Festivities are around the corner. It is almost Diwali, there would be get togethers, family gatherings, friend meet ups and so on in the coming days. More often it so happens that the Party Food gets too heavy on stomach and there start the episodes of indigestion. The simple mantra for all the party hoppers is to eat moderately. This is not a great advice but I have something more to say.

As hosts of the party one has tremendous responsibility to keep the Menu in check. Most places we see amazing spread of food. Loads of items but very little attention is given to the real nutrition factor or matching factor of the food.

Understanding the food groups and their right combination is very important as we have already insisted in our previous blog post.

Here are some pointers that all hosts can implement.

Age group and type of people you are serving

It is always better to identify the type of people you are serving, it also helps to know their age group. Old people may not like the same food as kids.

Food pairing

Our Indian food system has in built pairing. So, while deciding menus it is better to take a note of that. Also if you are serving multi cuisine food then have two items of the same cuisine complementing each other. Poori, Aloo, Shrikhand is a good pairing nutrition wise. It is a balanced meal. Biryani, Vengayam Pachadi and Gobi 65 is a complete meal in itself. Parathas with Pickle or Raita is a complete meal. While deciding food pairing never pair a chinese item with Indian.

The sauces which chinese items have do not complement the Indian foodstuff.

Keeping Manchurian with Biryani is a no-no.

When you have sandwiches in your menu, having Parathas is like giving high dose of Carbohydrates.

Sandwiches complement with something like fruit salad or custard which is light on stomach.

About three course meals

If you are looking at a three course elaborate spread. Soups and Starters should be carefully chosen. Soups are to enhance the appetite, they also need to be light on stomach.

For any normal day, cream of tomato, pepper rasam are the best soups to start with.

If you plan a Chinese meal then mixed vegetable soup, manchow soup is fine. Starters can be selected based on that day’s your preference of food.

While eating in the restaurant too, keep the difference between Chinese Cuisine and Indian Cuisine in mind before ordering.

Desserts can be chosen wisely too. If you have served a very heavy dinner you can even skip one. For heavy dinners, you can keep something light as Rasa Malai, or Rasagulla. I prefer keeping dessert in my main course mostly.

 Items for Children

Children are picky eaters so it is better to know their preference before planning. As per recent trends pizza, burger, noodles are some of the preferred choices for kids. Including something which is not junk like Parathas (whole wheat), Puris, Rolls is a wise decision. Also you can insist on the importance of having no junk in your party.

Get-togethers are fun but it is time to celebrate responsibly. Deciding the menu with seasonal foodstuff and gauged nutrition is worth appreciation.

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