Healthy Living
Healthy Game Day Snacks To Win Over Guests
Whether you’re a dedicated games enthusiast or a diehard football fan, the spectator snacks are as important as the sporting event itself. But keep in mind that you can stay on track with your WW goals by creating appetizers that are low in points and high in flavor.
1. Spreads and Dips
The secret to creating memorable dips with healthy ingredients is to incorporate big, bold flavors whenever possible. By adding high impact ingredients with lower point values into these dips, such as roasted red peppers, sriracha, artichokes, and caramelized onions, you’re not sacrificing the taste to reduce points. When possible, lighten things up by selecting low-fat and fat-free sour cream and cream cheese, or an even better alternative is plain nonfat Greek Yogurt. When serving these dips and spreads, use sliced veggies, whole grain crackers or baked pita chips.
2. Pub-Style Poppers, Potato Skins & Wings
Although many of these pub-style favorites are traditionally deep fried, you’ll find that an air fryer or hot oven can help you achieve just-as-crispy results. An air fryer uses hot air circulation to cook food with little to no oil which significantly reduces fat and calorie content in comparison to deep frying, which fully submerges food in hot oil. While many of these poppers, potato skins and wings can be prepped in advance, it’s recommended to do the final bake right before you serve to keep the interior piping hot and the outside crispy, especially if melted cheese is involved.
3. Sliders and Meatballs
Prioritize the protein. It will help you stay full way beyond halftime. Meatballs, pulled meat or poultry can be partially made ahead of time, portioned in smaller amounts, and kept in the fridge for a few days or froze for up to 3 months. This makes it easy and convenient to plan to defrost and use these meaty snacks as needed. To reduce point values of a slider recipe, consider substituting thick slices of cooked zucchini, eggplant or portobello mushroom instead of bread.
4. Eat It, Don’t Track It
WeightWatchers has 200+ no-track ZeroPoint® foods—and they go way beyond plain fruit salads and fresh veggies. However, blending ZeroPoint® veggies like cauliflower, eggplant, peppers or edamame into dips and sauces adds loads of flavor and filling fiber. Plus, it increases the volume without adding the Points – meaning each serving will score fewer Points on your tracker. So, use recipes that incorporate these items so you can save your Points for cheese-y, potato-y goodness.
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