juice is comparable to regular soda in most ways, but at least if you use 100% juice you can at least count on some extra vitamins in your cocktail. A Bloody Mary, which mixes vodka with vitamin-rich tomato juice, is an even better choice.
CARBONATION (my weakness. What is it about those bubbles?!?) — Non-diet carbonated beverages will, for the most part, all give you the same result. Coke, sweetened sodas, and tonic water all are comparable in a 4 oz. serving. By substituting with a diet soda/tonic or club soda you can wipe out the calorie value of the mixer. A personal favorite - flavored vodka with club soda and lime gives you the bubbles and flavor, but no caloric value above the liquor!
DAIRY — A lot of frozen drinks contain dairy-based mixers such as milk or, worse yet, concoctions like Irish cream or coconut cream. These can tack on quite a lot of unwanted calories, especially the processed ones, which have added sugar. They can pack an even heavier calorie punch than the liquor itself. Serious warning - lay off the Mudslides. Between the vodka, Irish Cream, and ice cream, one serving provides almost the entire caloric intake you should be having for the entire day. We are talking 1100 calories and 53g of fat. PUT THE MUDSLIDE DOWN!!!!
SOUR STUFF— Add-ins like powdered or liquid sour mix (found in a mai tai) and pure sugar or simple syrup (in the case of the daiquiri or the mojito) may seem like mere flavoring, but you have to consider they are adding in some serious sugar. Not as bad as the dairy mixers, but something to be aware of.
Better yet, beyond mixed drinks, you can always choose beer or wine. You know they don't change much in calories from brand to brand. Just make the choice to drink light beer or sip on your wine slowly so as to cut down on the number of drinks instead of worrying about the calories in the drink itself. Beer is one of the better choices (at least for us females) because it takes you longer to drink them. This, of course, is null and void when you are playing bar golf or championship flip cup - please stayed tuned for a post post-bar golf invitational July 11th.
That's all I have folks. And with that, I will leave you with this parting shot I found this week of my good friend Ryan as a child. Now I understand the genesis of her love of Jack on the rocks. Good news Ryan - it doesn't even have a mixer! Less calories! Well done!
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Ta-da!!!
