Over the past few weeks I’ve attended two events where we were offered to try these new “skinny cocktails”:

They’re supposed to have less than 45 calories (that’s about 188 kj) per serving.  And also they say that no sugar or diet additives are used, but they rather rely on the natural sweetness of the ingredients. You get two flavours, Mojito & Cosmo.

Awesome concept I thought.  Everyone knows how fattening cocktails are, so what girl wouldn’t love to indulge without any guilt? 

Sadly though, it was very… very… and one more very… disappointing.  It was watery and it had a strange aftertaste, like it contained lots and lots of Canderel or something.  It left me with a huge, gaping hole of in my heart.

That got me thinking…  what are people willing to sacrifice to keep that daily kilojoule count in check?   I’m by nature a kilojoule counting freak.  I put it down to my heavy OCD tendancies and I do it mostly without even realising.  Most days you’ll find me in the Woolies food section, happily reading labels for their nutritional breakdown… some might find that weird, but I actually find it very relaxing.  The more stressful my day, the longer I linger in the ready meal isle.  And get this… dun dun dun… I even keep a food diary! In bloody MS Excel!  (I know… I’m sad… but it actually does really help you to keep track of how much you’re putting into your mouth during the day)

When it comes to kilojoule cutting tricks, I would for example choose a “Light” or “Zero” option when it comes to fizzy drinks.  To me Coke Zero tastes exactly the same as the real thing.  In fact, I haven’t had real Coke for years.  If I had to, I would probably go straight into a sugar coma or something.  Another favourite is Sprite Zero and then I recently discovered Fanta Zero! (sweet)

Another thing that doesn’t phase me at all is fat free milk.  My sister and I always fight about this one.  When she comes to visit, I specially have to buy full cream milk cause she refuses to have the fat free option in her coffee.  To me, I can’t really taste the difference.  It’s not like I’m having a whole glass of milk on it’s own – I’m adding it to a cup of tea or a bowl of cereal.  No difference in taste in my world, so that’s an easy one.

Other good things to try would be low fat mayo, fat free yogurt, the “Light” versions of Mrs Balls chutney & All Gold tomato sauce and even some of the meals in the Woolies Slimmer’s Choice range (they’re actually pretty tasty).

But I once tried “diet” cheese and quickly realised that it was a BIG mistake.  It basically tasted like eating rubber that had been died yellow.  Not cool.  Definitely won’t be venturing down that dirty little alleyway again.  And then what exactly is bloody carob?!  And why would people assume I’d be happy to swap out my creamy, delicious choccie for that chalky, weird tasting stuff? That’s a big NO in my books as well.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that things which are classed as “guilty pleasures” should just stay exactly that.  Don’t try to suck the fun out of it.  Just enjoy it.   My mom always said “everything in moderation” and I totally agree with that.  If you feel like a cocktail, have one.  Hell, have the most indulgent one you can find.  But maybe don’t have like 5 in one sitting.   And if perhaps you slip up and you do have 5, make sure you do some exercise the next day to work it off.

With that revelation I decided to go over to Sinn’s in Wembley Square and ordered a Jelly Bean Cocktail (R42):

Vodka, triple sec and lemonade with actual jellybeans... now we're talking!

And the world was at peace once again.

xxx