Healthy holiday party offerings that taste great

The trouble with most holiday party finger foods is that you can’t eat just one.
This wouldn’t be an issue except that the usual buffet of puff pastry hors d’oeuvres, mini quiches, egg rolls and chicken wings are jammed with fat and calories.

So if you’re hosting a holiday party, do your guests a favour and offer nibbles that are as guilt-free as they are delicious.
Try rolling sliced, lean grilled steak or roast beef around a dab of jarred horseradish sauce and strips of red, orange and yellow bell peppers; fasten together with a toothpick.
Slices of cucumber can be topped with finely chopped smoked salmon and a dab of reduced-fat sour cream blended with minced red onion and capers.
Halved large sea scallops can be wrapped with prosciutto rather than the traditional (and fattier) bacon. Secure with a toothpick and broil on a baking sheet until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.
Shrimp always are a hit and are virtually fat-free. Precooked cocktail shrimp are convenient and relatively inexpensive, but for more flavourful results buy raw shrimp, thread them on bamboo skewers and cook them on the grill.
Chopped tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice bring Mediterranean flavours to these easy-to-prepare shrimp and pesto crostini. The recipe calls for store-bought pesto, but homemade would only improve things.

Shrimp and Pesto Crostini
16 slices french bread (cut 1 cm/1/2 inch thick)
1 large clove garlic, peeled and cut in half
125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped grape tomatoes
30 ml (2 tbsp) prepared pesto
30 ml (2 tbsp) crumbled feta cheese
30 ml (2 tbsp) chopped flat-leaf parsley
10 ml (2 tsp) lemon juice
1 ml (1/4 tsp) ground black pepper
15 ml (1 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil
16 large uncooked shrimp, deveined and coarsely chopped
Heat broiler. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil to toast both sides. Rub each slice with cut side of garlic clove. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, pesto, cheese, 15 ml (1 tbsp) of the parsley, lemon juice and pepper. Toss to combine. Set aside.
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm oil. Add shrimp and saute until opaque at the centre, about 3 minutes. Stir in pesto mixture.
Divide shrimp mixture among bread slices, spooning a bit on each. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve immediately.
Makes 16 servings.
Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 67 calories, 24 calories from fat, 3 g fat (1 g saturated, 0 g trans fats), 23 mg cholesterol, 6 g carbohydrate, 4 g protein, 0 g fibre, 128 mg sodium.