Moms & Dads – Kick back with These 8 Healthy Adult Beverages!

I stumbled across Greatist’s 60 Healthier Drinks for Boozing and knew I had to share it with all you hard working, non-pregnant women & dads out there! In our efforts toward better health, eating right and exercising, we don’t want to mess it all up by consuming too many calories or funky ingredients through our favorite adult beverage.

Summer’s here so it’s time to get creative and fun with your evening (or mid afternoon) cocktails. I personally love making a simple syrup because I can control how much sugar is in my drink. A lot (if not all) of the pre-made cocktail mixes are too sugary and filled with crazy dyes and ingredients.

Time to break out the fresh ingredients – herbs picked from the garden and fruit off the tree!

Here are the Greatist’s 8 ways to keep the alcoholic drinks as healthy as possible. These are great tips and believe me, making drinks with fresh ingredients make them 100% more refreshing and delicious!

1. Use only fresh-squeezed or 100 percent fruit juice to reduce added sugars. Fruit juice can still be a dangerfood, though, so sometimes it’s best to dilute it with water or ice to cut back on calories.
2. Choose seltzer water over other carbonated waters to eliminate added sodium and other additives. For recipes that call for soda, skimp on portions, or opt for diet or natural (read: less added sugar) versions — though those can have their pitfalls, too.
3. Make simple syrup with honey which, though sugary, has some added benefits, like a healthy dose of antioxidants. It also gives you better control of the sugar content. Any recipe that calls for simple syrup will use the following recipe: ½ tablespoon honey mixed with ¾ tablespoon warm water.
4. Use whole fruit instead of sugar or flavored syrups. The fruit itself adds fiber, natural sugars, and vitamins.
5. Choose light alcohol over dark alcohol. The dark stuff contains more compounds known as congeners, which can worsen hangovers.
6. Limit yourself to one shot per drink. Multi-alcohol cocktails can pack in serious calories, so we kept ours to one shot (or 1 ½ ounces) each. The shooters and shots we included actually containless than one shot each to further lessen the caloric load.
7. Size matters — especially when it comes to consuming liquid calories. That’s why we kept all our drinks right around the 8-ounce mark.
8. Choose nutritious ingredients. Ginger, coffee, and lemon star in several of our drinks. They’ve each got their own proven health benefits, even though they may not totally counteract the negative affects of alcohol. (Note: Too much alcohol and caffeine can both dehydrate — making hangovers even worse — so try to keep it at no more than one cup of Joe for the night.)

1. Rosemary-Cucumber Lemonade
Stir together juice from 3 lemons and 1 teaspoon honey. Add 1 shot rosemary-infused vodka and ¾ cup seltzer. Garnish with a cucumber spear and lemon wedge.

2. Drunken Arnold Palmer
Combine 1 black tea bag, ¾ cup hot water, the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 teaspoon honey. Chill. Add 1 shot vodka and garnish with a lemon wedge.
3. Sparkling Apricot Punch
In a glass, combine ½ cup diced apricots and ½ cup apricot juice (100 percent juice, please!). Add ½ cup sparkling wine and ¼ cup seltzer and stir to combine.

4. Blueberry-Lime Margarita
Blend 1 shot simple syrup, the juice from ½ lemon and 1 lime, 1 shot of tequila, and ¼ cup frozen blueberries. Garnish with a slice of lime, but skip the salt.

5. Grapefruit and Vodka
For a zesty cocktail, combine the juice of ½ a grapefruit and 1 shot of vodka topped with ½ cup seltzer.

6. Legend of Jack Sparrow
In an 8-ounce glass with ice, combine 1 shot coconut rum and the juice of 1 lime. Fill the rest of the glass with ginger ale (about ¾ cup). Garnish with a slice of lime.

7. Fruit Mojito
In the bottom of a glass, muddle 12 fresh mint leaves, the juice of ½ lime, and 1 tablespoon simple syrup. Muddle in ¼ cup fresh or thawed frozen fruit like strawberry, blueberry, mango, or kiwi in the bottom of the glass. Add a few ice cubes and pour in 1 ½ ounces (one shot) of light rum and ¾ cup seltzer. Garnish with a lime wedge.

8. Vodka Sunset
Muddle ¼ cup blackberries in the bottom of a glass. Top with ice and add 1 shot fresh-squeezed lemon juice, 1 shot fresh-squeezed lime juice, ½ shot simple syrup, 1 shot of vodka, and a splash of sparkling wine.

Cheers!