Bottoms Up

Last night marked the official start of the holiday season for me, with the first holiday party.  I know I already discussed some tips for choosing holiday beverages a few posts ago, but now it’s time to talk about some real drinks… the alcoholic ones, that is! ;)

Generally speaking, drinks are often a source of empty calories, meaning that they have little nutrient value, but pack in the calories (and don’t contribute to satiety!).  This is even truer when it comes to alcoholic beverages. 

Beverage	Calories
Egg nog 2% (1 cup, 250 mL)	260
Cranberry Cocktail (1 cup, 250 mL)	123
Orange Juice (1 cup, 250 mL)	118
Tomato Juice (1 cup, 250 mL)	44
Tomato-clam cocktail (1 cup, 250 mL)	120
Soft Drink, regular (1 cup, 250 mL)	110
or 1 can (355 mL)	156
Soft Drink, diet cola (1 cup, 250 mL)	3
or 1 can (355 mL)	4
Soda Water (1 cup, 250 mL)	0
Tonic Water (1 cup, 250 mL)	124
Mineral, bottled or tap water (1 cup, 250 mL)	0
Wine, white (5 oz, 150 mL)	102
Wine, red (5 oz, 150 mL)	108
Beer, regular (341 mL bottle)	140
Beer, light (341 mL bottle)	99
Spirits – rum, vodka, gin, whisky (1 ½ oz, 45 mL)	98

Consider:

1.  Portion Control: How much you drink can be just as important as what you eat. 

2.  Switch it up: Try alternating alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic ones, like soda, sparkling water, regular water or diet drinks.

3.  Keep Track: Recommendations for alcohol intake are no more than 2 alcoholic beverages per occasion. Over a week, men should aim for less than 14 drinks and women should aim for less than 9 drinks.

 Here are some recipes for calorie and fat-friendly drinks. 

Recipe	Winter Sangria	Eggnog	Pomegranate Gin Sling
Servings	10	8	2
Serving Size	2/3 cup	½ cup	--
Ingredients	1 cup fresh satsuma orange juice (~4 satsumas) 1 cup Satsuma orange sections (~2 satsumas) 1/3 cup Triple Sec (orange-flavoured liqueur) ¼ cup sugar 2 whole cloves 1 cinnamon stick 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges 1 (750mL) bottle fruity red wine	3 ½ cups 1% low fat milk ½ cup fat free sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon all purpose flour ¼ tsp grated whole nutmeg 1/8 tsp salt 2 large egg yolks ¼ cup bourbon 2 tablespoons brandy 1 tsp vanilla extract Additional grated whole nutmeg (optional)	¼ cup gin ¼  cup pomegranate juice, chilled 1 Tbsp agave syrup or simple syrup 1 tsp fresh lime juice 8 pomegrantae seeds 2 lime slices
Preparation	Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.	1.      Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. 2.      Place egg yolks in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk one-third of hot milk mixture into egg yolks. 3.      Add yolk mixture to remaining hot milk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 1 minute or until slightly thickened. Pour into a pitcher. 4.      Stir in bourbon, brandy, and vanilla. 5.      Cover surface of eggnog with wax paper; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with additional nutmeg, if desired.	Combine first 4 ingredients; divide evenly between 2 chilled glasses; divide seeds between glasses. Garnish with lime slices.
Calories	137	137	115
Fat	0.1	2.3	0

Enjoy! And drink responsibly! J

Source: myrecipes.com and eatrightontario.ca