Healthy Dinner Party Menu
With a healthy dinner party menu like this one, your guests will leave the evening full of smiles, feeling perfectly satisfied but not overly stuffed.
As a reader of the incredible Fitnessista, you are probably interested in fitness and healthy eating. I am too. I am Sabrina of RhodeyGirl Tests and along with my passion for healthy eating and fitness is my passion for entertaining. I love creating menus, and I love cooking for guests.
Entertaining does not mean a healthy cook has to give up dreams of a healthy dinner and break out the butter, cream, white bread and pasta. Instead, with a little attention to quality, flavor, and presentation, a dinner party can be just as healthy as any other dinner.
Quality: Be sure that every item you buy is of good quality. Since you will not be dressing up the foods with heavy sauces and the like, the natural flavors of the foods will be exposed. This is really enjoyable unless you are serving last week’s old asparagus.
Flavor: Add flavor to your dishes with spices and other flavorings to make them a little bit fancier and to add a lot of flavor. Examples include garlic, hot pepper, fresh basil and lemon juice. While a simply roasted asparagus dish will taste good, adding just a sprinkle of fresh lemon zest makes the dish special.
Presentation: Presentation matters. Take that plate of roasted asparagus and serve it on a beautiful platter accompanied by a few fresh lemon slices, and the dish becomes exceptional. We all eat with our eyes first, whether we know it or not, so pay attention to the presentation.
Here is one example of a healthy dinner party menu. The options are endless however, so use your imagination and the tips above and your next healthy dinner party will be a success!
Healthy Dinner Party Menu
Appetizer:
White Bean Crostini
Marcona almonds
Entrée:
Grilled citrus chicken breast
Assorted grilled vegetables
Eggplant, baby bella mushrooms, asparagus, and zucchini
Greek style salad
Fresh baby spinach, cucumber, tomato, kalamata olive in a lemon oil dressing
Simple brown rice
Dolce:
Gina’s Raw Cacao Macaroons
Mixed berries
Something to talk about: What’s your absolute favorite entertaining recipe??
HOLY YUM! i love making risotto for friends…it’s so easy and delicious and makes the meal feel VERY fancy! i love it
That’s simple….Lots of wine!!!
a girl after my own heart
I love the White Bean Crostini idea! I love making homemade bean dip and/or hummus, bruschetta, and just doing plain old cheese and crackers for guests.
Depending on who I’m eating with, I’d have to say buffalo chicken dip, or agree with Heather and say risotto… mmm to both!
OH yum. I want to come to dinner with BOTH of you!
The menu sounds really tasty!
It depends on the theme or type of entertaining. When it’s just the boys I like to hit up the BBQ and make my Turkey Burgers (http://www.yourinnerskinny.ca/extra-lean-grilled-turkey-burgers/).
I also make a mean chicken pasta dish with tones of veggies and w/w rotini noodles (my fave!) that goes well with red wine and a nice side salad.
I made this: http://annies-eats.com/2010/01/20/lemon-cheesecake-cheese-ball/(among other things) for my BFF’S baby shower…it was a total hit. It was a lemon cheesecake cheeseball served with fresh fruit. Oh and I agree with the wine comment.
When its my girlfriends, I like to serve casually in the living room and have alot of picky things. My favorites are assorted flatbread pizzas they’re so creative; and making a few flavors makes it easy to meet everyone’s dietary needs. I also like to do a gorgeous, elaborate cheese plate – with multiple cheese, dippers, fruit, nuts, avocado, hb eggs and charchuterie!
Lol..yes, to lots of wine. I also like grilling for easy entertaining meals…it just feels so relaxing, but is also very tasty! And you can make it casual or fancy, depending on what you decide to grill!
oooh what a great, healthy and flavorful menu! Love it!!
My favorite is roasted garlic crostini – always seems to get gobbled up quick!
If I’m having a bunch of people over, I like doing a bunch of appetizers and some salad instead of a full meal. I think it ensures more people find something they like. And, yes, lots of wine.
I ALWAYS love RhodyGirl’s menus and party settings!
Those are some great tips! I definitely agree that the products need to be fresh and presented well since we’re not coating the meal in sugar.
Please invite me to your next party. And throw it at my house. And come over and clean first. Thanks.
oh i liek that sounds simple yet wouldnt have the appearance of being simple. great tips too. loved the guest post!
LOVE your party spreads. My go to party food is cool whip dip & fruit, homemade hummus and veggies/crackers, and your zaatar bread
I love to have lots of appetizers so if the meal is running a little behind, no one notices!
Great tips for having a healthy dinner party. I love having people over and making healthy dishes and spreads. I think we should all have a big dinner party together
i think that’s an awesome idea
I totally want to start hostessing more. I need a reason to first…
Such great tips! I always have this problem when I think of hosting something. I want to cook healthy because that’s what I like, but I want to please everyone who comes over, as well. Really though, why can’t I do both? So far, I feel like most of what I’ve hosted are small parties with just appetizers and drinks, so I’m usually able to have a good combo of both healthy and indulgent…but I love the idea of making sure the quality is great. Thanks Sabrina!
Sometimes I will make one indulgent thing I know that both the healthy eaters and the non healthy eaters will enjoy, like Ina Garten’s spinach gratin for example!
I love to entertain. Sadly though, most of the people I host aren’t really into healthy choices. I try to always have a healthy option though. The most popluar things that I make are buffalo chicken dip and cupcakes. I like this sample menu though. Thanks for sharing it!
Great, simple advice!! I love sharing healthy food with people. Make it taste good and they’ll leave happy.
My favorite dish to serve is bouillabaisse or another spicy seafood stew with some garlic toasts. It tastes great in Summer or Winter. I usually serve a salad with oranges, olives and bitter greens first. Dessert is almost always fruit compote served with cookies and ice cream, that way guests can have what they want without feeling like decadent food is being shoved at them. I know I like the choice.
[...] cheese and lemon zest. I remembered Sabrina’s advice from her guest post on The Fitnessista here and presented it with some lemon slices. I love asparagus already but I honestly think I enjoyed [...]