By Pip
Many of us have a problem around the Sabbats when a massive feast is served up and we all eat too much, drink too much and feel rather merry but sick afterwards. So here’s some tips and tricks you may wish to try or suggest to your coven to make everyone feel a little healthier after a large sabbat:
1) Just because there is a massive feast laid before you doesn’t mean you HAVE to finish it. A lot of people feel guilty about not eating a lot, others enjoy it, but here’s a little trick: Small plates. You’re allowed to eat as much as you can delicately balance on that tiny plate, but no more.
2) Size – If you are in charge of a sabbat feast, apart from only supplying small plates (disposable is best if you don’t want to do the washing up!) you may wish to think about how much everyone is actually going to eat before cooking up a massive feast. A lot of people tend to go for one plate per person. This can be too much!! Between two to five people – look at one veggie dish, one side dish and one meat dish (if there are vegitarians present you may wish to make an alternate ‘main dish’. If all present are vegitarian then just the one ‘main dish’ is fine.) For six to ten people think about two veggie dishes, two side dish and one main choice. Don’t go overboard, especially if you are planning on dessert. If you are worried about people getting hungry – its called bread and butter on the side. If you are cooking a recipie that serves 12 and only 6 people are coming, then cut all the ingredients in half, or, if you want left overs, only serve half.
3) Dessert – now there’s a word everyone loves. Chocolate Yule Logs, Little pumpkin shaped candies, sugared flowers… you name it, its usually out there. One dessert should do up to ten people. Another trick is to pre cut cakes. Its too easy, when given the choice of sizing your slice, to ask for too much. Make sure you cut it when you are not hungry otherwise you might be judging with your stomach! Also a lot of people tend to leave a long space of time between dinner and dessert to let their meals go down. If you have to do this, you are too full for dessert. It should be served immediatly after. Always warn attending eaters if there is a planned dessert afterwards so they can plan how much to eat if they choose.
4) Healthy Dishes – A lot of the traditional pagan recipies are quite healthy but they have be altered so much to adhere to modern tastes. Its usually quite easy to find healthy recipies that correspond to rituals, a lot of us just take a lazy way out and keep repeating well-known recipies that we know are unhealthy. Instead of just going with first choices that pop into your head, do some more research. The feast is an important part of the ritual and should have time put towards planning it properly.
5) Seperate Feast Organiser – Some times it might be easier to nominate someone who is not planning the ritual to look after the feast so they have the time to properly look into healthy dishes that correspond correctly. Ritual organisers already have so much to think about that a feast is usually really chucked together at the end. This can result in dishes missing, not being appropriate, it becoming quite expensive, or just generally being really unhealthy. If you are a perminant HP or HPS, electing someone each sabbat to oragnise the feast can teach your students a lot.
6) BYO Plate not always good – Although this is an easy solution that many pagan groups take, sometimes organising the feast yourself and asking for a small donation in return can be a lot easier. More variety is one very good reason, a part from the health aspects. It also saves you from dealing with the lazy person or person-with-no-time that always brings the bag of chips.
7) Budget – A lot of people complain that healthy food is more expensive. This is a myth. Healthy food is usually cheaper. You don’t have to do the recipies that include a million and one different ingredients! So there’s another reason to eat more healthily at sabbats…
8 ) Drinks – We all claim or want to be Kitchen Witches, yet we insist on the coke and lemonade at most ritual feasts. Making your own drinks is not that hard! Have a look around on pagan websites with recipies for a few good ideas, they’re not hard to find. And they will have much less sugar then the fizzies! Always have a jug of water handy. It aids digestion and you will probably be dehydrated after an energetic ritual anyways. It will also help you eat less if you sip it while eating.
9) Non-alcoholic Drinks – Some groups will kick up a stink about it not being tranditional and how the Gods will smyte you if you use a non-alcoholic wine in the chalice. Now it’s not my job to say if this is right or wrong, it’s just an opinion (as I am so commonly caught saying), but if you have an alcohol problem or are trying to lose weight (alcohol has a very high sugar content), you might want to ask your coven to use a non-alcohol version or at least supply an alternative non-alcoholic drink to be blessed.
10) My last point is a tip to the lonely pagan who is the only one dieting in the coven. Tell your coven you are on a diet and need support and to think of you when planning feasts. It is too hard to battle on your own. Offer healthy alternative ideas if they arn’t very health conscious. You may even be surprised to find a number of its members wish to eat healthier anyways.So there we go – there’s my ten tips.
Good luck and blessings!