Skinny Summer Cocktails

Ah, Summer is upon us (we had 7 straight days last week with temps over 100!). Weather that hot only means one thing – straight to the lake, beach, or pool! And you better believe the summer cocktails are plentiful at every summer shindig. You have worked your booty off since new year’s to get bikini ready this year – make sure you don’t wreck your progress by boozing it up on high calorie daiquiris or margaritas. See below for DASH Fitness’ guide to the best skinny summer sips:

Skinny Sangria

Both red and white wine work in this recipe. Mix your favorite wine with diet lemon-lime soda, skip the sugar and add some fruit for sweetness. Choose fruits such as oranges, apples and berries or, for extra summery sangria, use peaches, grapes or pineapple. At about 100 calories a glass you can sip your sangria guilt free.

Light beer

Weighing in at just 105 calories and 0 grams of sugar per 12 oz., light beer may be your best bet for a skinny summer drink. Miller Lite and Amstel take the silver and gold medals for the lowest number of calories per bottle.

Mojito

This delicious Cuban cocktail—a blend of rum, mint leaves, lime juice, and club soda is a perfect skinny summer cocktail to drink while dreaming of your next beach getaway. And with only 200 calories, the mojito packs a lot of satisfaction into just six to eight ounces.

Hard Lemonade - Mix Crystal Lite with Voli Lyte Vodka (The first light vodka on the market)

Make your own hard lemonade by adding citrus vodka to crystal lite lemonade flavor. You’ll save about 130 calories and 25 grams of sugar when using crystal lite versus traditional lemonade. Not a lemonade fan? Crystal lite has a variety of flavors that pair great with light vodka including my personal favs – raspberry, kiwi strawberry, and peach (which I might add, are all great summer flavors!)

Gin and Tonic

With tonic water only containing 10 calories per serving, a gin and tonic is a great summer drink to sip on poolside to help you both beat the heat and stay looking fabulous in your bikini. Add a lemon or lime for an extra kick!

Rum and Diet Coke or Jack and Diet

If gin and tonic doesn’t have enough flavor for you, try a rum and diet or a jack and diet (which all my friends know is my personal fav!) I actually prefer mixing the whiskey or rum with coke zero (which tastes better than diet coke in my opinion). It is a great drink to sip on post-dinner or when you are out at a bar during the summer because it is flavorful, refreshing, and most importantly, low cal.

Martinis

More of a martini girl over cocktails? You are in luck! The typical martini only contains about 160 calories for a 2.5 ounce pour. Other good choices – Both a Bloody Mary & Manhattan each deliver an average calorie count in the mid 100s for a standard serving – now that’s hard to beat! No wonder that’s all they drank on Sex and the City!

Skinnygirl Margaritas

With the typical restaurant margarita tipping the scales at 400 or more calories per glass, you are sure to pack on some pounds over time (who gets only one margarita anyway!) Thanks to reality TV star, Bethenny Frankel who is the creator of Skinnygirl, we can now enjoy skinny margaritas at only 100 calories for a 4-ounce serving.

Not into cocktails you say? Here is a breakdown of low calorie wine for all our wine connoisseurs:

Light Wine

If you’re having a glass of wine with dinner, choose carefully. Because let’s be honest, I’m sure you will be having more than one glass…

· A glass of a Red wine like a Cabernet has an average of 106 calories per glass

· A medium rose wine has around 100 calories per glass

· Sweet white wine like White Zinfandel has about 113 calories per glass

BUT THE WINNER:

· Champagne takes the prize at only 78 calories per glass

With some many skinny summer cocktail options, you’ll be sure to be looking fabulous in your bikini all summer long!