New Year's "Party" Foods

Our family (Me, hubby, 17, 12, and 9 yr old girls) always has a little New Year's Punch Party with punch and goodies. The goodies always used to be (don't cringe now) the little pigs in a blanket, pizza rolls, chips and dip, summer sausage, etc. I'm looking for some healthier options to add in and/or replace, but stuff my kids will still like. Any ideas? I'm willing to try new recipes!

Fri. Dec 28, 10:43pm

Tough because they're so young and therefore probably picky eaters...any chance they like hummus or babaganoush?

Buy baked chips instead of regular, they probably won't even notice the difference if you hide the bag.

Dips - choose salsa or black bean ones over cream cheese/mayo based ones.

Punch - make a virgin poinsettia: Diet 7-Up with cranberry juice and a slice of lime on the rim.

Instead of pizza rolls, try toasted baguette slices with fresh bruschetta (just keep an eye on the olive oil content).

Friday, December 28, 2007, 11:08 PM

Pick up a couple of Lean Cuisine frozen french bread pizzas and cut them into finger-food sized pieces.

Friday, December 28, 2007, 11:14 PM

fruit kabobs - pretty and a big hit with everyone - fresh pineapple, strawberries, black berries, melon chunks mandarin oranges, grapes - stuff like that threaded on a wooden skewer.

Saturday, December 29, 2007, 12:24 AM

you could go Asian: sushi, edamame, asian slaw...

Try turkey or chicken or veggie sausage.

My mom's fav "church lady punch" is diet ginger ale, pinapple juice, orange juice, and frozen vanilla yogurt.

Veggie tray w/ f/f ranch.

I make flat bread pizza w/ tomato paste w/ seasonings, veggies and lf cheeses. cut it in slices..

do deli rolls- wraps rolled w/ lean meats and cheeses. cut into rounds

Saturday, December 29, 2007, 12:36 AM

a sparkling water such as san pelligrino mixed with fruit juice (no artificial sugars, no chems, no corn sugar!) It's pricier, but personally I think it's a better option than soda of any kind.

as for snacks, take whatever kind of tortilla you prefer (ww, spelt, low carb, whatever), use a cut open can with a sharp edge to cut out little circles. Bake them until crispy. Put some tomato sauce, a piece of meat (turkey sausage, fake meat, ham, whatever you like) or a veg (mushroom or pepper) and some low fat mozza on top, put under a broiler til cheese melts. Taste of pizza much less fat, but still a finger food.

I make my own "melba toast" for with dips. You toast a piece of bread, then carefully slice that piece in half (to make it thinner). THen put the pieces back in the toaster on the bagel setting. Cut into squares when done toasting.

You can make all kinds of dips from low/no fat cream cheese, mayo and sour cream or yogurt (or full fat if you're a whole foods kind of person), and a seasoning packet. I mince chicken breast and add it to some to make a kind of pate. You can do the same with olives if you like them.

I think crustless quich can also be great. Eggs, spinach, onion, little cheese some milk and flour (or arrowroot) pour into greased muffin tins.

For "chicken fingers" I bread chicken cubes, pan fry until they're just crispy on the outside, then finish cooking them in the oven.

Kettle has a great baked chip with 4 grams of fat in a serving- but they taste fantastic. Baked pretzels can be an option too.

As for wraps, you can spread some mashed avocado, then salsa then minced turkey (most people have left over turkey ;)) then roll it up and slice it into pieces.

As for pigs in a blanket, you could use phylo dough and wrap a turkey weiner and bake it... likely healthier than the pre-made option.

Using ground turkey to make meatballs can be lower in fat. You can add a boullion cube to taste more like beef if you want (but it usually adds a LOT of salt...)

That should be enough for now...

Saturday, December 29, 2007, 1:14 AM

I made a dip at Christmas that I loved. It is different though.
You can use low fat or fat free cream cheese and trim cottage chesse in equal parts. blend in a food processor. Then chop some marinated artichoke hearts. and stir to combine. A dash of garlic powder and if you need the dip a bit smoother you can use a bit of the marinade. I tried to make sure I got as little of the oil in the jar as possible. I would think you could sop it up with a paper towel.
I served it with ritz but it would be great with different veggies.
Everything else I do is too fatening.

Saturday, December 29, 2007, 3:40 AM

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