Summer Drink Recipes, Their Calories, Exercise Equivalents And Ways To Lighten Up
by Charles Stuart Platkin
Monday, 26 May 2008
Barbecues, sun, water and fun. Summer is here, and it's time for a cocktail. Many of our favorite summer drinks are not necessarily healthy. Keep in mind that alcoholic drinks are like liquid doughnuts - and most people overlook their calorie cost. Alcohol also impairs good judgment - which means that you eat and drink more than you normally would. To top it off, most people enjoy eating high-calorie, high-sodium snacks when they drink alcohol - not a great idea if you're trying to lose weight.
Ignoring the calories in alcoholic beverages is easy to do because alcohol manufacturers are not required to put nutritional information on their products. So, to help you keep track, we've figured out the calories in a few of the most popular summer drinks, put in their exercise equivalents, and provided a few tips on how to lighten up your summer cocktails. The following are typical summer drinks and the number of minutes required to burn them off after you've exhausted your daily caloric budget.
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Frozen Margarita
Makes 1 drink
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 lime wedge
3 ounces white tequila
1 ounce triple sec
2 ounces lime juice
1 cup crushed ice
Method: Place salt in a saucer. Rub rim of a cocktail glass with lime wedge and dip glass into salt to coat rim thoroughly; reserve lime. Pour tequila, triple sec, lime juice and crushed ice into a blender. Blend well at high speed. Pour into the salt-rimmed cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge.
1/2 ounce strawberry schnapps
1 ounce light rum
1 ounce lime juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 ounce strawberries
1 whole strawberry, for garnish
Method: Combine ingredients (except whole strawberry used for garnish) with a bit of ice in a blender. Blend and then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the whole strawberry.
2 teaspoons sugar
4 sprigs fresh mint + 1 for garnish
Club soda, as needed
1 lime, halved
2 ounces light rum
Method: Muddle sugar and 4 mint springs with club soda to moisten in a pint glass. Squeeze both halves of lime into the glass, leaving one hull in the mixture. Add rum, stir, and fill with ice. Top with additional club soda. Garnish with the remaining mint sprig.
1 1/2 ounces light rum
2 ounces Coco Lopez cream of coconut
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 cup crushed ice
1 slice pineapple, for garnish
1 maraschino cherry, for garnish
Method: Pour rum, cream of coconut and pineapple juice into a blender with 1 cup of crushed ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a Collins glass. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a maraschino cherry, and serve.
Sugar and cinnamon to rim glass
1/2 ounce Irish cream liqueur
1/2 ounce coffee liqueur
1/2 ounce hazelnut liqueur
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
1 dash light cream
1 cup crushed ice
Cinnamon stick, for garnish
Method: Dip moistened rim of a parfait glass in sugar and cinnamon. Combine all remaining ingredients (except cinnamon stick) in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into cinnamon-sugar-rimmed parfait glass. Garnish with the cinnamon stick and a straw.
1 1/2 cups 1-inch chunks rindless watermelon
6 (1/8-inch-thick) slices English hothouse cucumber
15 large fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup 100 percent blue agave silver tequila
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons simple syrup
1 tablespoon Cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 cups ice cubes
2 small watermelon triangles, each skewered with 1 cucumber round, for garnish
2 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Method: Place first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed. Mix in tequila, lime juice, simple syrup (1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water) and Cointreau, then 1 cup of the ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour margarita mixture over. Garnish with watermelon skewers and mint sprigs.
2 ounces tequila made from 100 percent agave, preferably Reposado or Blanco
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt for garnish
Method: Combine tequila, Cointreau and lime juice in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Moisten rim of margarita or other cocktail glass with lime juice or water. Holding glass upside down, dip rim into salt. Shake and strain drink into glass and serve.
Champagne grapes are the tiny purple grapes - perfect for garnishes. They are usually in season mid- to late summer.
Makes 8 drinks
1 bottle dry white wine
2 cups fresh orange juice
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup red and green grapes, cut in half
1/4 cucumber, peeled and cut into slices
1 lemon, cut into rounds
1 liter 7-Up
Sage leaves, for garnish (optional)
Small grape clusters, for garnish (can use regular grapes or a Champagne grape cluster)
Method: Combine all ingredients except the 7-Up and garnishes in a large ceramic or glass container and stir well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Pour into chilled glasses, filling about 3/4 full. Top with 7-Up. Garnish with 1 to 2 sage leaves, if desired, and a small grape cluster.
Source: 101 Sangrias and Pitcher Drinks by Kim Haasarud (Wiley, 2008)
2 medium very ripe unpeeled white peaches, halved, pitted
2 tablespoons (or more) lemon juice
2 tablespoons (or more) simple syrup
1 750-millileter bottle chilled Prosecco
Method: Puree peaches, lemon juice and syrup in blender. Taste; add more syrup or lemon juice, if desired. Pour 2 tablespoons puree into each of 6 Champagne flutes. Fill with Prosecco.
Alcohol is packed with calories, but when you add mixers -- soda, juice, cream, sugar and other ingredients -- well, watch out. To make drinks lighter, James Oliver Cury, the executive editor of Epicurious.com, suggests the following:
* Use more or larger ice cubes. Yes, this basically means you're filling the glass with less liquid and/or diluting the drink. But the gradual melting can be good for a drink.
* Add a wee bit more club soda. All fizzy drinks can be made lighter with more soda water. But go easy: You don't want weak, tasteless cocktails.
* Go easy on the sugar. Rum, lime and mint have plenty of flavor. Add sugar to taste instead of dumping in the recipe's stated amount.
* Use freshly squeezed juice. There's no added sugar or corn syrup.
* Keep rims lightly coated. When rimming a glass with sugar or salt, do not dip the entire glass upside down into salt/sugar. Twirl the outside of the glass only into the mix so the inside doesn't get the sugar/salt. That's 1/2 the mix. It tastes better and is less sloppy, too. Salt shouldn't enter the margarita.
* The pina colada has a lot of added sugar. You could experiment with using some regular pineapple instead of the pineapple juice and some unsweetened cream of coconut in place of the sweetened cream of coconut.
* For all, we'd serve them in small glasses. Glasses have been supersized like so many other things in the United States. Using smaller, classic cocktail glasses is retro chic, plus it cuts down on calories and keeps you and your friends from getting soused. Or serve the pina colada in half a coconut -- it's festive and distracts from the fact that you might actually be consuming a smaller amount.
* Some good lower-calorie drink options: red or white wine, wine spritzers and drinks made with seltzer or club soda (choose sodas with no sugar added and note that tonic water DOES contain calories).
* Steer clear of anything that could double as dessert (creamy liqueurs, anything with cream or ice cream).
* Remember that alcoholic beverages lower your inhibitions, so you're more likely to overeat when you drink. If you know that before you start, you're more likely to keep things in check.
* Alternate consuming alcoholic beverages with drinking water for hangover prevention and calorie reduction.
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CHARLES STUART PLATKIN is a nutrition and public health advocate, founder and editor of DietDetective.com, the health and fitness network. Copyright 2008 by Charles Stuart Platkin. All rights reserved. Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter and iTunes podcast at www.DietDetective.com.
Over-the-counter mouthrinses really do put a stop to bad breath. The first systematic review on the effectiveness of mouthrinses shows that they play an important role in reducing levels of bacteria and chemicals that cause mouth odours. Pick which one you use though, because some can temporarily stain your tongue and teeth, warns this new review from The Cochrane Library.
Bad breath is a very common complaint affecting around half the population in developed countries. The smell is generated by bacteria that accumulate on the tongue and produce sulphur compounds including hydrogen sulphide. This is the same compound that makes rotten eggs smell bad. To combat this, mouth rinses are classified in two categories, those that kill the bacteria producing the sulphur compounds and those that neutralise or mask the odour of these compounds. Antibacterial mouthrinses are widely used to treat bad breath, despite some uncertainty about their effectiveness.
New research provides support for the use of St. John's wort extracts in treating major depression. A Cochrane Systematic Review backs up previous research that showed the plant extract is effective in treating mild to moderate depressive disorders.
"Overall, we found that the St. John's wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebos and as effective as standard antidepressants, with fewer side effects," says lead researcher, Klaus Linde of the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany.
Extracts of the plant Hypericum perforatum, commonly known as St. John's wort, have long been used in folk medicine to treat depression and sleep disorders. The plant produces a number of different substances that may have anti-depressive properties, but the whole extract is considered to be more effective.
A town near where I live has decided that kids should start walking to school. Houses are close together, there are sidewalks, school crossing guards and now walking (not car) pools. Neighborhood Moms organize themselves into morning and afternoon walkers, taking turns escorting a group of neighborhood children to school. Everyone seems happy. The town officials are gleeful at the money saved by not using buses, the moms are busy telling their offspring how they, the parents, walked miles in blizzards uphill to get to school, and the school nurse is sure the kids will become more fit. And the kids will learn the joys of kicking piles of leaves, stomping through puddles, and throwing snowballs on the way to and from school.
Dawn Jackson Blatner RD, LDN, is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. Dawn passionately believes in using the power of food to prevent and manage illness and maintain optimal health. She helps people make realistic and gradual changes to their current eating habits and food choices. Dawn teaches "Flexitarian Nutrition”, an eating style she developed, which is based on personal preferences and individual lifestyles.
Liz Edmunds’ passion for the importance of family dinnertime led a kitchen-store manager to dub her “the food nanny.” The moniker stuck! Today Liz serves as part teacher, part counselor, part coach for families in need of organizational help and cooking instruction so they can implement a weekly dinner plan in their own homes.
When Liz and her husband, Stephen Edmunds, started having children, Liz set a goal to create a consistent dinnertime with the family, despite her husband’s extensive travels as a pilot, first for the U.S. Air Force and then for Delta Airlines. She began implementing her “theme nights” more than 30 years ago and has been developing and tweaking recipes ever since.
Over the years Liz has shared her theme-night plan with people all over the country, and many have encouraged her to write a book. Some of Liz’s four daughters used the plan in college to cook for their roommates and friends; and now that the daughters are married, they are following the plan with their own families. She is the author of The Food Nanny Rescues Dinner.
Calorie Bargain: German Bread Haus Whole Wheat Power Bread
The Why: This wheat bread from German Bread Haus is made with all-natural, all-pronounceable ingredients. It does not contain any nuts or seeds, so it’s suitable for people with those allergies. The bread is low in carbohydrates, and high in protein and fiber.
The Why: These raw food bars from Larabar are made with almonds, cherries, and unsweetened dates. Made with 100% natural ingredients, the bar does not contain any dairy, gluten, added sugar, cholesterol, or saturated fat.
Barbecues, sun, water and fun. Summer is here, and it's time for a cocktail. Many of our favorite summer drinks are not necessarily healthy. Keep in mind that alcoholic drinks are like 
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Dawn Jackson Blatner RD, LDN, is a 
Liz Edmunds’ passion for the importance of family dinnertime led a kitchen-store manager to dub her “the food nanny.” The moniker stuck! Today Liz serves as part teacher, part counselor, part coach for families in need of organizational help and cooking instruction so they can implement a weekly dinner plan in their own homes.
Calorie Bargain: Cherry Pie Larabar
