Healthy entertaining made easy!

Your guide for putting together healthy nibbles and delicious platters… I really enjoy sharing food with others and a delicious platter is the epitome of that, I reckon. The problem is that many of the foods you commonly find on a snacking platter are really not that healthy. High-fat dips, creamy cheeses, salty crackers, white bread and fatty meats. Then there are those more ‘bar style’ platters with deep-fried everything: chips, crumbed fish bites, chicken wings and so on. Most people don’t realise that if they share a platter in a bar before dinner, it is possible to eat more kilojoules/calories and fat than you need for not just one, but possibly two of your complete meals! Here is an example:

6 sesame crackers (over 30% fat) each with slices of Brie on top
4 slices of salami
2 cocktail sausages
Handful of chips with Kiwi dip

Total = 4540 kilojoules (1135 calories) and 84 grams fat (that is 21 tsp worth!) It can be a real trap, particularly if you are a really social person, and all through summer this seems to be happening every second day! Below are some ideas of what you can put on your ‘healthier platter’.

Veggies

Cherry tomatoes
Snow peas
Carrots
Celery
Raw or blanched and cooled broccoli and cauliflower
Capsicum
Courgette sticks

Fruit

Bunch of grapes
Strawberries
Blueberries
Wedges of orange or kiwifruit

Healthy protein

Cold lean sliced meat
Smoked salmon
Shredded chicken chunks
Chicken kebabs
Lean meatballs with tomato chutney
Micro-mini frittatas
Dips based on pulses or yoghurt

Healthy fats

Raw nuts and seeds
Olives

Extras

Gherkins
Sundried tomatoes
Edamame beans