Sometimes, you just have to have friends over for a summer afternoon on the terrace!  A trip to the store, and you bring home the chips, the prepared dip, the hamburgers — and you blow a hole in your diet that will take weeks to fix!  But if your party food is low in calorie and high in protein AND delicious, you can partake without fear.

Prepare any or all of these:

Zucchini Quiche [a favorite of my Mother’s for party food]: see Aug. 28, 2016              Easy to make ahead.

Quesadillas [you can even heat them on the grill] : see August 3, 2016                                   Can be filled and shaped early in the day, wrapped in foil and refrigerated for later.

Falafel with Cucumber Raita: see March 1, 2017                                                                Make the falafel patties days ahead and freeze.

Meze Meal [lots of bowls of meze foods mean lots of choices] :  see April 17, 2017                Instead of preparing the single-serving portions, triple or quadruple the amounts.

Pizza [make several, cut each into 6 pieces] : see May 24, 2017

Green Salad with homemade vinaigrette dressing: 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tsp vinegar/2 cups lettuce.  Add tomatoes, cooked beets, blueberries, cooked green beans, nuts

Beverages: a] make your own wine spritzers with sparkling water, white wine, and ice cubes with fresh raspberries frozen inside.    b] have lots of sparkling water on hand for after you have had your own spritzer.

What can your guests bring?  Fresh fruit, some white wine, cut vegetables.  If you trust yourself to resist, guests can bring chips or a nice artisan bread.