We hope that you enjoy our recipe and find value in the products we recommend. We thoroughly research our picks before sharing them with our loyal readers like you. Just so you know, if you click through a link we post or purchase a product that we recommend, we collect a small share of that sale or other compensation from the links on this page. If you have any further questions, you can reach out to us on our "Contact" page.

2K Shares

Share6

Pin2K

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

When the summer comes around, many people have diet on their mind. It is bathing suit season which means slimming down to look your best when lounging poolside. However, when you are relaxing by the pool in that bathing suit, you may want to enjoy a cocktail or two. Most alcoholic drinks contain a lot of calories and carbs which can make that swimsuit start to get a little tighter. So what should you do? That refreshing summer drink sounds so good but you want to stick to your summer diet and not go too crazy! This blog has your answer: the skinny summer cocktail (it tastes delicious too!).

Contents

Fruity Summer Drinks with Vodka

While beer may be one of the most iconic summer drinks (everyone has seen a commercial or print ad with a person at the beach with a beer in their hand, laughing happily as they enjoy every sip, unaware of all the calories they are consuming and bloating they may feel later on), it isn’t one you necessarily want to choose when you are on a summer diet.

If you are looking for a drink that is healthier than that summer beer but still delicious and refreshing, why not give a fruity vodka drink a try? A one ounce portion (or one shot) of vodka contains about 64 calories while a beer has about 150 calories. That’s half the calories! So rigt away a summery vodka drink is healthier when looking purely at the calorie content. If you’re not ready to step away from the beer yet, keep reading!

Easy Summer Cocktail or Beer?

Of course, there are other components to my skinny summer cocktail magical drink than just pure vodka (sure, you can just drink straight vodka but where is the enjoyment in that? You definitely need more flavor). That means there are certainly more calories coming into play. Well, you would think that but there really aren’t too many….

Back to the beer for a minute….beer contains wheat, hops and yeast- all ingredients that will make you not feel full. Have you ever noticed that you don’t typically just drink one beer but actually have several? After one, you likely are still thirsty or hungry. Beer just doesn’t fill you up. However, then you end up having a second beer and a third and a fourth and soon you have consumed an entire dinners worth of calories and bloating carbs! Not good!

Now back to my skinny summer cocktail… sparkling water paired with berries will help combat that desire to eat, hydrating you and feeding you at the same time! Of course the vodka in the drink will help you relax and enjoy the sunshine and the stevia adds just enough sweetness to curb any craving you may have for sugar. Sounds like a clear choice between a summery vodka cocktail and a regular old beer.

Stevia As A Drink Sweetener

Hopefully by now you have heard of stevia as it has become quite a popular sweetener especially among the diet community. Stevia is a sweet leaf that is ground or pressed to make a sweetener similar to sugar. The crazy thing about stevia is that it contains no calories. That’s right, there are zero calories in stevia and it is also one hundred percent natural. You can see why people love it!

Some other benefits of stevia is that it is 300 times sweeter than sugar so you can use just a tiny bit to make your drinks and foods sweet. It also has practically no aftertaste and is easier on your blood sugar levels which means diabetics can typically enjoy stevia without issue. Stevia has vitamin A and C and also minerals such as iron and magnesium.

Stevia also dissolves well and mixes into a drink very easily. Can you see why it was my clear choice of sweetener for this skinny summer cocktail recipe?

Healthy Fruity Mixed Drinks

While you may have a hard time arguing that beer is healthy, you can point out the health benefits of this skinny summer cocktail that I have created. We just went over the benefits of stevia but what about the fruit that you add to the glass? That is absolutely healthy!

Blueberries and strawberries are my favorite berries to add to this drink but you can also try:

Blackberries
Raspberries
Peach slices
Pear pieces
Apple pieces
Watermelon pieces
Mint
Basil

Really any fruit that you love would work! Berries are perfect because you can simply grab a handful and throw them right in. Berries also have so many health benefits. They are full of antioxidants which keep the free radicals in your body balanced. Berries are high in fiber, have many vitamins and minerals but are still love in calories. Berries have strong anti inflammatory properties and they can help decrease your chances of heart disease when eaten on a regular basis. They are like a miracle food!

While I chose to add blueberries and strawberries to my skinny summer cocktail mainly for flavor reasons, they are so beneficial that it makes me want to add more! They also add a nice, bright color to your drink that makes it hard to resist! When you get to the bottom of the drink, you also are left with a tasty, spiked berry snack- can’t go wrong there! A drink and a snack all in one cup? This sounds way better than just drinking a beer…

Easy Summer Cocktails with Friends

While cracking open a beer is definitely easy (and who wants to do any hard work at the end of a hot summers day?), mixing up this skinny summer cocktail is also very simple. A hand full of berries, a splash of vodka, fill the cup with Pellegrino, squirt in the stevia, add in the lemon, mix and done. It will honestly take less than a minute to get a nice cool drink into your hand.

You can save time by making a big pitcher of this tasty summer drink and then it will also be ready to share with friends. Just be sure to make it when you are ready to drink within a few hours. While Pellegrino will hold its fizzy for a little bit, it does go flat if it sits out for a day or two- don’t let those revitalizing bubbles go to waste!

Best Vodka Mixers

The last ingredients to discuss before you start making you’re new favorite drink is the vodka- the most important ingredient in the drink! The best part about this ingredient is that you can choose whatever kind you’d like! If you have a favorite vodka, just add it right in! If you are still searching for a vodka that you love, ask your local liquor store for one that has a smooth finish and not a lot of “bite”. You want this summer cocktail to be easy to drink! This fun video will show you how vodka is made which will add an interesting topic of conversation as you sip these drinks by the pool:

Now grab everything you need, get out a nice tall glass and get ready to have an amazing summer cocktail without all the excess calories of a beer. This drink is the best way to end a long, hot summer day and keep that bikini ready body looking great! Enjoy!

Summer Cocktail Essentials

Is your bar stocked with everything you need to make amazing summer drinks? Here are the tools and supplies we suggest for putting together a great drink menu: