A Fruity Affair

by Kara on March 6, 2011 · No Comments

Getting right into the theme- dressed as a melon with a melon!

If you are one for throwing a party, and have always wanted a theme that promoted healthy eating and living, then I believe you may really enjoy the next 5 minutes as you read this.

This weekend I made my way up the Mornington Peninsula coast (yes, again after last week!) in search of Red Hill. For those that do not know, Red Hill is known for its Saturday morning markets (which I would suggest to anyone looking for great produce and fine artwork to pay a visit to). A friend of mine was hosting a birthday celebration for another friend of ours at her home in Red Hill. Around 50 people made the trip up from Melbourne to join in the celebrations, of what came to be known as “A fruity affair”. This was no ordinary celebration, but rather one with a fruity twist (the theme was designed by a fellow dietitian friend I may add).

Everyone had to come dressed as a fruit and bring a fruit based dish e.g. apple pie, fruit platter, fruit based mocktail etc.

I thought that this was a fantastic idea, as it was almost like a health promotion activity without so obviously stating it. It made me start to wonder what other themes could go down as well…

I first thought about a vegetable based party, where people can bring salads, cooked vegetable dishes, and obviously stick with the theme of dressing up as a vegetable, however this to me did not have quite the same ring (although still definitely a possibility).

I then thought about a protein based party, which almost turned into a bbq (although getting grown adults to dress up like an egg or a steak may not be the easiest task!).

I then thought about a wholegrain party, where people bring grain based dishes and cook wholegrain damper in the bon fire (yes there was a bon fire at this celebration!), although again, dressing up like a piece of whole wheat bread or whole wheat pasta made me think that everyone would be looking quite beige!

Obviously the list could go on here and I could come up with dairy ideas too, however I think I have painted a picture for you all of the range of different themed parties that could be thrown for a health promotion / celebratory event.

Toffee apple, banana and a worm

So back to the fruity affair. I entered and saw a range of costumes, some of which included strawberries, bananas, worms (coming out of fruit), grapes (people covered in green balloons), and apples (although these were more representative of apple Macs- with the apple symbol pasted on their backs). The table was covered in fruit based dishes, some of which were healthier than others e.g. apple crumble, toffee apples, fruit platters, whole fruits such as watermelons, as well as a range of salads, pastas and bbq meats.

a pair of strawberries

Everyone had a wonderful time with music playing in the background and I believe all guests really got into the theme which made for a fabulous celebration.

a worm and a watermelon

So now that you have been let into someone elses fun filled celebrations based around healthy food, how about you have a think about ideas for a theme for your next Sunday brunch, birthday, workplace health and wellbeing event or any other occasion you wish to start promoting healthy eating?