It seems that everyone these days is on some sort of diet. Whether it's low carb, Weight Watchers, or South Beach, it can be a daunting task to come up with a menu that will please your guests when you entertain. Should the menu consist of carrot sticks and celery stalks? Are these classic standbys even permitted on today's popular diets? And who really wants to eat them anyway?
How to Plan the Menu
Gather your information:
- Begin by researching the particulars of what your guests are permitted to eat, and what's not allowed on their diet.
- Armed with that information, you can continue planning the menu by visiting websites that have recipes for the specific diet.
- Don't be afraid to use your imagination to select recipes from among your own favorites if you feel you can modify them to suit your guests requirements.
- Assuming that you would only be aware of a diet when entertaining a good friend, not a casual social acquaintance, feel free to ask your friend if your menu is on the right track.
Dessert - A Potential Minefield?
Dessert will be a tricky subject. You don't want to skip it, but you also don't want to offer something that looks like you're sabotaging your friend's efforts. Fresh fruit is a good option on many diet plans. Also, if your guest offers to bring something to the meal, you can always assign her the responsibility for choosing the dessert.
Remember, whether or not you serve the perfect food, your effort to accommodate your guests' needs will be appreciated.
Quick Overview of Some of the Most Popular Diets
Here are some of the more popular diets today and suggestions for what you can serve to anyone following them.
The Atkins Diet- This diet restricts the intake of processed/refined carbohydrates such as high sugar foods, breads, pastas, cereals and starchy vegetables. Your best bet for this dieter is a beef and salad dinner. Make sure the salad dressing is not low fat (low fat dressings are often high in carbohydrates).
The South Beach Diet - This is one of the hottest diets in recent years. This diet is very strict during the first two week induction phase and many foods are off-limits. A dieting friend probably wouldn't want to eat out during this phase unless you cooked strictly South Beach Diet recipes. After the first phase the diet restrictions loosen a bit and the overriding principle is to balance fats with "good" carbohydrates which are determined by the glycemic index. In the last phase of the diet, there's much more flexibility and it shouldn't be too difficult to entertain your friends at this point.
The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet- This diet is similar in principle to the Atkins Diet, but allows followers to eat one reward meal per day where restricted carbohydrates are allowed, as long as they are balanced with equal portions of protein and low carbohydrate vegetables. For this dieter you could put together a chicken, vegetable and brown rice dinner that would be satisfying for everyone.
Weight Watchers- All foods are allowed on the Weight Watchers program, but they are assigned a point value, which the dieter must track to stay within a certain daily target. The most recent twist to this diet is the alternative program which allows unlimited amounts of specific foods.
Jenny Craig- Anyone who's on the Jenny Craig program will probably bring their own special meal with them, since this program sells meals. Check with your guest to see whether this will be the case, and if so, you can supplement the Jenny Craig meal with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Slim-Fast - Your guests can eat any sensible meal you cook for dinner on this plan, since they will have already had their two diet shakes for the day. Look here for suggestions on the type of meals considered " sensible" on this plan.
