Drinking 'n Dieting: 5 Good Choices!

By John McGran
eDiets Editor-in-Chief

The 5 Best Drinks for Dieters

Clear Liquor: Whether on the rocks or straight, one shot of vodka, rum, whiskey or gin has roughly 100 calories and barely any carbohydrates.

Mixed drinks: But only ones that contain club soda, diet soda, diet tonic or water. Mixed drinks are better than straight for the simple reason they last longer. Be aware that regular soda or juice will adds about 100 calories and lots of sugar to each drink.

Wine: A 5-ounce serving of red or white wine contains about 100 calories and is fairly low in carbs -- only 3 grams per 5-ounce glass for white and about 5 grams for red. Shelve the sweet wines. They contain about 15 grams of carbs per glass.

Light beer: While one regular beer contains about 150 calories and 13 grams of carbs, a true light beer has less than 100 calories and only 5 grams of carbs. The low-carb beers are not bad but you’re only saving 2 grams of carbs per bottle.

Vegetable juice cocktail: A Bloody Mary (vodka with tomato juice and spices, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce) has only 140 calories compared to the 240 of vodka with orange juice or vodka and cranberry juice. Canned tomato juice has a lot of sodium, so be sure to ask for the low-sodium variety.

Whatever you do, steer clear of drinks made with heavy cream (ex.: a White Russian or a Kahlua with Cream). Some concoctions have the nutritional content of desserts!