Low-Fat Appetizers

If you're watching your fat intake, you can't go wrong with tuna-stuffed tomatoes. To create the appetizers, create flavorful tuna salad using reduced-calorie mayonnaise, relish or capers and salt and pepper to taste. Transform this low-fat appetizer into a kid-friendly treat with some ranch-flavored dry mix. Cut the centers out of medium-sized tomatoes and scoop the salad into them.

Lose the fat but not the flavor with roasted eggplant dip. Use ripe, in-season eggplants for the best taste. Roast the eggplant in your oven and scoop the cooled flesh into a mixing bowl. Mash the eggplant with lemon juice and a bit of olive oil to create dip base. Add in other ingredients, such as feta cheese, chopped red bell pepper, red onion, ranch-flavored seasoning mix, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Serve the dip with pita chips or carrot and celery sticks.

Shrimp provides plenty of protein and little fat. Create simple-yet-gourmet appetizers by marinating peeled and deveined shrimp in a mixture of fresh lime and orange juices, honey and minced garlic. Thread the shrimp onto bamboo skewers that were pre-soaked in water and cook them on a outdoor or indoor grill. Make a low-fat tropical fruit salsa to garnish your shrimp. Mix pineapple or mango chunks, red onion, green onion, cilantro and bell pepper with a bit of lime juice and ranch-flavored dry mix. If you're serving kids, tempt them with a light creamy dressing for dipping their shrimp.

Turkey pinwheels are a visually pleasing alternative to basic sandwiches. To make the bite-size appetizers, cut flour tortillas into strips and spread them with low-fat cream cheese seasoned with ranch-flavored dry mix. Layer on thinly sliced roasted deli turkey, green leaf lettuce or spinach and other ingredients, such as paper-thin cucumber slices or mandarin oranges, to taste. Roll the strips into pinwheels and secure each one with a toothpick if necessary.