"Sip Your Way Skinny": Day 1-Coconut Water

Hope you guys had a great holiday season! We did, but we're glad to be back, we missed you. 

Anyway, it's January 9th, which means we're now 9 days into our 2012 New Year Resolutions. And, if you're like most of America, "getting fit" or "losing weight" made it onto your Resolution list this year.
(but let's be honest, isn't it on there almost every year?)

  

We're right there with you, so we decided the entire month of January should be dedicated to

healthy drinks and "skinny" drink options.

Because most of us are consuming too many liquid calories

 and there are plenty of great alternatives.

 We are calling it Sip Your Way Skinny

and guess what, it starts today! Woo!

Sip Your Way Skinny:

Day 1- Coconut Water

Image via

Have you noticed Coconut Water is all the rage? You probably have seen pictures like the ones above on the cover of US Weekly, or People, in line at the store (or in your weekly subcription if your like me...I'm a sucker for these magazines) and might be wondering what the hype is all about.

We did the research for you to see if its just trendy, or if it's really as great as they say,

 here's what we found:

Health Benefits

(these are just some we've highlighted because they're so many,

if you want to read more, there's lots of info out there, but this is the site we used):

-helps re-hydrate you

-better for you than sports drinks (less sodium and sugar, but more potassium)

-helps boost your immune system and fight viruses

-helps raise your metabolism

 -can reduce risk of cancer

-helps control diabetes 

 After reading all of that good news, we came to the conclusion that it is worth trying.

So we did, and loved it.

Coconut water can be little sour if you're not used to it,

so try adding just a splash of orange juice like what's shown above.

 (don't do too much or it will off set the low sugar/low carb benefits)

mmm...delicious.

Champagne Week: Day 2 - Cranberry Lime Bellinis

Yesterday was Day 1 of Champagne Week. 

Did anyone get to try those? Are you planning to?

We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Today we have another Champagne drink for you.

It involves Cranberry Juice again, which is a total coincidence. 

But it's de-lish.

 It's a little sweet, it's a little sour, and it's a little fizzy. 

It's a Cranberry Lime Bellini, and it needs to be at your NYE party this weekend.

Please tell me you saw those bubbles?

The recipe was adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis (Love that girl).

Here's what you need:

 

equal parts of

cranberry juice, chilled

limeade concentrate, chilled

champagne or prosecco (we used champagne), chilled

Here's how to do it:

Mix, stir, sip.

(we rimmed ours in gold sugar to glam-it-up even more)



Pretty, huh? Your friends will love it, PROMISE.

Swizzle Sticks (DIY Drink Toppers)

You know how lately cupcake toppers seem to be all the rage?

We love them. They're adorable.

So adorable in fact, that we decide to work on our own product line extension for them...

we bring you Drink Toppers.

They can also be referred to as "Swizzle Sticks", but what's great about drink toppers is that they aren't only limited to drinks that need stirring,

they can go in any drink!

Just add a cute word, phrase, graphic, or in our case, our logo (for the launch party),

the same way you would for a cupcake topper, 

 set it into your drink,

 and BAM!

 the oh-so-cute-topper is brought to life in another way...

through your drinks! 

We even made a tutorial for you just to show you how easy it is:

Step one: Design your topper, print, and cut out.

Step two: get your sticks

(unlike cupcake toppers, you need a stick that's larger than a toothpick so your swizzle stick/drink topper doesn't get wet. We used wooden skewers cut in half)

Step three: tape the stick to the topper on the backside

(Another great use for the printed masking tape, can't get enough of this stuff)

Then place into each cup for the party.

Or, you can put all the toppers into one cup and let your guests add them.

And that's it!

We're in love.

Funny when little details can make all the difference.

Any up coming parties you're throwing that might need a little drink toppin' love?

Tell us, we want to hear!

 

H2O Bar

We have another party suggestion for you. (Hopefully you're not on overload yet).

 But this one really is a great example of why we started this blog:

We're about taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary,

 and let's face it, it doesn't get more ordinary than water.

But why not get creative with it?

How about adding a few things to customize the flavor of your water?

And how about setting up fun glasses to it drink out of?

And what about adding festive straws to SIP from?

...Throw in a little signage...

Then what happens?

Your boring pitcher of water

becomes a colorful buffet of "create your own" awesome-ness.

What a great add on to your thanksgiving feast this Thursday, don't you think?

We used sliced lemons, limes, and cucumbers.

Can you think of other customizable options could you put out?

(We love hearing your suggestions!)

tomato-tini (the garden in a glass)

Now, if you've made some homemade tomato juice and have a hankering for a sort of "salad-in-a-glass" martini, we have the one for you!

Mix up a cup of tomato juice with a few fresh basil leaves in a food processor.

Pour into a shaker.

Add a shot of vodka and ice.

Garnish with basil.

Shake, pour, sip! 

Perfectly garden-y... but in a drink!

Happy Halloween and some Slime Punch.

We're not super into Halloween around here, but we do love having reasons to celebrate, dress up, and of course, make special drinks.

If you're looking for something last minute to sip on after trick-or-treating, or while you're passing out candy, we have a great one for you. Not too gory, still a bit silly, and made with things you might have on hand.

We bring you: S l i m e Punch.

Here's what you'll need:

2 c seedless green grapes

2 c sugar

1 c lime juice (we used sweetened and cut back on the sugar)

8 c club soda

1 c gin (optional--we made ours without so we could sip it with the niece and nephew)

This is enough to make about 8 servings. We cut back since there were only a few of us partaking.

Here's how to do it:

Freeze your grapes so they can act as ice cubes. About 45 minutes to an hour.

Pour in the club soda. And add green food coloring for an extra "slime-y" looking drink.

Stir in the lime juice and sugar until it's dissolved.

Finally, add in your frozen grapes.
 (They'll float at first which is extra fun, so try to keep them frozen as long as possible before serving.)

That's it! It's the perfect refreshment for those tired trick-or-treaters (and their parents).

Happy Halloween friends!

PS. Take a look at what the toddlers in our life will be wearing this year :

The Man in the Yellow Hat (made by Kirst, isn't it great?), and his monkey, Curious George.

Have you ever seen a cuter pair?

What are you guys dressing up as for Halloween? Making any fun drinks to celebrate?

Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Rimming Salt, Part 2

Welcome back for Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Salt, Part 2. (Read Part 1 here, if you missed it yesterday.)

Kirst and I firmly believe that rimming your drinks can take a good drink and make it a great one. I mean really, who doesn't love glasses edged with some kind of complimentary flavor? Salt, sugar, vanilla icing with sprinkles? Not to mention it makes it look cool. You get the point.

Now meet our other sister/sister-in-law Jordan.She's beautiful, creative, and great at cooking and pairing what tastes go with what. Here she is with Kirst (she's the one on the left).

So knowing that about her, and our love of rimming salts and sugars, you'll see why when she suggested that we make a Chili-Lime rimming salt for these Beer-garitas, we did it...and we're so glad we did! In fact, we strongly suggest when you make the Beer-garitas from yesterday, you should make this Chili-Lime salt too!

Here's what you'll need:

1/4 c Kosher Salt

1 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Paprika

1 tbsp lime juice

a couple of lime wedges for rimming

And here's how to do it:

Measure out all the ingredients and dump them into the food processor.

Mix up until it's all combined and all the same texture and consistancy. (It should be a bit sticky looking)

Then, once it's all mixed up, place on a plate or serving dish with several lime wedges and it's ready to go!

Just use the lime wedge to make the rim of the glass sticky, then dip it in the salt.



We paired it with regular salt for the less adventurous, and it was quite the little spread.

Loved by boys and girls alike!

Happy Sipping!

Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Rimming Salt, Part 1

If you are anything like my husband and me, you have different tastes when it comes to your drinks. He prefers beer (hence The Adams weekly beer column). I, on the other hand, prefer most other drinks than beer--although I'm coming along in my appreciation for it. 

Anyway, I'd think it's pretty safe to say that this might be the case for most couples, so imagine our excitement when we discovered that the two loves can be combined into the perfect co-ed beverage.
 We bring you: Beer-garitas with Chili-Lime Rimming Salt. And at this time of year, we thought it'd be just perfect for the upcoming football parties you'll be throwing (go Eagles!**),or any co-ed party really. 

 ** I am supposed to make a disclaimer that this team is not supported by all Sips Etc authors--(but I will say, it is only supported by the coolest ones).

Today, we'll show you how to make the Beer-garitas. Tomorrow, for Part 2, we'll show you how to make the Chili-Lime Rimming Salt (which is such a fantastic addition, if I do say so myself).

Here's what you'll need:

48 oz. Beer (some prefer Corona's, some Pabst Blue Ribbon, but I'm sure most any light beer will do).

12 oz. Limeade Concentrate

6 oz. Tequila

1 can of Sprite (optional, though not used here)

A pitcher

Here's how to do it:

Pour the beer into the pitcher.  Tip: tilt the pitcher as you pour, it helps reduce the amount of fizz at the top.

Next add the limeade concentrate, then add the tequila. (Here is where you'd add the Sprite also)

Tip: once the limeade concentrate can is empty, just fill it up half way with tequila instead of using a measuring cup.

And that's it! Just Mix. Pour. Sip.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for Part 2.

If you're visiting us from TasteSpotting.com, Welcome! You can learn a bit about us here, and be sure to check our monthly Barista Banter column, and our weekly Beer column with TheAdams. 

We're so glad to have you!