Going for happy hour can be the perfect way to relax after a stressful day at the office. However, typical items on most happy hour menus can make it challenging to maintain healthy goals. By picking apart the menu, armed with our tips and tricks, you can easily order and enjoy lighter happy hour fare.
Healthy Happy Hour Tip 1: Order Fresh
Look for dishes made with whole food ingredients that are served raw or lightly cooked. In particular, try to spot dishes that have fresh veggies, whole grains and healthy fish.
Healthy Choices
- Order seared ahi tuna and use happy hour as an opportunity to get a dose of healthy omega-3 fats.
- Fresh spring rolls are usually high in fiber and much lower in fat than their fried counterparts.
- Caprese salad and bruschetta provide big flavor for a relatively low amount of calories.
Healthy Happy Hour Tip 2: Indulge Wisely
In order to get full flavor without getting extra fat and calories, look for dishes made using low-fat preparation methods. These include dishes that are grilled, seared, roasted and sautéed.
Healthy Swaps
- Grilled chicken satay instead of Buffalo wings. Keep in mind buffalo wings are deep fried and tossed in butter. Making this swap will save you 10 grams of total fat and 3 grams of saturated fat per serving.
- Shrimp cocktail or raw oysters instead of fried calamari.
- Low-calorie dippings sauces like mustard and ketchup instead of high-fat ones like ranch, bleu cheese and aioli.
- If you’re really craving fried potatoes, choose a small portion of regular French fries instead of loaded potato skins. Avoiding the cheese, bacon and sour cream can save you from eating almost twice as much saturated fat than a comparable amount of regular French fires.
Healthy Happy Hour Tip 3: Be Picky
Substitutions are your friend. Keep in mind that by asking for a few small changes, you can drastically lighten up your meal.
Healthy Alterations
- Order pizza with extra veggies and light cheese. The extra veggies add healthy fiber, and getting a little less cheese will help reduce the amount of saturated fat.
- Order sliders and burgers with no cheese or mayonnaise. This will help reduce the amount of total fat. Substitute low-calorie condiments like mustard and add flavorful toppings like pickles and jalapeños to still get full flavor.
Healthy Happy Hour Tip 4: Add a Salad
Adding a salad to your happy hour fare will help you add extra fiber (from vegetables), which helps with a variety of functions, including digestion and weight management.
How to Maximize Your Salad
- Choose a salad with dark leafy greens like kale and spinach. Dark greens have more nutrients than lighter ones like romaine and iceberg.
- Cut down on unhealthy fat by using a vinaigrette dressing and skipping any cheese or croutons.
- Reduce the amount of sodium by skipping olives, capers or pickles.
Bobby is the community and social media manager at Zipongo. He has a degree in nutrition and dietetics and previously worked as a health educator.
