Mention appetizers, and many people automatically think of creamy favorites, such as onion dip with potato chips, ranch dressing served with veggies, queso and tortilla chips and other offerings containing lactose. But if you or someone invited to a gathering you're hosting needs to eat lactose-free, you have plenty of options for creating familiar appetizers that don’t require exotic ingredients or break your budget.
Avoiding Lactose
To avoid including lactose in your appetizers, don’t use ingredients made from milk. Write a list of dairy items to guide and remind you, including cheese, butter, yogurt, creamy dressings, chocolate and dips.
Italian
Eliminate the cheese from anti-pasti, and you’ll still be able to serve an enticing platter of meats, olives, marinated artichokes and mushrooms and roasted red peppers. Be creative, depending on your culture or locale, to create a tasty meat and veggie platter. Use lean turkey or ham instead of sausage or pepperoni to reduce the fat and cholesterol.
Indian
Samosas and pakora are two Indian favorites that contain no dairy. Samosas are flaky pockets stuffed with meat or vegetables and baked or fried. Pakora is a deep-fried, batter-coated vegetable with a savory exterior. When you're making your batter coating, use lactose-free milk or a nut milk.
Tex-Mex
Chips and salsa are a common and well-liked appetizer. Use baked chips for a low-fat appetizer combo. You can easily make your own salsa in a food processor with tomatoes, onions, green and red peppers, lime juice, cilantro, chili powder or other favorite ingredients. Instead of serving cheese or sour cream, offer refried beans, a black bean dip or guacamole.
Veggies
A crudite, or veggie platter, lets you serve a variety of healthy items with or without a dip. Julienne strips of red and green peppers. Slice summer squash and zucchini. Carrots, celery, radishes and broccoli florets can round out your platter. Serve with a hummus dip made from chickpeas. Grocery stores offer a variety of flavored hummus to pair with your veggies.
Shrimp
Shrimp are a low-fat favorite you can pair with a cocktail or remoulade sauce. Serve them hot, peel-and-eat style, or cold, deveined and with the tail on.
Deviled Eggs
Add curry powder to hardboiled egg yokes you mash and return to the outer egg. This gives the eggs a rich, dark color and mellow flavor that doesn’t have to be hot, if you don’t want it that way. Use just enough curry powder to flavor, not spice, the yolks.
Lettuce Wraps
Grill chicken, then coat it with your favorite marinade. Hoisin sauce, black bean and garlic, honey mustard or an orange glaze are sauce options. Serve chunks of chicken in lettuce cups, and sprinkle with diced nuts for crunch and more nutrition. Use chicken breast meat to reduce the fat content of this appetizer.
Meatballs
Use low-fat, ground turkey breast meat and bind with panko or breadcrumbs and egg whites for healthy meatballs you can coat in a number of sauces or marinades. Serve on toothpicks to make this an easy-to-eat finger food.
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