Low Calorie Holiday Cocktails

For most of us, it's just not the holidays without sipping a drink that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside (and I ain't talking about hot chocolate!). Here's a list of holiday cocktails that will put you in the spirit without blowing all your hard weight-loss effort. *As with all alcohol beverages, please consume responsibly*

Pumpkin Pie Martini
Yeah, I know. It's as good as it sounds. There are several pumpkin liqueurs on the market, which are convenient, but add a ton of calories. By using the actual squash, you get the flavor without the calories—and, believe it or not, a little fiber in your drink.

6 oz. canned unsweetened pumpkin
6 oz. vanilla-flavored vodka
4 oz. fat-free condensed milk
4 oz. unsweetened almond milk (or fat-free milk)
4 Tbsp. pumpkin pie seasoning
Ice cubes
6 crushed reduced-fat vanilla wafers
Place vodka and pumpkin in bowl, and stir until pumpkin has melted. Stir in condensed milk and almond milk. Add seasoning. Dip rim of glass in crushed vanilla wafers. Pour liquid over ice into glass and enjoy. Serves 6.

Grog
Its rich history dates back 400 years, when it used to be rationed out to sailors at sea. The big babies wouldn't drink their scurvy-preventing dose of lemon juice straight, so the powers-that-be dressed it up with a little rum. Since the added ingredients only serve to make it that much tastier, it stands to reason that being "three sheets to the wind" was fairly common.

Juice of 2 lemons
1 lemon peel
4 Tbsp. of sugar
4 whole cloves
1 whole orange peel
4 oz. golden rum
10 oz. water
4 cinnamon sticks
In a pan, combine the lemon juice and peel with the sugar, cloves, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, and water. Let simmer for 15 minutes, and then slowly stir in rum. Pour though a fine strainer into mugs, and serve each mug with a cinnamon stick. Serves 4.

Gingerbread Toddy
In cold weather, a hot drink can warm you up faster than a Snuggie® and an electric blanket. This hot toddy will get you warm, and make you think you are eating gingerbread cookies in the process. Yummy.

1 oz. brandy
1 oz. gingerbread liqueur
1 lemon wedge
8 oz. hot water
cinnamon stick (optional)
Pour ingredients into a preheated mug in the order listed. Serve garnished with a cinnamon stick to stir. Serves 1.

Holiday Hot Chocolate
You can do this the easy way and buy no-sugar-added hot chocolate in packages. But you're no slacker. You can make homemade hot chocolate, which makes your house smell amazing, and impresses your friends and family.

4 cups evaporated fat-free milk
1 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup baking chocolate
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar, or natural sugar substitute, like agave
6 oz. Frangelico® liqueur
Combine evaporated milk, fat-free milk, chocolate, vanilla, and sugar in pan and heat over stove on low. Stir in Frangelico. Pour into mugs and serve with a small candy cane. Serves 6.

Peppermint Martini
This is, perhaps, the simplest and tastiest low-calorie cocktail out there. Just three ingredients and a bit of candy cane. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

9 oz. vanilla vodka
9 oz. peppermint schnapps
3 oz. fat-free condensed milk
Ice
Mini candy canes
Place all liquids in a martini shaker with ice. Shake and pour into glasses. Serve with a candy cane. Serves 6.

Mulled Apple Cider
Nothing makes a house smell more like Christmas than some mulled apple cider—except those overpriced candles that they constantly advertise on TV. And this tastes better, so take that, Glade®!

8 cups apple cider
1 3-inch cinnamon stick
10 whole cloves
1 navel orange, peeled and sliced crosswise
A 2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, cut into 6 slices
4 oz. light brandy
In a large saucepan, combine cider, cinnamon stick, cloves, orange and ginger, and simmer the mixture for 20 minutes. Pour brandy into pan. Strain through a fine strainer into a heatproof pitcher, and serve the mulled cider warm. Serves 6.

Blitzen's Bliss
Given Blitzen is the final reindeer in the lineup, he probably gets knocked around a fair bit by the sleigh over the course of Christmas Eve. But once he has circumvented the globe, he comes home, has a few of these, and it's all good. Not only does he feel better, but since they're just 130 calories apiece, he doesn't feel all bloated for his Christmas dinner the next day.

2 cups pomegranate juice
Juice of two limes
8 oz. vodka
1 tsp. peppermint extract
12 ice cubes
6 mini candy canes
4 tablespoons chopped mint
Place all liquids in shaker with ice. Shake and pour into individual glasses. Top with sprinkle of mint and candy cane. Serves 6.

Sangria for Santa
Santa really appreciates the cookies and milk. But after hundreds of years, he's over it. Want to be on the "nice" list next year? Then get a little naughty. Leave some sangria for Santa by the fireplace.

10 green grapes, halved
4 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 peach, pitted and sliced
1 bottle of white or red wine
1-1/2 cups white grape juice
1/2 cup brandy
2 sprigs fresh mint
Fill a large glass pitcher halfway with ice; add fruit and wine. Add juice and brandy; stir gently. Stir in mint. Let sit in refrigerator for 2 hours before serving. Serves 6.