Alcohol and Holidays…How to Get Through it Without Too Much Damage!

With the Holidays fast approaching, we do not lack opportunities to celebrate! Keeping a hold of the quantities we eat and drink can seem hard, because with all the drunken nights closing in we can quickly exceed our caloric intake limit during this period.

Since staying cooped up inside to avoid overdrinking is not a reasonable option, I thought about sharing a few tips with you on how to lower your alcohol intake along with the negative effects.

1)  Alternate alcoholized drinks with non-alcoholized drinks.

This well-known advice is so important that I’ve decided to rate it as number 1! Not only will it help you slow your alcohol intake, it will also keep you hydrated throughout the night (therefore contributing to avoid morning hangover)!

2)  Make wise choices.

It is easy to overdrink when surrounded with friends and with a drink on hand, especially around cocktails such as a Cosmopolitain or punch, cream-based liquors such as Baileys, Kahlua, without forgetting the famous eggnog! To counter this craving, opt for light drinks such as champagne, wine, prosecco, hard liquors, or light beer!

Small bonus: Why not try flavoured liquors for a more natural version? They will make your drinks tastier without all the sugar added to juices, soft drinks or syrups otherwise used in festive drinks. See below for a nice homemade recipe, and give me feedback!

3)  Say no to salty appetizers!

They can increase your thirst, and thus, your alcohol consumption! Favour unprocessed appetizers such as raw vegetables, pita bread with hummus or tzatziki, homemade potage soup, or even roasted chestnuts!

4)  Dilute!

Sparkling water can be added to hard liquor as well as wine to increase the quantity without calories. Please note that white or rosé wine is better suited to these spritzers!

You can also replace sparkling water with infused (and cooled) tea, fresh lemon, lime, or pomegranate juice to dilute your hard liquor while adding flavour!

5) It’s all about quantity.

Keep in mind that 4 oz of wine, prosecco or champagne = 1.5 oz hard liquor = 12 oz light beer = 1 drink. Health Canada recommends a limit of 14 drinks a week for men, 9 for women, and of course, not all on the same evening!

Cheers!

Homemade flavoured alcohol recipe

Step 1: Choose your favourite flavours: orange or lemon zest, raspberries, herbs, vanilla, etc., and put them at the bottom of a Mason jar.

Step 2: Fill with a good quantity of vodka and close the jar.

Step 3: Shake a few times a day.

Step 4: 4-5 days later, mix with a touch of sparkling water (or serve on ice), and enjoy your homemade-flavoured vodka in the evening!

By Alina Petre

Alcohol and Holidays...How to Get Through it Without Too Much Damage! is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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