You may be a gourmet cook and love to cook but my advice would be to keep party food simple. Many a time I have spent worrying and slaving over recipe books up till midnight but when day comes, only half of it is eaten.

You should have some party food but food is a lower priority for kids than playing games, friends getting together and simply having fun. Teenagers are an exception, as teenage boys especially seem to have a voracious appetite so make PLENTY of it.

Remember a lot of kids are fussy eaters, even if your child is not, so err on side of caution. Concentrate on child friendly and fun party foods. Let your standards slip for once, but do bear in mind that too much sugary foods and drinks can cause very hyperactive children.

Tips for perfect party food planning:

* Plan ahead. The time of day for party will influence type of party food that you may want to provide. If you are going for mid morning or mid afternoon, snacks will be fine. Think about how much you and kids would normally eat around that time of day. Plan how many kids are coming and allow 3–4 different savoury plus 2-3 sweet party food choices as well as cake. Don't forget that some kids have ALLERGIES especially to nuts, but in general their parents should inform you of this before hand.

Prepare as much party food as you can in advance. Make use of your freezer if you have one, as you really won't want to be doing much cooking on day. Leave yourself time to be having fun with kids.

Easy summer salads do not need dozens of hard to get ingredients or heavy bottled sauces. Go light and use a few good quality vegetables, well combined with a little well-chosen meat, fish, or dairy, (quality over quantity) and a simple but delicious homemade dressing. For quick tasty summer salad, make it quick, make it light but make it taste sublime!

Easy summer salads are way to go, now that winter blues are fading into distance and salad days are here. The best salads are light, bright and easy to prepare.

After all who wants to spend hours slaving away in kitchen when friends are round for lunch, garden is in bloom and wine is chilled and ready to pour. But before you start to cook you save a lot of energy by buying right ingredients for a simple salad. That way you don’t need heavy bottled sauces and dressings to make a great flavor

Do you really want to take a beautiful crisp summer salad and soak it in a mixture of fat, sugar, salt and chemicals? If you start off with great food and don’t do too much to it you don’t need all these strong tastes as you still have great food.

All you need is to combine it well so that flavors work together, have a nice crunchy texture and add a little light dressing to set it all off, and let taste buds do rest Freshness is, as in all cooking, way to a good salad. Don’t take what supermarkets give you. Although it’s easier to pick up ready packed tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers etc.