Tapas, Terrors and Your Weight Loss ?

Answer 1

The other day I was delighted to be invited to a tapas party by a friend of mine. When I got to the party however the mood changed to one of apprehension. You may be wondering what was the source of my misgivings. It was the menu. It had not occurred to me that anything as small as a tapas could be so calorie laden. I knew that if I was going to get through the night without trashing my whole day I was going to have to come up with a plan, and fast. Since you are likely to be going to parties too in the future, and you may find yourself at a tapas event I wanted to take some time to share the survival strategies that have come to be essential to surviving these types of affairs.

Skip the Cocktail

We all know that drinks are not healthiest thing for you. After all they pickle to your liver and when too many are applied make you do very embarrassing things in front of complete strangers. But did you know that the average dirty martini has 244 calories in it. If you go for a flavored one , which usually features a simple syrup and flavoring, it can go as high as 438 (that’s for a chocolate martini, if you were curious). Other drinks really do not fair any better, and since at a tapas party they are likely to be passed around, or at least readily available, you should stick to water. If you really need to drink, then be sure to have only one, and do it after you have some food in you. You will be less likely to over indulge on the bad stuff if you are full before you get tipsy.

Look for Fresh Options

In this case, the less preparation that the food has to go through the better. If you can find things like:

• Micro green Salad
• Fruit or Veggie Kabobs
• Hummus or other non-cream or cheesy dips
• Bruschetta ( as long as you don’t go crazy on the toast points)

Basically, you get the idea. The less preparation that the food needed the better. Of course, if everything at the party is hot, then you may want to skip down a tip, but just do a double check. Many parties have cold taps (and maybe even some shrimp) on a cold bar near the back.

Avoid Words that Mean Extra Calories

When it comes to the hot appetizers not everything is made equal. You want to skip anything that appears to be prepared in one (or any) of the following ways.

• Pan Fried
• Deep Fried
• Smothered in cheese
• Covered in cream sauces
• Oil poached (it will be shiny)
• Breaded, crusted with nuts or battered
• Made of cheese as a primary ingredient

If you can stay away from these things and you should be in good stead at your next tapas party. I won’t go so far as to call is healthy, but you won’t destroy all of your work.