Help - cheap easy healthy party food ideas

chatnel
chatnel Posts: 688 Member
in Recipes
Having a BBQ on the weekend and got about 20 people coming. Budget and calories are limited so wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what I can make to please a crowd?

cheers

Replies

  • mmstone13
    mmstone13 Posts: 60 Member
    ~Deviled eggs (made with 1/2 mustard, 1/2 light miracle whip, or garlic hummus).
    ~Caprese salad is usually a huge hit....chop up tomatoes, basil and mozzarella with balsamic vinegar (typically, it is served in slices, but I find chopping it up and putting it in a bowl goes a lot further for parties like this. Plus, you can save yourself on calories by avoiding some of the mozza cheese)
    ~cucumber salad- sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil mayo, pepper, and a little lawrys salt
    ~Mexican shredded chicken- put some chicken breasts in a crockpot with a jar of salsa and cook on low for 8 hours. Shred when you are done. You could do a taco bar this way as well...that will go far and it is cheap. Plus you can pick what you want to keep it healthier for you, but pleasing to the crowd!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    burgers, potato salad, chips and dip
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
    - Homemade veggie plate: sliced bell pepper strips, cucumbers, baby carrots, celery sticks, etc
    - Homemade fruit salad - check what looks ripe at the local grocery store and put it together yourself
    - Grilled veggie skewers: mushrooms, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, etc
    - Black beans as a side
    - Mexican style brown rice
    - Salad
    - Bean salad
    - Grilled potatoes/sweet potatoes: slice and grill on the BBQ
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    Corn cobs are nice on the BBQ and reasonably cheap this time of year (at least here)

    You could also do kabobs - grab some meat and intersperse it in skewers with pepper, onion and mushroom chunks to spread it out a little.

    Burgers are not bad depending on the cost of ground beef. Use a food processor to finely dice/puree some onions, peppers and celery, add 1 egg per lb of beef and some breadcrumbs to dry it out and get it sticking together. Adding 'filler' to your meat will give you more burgers for less calories and also adds a nice flavor to the meat without over spicing. My homemade burgers are about 200 cal for a 100 g patty (that's a big burger once you get all the toppings on it) or you can always make them smaller and have 'sliders'.

    Nothing wrong with potato salad, or better is pasta salad with beans and tuna and fresh chopped veggies - lots of good protein less calories than potato ;)
  • chatnel
    chatnel Posts: 688 Member
    thanks for all these great suggestions.

    Sure beats the Sausage and bread I was thinking of doing.
  • Bean5
    Bean5 Posts: 84 Member
    Yes the corn on the cob is a great suggestion, just wrap it in foil and grill-no muss, no fuss!

    I like a red cabbage Asian slaw for something different, easy, and nice and cheap as well:

    Slice a head of red cabbage very fine, slice 3 scallions, shred a very large carrot, add 1 C toasted Pecan halves.
    Add dressing just before serving: 1/2 c vinegar, 1/2 c sugar, 1/4 c oil (I use half vegetable oil, half sesame), 1/4 c soy sauce.
    Soooo good. Can toss in a small can of mandarin oranges if you have them as well.
    Makes so much! Plus I usually make everything ahead of time and just combine to serve.
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
    Having a BBQ on the weekend and got about 20 people coming. Budget and calories are limited so wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what I can make to please a crowd?

    cheers

    2upfuk9.jpg
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    burgers
    bacon
    hot dogs
    chili
    cheese
    *all the fixins for chili dogs and burgers*

    cheesy corn *which is heaven, imho*
    chips
    beans
    cookies/cake/chocolate of some sort

    BEER

    *throw in the fruits and veggies if you must, but people don't come to a bbq for that*

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