Holding a dinner party but fear you may fall off the diet wagon? Serving a healthy, low fat meal shouldn’t mean you have to compromise on flavour or feel like you are going to deprive your guests. Here are a few tips and ideas to help you along the way to hosting the perfect Diet at Mine. Don’t forget to look at our Menu Ideas for some delicious low fat recipes.

Slimmers Pot Luck

If you attend a slimming class you could invite your fellow attendees and ask them all to make a dish guaranteeing a variety of healthy bites and not a lot of washing up!

Get Moving

Exercise helps weight loss and improves your fitness. You don’t have to become a gym rat or necessarily invest in a fancy treadmill. Why not find a work colleague or persuade your family and friends to join you in one of our Trinity Clapham Common runs this year or maybe take part in our Trinity River Walk. You can celebrate your achievement with everyone round to yours for Diet at Mine nibbles and drinks.

Chinese themed evening

Decorate your dining room with Chinese lanterns and gold accents and invite your friends to celebrate any joy or good fortune.

Wow your guests with delicious crab and corn soup as a starter instead of fried foods like spring rolls and prawn toast. Cook up a spicy Chinese curry adding ingredients like black pepper, ginger and chilli for a flavorsome way to increase your weight loss as spicy food boosts metabolism and can also make you feel fuller.

Instead of serving the usual after dinner coffee why not try green tea? It has been known for its slimming qualities for thousands of years. Not only does it burn fat and boost metabolism but there are a number of additional health benefits.

Sunday Roast

Trying to lose weight doesn’t mean you have to forgo favourites like a roast dinner.

You can replace lamb with turkey or fish which is naturally low in fat and fish that have high levels of fat, such as salmon, contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Substitute roast potatoes with swede mash and steaming vegetables will retain more of their nutrients.

With a table full of food, it’s very hard to resist temptation. Understanding what exactly constitutes a serving size and plating food before serving will help those who tend to overeat.

Takeaway and DVD

A takeaway can contain almost a day’s ration of fat and calories. But considering vegetable curry with boiled rice or pizza with a thin base and vegetable topping can help halve the bad stuff whilst still allowing you to enjoy your favourite cuisine.

A night out at the movies usually means buttery popcorn, an oversized bag of chocolate and a giant sized fizzy drink. Here are some alternatives for your DVD night in without piling on the pounds:

o Popcorn can be a great, low calorie snack. Buy your own popcorn kernels and pop them at home using a little vegetable oil, then add salt or syrup to taste

o Instead of chocolate why not have a cereal, fruit or nut bar instead? Or if you are really looking for a chocolate fix go for dark chocolate with atleast 70% cocoa which is low in calories and full of antioxidants

o Diet fizzy drinks are a better alternative but even better is sparkling water with juice or a homemade smoothie which goes towards your 5 a day recommended daily amount of fruit and vegetables