Thanksgiving Healthy Hostess: Appetizers

You may have seen my tweets via the emergency room during Sandy. Needless to say, with four broken bones, two of them arm, Grandma was not exactly fit for her usual head chef performance on Thanksgiving. As type A planners (dietitian, corporate world people, ex diplomats...yes all extremely type A), we were all assigned certain dishes before Grandma even left the hospital. What was I assigned? After the high sugar, high fat chocolate pecan pie I made, it was my job to bring appetizers. As a side note, I actually ended up leaving the pie at home...in my fridge...on accident (face palm). Maybe it was the mimosa and distracted parade watching?

Because holiday meals are so carb heavy and usually unbalanced, my appetizer goal was to make bite sized healthy snacks: lean protein, a veggie, and healthy fat.

Menu:

• Hardboiled eggs 3 ways: paprika, pepper, fennel. I go easy on the mayo and add greek yogurt to lighten the filling.
• Cucumber cups: stuffed with neufchatel cheese/greek yogurt and olive puree. These were so cute and easy. I carved out the inner cucumber with the tip of a peeler, although a melon baller would also work. I piped in the filling using a cut corner zip lock.
• Spiced peanuts: cinnamon, paprkia, salt and sugar give a healthy source of fat something extra.

 

What did you make on Thanksgiving?