Tag Archives: appetizer

Low Calorie Holiday Recipes to Bring to Any Party

Christmas mulled wineThe holiday season is all about giving, and you never want to show up to a party empty handed. The benefits are two fold: your host will love you, and you know you’ll have some lower calorie options you can stick to no matter what’s on the menu. Bring one of the following quick and easy, low calorie holiday recipes to your next get together and enjoy yourself, guilt-free.

Noshes and Nibbles

Appe-teasers are simple to prepare and simple to eat, making them great for informal cocktail parties. Look for recipes high in protein to keep you full for hours, like our gal Oprah’s favorite meatballs and stick to lower calorie variations of your favorite traditionally high fat, high calorie dips.

A Lighter Buffalo Chicken Dip 

Oprah’s Turkey Meatballs

Cottage Cheese Dip with Veggies

Steamed Artichokes with Red Pepper Dip

Black Eyed Pea Hummus

Perfect Party Salmon Bites

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Be the Hostess with the Mostess: Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Goat Cheese Sandwiches Recipe

pork-tenderloin-goat-cheese-sandwiches-tall

The more the merrier is my food philosophy. I love hosting and I really get my jollies by sharing dinner with as many friends and loved ones as I can. That, to me, is the soul in food.

I never like to serve the same thing twice. Who would ever want to come over when they know it’s Chicken Something again? But when the menu is always a little unexpected, it makes the invitation that much more enticing.

pork-tenderloin-sliders

Pork tenderloin has been an easy go-to for my menu planning for some time now. It seems strange to say I’m obsessed with this tender cut of meat — but really, I am. I’ve grilled it and served as medallions, shredded for pulled pork sandwiches, sauteed with veggies for fajitas, cubed for pork and veggie stew, and so much more. The question is — what haven’t I used pork tenderloin for? (more…)

Easy 5-Ingredient Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip with Homemade Graham Crackers

pumpkin cream cheese dip and-crackers
This time of year I find any excuse I can to invite people over. Saturday afternoon football games, Friday night TGIF-ing, or just because, Autumn feels like the most inviting season of all. Halloween night, especially. Our patio always turns in to the must-be spot for family and friends. Everyone pitches in goodies for the trick-or-treaters, and we provide the turkey & black bean chili.

While a healthy dinner that fuels our party and little costume wearers, I’m always trying to find some new and exciting to serve for dessert. This year, we’re going with a crazy-kind-of-simple Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip. Part appetizer, part dessert, wholly scrumptious, there’s nothing not to love about these seasonal creation. (more…)

Parmesan Orange Sweet Potato Hash Browns: A 68-Calorie Breakfast Side Dish with Big Flavor

While preparing breakfast for my family one Sunday morning I realized we had only sweet potatoes and not any red skin potatoes — my go-to for a hearty weekend meal. I thought our hopes for hash browns were dashed. However, I decided to give the sweet potatoes a whirl and venture beyond our typical baked sweet potato comfort zone.

sweet potato hasbrown
They shredded easily, and I dressed them up with just a little freshly grated Parmesan and orange zest before browning on the stove top. What I got was a gift from the breakfast Gods and a perfectly crisp, wonderfully flavored complement to an otherwise ordinary meal. (more…)

Dip and Devour! The Cheesy Black Bean and Sweet Corn Dip That Saved My Party

I have this bad habit of casually inviting people to my house for any number of reasons — most recently the big NFL bowl game — and not keeping any sort of track. So when Sunday morning rolled around for a recent football game, and texts and tweets confirming attendance started popping up, I panicked.

Of course I had no idea how many people I’d actually invited. In surveying the food I would serve, I was absolutely certain we’d all starve, everyone would go home hungry, and I’d be remembered for throwing the worst party ever.

black bean corn dip

I was in no mood to face the grocery store one more time that weekend, especially a couple of hours before kick-off. Certainly I had enough things on hand to whip up something… anything. This Cheesy Black Bean and Sweet Corn Dip was the result. I have made it three more times since then and am of the belief that I could solely eat this, and only this, for the rest of my days and I wouldn’t be mad at it.

I poured through my kitchen staples for something tasty, hearty, crowd-pleasing, and easy. This was so simple it only required that I crack open a can, rip open a bag, stir, bake, and eat. (more…)

Eat Like the Stars by Re-Creating the 71st Annual Golden Globes Menu

For those of us who anticipate awards season every year, we know that the Globes are all about celebrating achievement and having a good time. With both television and film being recognized, it’s guaranteed you’ll see your favorite actors from both the big and small screens.

golden globe

Hosting the event this year for the second time are Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. The dynamic comedy duo were arguably the best part of last year’s show, so you can look forward to another great performance full of jokes about the more easy-going nature of the Globes.

The more relaxed atmosphere of the Golden Globes also allows the stars to enjoy an amazing three course Mediterranean-inspired meal. Chefs estimate they will serve about 150 vegan and gluten-free meals tonight to stars with pickier palettes and different dietary needs. For the rest of the celebrities, the announced menu sounds absolutely divine, and absolutely re-creatable.

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This Pile of Trashcan Nachos is Not Yo Average Plate of Melty Cheese and Chips

My husband has the completely normal sweet tooth. I, on the otherhand, have what he lovingly refers to as a grease tooth. Keep your cookies and candies, I’ll take the chips, and fries, and the cheese. The hotter and meltier on that cheese, the better, please!

One of my favorite guiltiest indulgences is nachos. This is not the plate of tortilla chips and cheddar cheese nuked until crispy of our youth. These are grown up nachos. These are my trashcan nachos, and they come piled high with all the meat, beans, peppers, and, of course, cheese.

trashcan nachos avocado

These are light, gooey, crispy nachos. These are big and bad on flavor like any nacho worth its weight in salsa should be, but they are leaner and lighter.

Fully loaded, these nachos don’t skimp. I start with blue corn tortilla chips. These tend to be sturdier and don’t get mushy when they cook (read: I don’t need as many). I get an organic variety that’s unsalted.

turkey nachos

Then, we fill ’em with fiber. Fresh bell peppers, juicy Roma tomatoes, and creamy black beans get tossed across the chips. Each bite is more filling than a chip and cheese, plus, it’s one of those easy, sneaky ways to add some extra veggies to my day.

We really trim the fat by using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I season the turkey the same as I would any other taco meat – green chilis, sauteed onions, cumin, coriander, ancho chili powder. You can season yours however you like! (more…)

Irresistible 30-Minute Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Wraps by Chef Suzanne Leher

Editor at The Cooking Channel and also a chef and writer, Suzanne Leher says it’s near impossible for her not to order chicken lettuce wraps if they’re anywhere on a menu. So what’s a chef to do with her favorite dish? Replicate it at home of course!

Plated Suz Lehrer

Suzanne created this recipe that she says just may convince you to throw out your takeout menus and hit the kitchen.

plated hoisin chicken lettuce wraps

Cool, crunchy Bibb lettuce serves as the perfect pairing for gingery-hot chicken sautéed with sweet and crunchy carrots. Rice noodles stir-fried with sesame oil and red bell peppers, then topped with chopped peanuts and scallions make the perfect side for filling but healthy dinner. (more…)

The Great Gatsby Recipe Guide: 10 Party Foods Inspired by the Roaring Twenties

The roaring twenties will no doubt be a theme of many a summer party this year as The Great Gatsby film release has everyone reconnecting with this classic novel that embodies one of the most fabulous periods in our history. When most people think of the 1920s in the U.S. they think of the flappers, Prohibition, gangsters, and jazz. What people often overlook are the great advancements in home cooking and recipe development during this period. A comprehensive listing of the top rated diet plans can be seen when you click the link here.

gatsby

The availability of “sliced bread,” refrigerators, and other convenience foods that are dogged today helped (mostly) women spend 44 hours each week in their kitchens preparing meals. By 1965, women were only spending 25.7 hours per week cooking, and research in 2024 revealed women today spend only 13 hours each week on all household chores.

If you plan on hosting a Great Gatsby party this summer, you’ll want to dress the part of course, but the food can play a major role in pulling together the theme. If healthy is your goal, stick to the recipes we’re sharing. But if authenticity is most important, you’ll appreciate the homemade, healthified versions of many of these processed foods that are still popular today.

Thai Blueberry Old Fashion

old fashioned with blueberries

Alcohol was banned for much of the 1920s during a period known as Prohibition, but that didn’t keep the booze from flowing. The Old Fashion, a tart whiskey-based cocktail, was a creation of this decade that we still raise a glass to today. Guests will easily celebrate with this jazzed up version with fresh blueberries and a Truvia simple syrup. See what diets were rated as the best when you follow the link here.

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16 Guiltless Recipes to Feed a 49ers or Ravens Fan

Many NFL fans can hang up their flag and pack up their T-shirts now, but the San Francisco 49er and Baltimore Raven fans still have work to do. There’s a big game to be played on February 3rd, also known as the second biggest eating day of the year!

That’s right, Americans consume more food in a 24 hour period on Super Sunday than they do any other day of the year, except the gorge-fest that is Thanksgiving of course. AdWeek suggests that tallies up to 27 billion calories for the lot! Whoa. Hold the football.

We’re all for indulgent days when they’re done a little more mindfully. That means, eat your pizza, your wings, your beer – just don’t take the worst possible option for each. Check-out our 16 healthier recipe ideas that suit the hungry palates of each team’s biggest fans – from sourdough in San Francisco to crab cakes in Baltimore. (more…)

Black Eyed Pea Hummus Rings in the New Year Healthfully

Ready to ring in the New Year? We are as well. But if you’re like us you’ve had your fill of over-the-top decadent dishes from all of the holiday celebrations you attended and are ready for something a little lighter, a little healthier this New Year’s Eve. We have the perfect solution and it just so happens to have a bit of tradition tied in, too.

I won’t take credit for this brain child. Our managing editor dreamed up a black eyed pea hummus and handed it over to me for further creative development – a.k.a. taste testing. So off to the store I went for some black eyed peas, which are in abundant supply this time of year. (more…)