Do You Know How Many Calories Are In Your Christmas Drinks?
The ‘silly season’, two of our favourite words next to ‘Christmas’ and ‘break’. After all, this little phrase provides a totally guilt free excuse to indulge in all our favourite foods and drinks for weeks on end. Because if we’re really being honest, the excuse to get festive is a December long affair. So why do we continue to be surprised when come January our favourite jeans mysteriously shrink a size or two and our scales add on some random numbers? We only had a few cheeky drinks after all.
Now we would hate to be the Christmas Grinch, and we’re not about to tell you to go cold turkey on all your favourite drinks, we are simply about to break down where all those sneaky calories hide. Because if you think a few sneaky drinks won’t result in weight gain, you may as well believe Santa is real. With some of our favourite beverages containing as many as 250 calories per serving, a night with friends and four sneaky drinks could equate to drinking your way through a an entire family size pizza.
Aperol Spritz
A glass of this Italian favourite contains 203 calories of sweet goodness. That’s half an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter, 10 baked tortilla chips with half a cup of salsa or half a cup of frozen yoghurt. Have 4 drinks throughout the night and you can equate that to a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese with 2 small slices of garlic bread.
Pimms Our favourite English drink happens to go down the easiest. A couple of glasses of Pimm's can’t be that bad for you right? At 151 calories a glass, 4 standard drinks equates to eating a home-made burger with all the trimmings.
Sangria
One glass of your favourite party mixer contains 150 calories or the equivalent of two and a half cups of popcorn or 4 steamed dumplings or 3 Oreos or half a cup of Greek yoghurt with a teaspoon of honey and ½ a cup of raspberries. Sparkling Wine A glass equates to 112 calories. Doesn’t sound that bad right? A glass on arrival, two sneaky glasses during dinner and heck one for the road. The damage, an extra two slices of pizza with your dinner in liquid form.
Gin and Tonic
One standard drink of gin and tonic equates to 110 calories. The lesser of the culprits when it comes to those silly season drinks. However, 3-4 drinks still equate to a standard 450 calorie meal so do remember to cut back on the chips and dip on the side.
Campari and Soda
The average 250ml serving of Campari and soda contains 80 calories, the equivalent of a cup of blueberries. Sure it’s not the sweetest of drinks, but for those that can handle something a little bitter, Campari could save your waistline this Christmas.
