Choosing food for teenage parties can seem problematic, but according to Jalna Food Consultant, Brigid Treloar, the best advice is to keep it simple but substantial – particularly if alcohol will be consumed.

“Teenagers are much more aware of healthy food and girls in particular feel peer pressure about what they eat, especially in front of boys” says Brigid Treloar. “No-one wants to dribble food down their fancy clothes or be too adventurous trying new food at a party, so serve food teen guests can easily identify and in bite sizes. After all, guests will be juggling food and a drink, so they want substantial choices they can manage.”

Her top five tips for catering for teenage parties are:

Tip 1: Don’t put out the ‘junk food’ first, and always have more substantial food available early in the proceedings.  

• When guests arrive they are often hungry and will fill up on whatever is available, especially drinks.  Start with healthy things like vegie sticks (carrot, celery, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, asparagus spears, cucumber), thick dips, mini meatballs, blinis or savoury pikelets, cheese and crackers and in cold weather make a rich, warming soup (see tip 3 and our recipe suggestion).
  
  
• Make plenty of ‘mocktails’ (see our recipe), particularly for younger teen parties.  Mocktails based on low GI Yoghourt and Yoghourt On The Go are a healthier choice than soft drinks and give more sustained energy. Having an array of 250ml bottles of Jalna Yoghourt On The Go or Vitalize is a good idea too.

Tip 2: Don’t stress – keep catering simple.

• Whether it’s a day or night, swimming or formal event, teenage parties are best kept simple and a BBQ is a relatively inexpensive - not to mention easy - way to feed either large or small numbers of any age, without the need for caterers because a lot can be done ahead.
  
  Choose a good mix of lean sausages, chicken fillets, steak and chops, along with BBQ vegies like corn on the cob and jacket potatoes, plus tofu. If you want to add kebabs, Brigid
  suggests you either buy them or get the teens involved making them up the day before.
  
  
• Start with easy marinades that can double as a sauce or salad dressing as well.
  
  
• Serve the cooked food with an array of cold accompaniments – presented separately so guests can choose exactly what they like. So, using big colourful bowls, serve salad greens, cooked rice, potato, pasta, cous cous, corn on the cob, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, asparagus spears, olives, capsicum, mango slices, avocado slices. These are easy to prepare before the party, and simply topped up.
  
  
• Serve salad dressing, tomato sauce and mustard separately, and add a choice of wholegrain and white dinner rolls. Any leftovers can be served later, plus if you prepare extra, you have two day’s worth of meals.
  
  If you want a slightly more elaborate BBQ, why not try a butterflied leg of lamb, readily available from most butchers and supermarkets and it just needs slicing – or whole butterflied chickens, or mini chipolatas, rissoles, hamburgers or meatballs, served with different sauces for different flavours.

Tip 3: Hot food on a cold night.

• Keeping with the concept of making things easy for the hosts at the party, in cold weather make an array of hearty soups days or even weeks before. Serve in mugs or disposable cups when guests first arrive. Jalna’s Pumpkin, Kumera & Red Lentil Soup with Cumin Yoghourt recipe is filling and tasty.
  
  
• If you don’t want to do a BBQ, casseroles are good, hearty food that can also be prepared ahead of time. Make a few varieties, including a vegetarian one, then serve with vegetable frittatas or rice from a rice cooker at the party. Ideal with lots of crusty bread, or flat bread crisped in the oven or under the grill. 

Tip 4: Add an Asian flavour.

• Another alternative to the traditional Aussie BBQ is to use large woks. Simply stir fry vegetables (you can buy ready-cut frozen or fresh ones) and Asian greens with a little soy sauce in one wok and marinated chicken or pork in another. Serve with noodles (quick to prepare with boiling water) or steamed rice served direct from a rice cooker (you can make it with a combination of herbs and any Jalna fruit Yoghourt On The Go for a delicious twist). 
  
  Serve in disposable noodle boxes with chopsticks or an Asian spoon for easy eating (and minimal washing up afterwards).

Tip 5: Keep dessert simple too.

• Put out platters of seasonal fresh fruit and berries, accompanied by an array of Jalna Yoghourts – the 200g tubs are perfect for parties, served in a giant bowl filled with ice so guests can choose their own from Low Fat Strawberry or Fruit Salad, BioDynamic Blueberry or Premium Creamy Fruits of the Forest or Vanilla.
  
  
• In cooler weather, guests could thread their preferred fruit pieces onto kebabs for the BBQ, then serve with their favourite Jalna yoghourt.
  
  
• Or on a hot night, a frozen dessert made with Jalna Yoghourt and fresh fruit is a refreshing, tasty finish to the meal.

Strawberry Yoghourt Icecream

Serves 4

1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 x 200g Jalna Low Fat Strawberry Yoghourt (or 400g Jalna Fat Free Berry Fruit Yoghourt)
2 cups fresh or frozen berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
4 almonds, skin on, coarsely chopped (optional)

• Whisk egg white and sugar until soft peaks form (meringue texture). 
• Combine yoghourt and fruit and fold into egg mixture. 
• Pour into an icecream maker and churn for 20 minutes.  If no icecream maker is available, pour mixture into a freezer tray, freeze for 1 hour, whisk to break up the ice crystals and freeze again.  Repeat and freeze until set. 
• Serve in a bowl or cocktail glass garnished with chopped almonds. Alternatively, layer strawberry yoghourt icecream and fresh fruit and garnish with grated chocolate.

Tip: Make icy pops by removing yoghourt mix from icecream maker before it freezes completely. Spoon into iceblock containers with sticks and freeze.