Bloody Mary Mix Nutritional Facts

A bloody Mary is a libation made by combining vodka, tomato juice, spices including horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt and pepper. It's often garnished using celery and olives. Cocktail Times reports that the bloody Mary was invented in the 1920s by Fernand Petiot at Harry's New York Bar in Paris. Now, the bloody Mary is a ubiquitous American cocktail. A variety of pre-made mixes are sold at markets and liquor supply stores.

Nutrition facts for bloody Mary mix vary from brand to brand. Using fresh ingredients will offer the healthiest option and will give you an opportunity to control sodium content, an ingredient that can concern people with a variety of health conditions.

One serving of bloody Mary mix, at 1 cup, offers about 40 to 70 calories, with 1 gram of fat, 9 to 13 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 4 to 7 grams of sugar, 1 to 2 grams of protein and 1,440 to 1,489 grams of sodium.

As far as vitamins and minerals go, you can do worse than to sip on a bloody Mary. In two top selling brands, Tabasco brand Mildly Seasoned Blood Mary Mix and Mr. & Mrs. T Bloody Mary Mix, you'll find about 2 to 15 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and 10 to 20 percent of the RDA of vitamin C. You will find about 2 percent of the RDA of calcium and 4 to 6 percent of the RDA of iron.

When considering the nutrition data of your bloody Mary mix, add in calories from the alcohol and garnish. A shot of vodka, the recommended amount for a traditionally made bloody Mary, can range from 56 calories for an ounce of Smirnoff to 100 calories for an ounce of Absolut Citron. A stalk of raw celery contains about 10 calories. A large canned olive has about 5 calories. While a pickle spear has about 4 calories, it can contain about 306 milligrams of sodium.

A 2008 article in "The New York Times" reports that the bloody Mary is not entirely unhealthy, especially when made simply with tomato juice, vegetable garnish, spices and alcohol. One ingredient no one should overlook, however, is sodium. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that too much sodium can lead to serious health problems. According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy adult should not exceed 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily. Those with high blood pressure should not exceed 1,500 milligrams. To avoid problems, you can create your own bloody Mary mix using low-sodium tomato juice, a dash of salt and garnish with no sodium or low sodium content.

Making your own bloody Mary mix doesn't just give you the option of reducing sodium content. Bloody Marys are designed for using fresh, seasonal vegetables, including fresh tomatoes in lieu of processed tomato juice. The USDA's National Nutrient Database reports that 1 cup of tomato juice contains 228 calories, while 1 cup of chopped raw tomatoes, which can be used to make a tomato puree, contains only 170 calories.