Skinny Grapefruit Mojito

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This week I bring you a Skinny Grapefruit Mojito. This Skinny Grapefruit Mojito recipe is dedicated to my Step Dad, Richard Houston, who passed away this week.

At first I was going to cover up my emotions and write about some forced happy bullshit but I can’t. I just won’t. I don’t want to run a blog where I hide instead of being real. Life isn’t always happy and certainly not always fair. I owe it to myself (and to you) to be honest, open, and real. I mean, you come for the recipes but stay for my charming personality and amateur writing skills, right? I hope so… ?

Some of you personally know myself and Rick, so you know how heavy my heart feels at the moment. For those of you who I’ve never met, you would have loved Rick. He was a silly, selfless, happy-go-lucky type of guy. He was quick with a smile but even quicker to help anyone in need.

My Mom and Dad got divorced when I was a toddler. Besides remembering going over to my Dad’s apartment every weekend, I don’t have any memories of my Mom and Dad together at our house. What I specifically remember is my Mom would bring over this goofy new guy who loved to play with us. Even though my sister Michelle and I were too young to grasp the reality of the situation, we quickly adapted to our Mom’s new companion.

Rick was an exemplary figure in my life. I adored him as a toddler, hated him as a young adult (because he would’t let me stay out and party with my friends… you know…fatherly type stuff), then after growing up, and reaching the age of reason, my disdain turned back into love, adoration, and respect.

As I got older, our relationship grew even stronger. I was no longer the snot nosed, bratty, know-it-all kid. I had grown up, blossomed into my own, and fully appreciated Rick for who he was, and what he meant in my life.

As I sit here, struggling to keep my composure, crying while typing, my mind is flooded with memories of Rick. I remember how he played with my sister and I as kids, the holiday’s where he would go over and beyond to make them special, the family game nights where he would crack us up because he was a jokingly sore loser (and he lost a lot).

I remember being little and being in charge of dusting the living room. Once he caught me slacking off, per usual.

“Chrissy..” Rick said sternly, “You need to use some elbow grease!”

I had NO idea what the term meant, so I promptly stuck the dust rag under my elbow, and proceeded to move my elbow back and forth (with the dust rag under it) across the table. Rick couldn’t take it, he doubled over in laughter.

When I got married, BOTH Rick and my dad, Dave, walked me down the aisle and gave me away. They were both so gracious about it. I knew then, as I do now, how lucky I am to have parents and step parents who didn’t always get along, but respected each other and came together when it came to Michelle and me.

Michelle and I each posted something on Facebook in Rick’s memory. Her post was so amazing, I thought I would share.

My stepdad Richard Houston was a big kid who never slowed down. He loved his family and friends so much. He always wore a smile. He taught me so much. He motivated me. He taught me how to pitch a ball in the pouring rain. He’d play basketball with me endlessly in the driveway. He taught me how to ride my bike. He was more excited for Christmas than we were. He installed my crazy love for Halloween. He taught me how to throw my car into donuts in the snow and straighten it out. We had so much fun at Great America,Disney World, camping, fishing, swimming, tubing, skiing in Crystal Lake. Damn… He was a fast sprinter! Never ever start a water fight with this man… You’d always loose (even against the entire Woodstock neighborhood of kids). He could fix anything with a little glue. If you wanted something built he’d run to his workshop and have it made in seconds. MAN he loved his steak cooked medium rare! He was protective of us. He loved his dogs like crazy… They were his babies. He was my biggest fan and I was his. He was an amazing papa to his grandkids. They idolized him. He was truly the best stepdad a girl could have.

I agree, Rick was the best Stepdad a girl could have. We were lucky to have him in our lives as long as we did. My Skinny Grapefruit Mojito recipe goes out to him.

Since high school, I’ve gained about 40 lbs. My eating habits growing up weren’t too horrible, but my DRINKING habits in and after college were out of control. As many of you know I stopped being oblivious to my food/drink intake, and started counting calories a few months ago. Since alcohol is consuming empty calories, I decided to focus on cutting down my drinking calories first.

This Skinny Grapefruit Mojito is my drink of choice at home. I simply mix rum, grapefruit la croix, and fresh mint. That’s it. La Croix is a flavored soda water with no calories. Disclaimer, I am not being paid by La Croix to support their soda water. However, I should probably buy stock in their company pronto, because I buy a shit ton of their product.

Note, this drink is NOT sweet whatsoever, you have to like the taste of rum, without masking it because your rum will be the predominate flavor. The grapefruit La Croix gives a subtle “grapefruit” flavor and the mint gives this cocktail a big punch of freshness. Both of these components give this recipe the “air” of being a Grapefruit Mojito without the extra sugar and calories.

Mojito’s are usually over 200 calories per cocktail. My Skinny Grapefruit Mojito is 96 per cocktail. Two drinks for the “calorie” price of 1, SCORE!!!

So if you’re anything like me, someone who loves to drink but watches their calorie intake at the same time, try this Skinny Grapefruit Mojito. It’s a refreshing cocktail to enjoy any time of year!

Thanks for stopping by,

Christina

Note, given my family’s situation, I will not be posting a new recipe next week. I’ll be back ASAP. Thank you in advance for understanding.

To Rick: I love you and I miss you so much my heart hurts. I raise my favorite drink in honor of you.

Calorie Breakdown

1 shot of light Bacardi rum…..96 (calories will vary depending on which type of rum you use)
1 can of Grapefruit La Croix…. 0
A few sprigs of mint…0
A slice or two of fresh grapefruit (optional)…..52 per slice (depending on how big your slice is AND if you eat the slice after your drink)
Ice cubes…. 0

Total calories…. 96 (unless you add grapefruit slices and eat them, which I usually don’t)

*Note, I am not a nutritionist, nor am I pretending to be. I found the calorie counts by reading the nutrition labels on the food I purchased, searching Google, and using my Lose It! app on my phone.