We’re half way through January and that usually marks the time when many of us are struggling to commit to the New years resolutions we made just two weeks ago. If your resolution to give up drinking (How dare you!), then you should just turn away now because we can’t do anything for you, but if your goal was to start eating and drinking better while still maintaining an active and fun social life then we’re here to help. One of my biggest struggles over the years since I grew my love for mixology has been balancing the calories. We constantly associate fat and weight gain with the foods we eat, but many of us forget just how many calories we are adding from that carton of juice, or bottle of soda. Add the calories from one of those mixers to the calories from the rum, or tequila and then it becomes pretty hard to keep track of. I can remember when I would actually go through the troubles of ordering salads, or smaller meals, or even turkey/veggie burgers and then wash it all down with 16 or even 32 oz of juice FULL of fructose corn syrup and think nothing of it. If this is something you can relate to then maybe you should try some of our altered recipes that are at least a good start to burning off some of those pounds. What alternatives have we found?
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- Trop 50/Ocean Spay Lite: Trop 50 and Ocean Spray lite have been amazing additions to the mixer section of a bar that cares about it’s customers. They offer great tasting juices with 50% less sugar and 50% less calories. You’re probably thinking, this is great if all I wanted was an Orange juice or Cranberry based drink, but they actually have large assortments of flavors worth trying.
- Low Calorie/Sugar Free Agave Nectar & Simply Syrup: A lot of drinks call for simple syrup or agave nectar to sweeten them up, but did you know you can find low calorie versions of these in many of your neighborhood groceries? Places like Whole Foods and Fresh Market have so many options to choose from, including truvia, a sugar alternative that currently sells a low calorie simple syrup.
- Non Fat Milk/Fat Free Creamer: Are you a White Russian fan like I am? That means you’re no stranger to milk or creamer for this cocktail but we rarely do we think how easy it would be to replace the ingredients in this or other cream based drinks with a more figure friendly ingredient.
- Flavored Waters: Flavored water is your friend. Flavored AND carbonated water may very well be your best friend. If you like a little fizz and flavor in your drinks but dont want to gulp down all that soda and juice flavored water is the answer. It may not be as sweet, but it may always be worth it when you finally fit into that dress or suit you’ve been struggling to for months.
That being said, we’ve gathered some recipes we make around the house when we’re trying to count our calories. None are so complex that you’ll be scratching your head. Part of what makes losing weight so hard is we make it so difficult on ourselves. Keep it easy and simple, and the rest falls into place.
Low Calorie Mojito
- 1 and 1/2 oz. rum
- 6-8 mint leaves
- 3/4 oz. Truvia Simple Syrup
- Lime
- Club Soda
Place mint leaves and 1 lime wedge into your mixing glass and muddle releasing the oils and juices.Add 2 more lime wedges and the simple syrup, and muddle again to release the lime juice. Fill the glass almost to the top with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with your club soda.
Skinny Breeze (Low calorie Sea Breeze)
Pour the vodka and cranberry juice into a highball glass filled with ice. Next take a stir and then top off with your grapefruit juice. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit as well.
Skinny White Russian
- 1 oz. Coffee Liqueur
- 1 oz. Vodka
- 1 oz. Fat free half-n-half
- Ice
Pour your vodka and Kahlua into a rocks glass filled with ice. Stir and top off with your half and half.
Apple Jacks
- 1 oz. Jack Daniels
- Trop 50 Farmstand Apple
Nothing hard here. Fill a rocks glass with 1 oz of JD and top off with Apple juice to taste.
Beach Body Cooler
- 1 oz White Rum
- 3 oz Trop 50 Pineapple Mango
- Pineapple slice for garnish
Combine 1 oz of white rum and your pineapple mango juice in a Collins glass. Garnish with a pineapple slice, and optionally a little umbrella.
We hope this helped, if only even a little bit. Remember, the goal is to lose weight and look great in time for spring and summer vacations so that you can then drink your life away, gain some pounds heading into the fall, and do it all over again next year.
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For more information on the products we mentioned earlier including additional flavors, and options please visit them at Trop50.com, OceanSpray.com, and Truvia.com.
