Drinking Low Carb

Drinking Low Carb

 

Open up any chain restaurant's drink menu and you will find a laundry list of exotic flavored cocktails- few of which will come in at less than 30 carbs/drink.  Occasionally, you will find a menu that offers a "skinny" option.  Awesome- love that and I order them every time because I want to encourage these chains to continue to offer options that don't require I come locked and loaded to alchemize my meal.  However, most bars have very few choices when it comes to low-carb mixers; Diet Coke and maybe Diet Redbull- if you are lucky.

A recent trip to Disney reminded me that I can enjoy eating and drinking like anyone else.  So I did. I used to be a strictly gin and tonic drinker but as it turns out the tonic is carb-tastic. So now I choose vodka soda- with a lime wedge if I'm feeling frisky and add about 1/2 of a packet of "water bottle flavor". The Dollar Tree has a wide selection of these little packets to doll-up your bottle of water, but I have found they make great mixers for grown-up beverages.  Because these powder mixes are sugar free and completely contained (don't leak) they are very welcome in my purse, pocket and car. There is the added bonus that you get to freak out your server or cocktail waitress when they return and your drink is a different color. 

I don't know your drinking habits, honestly, I don't drink on a regular basis right now but when I do it is often for a celebratory reason and I'm out with friends.  Some of my friends are heavier drinkers than others and in those situations I can easily loose track/keep track of my drinks by how many of the little sleeves I have left at any given time. (2 sleeves = 4 drinks) As a diabetic, my levels will often swing like crazy (if I start in the normal zone I get ready for a low dip- start high and I get ready for a big spike) as my body metabolizes the alcohol.  I do hate to end my night hanging out with EMTs in a prone position . . . since I'm already married . . . so keeping track is a good thing.

Combination Recommendations:

Mojito Limeade
    1 mini pack of Limeade (Wyler's Light)
    1 Mojito from your bartender, hold the simple syrup, make sure that they send the mint!
    When your drink comes, add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.

Cosmo
    1 mini pack of Cranberry Lemonade (I think this was 4C Sugar Free Totally Light 2 Go)
    1 Vodka, neat (or on the rocks)
    When your vodka, neat arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.

Gin and Juice
     1 mini pack of Fruit Juicy Red (Sugar Free Hawaiian Punch)
     1 Gin and Soda or if you are totally Snoop Dog, Gin, neat
     When your gin arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.

The Dude
     1 mini packet of Yoohoo ( I lost the box so I don't have the carb count on this but you are only going to use 1/2 of the packet so we are still pretty low here)
     1 Vodka with a splash of cream on the rocks from your bartender (expect raised eyebrows or slack-jawed confusion from your order taker)
     When your drink arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.
     You may want to try this one at home first- it may not be your cup of tea but I miss  a good Caucasian a la the dude and this is a substitute I can live with.

Lemon Drop
    1 mini pack of Sugar Free Low Calorie Lemonhead Drink Mix
    1 Vodka, neat (or on the rocks)
    When your vodka, neat arrives add in 1/2 of the packet and sip until it tastes sweet enough for you.
   
**If I order a drink "neat" I will also request rocks on the side or rocks in a sidecar. In this case it makes it less messy to mix in the drink mix and you can add the ice as you see fit. Although "neat" does not indicate you would like your liquor chilled, many bartenders will make this assumption- it should assure you at the very least a rocks glass like the one pictured above.  Depending on the bartender, you may order your drink "up"- I have practically given up on this term because so few people seem to know what it means and it just makes me annoyed. Technically- "up" is what you want because it denotes that the liquor should be stirred or shaken over ice then strained into a martini glass or similar vessel. If you want the ice to come along it would be "up with the rocks in a side car".