The multiple dishes required for a classic brunch seems hard enough to plan without factoring in fat, calorie, fiber, sodium and nutrient counts. Yet the varied nature of a festive brunch menu actually makes it easy to offer healthy alternatives along with traditional favorites. With luck, you'll manage to appeal to the virtuous, the vegans and the vitamin-conscious among your friends, as well as to the traditional "foodies."
Use Whole Grains
Brunches are traditionally rich in sweet starches like pancakes, french toast, waffles, coffee cake and muffins. Boost the fiber and nutrient content by using multi-grain bread for the french toast. Look for recipes incorporating wheat, brown rice or other whole-grain flours for the baked goods and griddle treats. Bagels also come in multi-grain versions. An oatmeal station or healthy cereal buffet not only adds a touch of whimsy, but boosts the brunch's fiber count as well.
Pile on the Fruit
Provide inviting pitchers of fresh-squeezed orange or grapefruit juice and glass bowls or hollowed-out watermelons heaped with of melon balls, grapes, berries, orange wedges, watermelon cubes, banana chunks, sliced apples, star fruit slices and other appealing fruit pieces. Use fruit instead of chocolate chips in muffins and pancakes, and make tempting yogurt-granola-fruit parfaits.
Vary the Vegetables
People who find fruit juice too sweet often appreciate carrot juice, tomato juice or virgin Bloody Mary drinks. Vegetables also can star in quiches, frittatas, scrambled eggs and omelets. Veggies that pair especially well with these egg-and-cheese-based dishes include spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and peppers.
Include Lean Proteins
Replace traditional sausage and bacon with turkey or vegetarian versions. If you serve eggs, consider using an egg white product instead of using whole eggs; some people prefer to eat egg whites only to cut their cholesterol counts. Other ways to boost healthy proteins include adding beans to breakfast burritos and nuts and seeds to cereals, oatmeal and muffins.
Avoid Alcohol
While mimosas, sangrias and Bloody Marys remain favorite brunch drinks, many hosts find it safer and more diet-friendly to offer alcohol-free beverages. Make "virgin" versions of these classic brunch drinks by adding sparkling tonic to orange juice, fruit chunks to grape juice and Tabasco sauce and celery sticks to tomato juice.
Reduce Fat
Use vegetable cooking spray or non-stick pans instead of butter when cooking eggs, pancakes and French toast. Applesauce or mashed bananas effectively replace some or all of the fat in muffins, tea breads and coffee cake. Offer fruit butters, low-sugar jams and vegetable oil-based spreads along with butter and cream cheese.
Cut Sodium
Traditionally salty foods like bacon and vegetable juice now come in low-sodium versions. When cooking savory dishes, reach for spices and herbs instead of salt when preparing savory dishes. Canned foods are notoriously high in sodium, so check labels before incorporating these foods into your brunch.
Provide Healthy Dairy
The calcium-rich dairy food group is easy to include with a little forethought. Use low-fat cheeses in quiches, frittatas and to top scrambled eggs. Make yogurt-fruit-granola parfaits, or include decorative bowls of low-fat yogurt next to cereals and fruits. If you have a smoothie bar, MayoClinic.com suggests using low-fat yogurt, wheat germ and tropical or unusual fruits. Offer skim milk or low-fat soy milk along with the cream and sugar at the coffee station.
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