Cooking Light Recipe Makeover: Low Fat Piña Colada

Written by Liz –

The June issue of Cooking Light features a recipe makeover for that refreshing summertime treat: Low Fat Piña Coladas, shown above (photos by Randy Mayor, recipe and content by Cooking Light). They use Carnation evaporated milk to help lower fat but keep the creamy flavor:

“You’ll like our way of losing almost all the sat fat while keeping the delicious coconutty goodness. Freezing the pineapple adds a velvety texture and keeps the cocktail frozen longer. The riper the pineapple, the more concentrated the flavor will be.”

Sounds good to us! Excerpt below is from June 2012 issue of Cooking Light.

Lighter Piña Coladas

Nothing says “escape” like a creamy, ice-cold piña colada: cocktail in hand, feet in the sand, music in the background (hopefully not that dreadful piña colada song, the last #1 hit of the 1970s, unless it’s a guilty pleasure). Unfortunately, nothing says “better head to the gym” like a piña colada, too: 425 calories, 8 grams of saturated fat, most of which comes from the mysterious goo known as cream of coconut. We’ll show you how we kept the vacation-worthy flavor while slashing fat and calories. At just 158 calories, it’s all pleasure, no guilt.

Tip #1: Homemade Coconut Milk

We make our own infused coconut milk to replace heavy, sugary cream of coconut. This cuts 176 calories and 8 grams of sat fat per drink. Save day-of prep time by doing this step (step 1) the night before.

Tip #2: Fresh Pineapple

Pineapple peaks in summer; it’s sweet, slightly tart, and juicy. Sub fresh fruit for some of the canned juice and save 44 calories per drink. A splash of juice adds more acidity.

Tip #3: Gold Rum

We opted for the darker variety, with its hints of caramel and molasses, which better complement the creamy coconut and tart pineapple.

Piña Colada Recipe for Success

Freezing the pineapple adds a velvety texture and keeps the cocktail frozen longer. The riper the pineapple, the more concentrated the flavor will be. Get the recipe here.

Links:

• Lighter Piña Coladas
• Get a Carnation coupon

Related better-for-you frozen cocktail recipes:

Green Jalapeño Margarita

Frosty Strawberry Margaritas