Health party snack recipes
Too much cheer over the festive season? These party food ideas tick all the good-for-you boxes, without sacrificing flavour.
Spent the holidays lazing around the pool, enjoying summer and soaking up the good times? Same. While a little seasonal overindulgence never hurt anyone, these – mostly meat-free –recipes bring the best of both worlds and keep the good times rolling without breaking (too many) new year’s resolutions. While perfectly suitable for a party, there’s no reason why that can’t be a party of one…or two!
Dips
Edamame and mint
Ingredients:
1-2 cups frozen edamame beans, shelled and boiled
¼ cup of tahini
Handful of fresh mint leaves
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper
Method:
Using a stick blender, blend edamame, tahini, mint, garlic, juice and olive oil until smooth.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with veggie sticks or whole grain crackers.
Greek yoghurt and herb dip
Ingredients:
1 cup of Greek yoghurt
Large handful of herb(s) of your choice – dill, parsley or chives are good options – finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Celery, cucumber, carrot and capsicum, cut into sticks for dipping
Salt and pepper
Method:
Mix yoghurt, herbs and lemon juice together until blended.
Season with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavours meld.
Serve with colourful vegetable sticks for dipping.
Nibbles
Spicy roast chickpeas
Ingredients:
400g tin of chickpeas
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Method:
Preheat oven to 220C (200 fan forced) and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, pat dry with paper towel.
In a bowl, toss all ingredients until chickpeas are well covered.
Place evenly on the baking tray and roast until crispy. Check after 20 minutes and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
Cool and serve.
Herb roasted mixed nuts
Ingredients:
2 cups mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon rosemary, freshly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat oven to 160C (140 fan forced) and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine mixed nuts.
Drizzle olive oil over the nuts and toss to coat evenly. Add rosemary, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix until well-coated.
Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Once golden, remove from the oven, cool and serve.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to four weeks.
Bites
Tuna & cucumber bites
Ingredients:
425g tin tuna in water, drained
2 cucumbers cut into rounds
¼ cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
Dill sprigs for garnish
Salt and pepper
Method:
Combine the tuna, yoghurt lemon juice, chives, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix together well.
Arrange cucumber slices on a serving dish.
Add a scoop of tuna mixture to each slice, top with tomato and dill garnish. Serve.
Mushroom bites
Ingredients:
500g whole button mushrooms, stems removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
60g finely grated parmesan cheese
60g spreadable light cream cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
60 grams panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Method:
Preheat oven to 190C (170 fan forced) and prepare a baking sheet with baking paper.
Brush bottom side of mushrooms with half the olive oil and place on the baking sheet.
Combine parmesan, garlic and cream cheese in a bowl and mix till smooth.
Place a teaspoon of mixture into each mushroom cup.
In another bowl, combine remaining olive oil with breadcrumbs.
Top filled mushrooms with breadcrumb mixture.
Bake until golden – about 15-20 minutes. Serve.
Skewers
Caprese salad skewers
Ingredients:
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
Baby mozzarella balls – aim for the same size as your tomatoes. If you can’t baby balls, just cut up fresh mozzarella into chunks.
Fresh basil
Balsamic glaze
Black pepper
Kebab skewers
Method:
Thread skewers with alternating cherry tomato, folded basil leaf, mozzarella, folded basil leaf. Two pieces of mozzarella and two tomatoes per skewer should be enough.
Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Arrange on a serving platter, drizzle with balsamic glaze and fresh cracked pepper. Serve.
Fruit skewers
Ingredients:
Fresh fruit of your choice, cut into same sized chunks – pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, and melon are all good options.
1 cup yoghurt
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Kebab skewers
Method:
Thread skewers with fruit.
Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Serve skewers with honey yoghurt dipping sauce.