Don't dread the scales in the morning with these healthy tips for parties
If you've been following healthy eating tips over Christmas, there's no need to stop now that it's New Year's Eve. Here's some diet tips to help you through the evening.
Dr Kelly Johnston, Head of Nutrition and Research at LighterLife, offers her top tips for watching your weight tonight, and any other parties you may be attending in the coming weeks.
Canapé conundrum! - Canapés and finger foods are firm party favourites, but for small helpings they can pack a real punch on the calorie front. Avoid commercially produced high fat items such as mince pies, chipolatas, pastries and cream-based soups. Instead, look for appetizers such as whole-grain crackers with reduced-fat cheese, vegetables with a low-fat yogurt dip, or fresh fruit skewers. Fish is also a great low-fat option so stick to the smoked salmon and shrimp cocktail pots - your waistline will thank you!
Bubbles don’t have to be bad- Champagne flows in abundance at New Year’s parties and whilst it is famed for its hangover inducing nature it is a fairly low calorie option. But steer clear of champagne cocktails which will have added juices and cordials which carry masses of sugar and stick to drinking it plain – at 80 calories a glass you can afford to treat yourself to a glass or two!
Swap to save – Instead of calorie dense drinks such as fruit-juice cocktails, cider or liqueur (Baileys for example contains cream), try small portions of red wine, dry white wine, sherry, or spirits with diet mixers. Why not try a LighterLife double -one measure of spirits with two bottle of low-calorie or calorie free mixers- or a ginless tonic (a good quality calorie-free tonic, lots of ice and a squeeze of lemon)? Making a sensible swap to lower calorie drink options will make a big difference to managing your weight throughout the festive season.
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