Easy Refreshment Ideas for Gatherings

I often host clubs, committee meetings, and speakers at my home. Standard snacks in our community are store-bought or homemade cakes, soft drinks, bottled water, packaged “snacks,” fruits, and nuts. I prefer not to buy the prepared foods both for health and cost. There are almost always leftovers and I don’t want the family to eat them.

I love French fries and will eat them when offered. But I always regret it and find that I don’t sleep well after indulging myself. I guess I’m not the only one who appreciates healthier options.

My other problem is that as much as I preach about planning, when I make my shopping list, I usually forget that I’m hosting soon. So I’m stuck shopping at a more expensive store or having to make do with what I have.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so I came up with soda options from foods I normally have on hand.

Healthy suggestions for meeting snacks:

• Homemade cake, cookies or muffins.
• Popcorn. You can season it with grated cheese, hot pepper or other spices. Store raw beans in the freezer. If you don’t have a popcorn maker, put it in a saucepan with a lid. Avoid microwave versions.
• Nuts, including grapes.
• fresh sliced ​​fruit.
• Nuts or seeds. These can be kept in the freezer to keep on hand. You can mix them with dried fruit or chocolate chips if you feel like it.
• Chopped vegetables. Serve with soft cheese, salad dressing, or chumus.

Drinks:

Regular readers won’t be surprised to learn that I don’t buy bottled mineral water. It is bad for the environment and its quality is not regulated to the same extent. I don’t filter my tap water either. Some people don’t like the taste, but I’m used to it and even prefer it to Brita filtered water. And the minerals in tap water are good for you.

I don’t particularly like buying and serving diet drinks. For a short gathering (as opposed to a meal), most will be left and I don’t want them in the house. I have been known to offer the rest to guests who enjoy it.

If you frequently serve bottled drinks, have a supply on hand. They keep for months, if not longer.

In addition to or instead of bottled drinks, you can serve:

• Tap water in a jug. Add lemon or orange slices to make it more elegant.
• Fresh lemonade or orange juice. This requires squeezing a lot of fruit.
• Flavored water with a minor amount of fresh juice. I see they even sell it that way now.
• shakes they are a special gift. All you need is fresh or frozen fruit, ice cubes, and milk or yogurt.
• Coffee, tea or cocoa.