Dieting and eating healthily doesn't mean you can't party with your friends. It's possible to indulge on flavorful finger foods while staying conscious of unhealthy fats you consume. You can also alter your favorite recipes with low-fat substitutes. Next time you host a party, prepare all low-fat foods to see how many people notice. Or, if you're a guest at a party, offer to bring a tray or two of your favorite low-fat finger foods.
Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuff some mushroom caps with a combination of low-fat cheese and chopped mushroom stems baked on a cookie sheet spritzed with cooking spray. To add extra flavor and color, throw in some diced onions, bell pepper and tomatoes. Mushrooms have zero fat, so only count the fat from the low-fat cheese, which should be less then one gram per three mushrooms.
Oven-Fried Chicken Fingers
Instead of battering and frying chicken tenders in high fat oils, dip them in fat free milk and roll them in seasoned breadcrumbs. Bake them on a pan spritzed with cooking spray that has zero grams of fat listed on the can. Serve these oven fried chicken fingers with a fat free yogurt based dip that can be made with any of your favorite seasonings. For three medium chicken fingers, you'll have fewer than five grams of fat.
Deviled Eggs
Guests will love your healthy and delicious deviled eggs. Discard half the egg yolk and mix the other half with low fat or fat free mayonnaise or salad dressing. Add some pickle relish, diced onions, bell peppers and anything else you like to add flavor color. After all the eggs are on the serving platter, dust them lightly with paprika. Garnish with a few sprigs of parsley and a handful of cherry tomatoes. Since you're using half the yolk per egg, the amount of fat is approximately three grams per two halves of deviled egg.
Tortilla Pinwheels
Tortilla pinwheels are pretty and can be made with a variety of colorful, low fat ingredients. Start with a base of whole wheat tortilla and add two or three low fat ingredients. Tightly roll them up and slice them so the final effect looks like a collage of colorful pinwheels on the serving platter. Some delicious fillings you may want to try include lean ham, turkey, steamed or raw vegetables, low fat cream cheese, low fat cheddar cheese and pickle relish. The amount of fat in three pinwheels should be approximately two or three grams of fat, depending on what you fill them with.
Stuffed Veggies
Some raw vegetables were made for stuffing. Hollow out cherry tomatoes and stuff them with chopped lean meats and shredded cheeses. Bell peppers can be cut into thick slices resembling boats, perfect for stuffing. Other vegetables worthy of stuffing include celery, zucchini and summer squash. You should come in under two grams of fat for three pieces, since you are using less than a serving per three vegetables.
Low-Fat Chips
After all the platters of fat free finger foods are out, fill in the gaps with a variety of baked chips. Serve with flavorful hummus and low fat yogurt based dips. Baked corn chips have approximately three grams of fat per serving.
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