guidelines to drinking on a diet and how to make your own skinny girl drinks

Let me start off by saying, Keep the drinking to a minimum. It should be a "treat" not a regular thing. But, with the 4th of July coming up, I figured this is as good a time as any to treat yourself. If you choose to treat yourself to a few drinks on the 4th, here's some of my rules to keep it healthy! (or as healthy as possible)

1st I always suggest drinking a glass of water before and after each drink. This way you are keeping hydrated, drinking less alcohol and flushing those toxins.

If you want a pre-made mixed drink, the best 

healthy...er choice on the market in my opinion right now is the Skinny Girl line.



"Skinny Girl pre-mixed Margarita"

Warning, this stuff is strong to taste, it is made of agave, tequila and lime. Simple, basic drink. It is really refreshing and nice. I recommend having it over a lot of ice and letting it melt some. It is a sipping drink in my book. It is roughly 110 calories per drink. Which is great for a premixed drink. It is the best pre-made drink I have found calorie and diet wise.


If you chose to make your own,



I always recommend that when having an alcoholic drink try to stick to the clear drinks with fresh fruit for the flavor and no added sugar. 

If you want to make your own skinny girl drinks here are the rules and guidelines:

Think for the mix – water, sparkling water, or stevia based pops (sodas).
Think for the flavor – fresh fruit and for sweetness stevia or a small amount of agave. Never go for the sugary bright colored drink choices.

Recommended Healthy(er) Cocktail Choices

Vodka - water, stevia and fresh squeezed limes. Other great choices are sparkling water with berries, any of these flavored water recipes or any of the Zevia pops (sodas) (an all natural cola made with stevia).
Tequila - With agave or stevia and fresh limes! There you have your own homemade Skinny Girl Cocktail!
White Rum - With water and lemon or lime slices, some stevia and some fresh mint for a skinny mojito. Or, if you love cola try Zevia pop (soda).
Gin - With sparkling water and lemon it is refreshing!
White Wine - Made into a wine spritzer using sparkling water and berries!
Sangria - For a special cocktail treat you can always make Strawberry Ginger Sangria recipe below!


Remember, this does not give you licence to drink as much as you want! Be smart, keep it to a minimum, and only on special occasions, and you'll be right on track with your clean eating!!!!! :)



Strawberry-Ginger Sangria

Ingredients:

- 1 bottle of white or rose wine


- Half a litre of natural Ginger Ale

In your natural health food section of your grocery store there are some great selections of natural “Pops.” Some of my favourite brands include Organic Blue Sky, Santa Cruz Organic, and Zevia. Now your best choice is the Zevia brand. This brand uses Stevia to sweeten their Ginger Ale. This means the drink has no sugar what-so-ever. The others use all-natural ingredients and natural sugars which are great alternatives if you can’t find the Zevia.

- 1 Bag of sliced strawberries


- 1/2 Cup of Apricot Brandy

To be 100% honest I chose the apricot brandy because it was inexpensive. You can choose any of the fruity brandy’s or liquor. Other great choices include orange liquor, strawberry, or raspberry flavours. I’m really happy with the way the apricot turned out. I used Bols brand.

- 2 Cups of Natural Fruit Juice

This is optional depending on how strong you like your beverage. Go for an organic fresh squeezed juice in the clear varieties as opposed to the thicker-smoothie consistencies. I used the PC Brand Pomegranate and Berry Fresh Pressed Juice. You could also use orange juice, pineapple juice or any berry flavour you like.


*Place all ingredients in a bowl or pitcher. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours. A good idea is to only add 1/2 of the strawberries before marinading and adding the other 1/2 before serving. Feel free to add sliced oranges, lemons, and limes. They all work wonderfully.