Bhavna
Celebrate a special occasion or just a fun Friday night with colorful yummy recipes. Easily plan your party food and enjoy easy ideas for any parties. Festive season in my house starts little too early. I should say the whole year is actually sounds festive as I cook a lot. February-Valentine, May-Mother’s Day & Memorial Day, then I celebrate two of my most favorite Indian festivals known as Navratri & Diwali, Oct-Halloween, November-Thanksgiving and December Christmas. So any occasion you want to celebrate, you can always check out here as I frequently update this page.
I love to celebrate festive season with full entertainment! Now, that doesn’t mean I have to spend hours in the kitchen. I try to prepare quick, easy and yet healthy food for most occasions. In facet my most recipes below will swing any of your party. Few recipes are my all time favorite.
And many of you might have noticed that finger food is the center piece of any festive food so I focus more on sides than the main full meal.
First one is Tortilla Rollups. Just make cream cheese based spicy filling and use colorful tortillas e.g. spinach, tomato basil tortillas and they just look so colorful.
My second favorite is veg slider or mini vegan hot dogs. All I have to do is prepare easy balls from Chickpeas with some veggies or just shape them in hot dogs.
Some hummus based appetizers are perfect as well. If you have some spicy tastebuds, Jalapeño poppers are great.
You can check out the videos below for more ideas.
Then comes the sweet part….I prefer to make easy fruit kebabs or something simple, quick and easy.
Colorful berries are perfect to prepare colorful desserts. I love to prepare strawberry cups filled with cream. Another easy ideas is to get those Little Debbies mini swills rolls. Cut and use to make kebabs with fruits.
Healthy snacks for guilt-free snacking. No matter your dietary needs, these snack ideas are delicious, nutritious and help you reach your health goals. Whether you need healthy snacks that are gluten free, low calorie, low sugar, high protein, vegan, or more, there’s something on this list for you. The nutritionist-approved snacks will keep you full and focused without derailing your healthy eating plan.
These days, the best snacks are the ones that are easy to make, taste great, and fill you up without weighing you down, so I have kept that in mind really well.
Here are some of my favorite snacks.
Marinated Olive & Cheese:
Yield: 4-5
Serving Size: ¼ cup olives and cheese
Ingredients
4 oz./115 g parmesan cheese
1 cup pitted olives
2–3 sprigs fresh thyme
1–2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tsp. Italian Herb Seasoning
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Baguette for serving
Instructions
Cut parmesan into bite size pieces.
Toss together parmesan and olives and pour into Counterscaping Medium Liquid Container.
Add thyme, rosemary and Italian Herb Seasoning. Pour olive oil over the top and seal.
Keep refrigerated until ready to use. If refrigerating for more than four hours before use, allow olive oil to return to room temperature before using.
When serving, pour oil out into a small container for bread dipping and then pour out olives and cheese for easy snacking. Serve with a sliced baguette.
Hummus:
Since I am a huge fan of Hummus, I have shared dedicated recipe post of My love affair with Hummus which gives great ideas of preparing hummus with natural colors for parties as well.
A snack of hummus on toasted whole-wheat pita wedges provides protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. You can also eat hummus on whole-grain crackers or low-fat tortilla chips as an alternative to sliced cheese or cheese dips.
Avocado Guacamole:
Eat Guacamole to Lose Weight (Yes, Really) I think a lot of us steer clear of guac because we think it’s going to be so fattening. In truth, it isn’t a low-fat food, but nutritionists are quick to remind us that avocados are loaded with healthy fats. And, surprise, it might even HELP you lose weight. When I don’t have time to prepare Guac, I just slice or cut avocado, jazz it up with salt, lime juice, and ground cumin. Taste amazing!
Crunchy Vegetables with Dip:
Take some Greek yogurt, dice up a shallot, add some spices, and voila — dip for your veggie trays, lunch, or a snack. Vegetables are part of a well-balanced diet, but they’re not always a crowd favorite. Make healthy taste delicious with these guilt-free dips.
If you want to turn a light snack of vegetables into an energy-boosting way to fuel your day, White beans dip should be your go-to dip. Made with cannellini beans, it provides a good dose of dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates. And garlic may boost the immune system and improve heart health.
Ingredients
5 clove garlic, chopped
3¾ cup cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup low-fat Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp, ground oregano
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Prep: 25 min.
Cook: 30 min.
Total: 55 min.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Peel the garlic and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Once coated, wrap in tin foil and bake for about 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden.
Remove from the oven and let stand for 15-20 minutes. Next, place the garlic, beans, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper into a food processor and blend until a smooth consistency is reached. Slowly add in the remaining olive oil, blending as you do.
Serve immediately, or place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Salsa & Chips:
What could be easier than making Salsa! When in hurry, just dump onion, jalapeño, crushed tomato can, some peppers with lime juice, salt, cumin, coriander leaves into the food processor and zesty, yummy delicious salsa is ready in no time. For variations, try seasonal fruit salsa. My favorite is Mango Pineapple, sometimes peach mint and so on..
Popcorn:
Popcorn is already a pretty common snack; one we often enjoy while watching movies at home or in the theater. As it turns out, popcorn is one of the healthiest snacks you can eat (far healthier than the much touted edamame) and polyphenols are the reason why.
Polyphenols are a type of chemical found in plant foods that help neutralize free radicals, those nasty little baddies that damage your cells and contribute to rapid aging.
Nuts:
We all know how great nuts are for our health. I prefer roasted unsalted or lightly salted snacks. One can try spiced nuts as well. These days, I use my air fryer to roast nuts quickly.
Roasted Seeds:
Toasted seeds are great for snacks. If one can not consume seeds alone, mix with other favorites like nuts, dried fruits or step further, by making dark chocolate bark bars.
Fresh Fruits:
When no time to make, cook or prepare, simply bite on some fresh fruits. Banana, apple and many more fruits can be grabbed on the go.
In summer, I love to eat greek yogurt topped with fresh fruits, slivered almond, toasted coconut and chocolate chip, little bit of Granola.
For heavier snacks, I like Roasted Chickpeas, toasted boiled peanut.
