The Super Staff are serious about staying social, and we can’t go past a delicious cocktail! The problem is, these fancy brews are often laden with high calorie ingredients. Worse still is the amount of sugar added.
Calories in cocktails aren’t all the same
Nutritionist and dietitian Di Munns explained how calories in alcohol are different to calories in other macronutrient groups (fat, carbohydrates and protein) in many ways. Not only do calories in alcohol pack almost as many calories in per gram as fat, but they can also get in the way of the burning of other calories.
This is because alcohol is a toxin and our bodies want to process these calories first. Which means calories from fat, sugar and protein could potentially get stored as fat while your liver is working to get rid of the alcohol.
Should you quit cocktails all together? (spoiler alert: no)
The good news is, you don’t need to quit cocktails altogether. You may take this moment to retrieve your cocktail shaker from the bin. All you need to do is quit adding high calorie ingredients to the mix.
Ingredient swaps go a long way when it comes to a delicious low calorie cocktail. Think Stevia rather than sugar or low fat coconut milk instead of full fat. You can even find low calorie wine!
What is most important is that you know how many calories you are consuming per serve and plan ahead so that you don’t go overboard. And remember, always stick to the recommended one standard drink of alcohol per day!
Low calorie cocktail recipes
We’ve compiled our go-to low calorie cocktail recipes that are tasty and easy to make at home. All the clever ingredient swaps and calorie counts are done for you! All you have to do is download it, print it out, and get mixing.
So, cheers to an awesome and cocktail-filled weekend!