Hey, Party season is here!!!
With all the lip-smacking delicacies & mouth-watering gourmets spread out during this party season. No party meal is complete without accompanying the booze. But, it's important to make your indulgence a pleasurable & healthy one as well.
So, here comes the party season guide to walk you through the cocktail hour with a few quick tips for you, before you raise a toast:
Eat before you drink
Order a veggie platter, salad or hummus with salad sticks. It would be useful before a drink as sipping cocktails on an empty stomach may lower blood sugar levels.
Start with the seltzer
A glass of carbonated water, unsweetened sodium-free, & zero-calorie sparkling water (seltzer) before your cocktail drink will help to limit your booze intake.
Keep in pace with the water
Drinking plain water or sparkling water in between your drinks will keep you well hydrated and prevent you from going overboard on the booze.
Let the (store-bought) juice loose
Use freshly squeezed fruit juices for cocktails whenever possible to avoid added sugars, colours & preservatives found in many store-bought juice varieties. This will also retain the necessary antioxidants present in the fruits.
Have the right mix
Often, the sugar found in cocktails comes from the juice. While per 30 ml grapefruit has 11 calories, orange, cranberry & pineapple juice contain, 15, 16 & 17 calories respectively. Doesn't sound much? But considering the average screwdriver (cocktail drink), contains six ounces of O.J (90 calories), choosing grapefruit juice saves 24 calories per cocktail. Grapefruit also contains 4.8 grams fewer carbohydrates & no sodium.
Do not forget the ice cubes
Adding ice cubes dilutes the drink & results in lower calorie intake due to the less concentrated cocktail.
Go for the garnish
By naturally adding flavour & sweetness through fruits & herbs like mint, parsley, & thyme. You can skip artificially flavoured alcohols & mixtures. Plus, the fibre in the fruit may help you resist an extra order of french fries.
Give your booze an antioxidant boost
Use ingredients like antioxidant green tea, mint or oolong tea, low-sodium tomato juice is full of cancer-fighting lycopene & fresh lemon juice which aids in digestion as a smart mixture.
Make a clear choice
Choose clear liquids like vodka over dark liquids like whiskey as beverages, as they contain the highest amount of congeners - naturally occurring compounds that are a result of distillation & fermentation. These chemicals are more in dark alcohols & result in more severe hangovers.
Heal the hangover
Green tea (antioxidants), bananas, coconut water, tomato juice, & soups will help you bounce back to your routine after a late-night hangover.
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