An original rootbeer cocktail recipe. It's pretty good, I think. Check it out:
The Rough & Ready(a Root Beer Cocktail)
1 shot Rum (64 cal/zero carbs)
1/2 shot Gin (64 cal/zero carbs)
1/4 shot Amaretto
1/3rd shot Simply Limeade or just a squeeze of lime (for fewer calories and carbs)
1/3rd shot R.W. Knudsen's Lemon Ginger Echinacea Juice (I find it at Smith's Grocers)
4 shots Diet Hansen's Rootbeer (found in most health food stores) Zero Everything! Carbs, Calories, Fat, Caffeine!
Sour Apple Liqueur has 72 calories per one ounce shot! Wow.
And most cocktails require a full ounce. But, here, with only 1/4 oz. we will
reduce that to only 18 calories without sacrificing flavor. Carbs = 7.5 per oz. so ¼ oz. = only 1.9 carbs.
So it's not really a super duper low carb cocktail. But when compared to the original Fuzzy Navel with, on average 275 - 300 calories per serving; and 37 to 50 carbs on average... well, it's a pretty good savings. Especially if you have more than one. And who can have just one? Again, I ask you, who can have just one?
P.S. Welcome Bulgaria!! BodyBeautyBliss is now being read in 14 countries around the world: US, UK, Canada, Italy, Malaysia, Denmark, Netherlands, Philippines, Croatia, Slovenia, Russia, Moldova, Australia, and Bulgaria.
Image by tibchris via FlickrQ: I think I'm overweight for my age (13) and I'd like to know what the quickest way to lose weight is... that is still healthy. I want my flat belly back!
A: The first thing you need to do is cut down on refined sugar. Do you think about food all the time? Are you hungry all the time? Over-carbing and insufficient protein will cause a chemical imbalance that makes you crave food and over-eat.Which is probably why you have a weight issue.
Plus, there's that calorie thing. You have to make sure you're eating enough calories but not too much. A simplistic gauge is, if you want to weigh 130 (multiply it by 10) you shouldn't consume more than 1300 calories per day net. Net meaning if you exercise off 300 calories you can add those to the 1300. For example, 1600 consumed minus 300 exercise = 1300 net.
There are some great books about cutting down on sugar (It affects your health too - do you have trouble sleeping sometimes? That's one of the symptoms of too much refined sugar in the diet). One of these books is called the "The Sugar Addict's Diet". Go to the library or the book store and start reading about real nutrition (not fad diets). Also, start picking up every magazine you see about living a healthy lifestyle.
These magazines like Shape and Women's Fitness have little snippets of the latest good advice about eating and exercise... and over time you will become educated and more fit. Don't worry about overnight results. Once you're on the right track with exercise (find something you really like and WANT to do - I love cardio kickboxing!) and good nutrition, you'll feel more calm about your weight and your shape, and maybe even develop an "athletic" mindset. Were the Olympic athletes thin? No. But they were strong and healthy and certainly not insecure about their figures.
Your weight will no longer be an issue.
Now, if you had said you were 24 and your wedding was coming up, I would have a different answer for you. I would say go ahead and (just for 3 or 4 days leading up to the wedding) cut out all salt, all carbohydrates, and fluids... except for a sip of water when you're thirsty.
That would help you lose up to six pounds of water weight. But, of course, it's not something healthy that should be kept up for any period of time.
Hot Pirate Wench
This drink was inspired by this AWESOME Captain Morgan Rum video starring Marisa Miller. But I have to apologize here. The name, Hot Pirate Wench, just sounded better than Hot Pirate Chick. Unfortunately, "Wench" (according to Wikipedia and Dictionary.com) denotes a girl or young woman, a lass of dubious intent and lower class; generally a prostitute or extremely promiscuous female, a "working girl", if you will. Well, I won't.
As if there's something wrong with being a "working girl". Hmf. I'd like to think our Pirate Femme here is, rather, a woman of strong character and, although she may be promiscuous, it is always with a partner of her own, very discerning, choice. Note: SHE is the one in control. And, hey, is that a young Keith Richards?
And I have to add, just for fun, that to the right side of my search, were the words... "Amazon: For the Best Price on Wenches".
So, here it is, My Healthier Cocktail:
Hot Pirate Wench
1 ½ shots Rum (.3 carbs/84 calories)
1 shot Kroger Light Apple Juice (.8 carbs/3.1 calories)
1 shot All Natural Simply Limeade (4 carbs/15 calories) (or just a squeeze of Lime if you're intensely watching calories and carbs. Tastes much better with the Simply Limeade though.)
2 shots Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry Juice (.25 carbs/.6 calories)
For a Total of: 102.7 calories and 5.35 carbs
If you choose the lime squeeze, it's only 1.35 carbs. Compare that with the, up to 40 grams carbs and 700 calories, for a similar drink (Rum Punch) with real liqueurs, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar added fruit juices. Mmm. Tasty and good for you. You can probably count this drink as one or two of your daily fruit servings. But don't take my word for it, read up.
A great site that I like to use to calculate food and exercise calories, is: www.EverydayHealth.com
Go to "Food and Fitness" on the top bar and then scroll down to "My Calorie Counter" for an awesome way to keep track of calories consumed vs. calories burned.
Note: The brand names of the mixers in this recipe are important here, because these are the lowest calorie/carb versions I have found. If you find better, please let me know.
Also, please be aware that although straight rum is carb free, flavored rums might have an inkling of carbs. Please read Lisa Shea's awesome article: "Rum Carb Counts and Nutrition" at: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33315.asp
*Too Strong? Add water or a clear diet soda such as Diet Sprite, Diet 7Up, or Fresca. Be conscious of the fact, though, that these drinks contain Aspartame (an ingredient that is NOT recommended by me).
At most healthfood stores you can find a soda called Hansen's. The diet version is sweetened with Splenda. It has no preservatives, no sodium, no caffeine, no carbs, and no calories. Best of all, it's one of the only sodas you can find without aspartame.
*Healthful Hint: Add a bunch of ice. A tray holds 14 cubes. I add 10-12 using a larger glass. That way you'll be hydrating as you go, as the ice melts.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
