The best finger food choices
Christmas festivities and the holiday season means
celebrations and, unfortunately for most of us, a few extra kilos that we are
unlikely to exercise off despite the best New Years resolutions.
So how do you manage to enjoy the delicious canapes on offer
without adding to your waistline or your cholesterol level?
If you are hosting an event, it is important to ensure there
are healthy finger food options available: fruit platters, vegetable sticks,
marinated vegetables or olives, sushi or fresh seafood options including fresh
prawns, oysters, smoked salmon and sashimi. Buy vegetable-based dips rather
than cream cheese and cook up some lean meat skewers or steam some dumplings.
As a starting point, it is best to understand that most
finger food at catered functions will not be healthy. Fried food is, of course,
very high in fat and very unlikely to be fried in a healthy fat (olive oil),
but most likely to be a poor quality vegetable oil. Fried finger food might be
small in size but is generally very heavy in calories. Steer clear of arancini
balls, fried dumplings, fried calamari or chicken wings, spring rolls and do
not forget that humble French fries are bathed in fat.
In addition to fried foods, avoid anything cooked in pastry.
Sausage rolls, party pies, mini quiches, filo pastries are all likely to have
at least 10 grams of fat per serve and all the wrong types of fat – both trans
fat and saturated fat are plentiful in pastries.
The best solution to the Christmas weight gain is to have a
small meal before you go out, making sure you have some protein and vegetables
to keep you satisfied and avoid the temptation to overindulge.
