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Eat, Drink and Savor the Season Without Guilt

Eat, Drink and Savor the Season Without Guilt

Choose These Appetizers, Drinks and Desserts and Still Fit Into Your Cocktail Dress

Ready to party? If you’re watching your waistline, holiday parties don’t have to be a total bummer. There are many delicious party indulgences that you can savor without regret. Choose these mouthwatering ‘best picks’ and you’ll still fit into your NYE cocktail dress.

Best Pick Appetizers

Crudites

Good things come in colorful packages. Make lively-colored vegetables the main event on your party plate. Full of fiber, veggies will fill you up before you can even reach for the pasta and bread. For a satisfying side, pile on the hummus, pinto bean dip and salsa, but go easy on the ranch dip. Hummus has only 25 calories per serving (tablespoon). A two-tablespoon serving of salsa has about ten calories. And no need to fear the gauc. Although a half-cup of guac has 155 calories, this fruit is loaded with healthy fat that helps you feel full and may even help you lose weight.

BYOA

Tasked with bringing your own app to the soiree? Lucky you. Because when you prepare your own food, you have a lot more control around what goes into it. Give your guests and your waistline a reason to celebrate with these tasty treasures:

  • Chilled shrimp is a high-protein offering. A simple cocktail sauce made with low-sugar ketchup, ​Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, fresh lemon juice and black pepper offers a healthy upgrade.
  • For a surprising new take on bacon-wrapped asparagus spears, use smoked salmon slices instead. Sprinkle with black pepper.
  • Stuff homemade pesto into mushroom caps. ​Offering healthy unsaturated fat, pesto is a delicious sauce made from basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan cheese and pine nuts.
  • For healthy finger food, cumin-roasted cashews or chickpeas are an easy go-to. ​Adding nuts to your diet is an especially good way to maintain weight because it has fiber, protein and fat. The fiber makes you feel full right away, the protein helps you stay full for longer, and the fat works with the hormones in your body to tell you to stop eating.

- Replace boring -- not to mention carb-heavy -- crackers with cucumber slices, and top them with smoked trout, a sprig of arugula and a squeeze of lemon.

Drinks

Don’t guilt-trip yourself for wanting to have a drink with friends. There are many healthy cocktail and mocktail recipes out there. For a simple, and simply pretty drink, go for a vodka and mineral water with lemon wedge and a few cranberries tossed in for a festive pop of color.

Choose low-sugar or no-sugar options that will allow you to sip and stay sleek. For a fun idea, try making a Ginger Peach, a fruit and ginger beverage without added sugar.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces peach vodka
  • Grate a small piece of fresh, peeled ginger
  • Splash of fresh lemon juice
  • 2 ounces soda water

Directions:​​ Put the ginger in a mixing tin. Muddle ginger, then add lemon juice and peach vodka. Pack with ice and shake. Strain in a glass and top with soda water.
If your system doesn’t do well with alcohol, then add a lively twist to your water glass with cucumber slices, orange slices or a sprig of mint.


Dessert


Fruit crisp? Pumpkin pie? Avoid the sugary dairy-based whipped cream and you can have your pie (slice) and eat it too. ​A single tablespoon of whipping cream has over 50 calories and 5.5 grams of fat, 3.4 grams of which are saturated.


The Options are Endless


Do an internet search for healthy party appetizers, as well as low-sugar drinks and desserts, and you’re likely to generate mouthwatering results. Even simple, vegetable-focused dishes can ‘wow’ a hungry crowd, so don’t be afraid of choosing healthy.




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