It's nice to enjoy a fun cocktail now and then, but those mixed drinks are loaded with lots of calories.
Thankfully, J.M. Hirsch, editorial director Milkstreet Kitchens and author of the book, "Shake Strain Done: Craft Cocktails at Home," joined New Day NW to share a couple recipes for healthy versions of our favorite drinks!
Follow J.M. Hirsch on Instagram for more recipes.
The Fake News
This is the Creamsicle of your childhood, minus the overwhelming sugary side. The orange and pineapple juices add just the right sweetness, which is balanced by the acidity of the lemon juice and the tiny pinch of salt (you won’t taste it, but you’ll miss it if you skip it). Likewise with the egg white, which gives the drink its dreamy-creamy consistency and frothy head.
- 1½ ounces orange juice
- 1½ ounces pineapple juice
- ¾ ounce egg white
- ¼ ounce lemon juice
- ¼ ounce agave or simple syrup
- 6 to 10 granules kosher salt
- Ice cubes
In a cocktail shaker, combine the orange juice, pineapple juice, egg white, lemon juice, agave syrup, and salt. Shake with ice cubes. Strain into a coupe.
Coconut Margarita
The typical overly sweet margarita can pack as many as 300 calories, most of which come from sugar. Using unsweetened lime juice and bright, light coconut water keeps the cocktail bodly flavorful, but cuts the calories almost in half. The salt also heightens all the other flavors, giving them outsized impact on the finished drink.
- 2 ounces tequila blanco
- 2 ounces coconut water
- 1 ounce lime juice
- ¼ ounce agave or simple syrup
- 6 to 10 granules kosher salt
- Ice cubes
In a cocktail shaker, combine the tequila, coconut water, lime juice, and agave syrup. Shake with ice cubes, then strain into a rocks glass.
Smoked Old Fashioned
The trick to creating flavorful cocktails that don’t ruin your diet is to opt for ingredients that add flavor without lots of calories. A great choice is smoke, which adds tons of flavor and aroma with no calories at all. The trick is to smolder an ingredient such as a cinnamon stick or cardamom pod in an overturned serving glass. The smoke coats the inside of the glass, flavoring and perfuming the cocktail once the liquid is added.
Ingredients
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 ounces bourbon
- ¼ ounce agave or simple syrup
- Dash orange bitters
- Ice cubes
Rinse the inside of a rocks glass with water. Hold the cinnamon stick over a flame such as a candle or gas stove burner. Once it lights, let it burn for 10 to 15 seconds, then set in a small skillet. Overturn the rocks glass on top of it. It will extinguish and fill the glass with smoke. Leave it while you prepare the cocktail. In a stirring glass, combine the bourbon, agave, and bitters. Stir with ice cubes. Flip the glass right side up and quickly strain the cocktail into it.
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest 11 AM weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.