5 healthy Christmas canapés under 250 calories

Canapés. It’s a word that can strike fear into the heart of anyone trying to eat well or lose baby weight this festive season. It seems wherever you go during party season you’re confronted with a heavily-laden tray full of bite-sized snacks.

This isn’t great news when you’re following the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge which tries to focus on fresh healthy snacks. We’ve put together a list of five Christmas canapes that aren’t laden with calories.

One of the primary problems with canapés, apart from the fact that they are, as the name suggests, a small starter before the ‘real’ food is served (which can blow your daily calorie goal out of the water before you’ve even sat down), is the ingredients used in their creation.

Rich, creamy cheeses, fatty cuts of meat and plenty of stuff that’s deep fried seems to abound on trays everywhere.

Luckily there is a way to wrestle back some control over the situation. You can create your own healthy nibbles to serve at home or take along to a party or gathering.

This way you’re able to choose what gets included, and more importantly, what is left out.

Our top picks include plenty of delicious, low-calorie veggies to balance out yummy cheese and creamy dips. The best bit? These canapés take less than 20 minutes to prepare and all have less than 250 calories per serve.

Our Top 5 Healthy Christmas Canapés

1. Cucumber, Turkey, Cheese and Cranberry Stacks

Festive in colour but not in calories, these snacks are simple to prepare. Slice some cucumber and top with sliced turkey, a dollop of cranberry sauce and a sprinkling of cheese.

Makes 8-10 – 21 calories per serve

2. Caprese, Olive and Salami Skewers

Almost like a pizza on a stick. A nutritious and easy to prepare savoury snack.

Ingredients (Makes 4 servings)

• 4 tsp balsamic vinegar (20 mls)
• 2 tsp honey (10 mls)
• pepper
• 4 slices salami (80 grams)
• 4 balls mozzarella (80 grams)
• 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted (16.7 grams)
• 100g cherry tomatoes
• 1/3 cup whole fresh basil leaves (20 grams)

Method

1. Combine honey, balsamic and pepper until smooth.
2. Tear or slice salami into smaller pieces. Slice the mozzarella balls. Halve the olives.
3. Thread salami, mozzarella, olives, cherry tomatoes and whole basil leaves on a skewer, alternating to use all the ingredients.
4. Drizzle over the balsamic dressing to serve.

Makes 4 serves – 88 calories per skewer

3. Veggies And Dip

Make a festive dip by combining 1 cup of fresh, grated beetroot with 2 tbsp natural yogurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Serve with veggie sticks.

Makes 20 serves – 8 calories per serve

4. Feta Bites

A great alternative to spinach and cheese triangles.

Ingredients (Makes 5 servings)

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (5 mls)
• 1 leek, finely chopped (80 grams)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves (0.5 grams)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar (5 mls)
• 3 free-range eggs, separated (150 grams)
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat feta, crumbled (107 grams)
• pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C / gas mark 6. Line 5 muffin tray holes with paper cases.
2. Heat olive oil over a low heat in a saucepan. Add the leek and thyme and cook for 2-3 minutes or until leek starts to become golden.
3. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for a further few minutes, until the balsamic has reduced, set aside.
4. Whisk the egg whites until firm. In a separate bowl give the yolks a whisk and add the crumbled feta and season with pepper.
5. Now slowly fold through the egg whites with the yolk mixture.
6. Divide the leek and thyme mixture evenly into the base of each of the prepared muffin cases.
7. Divide the egg batter evenly over the top of the leek mix in each muffin case.
8. Bake for 10 minutes or until firm and allow them to cool in the muffin tray.
9. One feta bite is one serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

110 calories per serve

5. Onion and Brie Yorkshire Pudding Bites

Up the ‘wow’ factor by whipping up a batch of these little bites of deliciousness. Check out the recipe HERE.

Makes 8 servings – 151 calories per serve

More on the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge

Want access to thousands and thousands of healthy recipes that will help you to lose weight? Then be sure to check out our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

Our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is a family-friendly, breastfeeding-safe program designed FOR MUMS to help them tackle their health and lose the baby weight. 

Every week you are given a different meal plan to follow and each month we add NEW recipes to our Challenge Recipe Hub. That way, you’ll never get bored and stay on weight loss track while digging into healthy, yummy recipes.

Learn more about our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge HERE.

If you would like a sneak peek at some of the meals, snacks and exercises from the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge you can download our FREE recipe packs HERE.