jibonn: Election Night: Healthy Party Food and Party Snacks

If you?re hosting or attending an election night party, you?re in for an evening of nail-biting fun. But with nerves on edge and snacks at arm?s reach, it?s easy to let calories add up more quickly than votes are tallied.

?Social gatherings can always be a diet danger zone,? says nutritionist Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD, MS, and author of The Miracle Carb Diet due out in December. ?Couple this with a stressful, exciting, high-energy event like the presidential election and that danger zone is more like a minefield. Your focus has shifted from your diet to conversations with friends and the event, and mindless eating comes into play.?

Another culprit is anxiety, but ?once the chip bowl is empty or the ice cream devoured, the stress may still be there if you end up unhappy with the results of election night,? says Zuckerbrot.

Minimize diet damage by snacking on low-calorie foods and foods that crunch, which can help relieve stress by releasing tension. No matter who wins the election, Zuckerbrot?s ballot of election-night foods are worthy of your vote:

APPETIZERS:

Kabobs: Chicken, beef, or lean turkey meatballs make a satisfying protein-based appetizer as delicious as pigs in a blanket for less than half the calories. Bonus: The tryptophan in turkey will release the feel-good brain chemical serotonin to help people relax.

Shrimp cocktail: Essentially free of fat and low in calories, shrimp is a lean source of protein you can mindlessly eat without doing too much damage. Twelve large shrimp with a little cocktail sauce is about 165 calories and less than 1g fat.

Melon balls wrapped in prosciutto: This well-balanced finger food clocks in at about 200 calories and 11g fat per serving for 8 balls. Stick with American Flag toothpicks for a patriotic touch.

SNACKS:

Veggies with dip: Skip the sour cream and serve chopped veggies like carrots, celery, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli with a Greek yogurt-based dip: Just mix yogurt with instant French Onion or veggie soup mix (Lipton), or try this recipe.

Chips and salsa: Make a patriotic party platter by serving red, blue, and regular corn tortilla chips with a chunky spicy red salsa. (These snacks and chips from the 125 Best Packaged Foods of 2012 make awesome options, too.)

DESSERTS:

Apple pie: Dig in to a piece of all-American apple pie?just skip the top crust to save calories, carbs and fat, says Zuckerbrot. This recipe for personal graham-cracker-crust apple pies takes no more than 15 minutes to prep and cook.

Peanut butter, banana, and jelly sandwiches: Use whole wheat, high-fiber bread, a fiber-containing jelly/jam like Polaner?s, and tryptophan-rich-sliced-bananas, which release dopamine in the brain for happy feelings. Serve in bite-sized triangles for a nostalgic, feel-good treat.

DRINKS:

Skinny sangria: Mix red berries (raspberries and strawberries) with blue berries (blueberries and blackberries) with a sweet white wine and a liter of Diet Sprite. Bonus: Studies have shown that the manganese and vitamin C in berries have been shown to nearly stop the secretion of stress hormones in rats.

Light Beer: Sip from our list of best light beers?some have as few as 55 calories.

Coffee: Caffeinated coffee will amp up crowd?even if election results aren?t announced until late into the night. But even better: a warm mug of coffee may even calm your nerves. An English University of Bristol study found that when anxious men consumed caffeine in groups, feelings of stress subsided.

photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

More from WH:
The Worst Chips and Dips
The 50 Best Snack Foods in America
10 Snacks that Fight Fat

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