For me, both occasions will be a mixture of joy and sadness because while I love every minute of watching my children grow up, I also miss the days when they were really small, especially since it means they are moving further away from me.

Letting children go is hard, and the occasion is also bittersweet for me: my elder daughter is the first of my five children to graduate from college.

With five kids, three still in the house, this daughter has never had it easy trying to secure her education, and she tells me that getting it was harder than I could have ever imagined. Even though she paid for most of it herself, her education was always a family affair because for four years we all helped her in one way or another. So this week we celebrate not only her, but the fact that we all worked together to help her get through.

And  that sounds like a great reason to have a feast ! Although we’ll have a full-blown celebration for her at a later date, on the day she graduates we’ll have a small reception for her at home with immediate family, her close friends and lots of comfort foods. My daughter wants an eclectic menu with a Southern/Mediterranean flair. My shish kabobs aren’t traditional, since I don’t have a grill and my oven is broken, so I cook the meat,  onions, carrots, mushrooms and peppers  and then spear them onto the sticks and serve with dipping sauces on the side.

Dij’s Delights

Assorted fruit, red grapes and cheese platter

Bread, breadsticks and crackers

Crudités with hummus

Chips with salsa and guacamole

Angel-stuffed eggs

Barbecued lamb or chicken shish kabobs

Grilled salmon

Couscous with yellow raisins, scallions and dates

Pasta salad

Arugula with beets and shaved parmesan in a vinagrette dressing

Strawberry/peppermint lemonade

Cake with fruit compote and chocolate sauce

Teriyaki/ barbecued lamb kabobs

Ingredients

2 dozen wooden shish kabob spears

2 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1  ½ -inch cubes, marinated and dredged in flour

¼ cup virgin olive oil

1 clove finely minced garlic

Salt, pepper, onion powder, Sazon to taste

2 lbs medium button mushrooms

1 lb baby carrots

1 lb small heirloom tomatoes

Four yellow and red peppers, quartered X 2

Directions

Brown lamb with 1/2 of the oil on high heat for 7 minutes. Add garlic when nearly done and  turn on all sides, then set aside.

In separate pan, heat olive oil and  sauté  vegetables until they are just past crunchy.

When ingredients are cool enough to handle, put them on the sticks.

Serve near couscous with your favorite dipping sauces.

Related posts:

1. Small plates for holiday parties
2. The Beet goes on

Crudites are not only healthy for your kids, but will also help you keep the pounds off. Anyone who’s ever thrown a good party knows about crudites, the  French array of assorted fresh vegetables that are either blanched or served raw on a platter, and surrounded with dips, ranch dressing or hummus.

Crudites are almost always standard fare at banquettes, cocktail parties and dinner parties. But they are also a fabulous snack and are great for ready-to-serve  lunches for school or work.

Simply take broccoli, carrots, peppers, asparagus, mushrooms or any other vegetables – either raw or blanched with a little seasoning in boiling water (for a minute), seal them in ziplock bags for freshness and pack them with dips of your choosing.

Related posts:

1. The Bento Box-inspired lunch
2. Begin cleansing within by fasting
3. Spring has sprung and so should we

But you don’t have  to spend a ton of money to host a good party. In fact, making sure that your guests are satisfied can costs far less than you may think.  And then there’s also the fat factor.

I hate to bust everyone’s chops but here’s the deal. More than half of all Americans are fat, which is very unhealthy for us and is burdening the nation’s health care system. This time of year,  it’s nearly impossible to consider going on a diet. But everyone wants to enjoy a holiday party, which is really difficult when you’re trying to lose weight or your budget is too slim.

It’s too depressing to miss the holiday party for either reason, so  my theory is portion-control.

And that doesn’t just mean you have to serve your guests only wings and crudités. Little bites of food can be both satisfying and diverse while cutting down on calories. In fact, serving either butlered  hors d’oeuvres or setting up small-plate food stations not only helps cut down on costs and calories, but also helps your guests  to mingle more than they would at a sit-down dinner.

Having them make their own food is also a great way to promote your guests’ creativity and spark some interesting conversations. At this year’s holiday party, try having a pizza or pasta station or a gourmet salad or dessert bar with small plates for serving.

There are sliders (miniature sandwiches), paninis (fancy grilled sandwiches), mini pizzas, food martinis, and a host of other small-plate dishes that I’ll be featuring on healthysoutherncomforts.com throughout the month of December.

Some of these recipes are simply mini versions of foods that we all love (like pizzas). Some have reduced calories or simply reducedportions, but one thing is certain: Putting together a small-plates menu will ensure that your guests will enjoy themselves immensely while holding the line on your pocketbook and waist.

Mini Pizzas

Preheat oven to 375° F

Ingredients

• Pizza dough balls
• Spaghetti sauce
• Grated cheese – you can grate it yourself ( which is cheaper)  or buy it pre-grated. he flavors of cheese are endless, but my favorites include goat cheese, feta, cheddar or shaved parmesan

Toppings (there are so many, but here are some suggestions):

• Red sauce and mozzarella cheese
• Pesto and potatoes
• Mushrooms and onions
• Grilled Chicken and pineapple
• Vegetarian crumbles and soy cheese
• Goat cheese and black olives
• Sliced steak (either beef or vegetarian)
• Fresh tomatoes
• Fresh herbs such as basil and oregano
• Shrimp and fresh garlic

Directions

• Flour your hands and a work area,  and roll out pizza dough with a rolling pin.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut the shape of your mini pizzas. You should get 8-10 per dough ball and the great thing is that cookie cutters, like pizza dough balls, are really cheap (I found a collection for 99 cents. They come in different shapes, and you can usually find stars or holiday symbols to tailor-make your pizzas with a festive flair). If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can use the top of a glass to cut the dough.
• Prepare your toppings by dicing or slicing them according to the size of the mini pie crusts. Cover them separately with plastic until you are ready to assemble the pizzas.
• Brush pizza dough with olive oil and bake for 3 minutes.
• Place toppings on mini pizzas and bake 10-12 minutes (or until toppings are bubbling) just before serving.

Related posts:

1. Food martinis – a holiday treat
2. Graduation parties
3. Leftover salad

He is hilarious and his sense of comedic timing, deadpan smirks and smooth Saint Louis swagger just cracks me up! Just looking at him. As soon as that lip starts twitching, you know it’s coming. He even jokes about his diet and the need to change his eating habits.

He loves great food but these days has to watch what he eats. “As I mature, broiled foods are better for me,” he told me.

Actually, they’re better for all of us. As we get older, some of the foods that we ate when we were younger - like anything fried along with too much starch or dairy - no longer appeals to our bodies. We should strive to avoid excess animal fat and replace it with leaner foods like  fish, broiled chicken and olive oil with lots of veggies, fruits and salad. Most important is good spring water and lots of it.

By the way, I’m cooking for Cedric and his crew when he brings his stand-up comedy routine to the Philadelphia Academy of Music this weekend.

I asked him what he likes. Broiled  salmon, he said, and he likes to crunch.

This menu is Mediterranean-based and heart-healthy:

• Broiled salmon with  teriyaki  glaze
• Mediterranean Couscous with sun-dried tomatoes, scallions, yellow raisins and cilantro
• Jasmine rice with parsley
• Spinach and arugula salad with cranberries,  shaved carrots, roasted walnuts and goat cheese,  tossed in a walnut/raspberry vinaigrette dressing
• Hot and teriyaki barbecued chicken wingettes
• Broccoli coleslaw with yellow raisins and Asian sesame dressing
• Deli platter with angel eggs, turkey breast, turkey pastrami, roast beef, and havarti, swiss and provolone cheeses
• Crudités with broccoli, red and yellow peppers, celery, carrots, asparagus, mushrooms and heirloom tomatoes with an assortment of  humus and pita breads

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