Ensure healthy snacking at Diwali parties

What's a Diwali party without snacks while you play cards? But make sure your guests get to binge on something healthy, suggest experts.

Healthy snacking is in, so add a twist to your party plans with the following tips from T.K. Banerjee, Food Specialist from the house of Terra Chips and Dipti Motiani, Vice President - Operations, Second Nature Fruit Juices:

* Rainbow chips platter: Add a zing to your party with an assortment of colourful baked vegetable chips made from blue potato, sweet potato and parsnip and see the colours do their magic. The visually appealing chips platter is high on both taste and fitness factor. Don't forget to mix things up with dips on the side. Mayo and ranch go best with vegetable chips.

* Ditch your regular soda: Ditch your regular line up of cold drinks/sodas for fresh fruit juices that will invigorate your taste buds for sure. They not only add flavours to the table but are also high on nourishment value. Add mint or lemon to the juices to take the taste level a notch higher.

* Fruits for the fitness: Slice and dice some seasonal fruits into a bowl and dance your way to nutrition filled shenanigans. Add a few drops of lemon and/or red paprika to sizzle things up.

* Nutty affair: High in Vitamin E, nuts make for a perfect party snack. Spoil yourself for taste by roasting a few scoops of different nuts tossed in salt. Add sea salt to the mix to have an extra boost of flavour.

* Dessert to devour: Blend you favourite yogurt with some almond or coconut milk, a frozen banana and a tablespoon of honey. Pour the mixture into popsicle moulds, freeze for few hours and voila! Use blueberries or raspberries instead of bananas to try different flavours. This appealing menu high on nutrition is sure to win you praises.

--IANS

rb/sed