Cinco de Mayo Cocktails – Healthy Recipes & Tips

[highlight]Healthier Recipes and Tips for Cinco de Mayo Cocktails! [/highlight]

Cinco de Mayo for me typically means 3 things: guacamole, margaritas and turning another year older.

Yep, my birthday is on Cinco de Mayo.

As far as birthdays go, it’s a fabulous day to fall on.  There is always something to do, margaritas are the house “special” everywhere you go and it’s perfectly acceptable to eat your body weight in tacos.

What else could you ask for on your birthday?

While my husband’s Light & Fresh Margarita recipe will always be my favorite, there are so many great Cinco de Mayo Cocktails out there to try!

Healthier Cocktails Tips

Remember that the key to a healthy lifestyle is finding balance and moderation, especially when it comes to alcohol.

• Watch out for Mixers – soda, sweet & sour, daiquiri mix, or most “bottled, premixed” additions can often contain lots of sugars and calories.
  • Instead opt for cocktails blended with fresh ingredients like lime, lemon, fresh squeezed juice, coconut water, or agave
• Fruit Juices can add up – fruit juice is great in moderation, but it quickly can add up to a lot of extra calories and sugar. Most cocktails also don’t use 100% juice, so you are getting a lot of sugar. For example,  just 4oz of pineapple juice contains about 50 calories and 11 grams of sugar.
  • Choose fresh squeezed juice whenever possible or fresh lemon or lime juice
  • Flavored seltzer water, like LeCroix or Crystal Geyser, can add great flavor without the added calories or sugar.

Creative Cocktail Ideas

Looking beyond the traditional margarita, I found so many great, simple, and quality cocktail recipes available that utilize fresh ingredients! I think these would be great for Cinco de Mayo…

Watermelon Margaritas with Watermelon Rind Garnish from Vintage Kitty

Made from fresh watermelon juice, these sound so tasty!

Strawberry Jalapeño Margarita from Hunger, Thirst, Play

I love cocktails with a little kick, especially paired with ripe strawberries!

Matcha Margarita (recipe below), Courtesy of Cointreau

Love the addition of matcha green tea powder for this trendy cocktail!

The Recipe

• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 2 oz. blanco tequila
• 3-4 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1-2 bar spoon (1 tsp) matcha  green tea powder

Shake Cointreau, tequila, fresh lime juice and matcha in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Strain over ice in a rocks glass and garnish with a lime wheel.

How will you be celebrating this Cinco de Mayo?