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Green Weddings Part 5
The Green Wedding Banquet
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 A wedding banquet with abundance of food of the most tempting variety may however be totally bereft of health and nutritive value. Sumptuous wedding meals are unfortunately often very greasy, unhealthy and un-eco-friendly.
Health bhi taste bhi :
 A misconception is that healthy food is always bland and tasteless. Priti Shroff, Managing Director of Prisim Healing Institute points out, ''Less oil, moderate salt, moderate spices should be used while preparing the wedding dishes. It is not what is prepared but how it is prepared which makes it taste good or bad.''
The healthiest food is that which is served as soon as it is prepared. India's best selling cookery author Tarla Dalal says, "Live counters should be introduced at weddings. There can be a salad bar, juice bar, stir-fry-counter and a panini counter."
A unique introduction to weddings can be Raw and Living Food. This consists of fresh and uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds prepared for optimal assimilation by blending, sprouting and culturing. According to Priti Shroff, an exponent of Raw and Living Food Lifestyle, "Not only just a portion but in fact a wholesome platter could be served to the invitees."
The most dangerous food is wedding cake.
- James Thurber (U.S humorist and cartoonist)
The wedding cake is prone to being un-eco-friendly because of the decorations and is often unhealthy because of the ingredients. So decorate your cake with natural materials instead of plastic toppers.
Priti adds, "Make an egg less cake with less cream and sugar. There can be various alternatives to baked cakes in the form of fruit soufflés and choco/ chikoo mousse."
More eco-friendly banquet options:
- Go vegetarian and encourage teetotallers. Discourage smoking as well.
- Use seasonal, local and organic ingredients. Don't add mileage to your food. Instead try to source ingredients, which come from the vicinity, grown with the loving commitment of local farmers. As exotic as a fruit counter with fruits flown in from all over the World sounds, the fact is the increased expense and wastage of resources is hardly justified. In addition, remember at the end of the day that all these fruits have high concentration of preservatives so they don't spoil during shipping.
 Go fresh, go fruity. Tarla Dalal cautions, "Juices served at weddings are often preservative laden and have too much of sugar. For instance, often syrups with aerated drinks are offered at weddings." So what are the alternatives? Priti suggests, "Serve herbal tea, mint water, spinach cooler, water melon slush, papaya smoothie and a lot more natural drinks."
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Green crockery and cutlery:
The greenest and most eco-friendly plate has to be - The Banana Leaf. Environmentalist Anand Pendharkar says, "Banana leaves act as water proof plates. I have never seen an infected banana leaf. Banana leaves can be later fed to cattle or composted. Also felling banana leaves doesn't really reduce the green belt, as banana trees are cultivated in plantations. Using patal leaf plates is also a good idea. Earlier these patal leaf plates would be connected by sticks but now it often comes with a plastic sheath. As this plastic completely defeats the purpose of eco-friendly dishware, refuse to use patal leaf plates that come with plastic."
"Also use cloth or cotton serviettes instead of tissue paper napkins. These paper napkins fly all over and dirty the venue. Disposable plastic cups and thermocol cups should also be avoided," adds Anand.
Plates made from eco-friendly steel or glass may be used. But always avoid disposables.
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