Have you ever seen a pretty drink on social media that resembles a cocktail and is free of alcohol? These cocktail look-a-likes are called mocktails and are an alternative to alcoholic beverages. Mocktails are nice to look at and could be tasty. Aside from these characteristics, mocktails can be lower-calorie and healthier alternatives to alcoholic drinks. This post will take a closer look at what to consider when trying these mocktails.
What are empty calories?
First off, I want to discuss empty calories. They come from foods or beverages that do not have many nutrients that are useful for the body. You may have heard of empty calories that come from sodas, candies, and alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverages contain 7 calories per gram without the added benefit of nutrients our body can use. In comparison, carbohydrates (bread, grains, cereals, fruits, starchy vegetables) contain 4 calories per gram and nutrients our body can use. In excess, even beverages such as wine can lead to lots of additional calories. For example, one glass of wine can be about 123 calories, and two or more glasses can be over 200 calories.
Marketing and labels
There are alcoholic beverages such as the Skinny Girl Cocktails that are marketed to be 100 calories or less per serving. A standard cocktail serving is 4 ounces (oz) There are 99 calories in a 4 oz serving of Sweet’ N Tart Grape Fruit Margarita. If you are serving drinks are you measuring out 4 oz? Are you just having one serving? That’s where I think the marketing can be misleading. Although the drinks are 100 calories per serving, the bottle has more than one serving. I am not saying, that you should eliminate all alcoholic beverages and restrict empty-calorie foods from your diet. I am simply saying that marketing can mislead us to overindulge and that can lead to unintended health consequences.
Potential unintended health effects of empty calorie drinks
Alcohol in excess becomes a toxin to your body and actually can impede the body's ability to use nutrients such as thiamine (aka. vitamin B1). Low levels of thiamine can affect your nervous system and heart. Sodas such as Coca-Cola can contain phosphorus and caffeine. Studies suggest that caffeine can lead to calcium loss through the urine. Phosphorus can interfere with the way calcium is kept in the body. When phosphorus is high, calcium is low. When calcium is low in the body, bone loss can occur. Thus, food and beverages that contain empty calories can be harmful if consumed in excess or without other foods full of nutrients.
Mocktail Tips
So let’s get to the mocktails. If prepared with the right ingredients, mocktails can be delicious, low-calorie, and a better choice for our health. We already talked about empty calories, which can come not just from alcohol but from sweet ingredients we place in drinks. Some mocktail recipes include ingredients that are high in calories and simple sugars. Ingredients such as sodas, sweetened beverages, creamers, or syrups made with high fructose corn syrup contribute to taste but can also contribute to empty calories.
Below are examples of ingredients that can be added to mocktails that are not high in calories but add flavor, nutrients, and color to your drinks.
Ingredients to add to mocktails:
Fresh fruits and vegetables
Fresh juice from lemon and lime
Low or no-calorie sweeteners
Sparking or mineral water
Fresh Herbs
Natural Sweeteners - honey, syrups from fruits or vegetables
Here are some examples of recipes (I linked the full recipes to the names of each recipe) I came across that include some of these ingredients:
Ingredients ½ cucumber slide, ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves, 1 lime (for the juice), a 1-liter bottle of club soda, 1 teaspoon of liquid stevia/Splenda (artificial sweetener, zero calories)
Makes 5, 8 oz servings. Each serving contains 5 calories and no added sugar.
Ingredients cucumber slices, lime slices, sparkling water, ¼ cup homemade fennel syrup. The homemade fennel syrup is made from about 3 cups of fennel (bulb, core, and tips), 2 cups of water, and ¼ cup of honey.
The calories come from the homemade fennel syrup, which has 21 calories and 5 g grams of sugar per 12 ounces.
Mocktails offer an alternative to traditional cocktails. Depending on the ingredients mocktails can provide a refreshing drink with similar looks and tastes delicious without the unwanted qualities of other beverages.
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