If you want to have a healthy food spread at your wedding, then what’s stopping you? Those comments from your wedding guests that the food should be about what makes them happy is plain wrong. If your wedding guests truly care about you as a couple, they will be happy to be there no matter what food you serve them. And if they know who you are and how committed you are to healthy eating, then they should accept the fact that they will be served healthy food choices more than the junk they usually eat at home.
Most weddings indulge their guests so much that their guests end up getting heartburn after. Not that it’s wrong to serve them roasted pig and chocolate eclairs. It’s just for a night, anyway. However, if you are a health advocate or have strong feelings about eating the right food no matter what the occasion is, your wedding should be a reflection of that. This occasion is about you and your spouse. It is not about what food your wedding guests want to eat.
The truth is that if your menu is good enough, your guests wouldn’t even know the difference between a mushroom burger and a pure-beef patty. That’s why serving healthy food at a wedding comes with a price. You need to look for a chef who can whip up delicious couscous that tastes more like a mashed potato. You know the drill.
Picking the Right Venue
Unfortunately, not all caterers, restaurants, and chefs serve strictly healthy food to serve at the wedding venue of your choice. If your wedding venue is far from the city and somehow is in the middle of nowhere, you may find it hard to get a caterer who will serve vegetarian or vegan dishes. That’s why you have to check with the venue owner if they know someone who can serve healthy food to your guests.
You may want to take a look at a farm or a barn-style wedding venue. They might have a farm-to-table concept that will bring fresh produce to your tables. Remember that your healthy food doesn’t have to be boring. It can be an experience all on its own. For guests who haven’t tried eating purely vegetarian or vegan meals, this occasion could be an introduction for them.
Try Not to Go Full Vegetarian or Vegan
You don’t have to go strictly vegetarian and vegan. Healthy food doesn’t mean vegetables and non-dairy recipes. You can still serve meat and seafood as long as you cook those in healthy ingredients such as olive oil. Or, you can mix it up a bit. How about a steak salad or a veggie pasta? Margherita pizza, which is made of fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, roasted garlic, and herbs, is a healthy alternative to those who like carbs.
Mediterranean cuisine uses healthy ingredients, too. The chicken kebabs are good enough for the main protein, but Mediterranean dishes will always use more grains, seafood, and vegetables. For the appetizers, you can go for a delicious hummus with pita or Melitzanosalata, which is a kind of eggplant salad.
Break the Rules
You will find it hard to prepare a celebratory meal without the usual suspects—oil, butter, and cream. There’s something about these fat-laden ingredients that make meals more delicious. You can try to use the alternatives or break the rules a little and ask the chef to use as little butter, oil, and cream as possible. You don’t want your wedding party to feel like a punishment to your guests. If they had to wait for two hours for the wedding ceremony to finish, the least you can do for them is to serve them good food.
Let Them Have Desserts
If your guests are going to sit through eggplant salads, couscous, pumpkin ravioli, and Moroccan chickpea even though they’re not exactly fans of healthy eating, then the least you can do is serve them indulgent desserts. And yes, desserts can be a bit healthy, too. Try to lean on more fruit-based desserts so there will be less sugar. If you do have to serve chocolates, you may use more of the dark variation.
Healthy food is a bit of a challenge. The past year, however, has opened people’s eyes to the reality that healthy eating is the best way to boost one’s immune system and fight off viruses such as the coronavirus. A healthy lifestyle is your best defense. So, whether you’re getting married or celebrating a birthday or anniversary, try to serve more healthy options than the usual wedding food.
