In a city like ours, there are one too many excuses to go out for drinks. On weekdays, we often go out for a drink to catch up with friends or because it’s five o’clock and we’ve had a long day. On weekends we drink because… well, because it’s the weekend, and on Sunday mornings we justify the cocktail because it’s brunch day and mimosas are bottomless. Like I said, too many excuses. We get it, and we also get that this way of life completely ruins all diets. For this reason, we’ve put together a list of low-cal cocktails that will get the job done and still keep you looking fab.
From new recipes of timeless classics to low-calorie solutions to your favorite bar drinks, these skinny mixes will save your cocktail-loving life on days when you don’t feel like taking in any excess sugars or empty carbs… so every day. All made with natural ingredients such as celery, lime, tomato, orange and basil – as well as alcohol, of course – these five light yet tasty drinks may even make it into your strict post-holiday diet. We’ve all got those drink-less work-out-more New Years resolutions, so let’s try to stick to them!
We promise that after trying these easy recipes, you’ll leave with nothing but a healthy tummy and a low-cal buzz.
Sugarless Orange Margarita – A classic, reinvented
Ingredients:
- 3 ounces white tequila
- 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1 tbsp powdered Swerve sweetener (optional)
- Crushed ice
- Kosher salt for rimming (optional)
Instructions:
- In a cocktail shaker or a measuring cup, combine tequila, lime juice, vodka, orange extract and sweetener, if you must.
- To create a salted rim, run a wedge of lime around the outside of the glass before filling with ice and dip in a plate of kosher salt.
- Fill a tall glass halfway with crushed ice and pour in mixture.
- Get a pink straw and sip away! (140 Cal.)
Skinny Sea Breeze
– The healthy cousin of your usual vodka cranberry
Ingredients:
- 4 oz. of grapefruit juice
- 1½ oz. of unsweetened cranberry juice
- 1 oz. of vodka
- Ice
Instructions:
- Build all ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice.
- Garnish with lime wedge and enjoy! (180 Cal.)
Diet Vodka Ginger – Simple, semi-healthy sweetness
Ingredients:
- Ice
- 1 oz. of vodka
- can of diet ginger ale
- 1 lime
- mint leaves
Instructions:
- Pour one ounce of vodka and two ounces of diet ginger ale into a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake the drink and strain it into a chilled glass
- Garnish it with citrus peel and mint leaf. (70 Cal.)
Healthy Bloody Mary 
– Like tomato soup but drinkable, and with vodka:
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce vodka
- 4 ounces tomato juice
- 2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 dashes Tabasco
- ½ lemon, juiced (optional)
- 1 stalk celery, trimmed
- Ice
Instructions:
- Mix vodka, juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and lemon juice in a medium sized glass.
- Fill a tall glass with about five ice cubes.
- Pour drink over ice cubes and stir with celery stalk. (89 Cal.)
Light Basil Gimlet 
– It’s green all over, so it must be healthy!
Ingredients:
- 4-5 large basil leaves
- 1/2 ounce agave nectar or simple syrup
- 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
- 2 1/2 ounces shōchū
- Ice
Instructions:
- In a mixing glass or cocktail shaker, mix the basil leaves (except one) with the sweetener of your choice.
- Fill a large glass three-quarters of the way with ice cubes.
- Add the shōchū and lime juice into the glass and shake well.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with the remaining basil leaf. (95 Cal.)
