I’ve come up with some healthy cocktails that won’t sabotage your efforts to get into or stay in shape! My healthy champagne cocktail and Skinny Margarita are my best sugar-free cocktails plus I bring you my tips to help you make your cocktails healthier when at home or when you are out.
Note! These cocktails still contain some alcohol so they are not suitable if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. For my non-alcoholic cocktails check out my blog article on ‘Mocktails’.
Three tips to make your cocktails healthier
1. Custom order your cocktails or make them yourself adding olives, figs and lychees for some nutrients.
2. Use lighter ingredients like sparkling water to dilute the alcohol or instead of sugary mixers such as fizzy sodas.
3. Drink a glass of water after every cocktail to slow you down!
Drinks to avoid
- Fizzy drinks or soft drinks which contain sugar.
- Beer as it is hard to digest and often results in making you feel bloated. A bottled beer may contain around 200 calories.
- Wine coolers (these range from 200 calories to a whopping 900 calories).
Healthier drink options that won’t break the calorie bank
- White wine spritzer
- Vodka and low calorie sprite with a slice of lemon or lime
- Rum and diet coke
- Gin and slimline tonic
- Vodka and cranberry and sparkling water.
- Diet ginger ale with vanilla vodka (it’s called a Maggie McQuade).
Two Healthier Cocktails
Champagne Cocktail
- ½ glass of champagne
- ½ glass of elderflower sparkling water or sparkling water with 2 tsps of elderflower concentrate
- Mint sprig (optional!)
Skinny Margarita
“A lower sugar version of my favourite drink that I’m sharing it with you”
- 2 ounces clear tequila
- splash fresh lime juice
- splash cointreau liquor
- ice
- lime wedge
- 1tsp stevia (natural sugar)
Calorie Checklist
This checklist shows you how many calories there are in a drink and how long it would take for your body to burn off that drink.
3 Glasses of 125ml glass Champagne (12%) = 3 units
= 178 calories
= 0.6 burgers
= 18 mins of running
2 Single Spirits (40%) – 25ml = 2 units
= 122 calories
= 12 minutes of running
Two glasses of champagne, 2 spirit measures and 1 alcopop (4%)
= 6.1 units
= 470 calories
= 1 and half burgers
= 47 minutes of running
4 glasses of wine (175ml) – 13% strength
= 9.2 units
= 636 calories
= 2.2 burgers
= 64 mins running
4 Alcopops
= 4.4 units
= 680 calories
= 2.3 burgers
= 68 minutes of running
4 small bottles of beer (5%) 330ml
=6.4 units
= 568 calories
= 1.9 burgers
= 57 minutes of running
3 Vodkas (single) with mixer (not diet)
= 2.7 units
= 324 calories
= 32 minutes of running
= 1.1 burgers
A last note
The guidelines are that you shouldn’t exceed 2-3 units of alcohol a day as going overboard on a regular basis not only puts you at greater risk of cancer and liver disease but also of weight gain.
Single measure of spirits = 1 unit
1 pint = 2 units
Large Glass of wine = 3 units (250ml)
Medium glass of wine = 2 units (175ml)
Small glass of wine = 1.5 units (125ml)
Cheers to good health!
