Chips and cheese, burgers and beer – why are these such summer staples? (And why are they all alliterations?) In a season that forces you to bare it all, why are we eating like bears in hibernation mode? Bears don’t have to wear bikinis! And if they did, you certainly wouldn’t say anything about their love handles! Damn lucky bears.

So anyway. While you’re trying to slim down for the summer, I’ve got some refreshing drinks that won’t give you a gut or deck out your derriere.

Crystaal
My favorite low-cal drink is easy, and great on the go. (Not that you’d be drinking on the go …) Get yourself some crystal light packets. The single-serving ones. Try a fruit punch or grape. Simply mix it in a glass with water and a shot (or two) of vodka. For an added boost, choose a flavored vodka and throw in a lime wedge. The crystal light packets are only 5 calories and one shot of vodka has about 100 calories. This is probably the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak. Plus it’s tasty and tropical.


What’s wrong with Juan?
I went to Mexico last year and fell in love with a man. His name was Juan. My bartender. Juan knew how to treat a girl right. He was caring, attentive and didn’t charge me no matter how many mojitos I drank. (Maybe that’s because it was an all-inclusive resort, but I’d like to think Juan and I had a connection.) The only problem with Juan was my waistline. Twelve mojitos in one day (ha ha … no I’m kidding … who would drink 12 mojitos in a day … hm …) does not a slim girl make. So, I’ve crafted a mini-cal mojito that’s as close as they come.

6 oz. Diet Sprite
Mint leaves
¼ Lime
1.5 oz. Rum

It's all about the mint. Muddle the mint, squeeze in lime juice and toss in the rind. Add the soda and rum and stir well. Add ice and garnish with mint and a lime wedge. You'll save roughly 150 calories a drink. I don't know about you, but that can add up on a warm summer day!

Mix it up
Of course you can do the traditional rum and diet coke, but that’s a little boring. Mix things up. Here are a few ideas for low-cal mixers:

Diet soda or diet tonic: 0 calories
Orange juice (6 oz): 84 calories
Cranberry juice cocktail (8 oz): 136 calories
Light cranberry juice (8 oz): 40 calories
Light lemonade (8 oz): 5 calories
Coffee, tea: 0 calories
Baja Bob's sugar-free margarita or sweet 'n' sour mix: 0 calories
Lemon or lime juice (1/2 oz): 10 calories
DaVinci or Torani's sugar-free syrups: 0

And remember – the higher the alcohol content, the higher the calorie content:
80-proof vodka (40% alcohol; the most common type) has 64 calories per 1oz
86-proof vodka (43% alcohol) has 70 calories/1 oz
90-proof vodka (45% alcohol) has 73 calories/1 oz
100-proof vodka (50% alcohol) has 82 calories/1 oz


Of course you can cut out cocktails all together, but let's be reasonable.

What’s your low-cal cocktail of choice?

Labels: low-cal drink, Mojito, vodka

This entry was posted by kate, on Monday, May 17, 2010. You can leave your response .