When the sun starts shining, the pools open and we spend more time outside I like to have a few ‘adult beverages’ on hand for a little something outside my usual white wine or craft beer.

When you can easily drink away 200-300 calories in just ONE cocktail then you have to get creative and look for other ways to enjoy a drink without wrecking your diet that day. I would hate to work out just to mess it all up by drinking a few at the end of a long day. Furthermore, I do not want a bunch of ingredients clogging up my liquor cabinet. Yes I have one. Don’t you?

When I was asked to review the NEW Bacardi Light Strawberry Daiquiri I knew it would be a great component to my summer outdoor beverage time. You know, about 9:00 when the kids go to bed ????

I add a splash or two of club soda or ginger ale and serve it over ice. Maybe throw in a lime wedge or diced strawberries if I am feeling real fancy! A few seconds and I am done.

What I also found is that the Bacardi Light Strawberry Daiquiri also makes one heck of a marinade for chicken and pork. I placed 4 trimmed chicken breasts in a Ziplock bag with 2 TB of olive oil and 2 C of Bacardi Light Strawberry Daiquiri.  I allowed it to marinade for 2 hours then roasted in the oven. I would have grilled them but I was out of propane. I diced it up and made a light salad and the next day had the leftovers on a bed of quinoa, greens and feta.

So think outside the bottle. If you want to be sure you don’t drink it all then use it in the kitchen. It gave a nice, sweet strawberry/rum flavor to the chicken and it baked up perfectly.

When it comes to at-home entertaining, we want to have our cocktail and drink it too. With BACARDI Classic Cocktails Light, you don’t need to choose between serving great cocktails or socializing with friends. Enjoy the best of everything – the convenience of ready-to-serve cocktails and the confidence of natural ingredients mixed with the world’s most awarded spirit. BACARDI Classic Cocktails Light allow you to serve the best, naturally!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BACARDI. The opinions and text are all mine. Sweepstakes Rules.