Drinky Drink?

My mom and I were sitting outside on my porch last night at home in Jersey. My sister sent me the most random text about how she was out with coworkers in CT and needed to know what drinks were low-cal. I advised vodka sodas, light beer, or any hard liquor/diet soda mix...aka rum and diet coke.

This got me to thinking. All the diet books always advise cutting alcohol as one of the first things to do. But let's face it, we are young and cutting alcohol may not be something we want to do, at least not in today's society. Sure, you could have club soda and lime and pretend it's a drink...but when everyone is drunk (those of you 21 to 27 understand) it's just not fun to not be at least a little buzzed.



On top of that: who doesn't like to have a glass of wine at dinner. Or hang with friends over fresh guacamole and amazing margaritas. Or grab sangria with a date on a warm summer night (plus a alcohol always helps a first date go more smoothly). Face it: at our young age, most people just don't want to give it.

Here's the deal on the booze: alcohol is toxic to the body, so in it's infinite wisdom, the body decides to get rid of it as fast as possible. This means it "burns" calories from alcohol first. So, if you eat and drink wine, your body will burn the wine calories first and store the food calories as fat. Sound bad, right?

To fix: Some nutritionists will advise you drink and eat together to savor flavor: I advise against. A glass of wine itself could be like a dessert, so why not split half between the meal and then after to keep you from noshing on dessert.
Better yet: if you're going out- eat at a regular time. Sure, you may head out at 11pm or later, but eat at 6 or 7pm. That way your body will be able to get rid of some of these calories before you start ingesting the booze. Then, when you go out to drink, as Lady Gaga would say: just dance. It'll burn the calories you are ingesting via booze, and if you do it for hours, perhaps even then some.

If you're choosing drinks avoid anything sweet, read: margaritas, sangria, bay breeze, etc. Fruity drinks pack in the calories like crazy due to the mixes (this includes sour mix).
Wine is ok in moderation, a glass a day is good (red more so than white) as it delivers important antioxidant for heart health. Stay away from regular beer: calorie bomb, stick to light versions. My favorite this summer is Bud Light Lime (tastes like a German radler, so yummy!)



Low cal cocktails to try:

Vodka Soda (my drink of choice)
~Depending on the amount of vodka in it, this can have anywhere from 65-240 calories per drink (most likely around 130) as the vodka has 64 cals per ounce, and the club soda is calorie free. this is a good option for vodka tonic drinkers, as tonic has 124 calories per 12 oz, making a drink around 300 calories (also works with gin)~


Hard Liquor with Diet Soda
~(rum and diet coke, vodka and diet sprite, whiskey and diet coke etc) These have the same cals as Vodka Sodas, enjoy.~



Shots
~Obviously you can take shots...my favorite are tequila, mmmmm)~


Margarita (kinda)
~Skinny Girl Margarita: 2 oz clear premium tequila (or normal clear tequila, we're in a recession here), splash of orange liquer, juice of 4 lime wedges (about 1/2 lime), mix over ice. 245 calories per serving, way better than a 400 calorie+ regular margarita~



Juice-Mixed Drinks
~If you don't like club soda or diet sodas go with a healthy mixer: OJ has lots of vitamin C, cranberry juice helps keep your urinary tract clean, tomato juice has antioxidants (bloody mary's are a great brunch choice)~


So go get your drink on this weekend, but remember to go for the low cal drinks so they don't ruin your whole diet. Oh, and obviously stick to a low number...like 3. Enjoy, and please share any low cal drink recipes you have!

(Photos: jonbarron.org, creativemag.com,kegworks.com,
yersweetchimneys.blogspot.com, brainfall.com,
examiner.com, easy-cooking-club.com)