Cocktails without the calories

To sip on something sweet without feeling guilty, choose one of these low-cal cocktails.

Gin and tonic

If you’re sipping a little more than usual, make a gin and tonic your go-to drink. It’s sophisticated, it’s tasty and if it’s made right (one part gin and three parts tonic), it will only set you back 103 calories. For the more health-conscious among us, add a squeeze of lime — it will line your stomach and kick start your digestive system.

Sea breeze

If you’re a vodka-cranberry kind of girl, we bet that this will become your new go-to drink. The sea breeze is made up of a shot of vodka, a dash of cranberry juice and a bit of grapefruit juice. Not only does the grapefruit add a bit of punch to the recipe, but it also helps your body neutralise the effects of drinking alcohol. Just in case you’re still not convinced, this cocktail will only set you back a measly 180 calories.

Mojito

With a few little alterations, the delicious and refreshing mojito is one of the best cocktails you can have. The mint, lime and soda water hardly have any calories, and the shot of rum rounds up to about 100 calories. Now, here’s where the tweak comes in. Instead of letting your bartender load up the drink with the usual four tablespoons of sugar, ask to cut it down to one or, even better, go for a dash of syrup — it’s only 40 calories.

Rum and Diet Coke

It’s the healthy twist on what is a classic man’s drink: the rum and Coke. Instead of ordinary Coke, ask for Diet Coke, which has far fewer calories and a hell of a lot less sugar. If you get bored after one of these drinks, choose white or spiced rum for a burst of extra flavour. This elegant cocktail clocks in at less than 200 calories a glass, and really, it doesn’t get much “healthier” than that.

Tequila and soda

Before we delve into the benefits of this cocktail, we should probably warn you that it’s not for those ladies who have a sweet tooth. In fact, this drink is so low on sugar that it can hardly be classified as a cocktail, but it has more than enough other flavour to make up for it. As the name suggests, this concotion is made up of club soda, a shot of tequila and a squeeze of lime. It’s as Mexican as a margarita, but only contains 100 calories. Spend 10 minutes on the treadmill and it’s gone.

Apple martini

While cosmopolitans are a diet disaster, that doesn’t mean that all martinis are a no-go. In fact, with a little experimenting, you can ditch a lot of the sugar in Carrie’s famous drink. If you’re craving something sweet yet not sinful, try a sour apple martini. It’s made with a shot of vodka, a dash of sour mix and a touch of sour apple liquer. And it’s got half the calories of a cosmo: just 160 in total.