Skinny Margaritas

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For Christmas one year during college my mom gave me the coolest margarita glasses. The stems were swirled with festive colors, but in a way that looked fun and artsy, not tacky and cheesy.

You see, we’d gotten into the habit of having margaritas the first night we saw each other after being away. I honestly couldn’t tell you where or when the tradition started, but I’m sure it had something to do with my love of Mexican food.

Over the years our frozen margaritas went “on the rocks,” and we started making them at home instead of going out. After all, we were both becoming more health knowledgeable and health conscious, we knew that margaritas were not our best options to maintain the lifestyles we were trying to live.

We tried several “skinnier” margarita recipes, but nothing fit the bill. They tasted too sweet, or fake sweet, or overly acidic. Or plain just not right. We tried for years. Seriously.

Now keep in mind, at this point in time my parents had moved to Brussels, so it’s not like we were doing this on the regular. Once or twice a year, but still… we couldn’t find a recipe that allowed us to enjoy our margaritas and not feel guilty about “ruining” the hard work we put into living healthier. Not only that, but as we ate healthier “normal” margaritas started tasting too sweet. So we stopped making margaritas.

Sadface.

Sadface because that little quirky tradition with my mom went by the wayside. Deciding to live a healthy lifestyle shouldn’t mean that you have to give up things that you enjoy. I tell my clients that all the time, and yet as I write this today I realize I gave up something that, while seemingly silly, was really special to me.

So guess FRICKin what?!?! I spent some time tasting and testing, and I’ve found a skinny margarita that I’m happy with.  <insert confetti here>

Enjoy these skinny margarita recipes, my mom and I sure will be the next time I see her!

 

Raspberry Margarita

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1.5oz Lime Juice (approx. 1 lime)
1.5oz Orange Juice (approx. ½ orange)
2oz Tequila
½ cup Raspberries
5 drops liquid Stevia

  1. Combine all ingredients in shaker cup filled with ice. 

  2. Shake, then strain into rimmed or un-rimmed fancy glass.

  3. Garnish with a slice of lime or orange to feel extra fancy.

 
 

Classic Margarita

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1.5oz Lime Juice (approx. 1lime)
1.5oz Orange Juice (approx. ½ orange)
2oz Tequila
5 drops liquid Stevia

  1. Combine all ingredients in shaker cup filled with ice. 

  2. Shake, then strain into rimmed or un-rimmed fancy glass.

  3. Garnish with a slice of lime or orange to feel extra fancy.

 

Recipe Notes:

These recipes strike a nice balance with the citrus notes and just a little sweetness. Of course, you can always add a bit more sweetener if wanted, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how little you’ll need. The key to making these margaritas taste great is by using fresh ingredients. Take the time to squeeze the orange and the lime, and enjoy your fresh, lighter margarita in a fancy glass (because let’s be honest, a solid 50% of the experience is the fancy glass).

Rimming your glass:

First, it is not necessary, you absolutely do not have to rim your glass with salt. But if you’d like to, consider doing a light salt rim, or only doing half the glass. That way you are more easily able to control your salt intake. To rim the glass, before making margarita, moisten the top of the glass with a slice of lime and dip onto a plate with salt.

 

Do you have a tradition that has gone by the wayside as you started living a healthier life?

 

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