Healthy Entertaining

[kyles]

When you go to a pot luck, or are entertaining at home and you are watching what you eat, what are your favourite dishes, especially appetisers?

 

[PA Baker]

For appetizers, I always go for the tray of veggies and dip (just not much dip!), fruit if the host has any out, and a couple of slices of cheese.

 

[Yakuta]

I have made the appetizers listed below if I want to go healthy. You can modify them according to how healthy you want to make it.

Lettuce wraps - Freshly sliced veggies and grilled chicken. I use a healthy version of a dipping sauce by mixing vinegar with soy a finely chopped red or green chilli and some finely chopped scallions. If you don't care about calories than another sweet version of a dipping sauce would be good as well.

Grilled flank steak or chicken cubes marinated in ginger, garlic, lime juice, salt, black pepper and cilanto and served with a yogurt mint chutney (use low fat yogurt and blend it with some fresh mint, green chillies, garlic, lemon and cumin powder)

Salsas - Fresh tomatoes, red onions, garlic, chillies, cilantro and lime juice makes a delightful basic version or a fruit salsa with peaches, ripe pears, jicama, pineapple and mangoes with some diced red onions, dried chipotle chilli powder and a splash of orange and lime juice

Sandwiches - I make a version that is totally healthy. Make a mint and cilantro chutney in a blender (one bunch cilantro, 1 cup mint leaves, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 green chillies, salt and juice of 2 limes).
Thinly sliced cucumbers, boiled potatoes and tomatoes
a dash of ketchup
sandwich bread

Assemble by first spreading a thin layer of mint and cilantro chutney onto a slice of sandwich bread. Now place a few slices of the veggies. Take another slice of bread and smear a dash of ketchup on it. Place it on the veggies and cut into four. Serve several of them on a platter.

 

[jkath]

I'm with PA - I gravitate toward the veggies, but never toward the dip. If I'm having the party, I try to make a fruit/veggie platter with as many different colors as possible. I also look for interesting produce items that I've not used for a while, if ever. It's also fun to have a dish of pretzels with all different mustards to dip them in.

 

[Brianschef]

Veggie Tray?

I like to serve a nice round of odds and ends. Pickled pineapple spears, hot garlic Kalamatas, Thai dill chunks, sweet 'n sour melon balls, almond stuffed jalapeno's, cherry poppers stuffed with mango yogurt cheese, sweet pickled cherry tomatoes, smoked home made fresh herb cheese, pheasant pate', yellow cherry tomatoes stuffed with cinnamon saurkraut 'n shallots, pickled garlic, the list of pantry items is just endless...

I love veggie trays...no dip necessary.

 

[jkath]

okay, Brianschef.....time to kick down on some of those recipes!
Please post them in their forums! (pretty please?)

 

[Brianschef]

What you interested in, in particular I mean... =) And do you want them in canning, under misc. or do you want them in appetizers...need assistance.

 

[bluespanishsky]

one of my favorites is cucumber rounds topped with a light spreadable cheese or light cream cheese and finished with a slice of smoked salmon on top.

I also like to make hummus, and serve it with pita chips.

 

[HappyAvocado]

try a non-dairy based dip like baba ganooj or hummus... hummus is not very low fat (garbanzos being one of the higher calorie beans) but the fat that it has is good fat.

how i make my baba ganooj:

take a couple of eggplants and put them in a low oven for about a half an hour until they are soft and grey on the outside. let them cool and then scoop out the flesh. put the flesh in a food processor with a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and tahini. yum!