Healthier Happy Hour

I'm getting ready for my Monday, June 25 CTV Morning Live segments (at 8:37am and 8:47am) on eating and drinking over the Canada Day Long weekend.  I'll be talking about different alcoholic beverages and a few Canada Day themed recipes.

With happy hour and summer holidays in mind, today I am asking:

What do you like for happy hour?

Oddly enough I came across a beer article from HealthCastle.com this morning which fits right in with what I was working on.  I'm more of a wine drinker if I have anything, so it was quite interesting for me to learn more about the different types of beer.  Here is some of the information Gloria posted:

Beer Calories Guide

Regular Beer: Regular beer, mostly lagers and ales, usually contains not more than 5% alcohol.

• Budweiser: 145 calories (10.6 g carbs)
• Coors: 149 calories (12.2 g carbs)
• Heineken: 150 calories (11.5 g carbs)
• Corona Extra: 149 calories (14 g carbs)
• Beck's Pilsner: 138 calories (11.7 carbs)

Light Beer: Light beer usually contains less alcohol (~4.2%) and fewer carbs, giving it a lighter taste and fewer calories. Ultra light beer, with even lower carb levels, are also available - they are often marketed as low-carb alternatives.

• Bud Lite: 110 calories (6.6 g carbs)
• Coors Lite: 104 calories (5.3 g carbs)
• Natural Light: 95 calories (3.2 g carbs)
• Michelob Ultra: 95 calories (2.6 g carbs)

Dry Beer: To produce minimal aftertaste, dry beer is usually made with fewer carbs.

• Bud Dry: 130 calories (7.8 g carbs)
• Asahi Super Dry: 149 calories (10.7 g carbs)

Draft Beer: Bottled draft beer is marketed as beer tasting and appearing like beer from a keg. It is usually filtered, which results in a lighter tasting beer.

• Miller Genuine Draft: 143 calories (13.1 g carbs)

Stronger Beer: Stronger beer, like porters and stouts, usually has a higher alcoholic content (sometimes as high as 8 - 9%).

• Guinness Extra Stout: 174 calories (12.4 g carbs & 5.6% alcohol)
• Sierra Nevada Porter: 194 calories (18.4 g carbs & 5.6% alcohol)
• Michelob Porter: 196 calories (17.4 g carbs & 5.9% alcohol)

Gluten-free Beer: There are even beer options for the Dads who are intolerant or allergic to wheat! These beers are usually made with gluten-free grain sorghum.

• RedBridge: 160 calories (16.4 g carbs, made from sorghum)
• Bard's: 155 calories (14.2 g carbs, made from sorghum)

Non-alcoholic Beer: For the Dads who are not able to drink alcohol for health or religious reasons, or who simply prefer a non-alcoholic option, non-alcoholic beer (< 0.5% alcohol content) is a great substitute for the real thing that has way fewer calories, too.

• O'Douls: 65 calories (13.3 g carbs & 0.4% alcohol)
• Coors Non-Alcohol: 66 calories (14.8 g carbs & 0.5% alcohol)

Note: Nutrition information quoted above is based on a 12-oz serving from US formulations.

Have a safe and happy summer!
Steph Langdon (Wheler), RD
something nutrishus counselling & coaching
www.nutrishus.com