Oh, cocktails. The sweet and tangy lifeblood of parties and other social gatherings that somehow require booze for people to function properly…or for people to tolerate being there in the first place. The incredibly high sugar content, though, made them off-limits to all diabetics…
Or so you thought.
There are a couple of work-arounds that you can do, ingredients that you can change without completely altering the alcohol, for you to be able to enjoy a cocktail every now and then. Check out these skinny cocktails that diabetics should try drinking or bringing in parties.
- Saintly Sangria
A usual serving of this Spanish favorite contains around 115 calories per serving. An 8-ounce glass, on the other hand, yields as much as 260 calories if you’ll add sugar to the already sweet fruit juice combination. The calorie count changes depending on the fruit juice being used to pair with the red wine and brandy. This skinny, saintly version ditches the fruit juice in favor or the ginger beer and orange slice.
- Ripe Raspberry Mojito
This Cuban cocktail, while generally tasty and well-loved by all, is brimming with calories and sugar: an 8-ounce serving contains 242 calories and 25 grams of sugar. Well, with sickly-sweet components such as lime juice, club soda, and sugar, it’s really not that surprising. This version replaces the sugar with a substitute and includes raspberries for a zesty taste.
- Chilled Spicy Tomato and Basil Bloody Mary
Named after a particularly oppressive queen, hence the “bloody” tag (you gotta love how the English people swear), the Bloody Mary has already spawned several versions across the globe: The Even More Bloody Mary, the Virgin Bloody Mary, the Blackberry Mary, the Mezcal Mary, and many more. For diabetics, we have the Chilled Spicy Tomato and Basil version which also has a non-alcoholic version. The version with alcohol has 130 calories and 7 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
- Citrus Cider
A perfect replacement to the high-caloried apple cider, this cocktail only has 105 calories and 27 grams of carbohydrates per serving. While non-alcoholic unlike its much-loved hard apple cousin, citrus cider is filled with flavors and spices without the guilt that usually comes with the thought of carbs and calories in tasty drinks. If you’re looking for a zestier kick, add several strips of peel from the fruits to the spice bag.
- Golden Mimosa
A normal honest-to-goodness mimosa is composed of champagne and citrus juice, two ingredients that are absolutely verboten to diabetics due to those two drinks’ sugar content. This skinny cocktail is a, well, skinny version of the famous drink. The resulting drink, once finished, only has 68 calories and 11 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
A Major Difference
There are two main concepts here: party hard and drink hard, which the latter doesn’t necessarily mean the latter. You can party as hard as you like, dance and talk with people without drinking hard and overstuffing your face with all the party food. The same goes to drinking hard, you might just be drinking without actually partying…. now that’s a scary thought. These cocktails aside, even when you’re partying, you shouldn’t forget about your medication schedule and the limitations that your doctor or nutritionist has set up for you.
