Monday, February 11, 2013

SkinnyTinis: All The Fun For Half The Calories by Teresa Howes


Title: SkinnyTinis
Author: Teresa Marie Howes
Publisher: John Wiley And Sons
Genre: Non Fiction 
Number of Pages: 144 
Source: Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours






 More than 70 ways to enjoy cocktail hour-without worrying about the calories
For people watching their weight, enjoying the occasional cocktail can be a problem, since the average mixed drink contains over 300 calories. Now Teresa Howes comes to the rescue with scores of cocktail recipes that average only 142 calories each-but have the same great flavor and alcohol content as their full-calorie counterparts. From a Skinny Appletini and a Skinny Cosmopolitan to a Skinny Mojito and a Skinny Margarita, these guilt-free drinks feature low-sugar or sugar-free mixers, fresh fruit, and other clever ways to cut the calories. With 39 beautiful color photographs plus a section on diet-friendly drinks people can order at a bar or restaurant, "SkinnyTinis" is a must-have guide for weight-conscious social drinkers everywhere.



When I saw this book was available through Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours, I was immediately interested in it. I mean, who doesn't like a cocktail with fewer calories? I was super excited to try a few of the recipes in this book. However, I really should have checked my alcohol cabinet before diving into this book, because when I went to make the recipes I discovered that I was out of at least one ingredient for every recipe. To make matters worse, I read it on a Sunday when I couldn't buy Vodka or any of the liquor in the book. Poor planning on my part!!  

The book had "two key parts to making the SkinnyTini a SkinnyTini: 1.)  Taking alcohol calorie efficiency to the extreme" and 2.) Taking advantage of all the low sugar and sugar free products currently on the market."  This means that all the recipes in this book use vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila or rum.  Teresa explains that this is because "distilled spirits have only 64 calories per ounce, but offer 40 percent alcohol potency." My take on this was that these were used so that while  drinking a Skinnytini, you'll get a great tasting drink without it being watered down.  (Who wants that?? Not me!)      

What I liked about this book was that the ingredients listed in the recipes were all listed in the beginning of the book, and told where you could find them in the grocery store or online.  Another great thing about this book was that under each drinks name, the number of calories was listed, and it told how the recipe differed from the original one, followed by a picture of the drink.  Here were a few that I really wanted to try:  

 Cotton Candy:
145 Calories
2 Ounces of Vanilla vodka 2 Ounces of Light Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice, 1 Ounce low fat Milk. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds. Strain into a 5 ounce martini glass. 

The Gingersnap:
130 calories
2 Ounces of Gin, 3 Ounces Diet Ginger Ale, 1/4 ounce (splash) of lime juice, Dash of Nutmeg. Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds. Strain into a 5 ounce martini glass. (comes with a warning to be careful while shaking soda, lol.) 

The Shamrock 
136 Calories
1 Ounces Vodka, 2 ounces Sugar Free Red Bull 1 Ounce Blue Gatorade 
Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake for 10-15 seconds.


All in all, this was an interesting drink book, and I just wished I had read the ingredients page before going to actually making the cocktails. Thanks to  Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours for a copy of this book.