How to Make a Healthy Party Menu Fun
Everyone loves parties, but not everyone is so keen on healthy food. You diligently strive to keep your family healthy, but that hard work can vanish in an instant when at a party. How do you keep your family safe from overeating harmful foods when you’re hosting a party? The answer is simple: make the menu fun.
Healthy food isn’t always “fun.” Kids often stay away from salads because they just aren’t as exciting as something like pizza. Still, you can implement techniques to make a fun, healthy party menu that everyone will love.
1. Healthy Twist on an Old Favorite
Everyone has a favourite party food. Usually, these foods are dips to go with chips. Consider replacing salty, greasy potato chips with something like pita chips or vegetable sticks. That way, your guests can still enjoy the dips and sides while having a healthier option readily available.
Making simple substitutions can aid your health in the long run. People who eat fried foods regularly are 28% more likely to experience some type of heart problem than those who don’t eat fried food or who consume it less frequently. Consider making summer rolls instead of their fried cousins, the spring rolls. The ingredients remain the same, but the rolls aren’t fried and are wrapped in regular rice paper instead.
2. Try Something New
If you have adventurous guests, try making an appetizer from another culture that would be brand-new to all of them. Their curiosity may win out, and they may sample the new appetizer before going for the chips! As long as you know any potential allergies beforehand, you should feel prepared to make appetizers from around the globe.
You might be planning to host a party where you station appetizers throughout your house. Consider doing a small write-up about the appetizer and its origins, as well as the country it originated from. That way, your guests will be able to learn more about the food they’re eating as they enjoy it — and it makes for a great educational activity for kids!
3. Make a Charcuterie Board
People love charcuterie boards, but cheese isn’t necessarily healthy for everyone. If you have someone in your party sensitive to dairy or just want to add a healthier option, consider making a charcuterie board full of fruit.
Not everyone has the same favourite fruit, but that’s the beauty of a fruit charcuterie board. You can dress it up however you want, whether you’re skewering fruit to make a handy, easy-to-eat serving or arranging it so each type of fruit has clean lines. For dips, you can choose anything from cream cheese to chocolate to Greek yoghurt.
4. Make Your Own Dip
Making the tastiest dip will require some work, but you’ll know exactly what goes into it. Consider replacing any heavy cream or sour cream in dips with Greek yoghurt. While it may have a different flavour, Greek yoghurt has double the protein of regular yoghurt, which means it’ll keep your guests fuller longer. As long as you steer away from the sugar-heavy flavoured yoghurts, you’ll find that Greek yoghurt makes a healthy substitution.
With a seven-layer dip, you can control the ingredients that go into it and make sure every one of them is wholesome and bound to provide your guests with nutritional value. Plus, this dip includes multiple colours, attracting people’s eyes away from the unhealthier dips. Traditionally, seven-layer dip includes nutritious foods like salsa, refried beans, sliced onions and more. To make it even healthier, substitute sour cream and cream cheese with lighter foods.
5. Dress It Up
Trying to entice little ones to eat the stuff that’s good for them instead of the less healthy options? Dress up the healthy choices and make them fun! To get kids to eat their vegetables, you can entice them with hidden healthy food such as “ants on a log” — the age-old snack of peanut butter and raisins or small candies on a stalk of celery. You can get creative to make things kids will love to eat without caring for the nutritional value. Healthy food can be fun, too!
Keep Party Guests Healthy With Smart Substitutions
Everyone knows that the food makes a party. Your decorations and games add to the atmosphere, but having good food is essential to a party that your guests will remember. Make
everyone feel happier and healthier with simple substitutions to pack a nutritional punch to old party favourites. You might just introduce someone to their new favourite food!
*This is a collaborative post
