It’s happy hour ! But between beer, crisps and dips, the convivial cocktail can quickly turn into a caloric bomb that plumbs your figure. Follow the advice of our expert, Marie-Laure Andre dietician-nutritionist, to lighten your appetizers in calories but not in pleasure!
Summary
- Have a dinner appetite
- Avoid overbidding fatty foods
- Stay reasonable with oilseeds
- Prefer wine
- Limit fruit juices
- Choose your dips well
- Bet on wholemeal bread
- Which seafood to choose?
- Choose the cheese well
- Homemade crisps
If you pay attention to your weight, it is better to avoid accumulating a rich aperitif (olives, crisps, salted cookies, etc.) then a dinner. The light solution not to increase the caloric balance is to combine aperitif and dinner in a dinner aperitif. “If you watch your line, the aperitif can be a good solution,” agrees Marie-Laure André, dietician-nutritionist. “
We must therefore ensure that we have all the components of a balanced meal: raw vegetables with carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower bouquets; proteins with small diced ham on skewers with olives, shrimp verrines; small toasts for starchy foods…
Avoid overbidding fatty foods
Rillettes, dry sausage, salted cookies, peanuts, puff pastry … are often the stars of the aperitif. Problem: they are rich in salt, in unsaturated fatty acids which are neither good for your figure nor for your cholesterol.
If you cannot do without chips for example, do not deprive yourself of it, the aperitif remains a moment of pleasure, but balance with small vegetables like radishes, cherry tomatoes … “It is the accumulation of foods fat which will make the aperitif too rich “, insists the dietitian-nutritionist.
Stay reasonable with oilseeds
When you think “healthy” aperitif, you think almonds, hazelnuts … But be careful because as Marie-Laure André reminds us: “Even if the fats in almonds, nuts, hazelnuts are healthier, they are still fat. Almonds are as fat as peanuts. “
Beware of salted roasted recipes that contain a lot of salt (0.048 g of sodium / 100 g for the almonds, cut off against 1.25 g / 100 g for salted roasted almonds *). Prefer oilseeds in their raw version and in small quantities (ten per person).
Prefer wine
At aperitif time, even if there are only raw vegetables on the table, your glass of alcohol in your hand can tip the scales the wrong way. “Beware of cocktails that combine alcohol and sugar or fruit juices, which are also sweet. You should know that alcohol is almost as rich as fat in terms of calories. When you combine alcohol and sugars, you get real calorie bombs, “warns Marie-Laure.
The solution for a light aperitif? Limit yourself to a glass of cocktail, avoid high-calorie strong alcohols, to which we often add a soda (the famous whiskey / coca) or prefer less rich alcohols like “red wine, rosé, champagne or sparkling wine”.
Limit fruit juices
Even if the fruit contains fructose, natural sugar, it is still sugar and it is better to consume it in moderation when watching your line. “If you drink fruit juices, opt for 100% pure juice, without added sugars. The ideal is to make your homemade juices or smoothies, without sugar, by focusing on the lightest fruits such as peaches, apricots, watermelon “.
Our dietitian-nutritionist’s recipe for a healthy and delicious homemade juice: “Mix a little coconut water, one or two fruits, a little sparkling water and add mint leaves. It is possible to do things cool without alcohol and not sweet! “
Choose your dips well
To make it light, you have thought of cucumber, carrot sticks, radishes… to dip in dips which are not always very light. Beware of these accompaniments, as Marie-Laure Andre reminds us: “Mayonnaise, anchoiade, tapenade are very fatty. Instead, switch to tzatziki, hummus, eggplant caviar. It is less fatty and they are very easy to make at home. ! “
Bet on wholemeal bread
Toasts are the kings of the aperitif. To avoid skyrocketing your glycemic index, forget about white bread or small round toast on the market. Prefer beautiful slices of wholemeal sourdough bread for your toast, which will also be more filling.