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Presentation is critical at a spa for several reasons. Garnishes take up space on the plate tricking you into thinking that there’s more food than there really is. If you’re creating an at home spa experience for a fast weight loss program, then do what the experts do and use garnishes.

Contrasts between colors and textures, say a glistening ruby red strawberry against juicy orange slices set off by a dark green curly kale leaf increases the appreciation of the food.
Thinly sliced lemon slices alternating with springs of Italian parsley is another easy to do garnish. A radish rose offset by three cucumber slices is a pretty bouquet. Use your imagination when garnishing a plate.

The garnishes don’t have to be edible, although they shouldn’t be toxic of course. Raw kale with its dark green ruffled leaves makes a lovely garnish but in its raw state it’s too bitter to actually eat. Edible flowers make beautiful garnishes. A curled strand of lemon, grapefruit, or orange peal isn’t edible, unless you’re desperate, but does add scent from the essential oils in the peel and color to the plate.

Arrange the food artistically on the plate. For example: one chicken breast can be cut into three slices horizontally, or 6 slices vertically, and then overlapped on the plate. It looks like considerably more food. Place a fruit slice between each slice of chicken, or an herb sprig for even more color and appeal.

Whether it’s a crystal glass with a slice of lime on its rim, a soup bowl with a paprika sprinkle or a dinner plate with wreath of herbs, garnishes are a spa standby.

Use undersized plates when serving spa cuisine, a lunch plate and a small salad bowl instead of a large dinner plate. Use a contrasting charger, a large oversized plate, under the lunch plate for a look of luxury. The servings will look like more. In the same vein, serve courses. Garnish each course. An appetizer, salad, soup, and entrée take longer to serve and eat than an entrée with a cup of soup. Your stomach needs 20 minutes to signal your brain it’s full. If you serve an appetizer and then salad, by the time you’re finishing the soup, your tummy is saying you’ve had enough, so you won’t overdo on the entrée. Keep portions tiny so you don’t overdo the amount of food you’re eating at the meal.