Party Time

When it comes to party time, choosing the right food can be a nightmare especially if you want to offer healthy low fat choices. Most party food is deep fried, pastries and creamy dips, cheese etc. all very high in saturated fats and not good if your guests have diabetes, heart or weight loss concerns. Knowing this I was on a mission to include a section in my fourth cookbook on party food. It is amazing how high in fat small little nibblies can be and when eaten in excess can wreak havoc with your waist line and your health. More and more people are looking for the healthy alternatives so I am so happy to know that now you can party hard and be healthy at the same time. Here are some suggestions for party food that can be enjoyed by all:-

- Fresh seafood is always a treat. Peel prawns go down real well. Serve with my low fat cocktail sauce instead of the high fat sauce you buy. It only takes a couple of minutes to make and will keep in your fridge for months.

- Dips are always a great way to start a party with, unfortunately most are based on sour cream or cream cheese, both very high in saturated fats. I use cottage cheese as my base to most of my dips. Blended up you would never know that it wasn’t sour cream, trust me, they turn out fantastic, for example French Onion dip, an all time favourite has around 5g per tablespoon, make it my way and it drops down to only 0.2g fat per tablespoon.

- Avoid serving anything deep fried. No one wants greasy fatty finger food so refer to my party food section for great alternatives.

- Party pies and sausage rolls are full of fat, make them yourself and cut the fat down considerably. Make up a sausage filling and wrap in fillo pastry. Use cooking spray between each layer and your guest will love this low fat version.

- Sushi is a terrific party food, both low in fat and something a bit different. I go to my local sushi shop and buy a dozen rolls and then cut them into small slices so they go further. Serve with low salt soy sauce.

- Cheese platters need to go, too high in fat and cabanossi is not recommended as it is both high in fat and salt. Instead put out fresh slices of vegetables with salsa.

- New potatoes stuffed with a filling are nice as they are easy to hold in your hand and a great idea for young and old.

- Bread cases with tasty fillings are another great party snack. Instead of covering with butter leave the bread as it is, when baked they come out crisp and tasty.

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