10 Low Calorie Cocktails You Can Enjoy This Christmas & New Year

Alcohol is definitely not a healthy choice. It contains 7 calories per gram and has no nutritional value. However, most people (even those who try and lead a healthy lifestyle) do consume alcohol and their intake often increases over Christmas. Therefore, an effective strategy over the festive period is to look for alcoholic drinks that are low in calories.

Straight spirits are the absolute lowest calorie alcoholic drinks available. They contain no sugars, no carbohydrates and no fats. All their calories come from alcohol. However, unless you are a hardened drinker you probably do not want to be drinking straight vodka and straight whisky for the entire Christmas period. That is why today I am going to help you mix it up a bit with a list of 10 low calorie cocktails. These cocktails use straight spirits as a base and then add a few other low calorie ingredients to create a drink that is both tasty and kind to your waistline. In fact you will probably recognise quite a few of these as low calorie twists on your favourite cocktails:

1) BLUEBERRY-LIME MARGARITA

This fruity, refreshing cocktail gets most of its flavour from the natural sugars found in blueberries. These blueberries also make it a great way to add some anthocyanins, dietary fibre, manganese, vitamin C and vitamin E to your diet over the festive period. Not only is this a nutrient packed cocktail but it is also extremely low in calories with 1 glass containing a minimal 125 calories.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the blueberry juice, frozen blueberries, ice, limeade, lime juice, sparkling water and tequila in a blender and blend the ingredients until smooth.
2) Take a cocktail glass and rub its rim with the lime wedge.
3) Dip the rim of the glass in the salt.
4) Pour the blended blueberry-lime margarita into the glass.

2) FROSTY BLENDED MARGARITAS

If you prefer to keep the fruit out of your drinks then give this alternative low calorie margarita a try. It is slightly higher in calories due to the addition of Cointreau but still comes in at a reasonable 179 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the Cointreau, ice cubes, lime juice, sugar and tequila into a blender and blend the ingredients until the ice cubes become chipped and the mixture becomes frothy.
2) Take a cocktail glass and rub its rim with the lime wedge.
3) Dip the rim of the glass in the salt.
4) Pour the frosty blended margarita mix into the glass.

3) LOW CALORIE MAI TAI

Mai tai is a popular rum based cocktail. Unfortunately, most Mai Tai’s are not kind to your waistline and can contain in excess of 600 calories per drink. The good news is that the low calorie Mai Tai below contains a much more manageable 185 calories per glass. It also contains fresh pineapple which supplies your body with copper, dietary fibre, manganese, vitamin B1, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the almond syrup, lemon juice, light rum and pineapple into a cocktail shaker and shake well.
2) Place the ice into a glass.
3) Strain the mixture in the cocktail shaker over the ice.
4) Add the dark rum to the top of the glass.

4) LOW CALORIE MOJITO

Mojitos are another favourite amongst cocktail lovers. They are also pretty low in calories with the average mojito containing around 200 calories. However, with the recipe below you can make this popular drink even lighter and cut the total calories down to just 122 per drink.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the sugar in a tall glass.
2) Squeeze the juice from the half lime into the glass.
3) Place the squeezed lime and the mint sprigs in the glass and muddle them for 30 seconds.
4) Add the crushed ice and light rum to the glass.
5) Top the glass with the sparkling water.

5) PEACHES & RUM

This is a really simple fresh and fruity cocktail that does exactly what it says on the tin. You pretty much combine some peaches with some rum and enjoy. The peaches supply you with a good amount of dietary fibre, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B1 and vitamin C but the best part is it comes at a cost of just 100 calories per glass.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the sliced peach, the rum and the triple sec in a blender and blend the ingredients until the peach is pureed.
2) Place the crushed ice in a glass.
3) Pour the blended peach mixture into the glass.
4) Top the glass with the sparkling water.

6) PINA COLADA COOLER

Pina colada is a tasty, tropical themed cocktail that uses coconut and pineapple to create a unique flavour. However, this tropical taste comes at a cost of over 600 calories per glass. The recipe below allows you to replicate the taste of a regular pina colada with around a quarter of the original calories. 1 glass of this pina colada cooler contains just 165 calories.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the crushed ice in a glass.
2) Pour the coconut flavoured rum, cream of coconut, pineapple juice and sparkling water over the ice and stir for 1 minute.

7) SOUR APPLE MARTINI

This tangy, low calorie cocktail is really simple to make. Simply combine all the ingredients in a glass and enjoy a small sour apple martini which comes in at just 160 calories.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the sour apple liqueur, sour mix and vodka in a glass and stir for 30 seconds.

8) STRAWBERRY KISS

This pink coloured cocktail is similar to the strawberry daiquiri but adds orange and lemon flavour to the mix. The strawberries it contains are nutrient packed powerhouses and an excellent source of copper, dietary fibre, iodine, magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin B2, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B9 and vitamin K. Best of all it comes at a cost of just 197 calories.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the crushed ice, Cointreau, lemon juice, lime juice, rum, simple syrup, still water and all but 1 of the quartered strawberries into a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 10 seconds.
2) Strain the mixture in the cocktail shaker into a martini glass.
3) Garnish the glass with the remaining quartered strawberry.

9) TEQUILA BRAMBLE

The tequila bramble is another fruit infused cocktail that you can try this Christmas. The blackberries in this drink provide you with copper, dietary fibre, magnesium, manganese, potassium, vitamin B9, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K. The tequila bramble is also very kind to your waistline and comes in at just 172 calories.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the blackberries and lime juice in a rocks glass and muddle them for 30 seconds.
2) Add the crushed ice to the glass.
3) Top the glass with the agave nectar, blanco tequila and crème de mûre and stir for 30 seconds.

10) WHITE SANGRIA

Sangria is a popular red coloured Spanish cocktail that combines fruit and wine. This alternative sangria recipe replaces the red wine with white wine to create white sangria. The melon in white sangria adds nutritional value to the cocktail in the form of dietary fibre, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B9 and vitamin C. At 198 calories per glass, white sangria falls just under the 200 calorie mark. The recipe below serves 6 but if you have more or less people you can adjust the ingredients accordingly.

Ingredients:

Instructions:
1) Place the cantaloupe melon and sugar in a large pitcher, stir for 30 seconds and then leave to stand for 30 minutes.
2) Get 6 glasses and place 2 ice cubes in each of them.
3) Add the brandy, Cointreau, sparkling water and white wine to the pitcher containing the cantaloupe melon and sugar and stir for 30 seconds.
4) Pour the white sangria into each of the 6 glasses and spoon some cantaloupe melon into each glass.

SUMMMARY

Christmas is often a time when we overindulge and drink more alcohol than usual. However, if you try a few Christmas cocktails from this list, avoid high calorie alcoholic drinks and stay active you can make sure that this extra alcohol does not turn into extra pounds over the festive period. All the cocktails on the list contain less than 200 calories per glass but are still high up on the taste scale.

So what are you waiting for? Give them a try and let me know what you think by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post.

Sources:
100 Calorie Rum Cocktail Recipes (Healthy Living India)
Blueberry-Lime Margarita Recipe (Fitness Magazine)
Frosty Blended Margaritas Recipe (Health.com)
Low Calorie Mojito Recipe (Fit Sugar)
Peaches & Rum Recipe (Gather Personal Chef Services)
Pina Colada Cooler Recipe (Fitness Magazine)
Sour Apple Martini Recipe (Glamour Health & Fitness)
Strawberry Kiss Recipe (Health.com)
Tequila Bramble Recipe (Fit Sugar)
White Sangria Recipe (Low-Calorie-Diet.com)