I have been going to the gym more often, the only kind of pasta I eat is wheat and I’ve recently gotten into Pilates on exercise TV.
My problem (other than chocolate) is that to me, the best kind of beer is the kind with the most hops and unfortunately, the most calories. Michelob Ultra is water to me. My go to beer is a Harpoon IPA.
I don’t really drink hard alcohol, but if I do it is whiskey and not the allegedly South Beach-friendly Bacardi and diet.
When I was in Ireland the only thing I drank was Murphy’s Irish Stout because it was the cheapest, well, that and Beamish, because they are both locally brewed. Budweiser happened to be the trendy import, at least back then, and I couldn’t morally bring myself to spend almost double it’s U.S. price.
I grew to love stout.
[That's a billboard I used to walk and run by everyday]
I didn’t lose or gain any weight during my time in Cork because I ran so much, so much that I developed runner’s knee, I walked everywhere and I also played rugby – it all seemed to even out.
These days, my sorry excuse for a good run on the elliptical, and the fact that I am getting older, means that I need to downgrade the drink to match up with the work out again, even if it means taking on different cocktails..
So I did some research…
Glamour did a slideshow of best and worst drinks in a side by side comparison. Almost every one was a little too fruity for me, but I did find a good tip that I can use:
[From Glamour]
If you have a Mojito instead of a Margarita, you save 206 calories – explanation here.
I also found information on the world’s healthiest cocktail, according to an old Esquire story by David Wondrich, and it involves whiskey.
[From Esquire]
Here is how to make it…
Place 2 teaspoons light agave nectar (which has a very low glycemic load; available in health-food stores and some supermarkets) in a cocktail shaker. Add 1 teaspoon hot water and stir. Then add:
- 1 1/2 ounces Jameson’s Irish whiskey
- 3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed blood-orange juice (full of antioxidant anthocyanins, cancer-fighting carotenoids, and other good things)
- 1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice (get that vitamin C!)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters (homeopathic amounts of any number of medicinal roots, barks, and flowers)
Fill shaker with ice, shake vigorously (thus burning ten calories), and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top off with ¾ oz red wine, carefully poured over the back of a spoon to create a layered effect.
I love a mojito so that’s easy and maybe one day I will be crafty enough to try that whiskey cocktail. But that will have to do for now, because when it comes to beer, I simply cannot sacrifice ordering a good old IPA.
Do you have any tips for a low calorie cocktail?
Bloody Mary is always a low carb smart choice!
You going to the Harpoon St Patty’s fest next Friday? I am
I believe stouts in general are more healthy than other beers, especially sugar-laden lagers and alcopops, but that doesn’t stop me from returning to MA for my fill of IPA at Harpoon brewfests! And I prefer a whiskey or bourbon (neat, of course), but I guess the healthiest cocktails, if you could call them that, are of the vodka and soda water variety. I would also think that traditional martinis (straight gin or vodka) are right up there as well.
I’m definitely gonna check out that whiskey drink.
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That last one sounds really interesting. I haven’t tried anything like that before, though. And I have no calorie saving tips for drinks. I go all out and soak in all those calories, which isn’t a good thing.
Nothing…but nothing….beats coffee. Any kind of coffee.
But I’ll admit, what you wrote sounds yummy indeed!
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I agree with you on beer – light beer isn’t worth it to me! I like lagers and amber ale, also not so kind to the calories.
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yeah, look at me, i know a ton…..
i saw agave nectar whilst shopping today and whiskey…well i can sniff that out a mile away. let’s make it after i sweet vacation drink detox!