Hey, Party season is here!!!

With all the lip - smacking delicacies & mouth - watering gourmets spread out during this party season, no party meal is complete without the accompanying booze.

But, its important to make your indulgence pleasurable and a healthy one as well.

So, here are a few quick tips for you before you raise the toast :

Eat before you drink

An order for a veggie platter, salad or hummus with salad sticks is useful before a drink as binging in cocktails on an empty stomach may severely lower blood sugar levels.

Start with the seltzer

A glass of carbonated water, non - sweetened & sodium free, zero calorie sparkling water(seltzer), before your cocktail drink will help limit your booze intake.

Keep pace with water

Drinking plain water or sparkling water in between your drinks will keep you well hydrated and prevent you from going overboard on the booze.

Let the (store-bought) juice loose.

Use freshly squeezed fruit juices for cocktails whenever possible to avoid added sugars, colors and preservatives found in many store-bought juice varieties. This will also retain the necessary antioxidants present in the fruits.

Have the right mix.

Often, the sugar found in cocktails comes from the juice, but not all varieties are created equal. Per 30 ml, grapefruit, orange, cranberry and pineapple juice contain 11, 15, 16 and 17 calories respectively. Doesn't sound like much, but considering the average screwdriver (cocktail drink) contains six ounces of OJ (90 calories), choosing grapefruit juice saves 24 calories per cocktail. Grapefruit also boasts 4.8 grams fewer carbohydrates and no sodium.

Do not forget the ice cubes

Adding ice cubes helps dilute the drink and hence results in lower caloric intake through the less concentrated cocktail.

Go for the garnish.

By naturally adding flavor & sweetness through fruits & herbs like mint, parsley, thyme you can skip artificially flavored alcohols and mixers. Plus, the fibre in the fruit may help you resist an extra order of French fries.

Give your booze an antioxidant boost.

Use ingredients like antioxidant-packed green tea, mint or oolong tea as a smart mixer. Low-sodium tomato juice is chock-full of cancer-fighting lycopene and fresh lemon juice aids digestion.

Make the clear choice.

Choose clear liquids like vodka over dark liquids like whiskey as beverages containing the highest amount of congeners, naturally-occurring compounds that are a result of distilling and fermenting that are present in higher levels in dark alcohols, result in more severe hangovers.

Heal the hangover.

Foods which will help you bounce back to your routine after a late night hangover are green tea (antioxidants), bananas, coconut water, tomato juice, soups.

HAVE A HEALTHY CHEERS!!!