Vegetable and healthy party food

GaelleUK

Hello

On Friday I like I having a couple of glasses of wine and some snackie party food. Usually I would go for crisps, sausage rolls, cheeses...
I am trying to plan tomorrow night and I am trying to think outside the usual carrot baton and cherry tomato.
Do you have any good healthy party food ideas?
Thank you

lucys1225

My favorites are crab ceviche with either Siete chips or on endive and stuffed mini peppers.

acpgee

Dips such as hummous, guacamole, smoked mackerel pate, tzaziki. The people not watching calories can have tortilla chips. Dieters can be supplied with vegetable sticks and melba toast.

acpgee

This is a vegetable based dip that always goes down well

https://vintagecookbooktrials.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/boiled-carrot-salad/

funjen1972

I often just snack for meals. Some options beyond celery sticks:

I use fat free cream cheese and/or greek yogurt as a base for dips and spreads.

I use lo carb wraps (since they are lower in calories) for pinwheels, quesadillas, etc... You can also crisp them in the oven to use as dippers.

Roasted veggies can be poppable - brussel sprouts, carrot coins, beets, squash.

Pickled veggies - gardenia, roasted peppers, green beans etc...

Goat cheese or feta - maybe on a wrap with pumpkin butter, Chipotle sauce or other toppers.

Avocado, hummus or whole canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

Sliced or quarter Hard boiled or pickled eggs

I use whole grain, higher fiber crackers as dippers.

acpgee

If you don't mind a bit of work Vietnamese summer rolls are great party food. You can provide a peanut satay sauce for people who are not watching calories. The nuoc cham given in the recipe for the people who are.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24239/vietnamese-fresh-spring-rolls/

brisadeldesierto

It really depends on how much you like/are willing to cook and what you consider "healthy". Some ideas that I do often and that people always love:

Marinated bocconcini, (hydrated) sundried tomatoes and black olives. I marinate them all on balsamic vinagre, finely chopped fresh basil and/or fresh oregano, ground chili, salt & pepper. The idea is to eat it with small forks/individual skewers. This can also be served as already prepared skewers.

Sauteed portobellos with red wine reduction: what it says. Choose the smaller portobellos you can find (don't cut them) and sautee them with chopped garlic, salt and pepper and a little of butter/olive oil for 1 minute, then add the red wine (a lot, I would say the wine should reach at least ~1 inch height in the pan for a pan filled with mushrooms), then keep cooking in low heat until wine is dense (stir frequently). Serve with chopped chives/parseley. To be eaten with skewers. Or you can go the extra step, remove the stems before cooking, then after they're cooked, stuff them with cream cheese with the chives, or if you're adventurous fill them with fermented cashew spread.

Vegetable skewers: onions, cherry tomatoes, yellow/red/green bell peppers, courgettes, eggplants, etc. Before grilling you can marinate them to add extra flavour. I usually use lemon juice, olive oil, fresh mint finely chopped, salt, pepper and hot paprika. Goes great with a tzatziki sauce.

Rolled eggplants: cut the eggplants lenghtwise in thin slices and grill the slices. Filling: ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, chopped walnuts and chopped fresh thyme/tarragon. Reduced tomato sauce: anyone you like, but I recommend making this from scratch with fresh tomatoes. Then add to each eggplant slice a spoon of the ricotta mix and a small amount of tomato sauce, roll and close it with a toothpick. You can warm them on the oven right before serving.

And the one that's always the big star: canapé-sized farinatas (thin chickpea crust) with fresh pesto & tomato. I make a big farinata (any recipe works), and 2 min before it's done I take it out and cut it into individual canapés. Then bake the individual canapés for about 2-3 min more in high heat until all the borders are golden. Once they're done, I serve them with fresh pesto and a slice of baked tomatoes on top (I bake them whole with garlic cloves, rosemary, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil). It takes some work, but it's oh so delicious.

estherdragonbat

Popcorn and roasted chickpeas make good snack foods. If sodium's not a concern, pickled vegetables are tasty. You can probably find recipes for some less-common versions like

https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/hot-and-sour-celery-pickles
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/crunchy-pink-pickled-sunchokes
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/pickled-daikon-cubes-with-carrots-and-jalapenos
https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/pickled-cherry-tomatoes

Or even some fruits:

https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/pickled-grapes

(I've personally made the celery, daikon, and grapes and they are amazing!)