Healthy and Low Calorie Party Foods

With the holidays quickly creeping up on us, that means so are all of the great parties. All of those holiday parties can be nerve wreaking for someone trying to lose weight or just to maintain their current weight. If you are throwing a holiday party, or just trying to make a decision at a party buffet table, here are some healthy and low calorie party foods to offer to your guests.

Finger sandwiches are a popular staple at holiday parties. Instead of the fattier versions like tuna and chicken salads, you could choose things like turkey and very lean ham. If you are the host of the party you could set out trays filled with turkey, lean ham, low calorie cheese and don't forget all of the yummy veggies as toppings. If sandwiches seem a little too common for you then you could try wraps instead. Either way, just try to aim for healthier ingredients for them.

How about a raw veggie tray? Things like carrot sticks, broccoli and cauliflower florents, cucumber slices or any vegetable that you would like to use. Dill pickle spears are another good choice since they usually have 0 fat grams. Instead of the fattening party dips that we usually find on the buffet table, you could use salsa and/or the fat free versions of your favorite salad dressings.

Nuts are another good party food to have. Sure, everyone knows that nuts have a high fat content BUT they are filled with the GOOD unsaturated fats that are good for your hair and nails. So rather than eating a handful of greasy potato chips, you could try a handful of nuts. If you must have chips try aiming for the ones that are baked and/or fat free. My favorite chips are the Fat Free Pringles.. They taste just as good as the original Pringles.

Another healthy and low calorie food is air popped popcorn. The fantastic thing about air popped popcorn is that one cup of this snack is only a measly 30 calories! This is a perfect snack for the person who seems to always need something to chew on at a party. Of course you don't want to pour butter all over this or it ill become a not-so-healthy party food. You can try some of the seasoning salts available at your local grocery store if you must add flavor.

Fruit kabobs are another fantastic healthy and low calorie party food. These are exactly what the name says, chunks of different fruits on a kabob skewer. You can be as creative as you want to be with these. Fruits like pineapples, melons, bananas, strawberries and grapes are very popular but you can use any and all fruits that you would like to use. As the host you can wither make completed kabobs ahead of time or you can set out a huge platter filled with different fruits and let your guests create their own fruit kabobs. You could even set out some low fat yogurt to use as a dip for the fruits.

Shrimp cocktail is another yummy and even fat free party food. Boiled shrimp is a healthy treat. Two pieces of shrimp cocktail weighs in at only 34 calories and a great 0 grams of fat.

What about a salad buffet? You can place a huge bowl of leafy greens out on the table and then set out many smaller bowls filled with a variety of healthy salad toppings. At the end of the table, set out a variety of fat free salad dressings for your guests. By doing this your guests will be able to personalize their salads with only the things that they like and you will be providing them with healthy and low calorie party foods to enjoy.

So what about drinks you say. Well most holiday parties do consist of many alcoholic beverages. This is just a given. But how about some holiday alternatives to these unhealthy drinks. There are actually many differnt options for drinks. You could offer water, but plain waiter isn't very exciting is it? So how about lemon water? There are also several different yummy flavors of sparkling water available. I like cherry, myself. Many of the sparkling waters have 0 fat and 0 sodium, just read the labels closely. You can offer healthy fruit juices too. I bet you'd be suprised at how many people would drink juice if it were available at parties. Even tomato juice is fun to have at a party. My favorite drink of all time is a fruit smoothie. All you have to do for these is freeze some of the fruit from the fruit kabobs, use some of the fat free yogurt and some fruit juice (I like orange juice). Mix it all up in your blender until smooth and there you have it!

Lastly what about low calorie desserts? One good option is an angel food cake. This is a light and fluffy cakes that is low in fat. It tastes good too! You could slice up some fresh fruits and layer them nicely across the top of the cake to add color and more flavor to this yummy dessert.

My most favorite low fat and calorie dessert is the Cool Whip Pie. For this you use fat free Cool Whip and sugar free Jello gelatin. This pie is cool, light and fluffy with a great taste and texture. Here's the recipe if you would like to try it.

2/3 cup boiling water
1 package (4oz size) Jello Suagar Free gelatin, any flavor
1/2 cup cold water
ice cubes
1 tub (8oz) Cool Whip Lite whipped topping, thawed
1 graham cracker crumb crust (9 inches)

Stir boiling water into gelatin in large bowl. Stir at least two minutes until completely dissolved. Mix cold water and ice to make one cup. Add to gelatin, stirring until ice is melted. Stir in whipped topping with wire wisk, until smooth.

Refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes, or until misture is thick and will mound. Spoon into crust and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Makes 8 servings.

No matter what kind of party you will be having these are all great healthy and low calorie party foods for you and your guests to enjoy. Enjoy the holidays and eat healthy whenever possible.