Low-Cal Cocktails: Make Your Own Simple Syrup

Use this homemade simple syrup to whip up some seasonal, low-cal cocktails at your next party:

Combine 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar in a saucepan; stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks, until ready to use.

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking

This pink delight has about 50 calories less and 1/3 the amount of sugar of a strawberry daiquiri.

Ingredients:
2 ounces rum
2 quartered strawberries
1/4 ounce orange liqueur, like Cointreau
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tablespoons simple syrup
1 tablespoon water
Strawberry slice for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake vigorously for about 10 seconds.

3. Strain into a martini glass, and garnish with a slice of a strawberry.

Nutrition:
Calories 197 (1% from fat); Fat 0g (sat 0g, mono 0g, poly 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 0g; Carbohydrate 14g; Sugars 11g; Fiber 1g; Iron 0mg; Sodium 2mg; Calcium 8mg

By Susan Hall
[PHOTO BY SEAN KELLEY]

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking

Low-Cal Cocktail: Simple Blueberry Summer Cooler

This refresher has 40 fewer calories than a screwdriver thanks to the calorie-free soda water.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces blueberry-flavored vodka, like Stoli Bluberi
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
About 2 ounces soda water
Fresh mint sprig for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients except soda water into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake vigorously for about 10 seconds.

3. Pour with the ice into a tall glass leaving about an inch from the top of the glass.

4. Top off with soda water, and garnish with a sprig of mint if desired.

Nutrition:
Calories 156 (0% from fat); Fat 0g (sat 0g, mono 0g, poly 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 0g; Carbohydrate 15g; Sugars 14g; Fiber 0g; Iron 0mg; Sodium 1mg; Calcium 3mg

By Susan Hall
[PHOTO BY SEAN KELLEY]

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking

Low-Cal Cocktails: Pome-Rita

This sipper is about 100 calories less than a regular margarita, and has nearly half the amount of sugar.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces tequila
1/4 ounce orange liqueur, like Cointreau
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce simple syrup
1 ounce pomegranate juice
Kosher salt for rim
Lime wedge for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake vigorously.

3. Pour with ice into a salted wine glass.

4. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Nutrition:
Calories 196 (0% from fat); Fat 0g (sat 0g, mono 0g, poly 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Protein 0g; Carbohydrate 22g; Sugars 20g; Fiber 0g; Iron 0mg; Sodium 5mg; Calcium 8mg

By Susan Hall
[PHOTO BY SEAN KELLEY]

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking

Low-Cal Cocktails

These drinks are fresh and simple—with zero fake stuff like sugary mixers or artificial sweeteners. For parties, multiply ingredient amounts by the number of guests, and keep the batch refrigerated until it’s time to serve.

These cool cordials were developed by Lucy Brennan, author of Hip Sips: Modern Cocktails to Raise Your Spirits and owner of Mint and 820 Lounge in Portland, Ore. (Search if you are interested in ... ^^)

1/ Pome-Rita
2/ Simple Blueberry Summer Cooler
3/ Strawberry Kiss
4/ Homemade Simple Syrup

By Susan Hall
[PHOTOS BY SEAN KELLEY]

Last Updated: February 20, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Cooking

How Celebs Go Green

By Andrea Robinson
From Health magazine

It’s more affordable than you might think to drink natural, eco-friendly wines: Organic, biodynamic and other forms of chemical-free farming are already common among quality wine producers, and many of them haven’t stopped there.

Now vintners are coming up with ways to reduce the carbon footprint and landfill impact of wine through innovative packaging solutions. Here, our favorite natural picks at great prices:

Emiliana Natura Sauvignon Blanc
Casablanca, Chile 2007 ()
This winery’s commitment to the environment extends from farm to table: Organically grown grapes; labels that use soy-based inks and less cellulose from trees; and bottles made from 80% recycled glass. Plus, the wine is delicious. It’s a pow! of passion fruit, key lime and pineapple, at a steal of a price.

Louis Bernard Bonus Passus Cotes du Rhone red
France 2007 ()
A classic, affordable French wine in a plastic, screw-cap bottle? Yes! And it’s 100 percent recyclable, shatter-proof, easy to open, lightweight for shipping, and results in a 60% smaller carbon footprint compared to traditional Cotes du Rhone. The blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes is also mouthwateringly spicy and juicy, with strawberry compote flavors.

BOHO Central Coast Chardonnay
California 2007 (.99/3L cask; equivalent of 4 regular bottles)
This boxed wine yields a 55% smaller carbon footprint than the 4 regular glass bottles it replaces. The cardboard shell is made from 95% recycled materials, and the printing inks are soy-based. In a blind taste test versus bottles at three times the price, this wine stood tall with nutty-toasty, buttery notes and luscious, creamy mango-pineapple flavors. The internal bag protects it from oxidation, which means it will keep for much longer—up to six weeks—making it a great option for your “house” wine.

Related links (Please Search):
Probiotic-Packed Foods That Really Work
Go Organic for Less
Go Green for Kids
8 Ways to Protect Your Health (And the Planet!)

Last Updated: March 16, 2009
Filed Under: Healthy Food and Cooking

Surprising New Uses for Beer

By Susan Hall
From Health magazine

Health helper
The grains used to make beer contain silicon, which boosts bone density, says Katherine Tucker, PhD, a senior scientist at Tufts University. Dark beer also contains antioxidants that reduce your risk of heart disease. Enjoy up to one glass a day.

Sole soother
The yeast in beer softens weary, callused feet. Try this treatment from Milk + Honey Spa in Austin, Texas. Pour 1 bottle of lager into a tub of warm water, and soak 10 minutes. Massage 1 cup Epsom salt and the juice of 1 lime onto feet and legs. Rinse and relax.

Cook’s companion
When braising meats, try adding 1 inch of brown ale (such as Newcastle) to the pan. Beer tenderizes the meat and adds great flavor, says Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, Health’s senior food and nutrition editor.

Garden aid
Slugs eating your veggies? Set a beer trap, says Felder Rushing, author of Passalong Plants. Fill a container with beer, cut a small hole in the lid, and bury it in your garden; lid should be flush with the ground. Slugs, drawn to the hops, will fall in.
(PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO)

Last Updated: March 16, 2009
Filed Under: Natural Remedies