Entertaining is a wonderful opportunity to connect with family, friends and colleagues over delicious food. There is the misconception that entertaining needs to involve overly indulgent foods that may set back your health goals. While we’re all about balance, we appreciate that many like to enjoy more nourishing foods when entertaining, especially if events are occurring regularly.
Food for sharing:
If you’re hosting, take the pressure off with foods that require little time and effort to prepare. To make things easy, always feel free to enlist the help of your guests to bring something along!
- Antipasto. Build a beautifully balanced antipasto board with some wholemeal pita, seeded crackers, wholesome dips like hummus and tzatziki, your favourite cheeses, vegetable crudites, and olives. Try including some smoked salmon – a good source of omega-3 – as an alternative to salami and other processed meats. Crusty wholemeal bread, sliced and ready to dip in extra virgin olive oil and dukkha, is another easy, nutritious addition.
- Seafood. Fresh oysters and chilled prawns, ready to shell, are delicious and celebratory foods well-suited to sharing. Better yet, they require minimal preparation! Keep things super simple with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
- Roast lamb. This one is an impressive option that caters to a crowd beautifully. After minimal preparation time, a lamb leg can be roasted in the oven or barbecue (with a cover). Once cooked, arrange slices on a serving plate ready for everyone to help themselves. If it’s not your thing, there’s no need to prepare a full roast dinner; roast lamb works incredibly well alongside some simple salads and veggie sides!
- Roasted vegetables. Keep things low-fuss by opting for a single type of vegetable per dish, adding some flavoursome pantry staples, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil. We love parsnips roasted with honey and bay leaf, miso glazed carrots, and classic, crispy potatoes with rosemary.
- Salads. Fresh salads are a great option for guests to bring along! A potato or pasta salad dressed with a squeeze of lemon and extra virgin olive oil are easy crowd pleasers (cooked and cooled potato and pasta are wonderful sources of resistant starch for a happy and healthy gut microbiome, an added bonus!) A fresh slaw with a light, vinaigrette-style dressing and simple green salad are also great options.
Better-for-you sweet treats:
If you’d like to put a more nutritious spin on the traditional chocolate desserts, why not try:
- Chocolate-dipped fruit and nuts. Combining a small amount of chocolate with fresh fruits (berries, grapes and figs work well!) and nuts is a great way to boost intake of fibre, polyphenols and healthy fats.
- Chocolate bark. Spread your preferred type of melted chocolate – or a combination! – in a thin layer on a lined baking tray, and sprinkle with a medley of dried fruits and lightly toasted nuts and seeds. (We love dried cranberries, almonds, macadamias and pepitas.) Once set, break your chocolate bark into pieces, ready to enjoy!
- Soft-centred chocolate pudding. Put a more nutritious spin on your go-to recipe by swapping cocoa powder for raw cacao, white flour for wholemeal flour, and melted butter for extra virgin olive oil. If you’re feeling inspired, find other healthy tweaks for your favourite treats, here.
For expert dietary support to meet your unique goals and requirements, book your first appointment with one of our wonderful Accredited Practising Dietitians today.
Written by Caitlin Branch, Student Nutritionist, and Amanda Smith, Accredited Practising Dietitian.
