The Keto diet has taken the world by storm. If you are one of the millions of people who swear by keto, then you are probably wondering if low-calorie cocktails could be some sort of oxymoron.
Knowing that alcoholic beverages are usually laden with carbs, is it actually possible to find a cocktail or drink that is keto friendly? That’s a very good question and one we shall attempt to answer by talking about these six best low-calorie drinks and cocktails.
However, first, we should explain a bit about exactly what keto is and where it originated. What we today call the keto diet is a much more scientifically based spinoff of the Dr. Atkins diet from decades ago.
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Dr. Atkins was the first to promote no cal or low-cal diets consisting of mainly proteins and fat being acceptable on his diet plan. The key to its success was eliminating both slow and fast burn carbs, in essence, all sugars.
You ‘knew’ the diet was working by testing your urine to see if you were in ketosis – hence the more recent and highly scientifically studied and peer-reviewed keto diet.
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Now, onto those beverages!
1. Keto Friendly Wines
Let’s start with wines because traditionally, they are high in sugar; it stands to reason since wine is made from fermenting grapes which would obviously be high in sugar, as are grapes off the vine. However, you can find a keto friendly wine that has a lower alcohol content and very little sugar by comparing the wines listed and analyzed on this site for you.
In other words, a keto-friendly wine will be lower in sugar, and as a result, you will also find that they are lower in alcoholic content.
2. Grapefruit Gin or Vodka Cocktail
Although not a keto beverage because grapefruit, gin, and vodka all have carbs. However, one thing that makes this particular drink low in calories is the fact that grapefruit speeds your metabolism, which, in turn, means you burn those carbs more quickly.
If you want a refreshing taste, add a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary to the glass once you’ve blended the juice and gin. It’s a delightful, low-cal summer beverage, but don’t let that fool you. You can get quite intoxicated with this beverage if you overindulge because they are considered to be low-calorie drinks.
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3. Vodka Spritzers w/ Fresh Fruit
You’ve heard of spritzers before, haven’t you? These are simply cocktails made with soda or seltzer water, hence the ‘spritz.’ Now then, when you mix vodka with seltzer water, why not add a few fresh berries of any kind?
These are lovely when made with blackberries, raspberries, or even blueberries and strawberries, but those later two aren’t as popular as their red or black raspberry cousins.
Looking for a delightful garnish for this beverage? Add a couple of fresh mint leaves after you’ve mashed the berries and added them to the vodka/seltzer mix.
4. Vodka w/ Lemon Sparkling Cocktail
This is another extremely easy cocktail to make, and if you have a cocktail shaker, you can mix this sparkling vodka cocktail to the amazement of your friends. All you need is a couple of ounces of vodka, about 24 ounces of soda water and a few lemon wedges squeezed into the mix.
Garnish this summer beverage with the rosemary you had left over from the grapefruit gin or vodka cocktail illustrated above. The only real difference is that this particular drink uses lemons which are also said to be effective in helping to speed the metabolism because of the citric acid in the fruit.
5. Low Calorie Champagne
This is a special drink often served at wedding showers. The only thing you may find a bit contradictory, as in the keto-friendly wine mentioned above, is that champagne is fermented solely from grapes,. As we learned above, the lower in alcohol, the lesser your carbs will be.
If nothing else, eliminating carbs totally when first shooting for low-cal keto cocktails would also help to prevent that day after hangover that comes from drinking in the first place. Shoot for a champagne that is white and dry to get the lowest cal champagne on the market.
6. Fruit Bellini
This is a drink you will need to be especially careful of because the recipe often calls for two tablespoons of sugar in addition to pureed raspberries or peaches along with the champagne. Brut is the recommended type, but you could begin with any dry champagne.
Next, add a bit of the pureed fruit and stir it well. While you would probably be able to find fresh raspberries throughout the year in your local grocery store, fresh peaches may be a bit hard to come by.
Use freshly pureed peaches, but if you cannot find them in the produce section, using canned peaches ‘might’ work if you can find the cans with no added sugar, especially for those on a diet or those who suffer from diabetes.
Berries may be available year-round because they grow on bushes and can easily be grown in greenhouses. Peaches, on the other hand, grow on trees, and it would be a bit tricky to plant fruit growing trees in a hot house! They are just too tall.
Takeaway
Bear in mind that you are focusing on keto-friendly, low-cal cocktails simply because the keto diet is the most popular at the moment and has also proven to be one of the most effective weight loss regimens around.
With that said, if you drink cocktails with any amount of sugar, you will need to calculate that into your keto diet that you have faithfully followed.
It doesn’t matter if you want to pass the credit on to Dr. Atkins and his amazing early research and trial efforts from decades ago or the more current peer-reviewed keto studies, the whole concept of enjoying cocktails like those mentioned above is to eliminate all but a very few sugars (carbs) from your diet, sending you into ketosis.
Remember, there is no reason to deny yourself an alcoholic beverage on the keto diet— just be cognizant of the alcohol content and sugars involved, and you should be able to imbibe just a little from time to time. Isn’t that nice to know?
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