Step away from the biscuits! London venue and event expert eve is here to give you some of our top tips on introducing healthy snacks at your next event.
We bet you didn’t know that the global wellness economy is now worth a staggering £3.4 trillion, did you? It’s growing rapidly year on year and healthy eating is at the forefront of increasing health and wellness efforts. Thanks to the ever-increasing impact of technology, awareness of diet and fitness can be accessed by a quick swipe on a smartphone – what a time to be alive! Accessibility and awareness of mindful eating puts more of a spotlight on diet than ever before.
Snack well
Whether you’re working at an event, planning one or attending yourself, having healthy snacks on hand is the key to keeping your mind focused and your body fuelled. Putting the right food into your body can help to keep you on the ball throughout the event for top-notch planning powers or increased productivity when attending conferences, meetings or corporate events.
Put some magic in your menu
Nowadays, there isn’t really an excuse for boring snacks or shoddy catering options. There are so many special diets and people with differing food tastes, that there’s loads of options for healthy alternatives on offer. There’s zero excuse to serve half-hearted sad looking granola and a few nuts and seeds at a breakfast event and call it a ‘wellness’ effort. So many event-goers are used to carb-heavy beige food at events, our chefs at our eve venues work hard to sprinkle colour and diversity to our menus with sugar-free and vegan options.
Happy snacking = Happy you!
When providing snacks at your events for attendees, or searching for snacks on the go, eve recommends steering clear of starchy, carb-heavy snacks. These kinds of foods can make you tired, sluggish, jittery and even anxious. At an event, you need to feel focused, creative and energised. A healthy snack will make for a happy event, and a happy stomach to boot.
Take a break
So, you’re taking note of what you’re serving but have you considered making time for your guests to properly enjoy it? If you’re organising an event, make sure your attendees have enough time to grab a snack and provide a chilled-out space in which to do so. If people are in a rush, it’s all too tempting to reach for that chocolate bar or bag of crisps on the go. A well thought out break room with fresh fruit, herbal teas and fruit-infused water, along with healthy and nutritious snacks will re-energise and lift your attendees and you. Don’t snack and run. Take a proper break, eat something nutritious and you’ll be ready for anything for the rest of your event.
Get Healthy, get happy
Look out for our top 3 healthy snacks/drinks at your next event
Fruit-infused water
Fruit-infused water is everywhere at events now. Providing it means there’s no excuse for your guests not to stay hydrated and sip away on a cool glass of H20 with a fruity twist.
If you’re providing fruit-infused water at your own event, grab a few Kilner drinks dispensers and lemon, cucumber, orange, strawberries and as much variety of fruit as you can gather. Let it infuse in some fresh water or mineral water and voila! Serve cold with ice, mint, fruit slices and colourful (paper) straws.
Get fresh with our fruit-infused water ideas…
Dip-dip-hooray
Who doesn’t love a dip? Delicious and easy to prepare. Try traditional guacamole with a twist by adding feta or mango. Provide fresh and crunchy cut vegetables or toasted pitta bread. So easy to prepare and quick to eat! Why not try a new take on old favourites like hummus, sour cream and salsa, too?
Energy balls
Energy balls have become the must-have ‘on the go’ snack since Deliciously Ella started waxing lyrical about them several years ago. They’re a perfect alternative to biscuits for a conference snack break. Here at eve we always have a few in our desk drawers ready to snack on when working through a pile of paperwork, or to pop in our bags when we’re rushing out the door to an event! Check out our favourite homemade recipe below…
Energy bites
Prep time: 10 minutes
100g Pecan
75g Raisins
1 tbsp agave syrup
2 tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp- cocoa powder
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
50g desiccated coconut
Method
- Blitz pecans in a food processor until they look like crumbs, before mixing with the raisins, flaxseeds, agave syrup, cocoa powder and peanut butter.
- Roll the mixture into balls (about the size of golf balls) and then coat in your desiccated coconut (we find it easiest to roll the energy balls into the coconut on a work surface) and pop them into the fridge for about 20 minutes to firm up. Ta da!
Star snacks!
Looking for some inspiration on how to jazz up your snack table at your next event? eve has trawled through Instagram and Pinterest to give you real food for thought!
Fancy Fruit!
Give your apples a wow factor (something we never thought we’d say!). Print your branding on a pile of apples, using edible materials of course. Delicious and memorable. Instead of your logo, why not add some funny messages on each one like Love Hearts, but not?
Nutty about you
An eye-catching display of miniature snacks in shot glasses, like roasted cashews, look great and give attendees the fuel they need to keep going until dinner!
Fruity flutes
Yoghurt, fruit purée and some oats served in Champagne flutes will make an impactful difference to a classic brekkie snack.
Veg your bets
Simple can be effective with colourful chopped veg served dunked in hummus!