Avoid some Calories with this Summer Cocktail

Sunset. Beach. BBQ. Cocktail…. or few!

With summer celebrations in full swing, have you been over indulging with a few too many drinks? Hey, I love to sip on a summer cocktail just as much as the next girl, but I have to be a bit of a buzz kill.

I’ll admit, before I met my nutritionist, Stacy Moutafis, I’d be the first to pop open the bubbly! But, Stacy taught me some not-so-fun facts.

• We, the social drinkers, consume an average of 400 calories in alcohol at a summer celebration. That’s 400 empty calories just waiting to be stored as fat!

• Alcohol is full of chemicals, nitrates and preservatives… and is the biggest muscle killer! Meaning anything that’s fermented will destroy any lean body mass it comes in contact with… so bye, bye beach body… and all that hard work at the gym!

But, let’s be realistic, most of us could use a drink every now and then.

So here’s Stacy’s (and now my) favorite summer cocktail… the Red Wine Spritzer! 

(Red Wine Spritzer : Red Wine, Diet Cranberry Juice, Seltzer, Garnish with a Cherry or Cubed Pear )

I used to go for a Vodka Soda or Bacardi & Diet, or even White Wine, before even thinking about Red. But Stacy says the Red Wine Spritzer is the best cocktail choice because it (obviously) comes from grapes so it’s natural, and the seltzer and diet cranberry juice have very few calories.

But remember, don’t overdo it, and if you are double fisting, water should be in that other hand.

Cheers!

Side note to my local friends: Stacy & my trainer Geri Ainbinder are joining forces for a “Healthy Summer Cookout: Nutrition Talk & Cooking Demo” on Thursday, July 30th from 7- 10 pm on the water in Baldwin.  Reservations are required (space is limited). It’s $25 per person. For more information & to RSVP, please give them at ring at 631-375-7462 or 516-330-4152 .