Steak goes great with side dishes like mashed potatoes, broccoli, garlic bread, and salad. Pick 1-3 sides and eat them along with your steak for a delicious, healthy meal. Pair your steak with cabernet sauvignon for a delicious wine option. You can also eat vegetables like corn on the cob, spinach, and asparagus with your steak.

Summary: Serve your steak with delicious sides and wine.

This is the simplest choice and cuts out the calories found in many mixers. Because this option requires absolutely no other ingredients, you won't need to worry about having a stocked refrigerator or pantryjust pour and enjoy! There are a couple of common ways to enjoy vodka straight. You can drink it very quickly, as a shot. Or, you can put it over ice and sip it (this is called "on the rocks"). For even fewer calories, consider brands that market a lower calorie vodka. Skinny Girl Cocktails makes a few different reduced-calorie vodkas. A 112floz (44mL) serving has 75.6 calories, compared to typical vodkas which have 96 calories per 112floz (44mL) serving on average. This can definitely add up! Do note that most reduced-calorie liquors achieve lower calories by reducing the proof. So, you would need to drink more to achieve the same effects as regular liquors. But, depending on the reason for your alcohol consumption, this may not matter to you. Flavor-infused vodkas are flavored vodkas without any extra calories. Many brands of vodka sell infused varieties, including Absolut, Belvedere, Burnett's, and Gray Goose, and it's been a trend for years in the vodka world to come out with different flavors of infused vodkas. Infused vodkas can make for a more flavorful and interesting experience when drinking vodka straight and can also eliminate the need for various traditional higher-calorie mixers like juice. Many of the infused vodkas sold in stores are infused with things you might expect, like lemon or berries or cucumber. But there are also exotic infusions like horseradish, bacon, and smoked salmon. It's also very easy to make your own infused vodka! You can use most types of fresh fruits and vegetables. Some people even infuse their vodka with coffee beans or candy, like toffee. Simply place your flavor in a canning jar and pour vodka inside. Wait a few days and then strain the liquid out and voila: flavored vodka! You can make your own delicious watermelon-infused vodka. Fresh watermelon or watermelon-flavored candy will do the trick. Diet Coke and other diet sodas are popular mixers that add zero calories to vodka. Other common options are plain water, soda water, light cranberry juice, diet iced tea, diet lemonade, and lime juice. Because the calories in vodka tend to be pretty standard across the board (unless you opt for reduced-calorie vodka) the only way to have a cocktail without a lot of calories is to be mindful of what you mix in with your alcohol. Sugar is the main culprit for calories in mixed drinks. This is why so many of the options for low-calorie mixers are low in sugar or have switched out the sugar with a sugar substitute like Stevia or Sweet'n Low. There's even sugar-free Triple Sec. If you're using mixers that do have a fair bit of calories, simply use less. It may end up tasting different that you're used to, but it can still be delicious. However, using a small amount of a caloric mixture doesn't have to affect the taste. In fact, a traditional vodka martini uses dry vermouth but uses so little that it doesn't make the drink very high in calories.

Summary: Drink straight vodka. Try flavor-infused vodkas. Combine vodka with low-calorie mixers.

This is a concept that is often used to discuss the different ways that different people give and receive affection. Affectionate acts are grouped into five categories, or languages, as follows: physical touch, words of affirmation, receiving gifts, acts of service, and quality time. You should use these "languages" to understand how those you care about give and receive affection. Your partner may speak a different love language than you do. Talk to them to learn what sort of affection they need. Try a test or quiz to learn what love language works best for both of you. Make sure that they're legit and understand that the results won't always fit everyone. When speaking to your partner, be sure to actively listen. This will prove to them that you really do care. When it comes to significant others, and even most family members, you usually know what level your relationship is on. Friends can be more complicated sometimes. Long time friends are often shown affection as if they are part of the family, while newer or less known friends might be uncomfortable with that. Apply the same five principles to friends and colleagues, but adjust the actions to be appropriate. For example, if a coworker thrives off of positive words, say something like, "I like your new haircut," instead of "Your legs look nice in that dress." Any time a person seems to be uncomfortable with your affection you should stop. She may give you an explanation as to why your affection is making her uncomfortable, but she does not have to. It is up to each individual person to decide from whom they do or do not accept affection. Also, keep in mind that even if your partner thrives off of a certain type of affection (such as hugging), they may not always want it.

Summary: Learn about the five love languages. Know what kind of relationship you have with the person you care about. Do not force affection.

Even if you don't want to discuss your private life with your colleagues, you can still develop good working relationships that make your time at work more enjoyable and productive. It's easy to find topics of conversation for lunchtime small talk that don't involve you talking about any intimate details of your private life. If there is somebody at work who talks about their private life a lot, or there is a conversation that you don't want to be involved in, politely excuse yourself. Talking about things such as sports, TV and film can be good ways to be friendly and chat to colleagues without bringing up your home life. If you find yourself in a conversation that is turning to your personal life, or a colleague has asked you about something that you would rather keep private, it's a good idea to tactfully sway out of the way of the question. Try to avoid saying something like "Sorry, but that's none of your business". Instead, make light of it and say something more like "Oh, you don't want to know about that. It's boring" and then change the subject to something you are more comfortable with. These deflecting techniques can help you to maintain friendly relationships while avoiding certain topics of conversation. If you sway away from the question and change the subject, rather than just ending the conversation, your colleague will probably not think too much of it. If you switch the conservation back to your colleague you will politely avoid their questions without seeming aloof or disinterested. You could say, "Nothing interesting is going on in my life, what about you?" If coworkers are persistent in asking about your personal life, you can set a boundary letting them know that you would rather not discuss it. You can say, "I know you guys really care about me to ask about my life, and I appreciate that about you, but I'd really like to leave that stuff at home." While it is important that you have an idea in your head about the boundaries you have set between home life and work life, you should try to keep some flexibility. Having good boundaries needn't translate into you always shunning certain interactions, or isolating yourself away from your colleagues entirely. If your colleagues invite you for a 5pm drink, go along every now and again but stick to conversation topics you are comfortable with.
Summary: Be friendly. Use tact. Maintain some flexibility.