If you made a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier, you might be dreading your first catered event. You may picture an indulgent, hearty sit-down meal of steak and buttery potatoes or a tempting buffet with little in the way of health foods — unless you count that single strawberry on the cheesecake dessert. 

However, both your event and clean eating commitments have hope. An experienced caterer like Cotton Culinary can provide balanced and tasty options so you can enjoy a memorable gathering without sacrificing your goals for the new year. Keep your resolutions and your food’s flavor at your next catered event by using these healthy catering tips.

Top Tips for Healthy Catering

When hosting a catered event, whether elevating a special milestone moment or bringing your employees workplace dining for a lunch-and-learn session, keep wholesome offerings in the spotlight for your guests with healthy event catering services and discuss the following with your selected caterer.

Select a Balanced Menu

Instead of choosing a heavy menu filled only with refined carbohydrates — like dense, creamy pasta, garlic bread and sugary brownies — brainstorm balanced menu options with your caterer. Find ways to offer proteins, complex carbs and healthy fats together for a sustaining meal. Your caterer can guide you in balancing your menu while staying within your budget.

If you are hosting an elegant seated meal, try building well-rounded plates for guests. Pairing grilled salmon or chicken, quinoa salad and roasted sweet potatoes can provide a sustaining dining experience that gives nutrients and flavor while not detracting from the elevated nature of your event. 

If your event is better suited to more casual, quick offerings, try bundling proteins and complex carbohydrates in ready-to-go dishes like spinach turkey wraps or tuna salad sandwiches on whole grain bread. For both seated and buffet meals, include sides of vegetables and fruits like grilled cauliflower and Mediterranean Watermelon Salad to round out meals and offer key vitamins and minerals.

Choose In-Season and Locally Grown Offerings

Partner with your caterer to make healthy, sustainable swaps for your event. Seemingly small switches can increase the flavor and color diversity on your guests’ plates, making healthy eating even more appealing.

Select seasonal foods to increase the nutrition and freshness of your fruits and vegetables. Choosing in-season produce can allow you to capitalize on its natural abundance and peak ripeness. For example, request oranges and citrus fruit in the winter or squash and pumpkin in the fall when these fruits are most available and at their potentially highest quality.

Additionally, talk with your caterer about using locally sourced ingredients. Local health foods that have traveled fewer miles may provide fresher flavors than those from across the country, increasing satisfaction for your guests, whether at weddings, galas or special holiday parties.

Offer Healthy Drink Alternatives

Healthy event catering services can extend beyond the food itself too. Encourage a shift away from unhealthy sodas loaded with refined sugars by offering health-forward drinks.

Talk with your caterer about offering fruit-infused “spa water” to increase the appeal and excitement of standard water. Consider offering multiple types of citrus-, cucumber- or mint-infused waters to create conversation and interest around the naturally flavorful and still healthy drink.

You can also offer a selection of unique, health-conscious drinks that limit artificial sugar and focus on natural ingredients. Offering a spread of fruit juices for a catered breakfast, herbal teas during a business lunch or sparkling waters at a celebratory anniversary event can all provide satisfyingly sweet libations that don’t break a health-focused New Year’s resolution.

Ask for Sauce Separation

To help avoid extra, unneeded calories and promote self-directed portion control, partner with your caterer to separate sauces, condiments and other dressings from their accompanying dish. This helps ensure a health-focused guest does not have their simple salad pre-soaked in rich ranch dressing that balloons their caloric intake or their otherwise simple turkey sandwich covered in unwanted amounts of mayonnaise. 

Letting guests choose their desired toppings and amounts can go a long way to helping them make health-conscious choices — without excluding those who would prefer their pasta dish swimming in the creamiest sauce offered. As an added benefit, offering sauce separation can help create a more inclusive menu for those with allergies or dietary restrictions.

Entice with Appetizing Presentations

With healthy foods, some caterers may provide only a simple, standard salad bar — something your guests have seen hundreds of times before. Create interest in and draw attention to your healthier offerings by teaming up with an experienced caterer who can give health foods a conversation-starting presentation. 

Discuss whether your caterer can provide food sculptures out of fruit, vegetables or cheese. If not, they may be able to arrange a fruit platter or vegetable plate in a color-sorted pattern. Consider, for example, a healthy yogurt and fruit parfait layered artfully in a clear glass to encourage a healthy dessert choice. Your dining clients or employees may be drawn to the presentation and enjoy the healthy flavors while avoiding the hidden costs of poor nutrition.

Often, fresh foods (like bell peppers, carrots, watermelon, pineapple or strawberries) come with naturally beautiful and bright colors that your caterer can help showcase for your guests. Work with your caterer to request an eye-catching approach to the food set-up and help direct your guests’ gaze toward the most nutritious foods. 

Partner with an Experienced Caterer

An experienced caterer can transform your healthy event into a fresh, flavorful and memorable culinary experience for you and your guests — all while encouraging healthy eating. Search for a caterer prepared to partner with you and discuss your healthy event vision and critical details, ready to accommodate your requests for balanced meals, dressings on the side and artful presentation. For elegantly elevated healthy event catering services, trust a premier caterer like Cotton Culinary.

Cotton Culinary has the proven experience, masterful culinary artists and tailored menus to make your healthy catered event a reality. Cotton’s teams take the time to talk about your event or business need, diving into every detail that is important to you. You can customize the meals served to guests, employees or students and request special presentations, ensuring a delightful and wholesome dining experience.

So go ahead and do both — keep that healthy eating New Year’s resolution and host a mouthwatering, unforgettable catered event.

To learn more about crafting a flavorful, healthy experience for your gathering, contact a Cotton Culinary representative today by filling out an online contact form or calling us at 281-712-9769.