NorCal Margarita

As some of you already know, in addition to getting geeked out on all this nutrition and fitness stuff, I am also a software developer. As much as I love developing software, I am also a big fan of getting out and being social. This was my primary motivation for joining my local user group and then subsequently becoming a co-organizer. If you are in the Fredericton area feel free to check us out at http://frederictonug.net. The group is not only for software developers but IT folks in general so feel free to come out and socialize a bit.

So what exactly does this have to do with the NorCal Margarita? Well we generally hit up the Garrison Ale House post-meeting to have a drink and socialize outside of the usual classroom style atmosphere. While I love my beer (and the Garrison has a huge international beer menu), beer does not always love me. So lately my drink of choice for post-meeting has been the NorCal Margarita, made famous by Robb Wolf himself.

Last night a few folks got curious enough to try it with me, and then inquired about why I chose this drink. Robb mentions the drink in his book (The Paleo Solution) but does not really go into the 'why' about it. I did remember looking it up once but the explanation escaped me at the moment.

So, for those interested here it is.

NorCal Margarita

• 2 shots of 100% agave tequila (I prefer Patron Silver as its the only decent tequila in NB)
• Juice & Pulp of one lime
• Shake it all up with some ice
• Add soda water to taste

I generally half the recipe when I'm out as two shots is one shot too many for me in a social atmosphere where I also plan to drive home in a couple hours (don't drink and drive folks!).

So WHY is this an effective drink. Here are the goods on what I could find.

• Tequila is delicious.
• Tequila is fermented agave juice, which makes it gluten- or and starch-free. Gluten, as nutrition geeks know, is a gut irritant and just generally bad stuff, and starches are way too dense with unnecessary carbs.
• Lime juice blunts the insulin response of the alcohol, maintaining your precious and hard-earned insulin sensitivity.
• The lime juice also provides a net alkaline load when it gets to the blood stream, which is a good thing. Most other foods provide a net acid load, and it’s nice to balance that out.
• The carbon dioxide bubbles in the soda water help get the ethanol into your blood more quickly. This has the practical effect of allowing you to drink a bit less for the same effect.

So there you have it. Minimal damage, maximum gain :D