Healthy entertaining platters for Easter

Easter – a special time for reflection, celebration and relaxation and a time where many party platters will be put together.

Whilst platters packed full of delicious food look gorgeous with their bright colours and yummy treats, they can also translate into a complete calorie overload thanks to the high fat crackers, dips and marinated delights. Some good news though, a few simple swaps can switch your indulgent party platter into an array of healthy, nutritious options you can munch on till your hearts content.

Swap: Salami for Tassal Salt Reduced Smoked Salmon
Rolls of fatty, processed meat may compliment an entertaining platter perfectly but nutritionally they offer little other than a hearty dose of saturated fat. On the other hand, a swap to Omega-3 rich Tassal salt reduced smoked salmon means that you can get a protein and good fat hit with a pretty platter addition.

Swap: Chips for Wholesome Veggie Chips
Chips are chips, but there are some that are slightly better with fewer additives, flavours and few ingredients other than veggies and a little salt. Wholesome Veggie chips are one of these options, with more dietary fibre than regular potato chips they are a colourful, slightly healthier option as a crunchy accompaniment to any platter.

Swap: Rice crackers for Roasted Faava Beans
Whilst rice crackers may seem to be a relatively healthy choice, they are made from refined white rice, and flavoured varieties often have added MSG. On the other hand, roasted broad beans are a protein and fibre rich snack, and also have flavoured varieties made using natural flavours.

Swap: Crackers for waferthins
It may surprise you to hear that even cracker biscuits can be high in fat, with some crackers containing as much as 30% fat. Waferthins on the other hand are a much lighter option with very few calories per serve.

Swap: Pesto dips for the Beetroot Dip
Pesto dips may look healthy with their bright colours and nut bases, but they also contain up to 50g of fat per 100g thanks to the nuts but also heavy vegetable oil base. A much lower calorie, nutritious option are vegetable based dips including plain beetroot and tzatziki which contain <3g of fat per 100g and very few calories.

Swap: Cream cheese for goat’s cheese
White cheeses are generally lower in calories and fat than creamy and cheddar cheese but another little secret is that goat’s cheese contains just 20-22% fat compared to close to 40% for cream cheese, making them a perfect swap for your platter.

Swap: Cheddar cheese for Light Jarlsberg
Not only is it easy to overeat creamy cheddar when it is served in a large block, but at up to 35% fat, it can easily be over consumed with high fat crackers. Light Jarlsberg on the other hand contains just 16% fat and can be rolled up to look fabulous on a platter.

Swap: Bread for grissini
Teaming fresh slices of baguette is a delicious platter addition, but a simple swap to tasty grissini sticks will slash the carbs and calories.

Swap: Marinated oily veggies for veggie sticks
Marinated olives and Mediterranean veggies are popular vegetable additions but they do pack in plenty of extra fat via their marinades. Colourful celery, capsicum, baby tomatoes and cucumber sticks are low calorie, nutrient rich options that can easily be substituted in.

Looking for entertaining platter inspiration? Check out our favourite 3 recipes using Tassal Salmon below.

  • Smoked salmon with veggies platter here
  • Hot Smoked salmon and cheese platter here
  • Aussie colourful summer platter here 

Any views and opinions expressed in this blog belong solely to the original author of the opinion and can’t be attributed to the business or their blog.

This blog has been written by Susie Burrell.