Cucumber Summer Splash

Let me start by admitting that I am not a big drinker. I always loved a cocktail or two or three when I went out with friends, but I have never cared for a cocktail at home. It usually makes me sleepy and unproductive.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes, alcahol became a no- no at first. Being told that I had diabetes was worrying but, I had type 2 and I had always heard that you could reverse it easily. Some intense research later, I came to see that that was not exactly the truth but, that's another article.

During my research I found that alcohol brought it's own issues to those with diabetes. Some scary and not worth the risk to a non drinker like myself. Alcohol can make your blood sugar drop whoever is drinking but several of the medicines that diabetics take can speed this up. The problem is that the symptoms of low blood sugar resemble the effects of alcohol consumption so, people will think that you are drunk when you are really suffering from hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is what occurs when your blood sugar falls low, you don't have much time to get your sugar back up during a hypoglycemic episode so, you have to act quickly.

Scary.

It's enough to make you drink!

Luckily, as long as I am careful, I can have a cocktail now and then. You would have to check with your doctor though.

But what about the calories? The carbs?

It turns out that wine and beer are high in calories as well as high carb offenders. Cocktail drinks are yummy, so yummy, but they are big-time carb bombs.

But I have a refreshing and yummy answer to that!

Every summer, I always have a pitcher of water in my fridge that I add cucumber slices, lime or lemon, and mint to.

While at a friend's house pre-COVID, she made everyone some of her famous extra yummy cocktails.

I couldn't have one, (insert sad face).

Suddenly my hostess became excited and said, "What about vodka?".

Yuck. I do not like vodka and diet-soda or rum and diet-soda, which are two things that I can drink.

But she had Cucumber Vodka!!

So my hostess with the most delicious drinks mixed that cucumber vodka with some lime sparkling water.

Yum!

So I took that idea and just added a thing or two.

I wanted to buy Kettle One Organic Vodka because they have one that is infused with cucumber and mint. Times are rough right now for finding items that you want though so I took what I found.

This turned out yummy and so refreshing. The vodka was good and smooth. It didn't have that rubbing alcohol taste that always turns me off when I drink vodka. I also found that adding the fresh mint and freshly squeezed lime juice made the drink that much more refreshing.

THE INGREDIENTS

Cucumber Vodka

Fresh Lime

Fresh Mint

Sparkling Water

I used one shot glass full of vodka and put it into a small tumbler glass. Then I squeezed the juice of half of a small lime into it and then added ice. I then added a couple of small leaves of mint that I muddled just a little before pouring the sparkling water over the top. After giving it a quick stir, I garnished with some thinly sliced cucumber, a tiny piece of the lime and a nice sprig of the mint.

It was delicious!

I drank this while I was preparing dinner and it seemed to become even more delicious each time I visited it. The fizzle stayed strong and the mint became more apparent with each sip.

As I said, I used one shot glass of vodka. I am not a drinker so I am not sure if this would be right for you. It was fine for me though. This drink would also stand up as a non-alcoholic drink also, just make some cucumber-infused water ahead of time and fill the glass a third with that and then continue with the rest of the recipe.

I enjoyed this taste test immensely and I look forward to taste- testing for my next article:

Which Diabetic Friendly Hot Chocolate Recipe is the Yummiest?

Until then, stay refreshed!