Hosting the Happiest and Healthiest of Happy Hours

For me, the holiday season is 70% about delicious foods and sharing it with the ones we love. (Food is a big part to me but so is giving back, decorating, being cozy…) From mom and kid-approved cookies, to decorating the house for the holidays, nothing beats this time of year! As we continue practicing social distancing, the holiday season might look a little more unique in 2020. However, I wanted to share one of my favorite holiday gathering ideas, a healthy happy hour! You can take this idea and get creative with it given your circumstances -  you save this in your pocket for next year, or do a healthy happy hour with your family, OR even try it out over Zoom! - I love this concept and wanted to share it.

Part of being a host, in my opinion, is giving your guests a unique experience they wouldn’t have on just an ordinary night at home. Of course, keeping that in line because we are all very busy :) A way that I love to offer something different is to serve dishes that most of my friends or family wouldn’t make for themselves. Some of my favorite foods and drinks to serve at happy hour are simply a healthier twist on some classics, while others are more uncommon.

My ideas for hosting a healthy happy hour not only come with recipes, but some useful tips to make sure everyone enjoys themselves - including YOU! I am really excited to share some of these really unique recipes with you, and to also share one of my favorite brands along the way.  By the way! If you host this virtually - just have everyone make their own app and cocktail and you can send everyone the recipes of some things to choose from!

This post is sponsored by Further Foods, a woman-owned company that is dedicated to helping you further your health with innovative food-based nutritional products. I’ve been using their products for years because I trust how they source and create them. I personally use their Turmeric, Matcha, Immune Support, Elderberry and Collagen! If you’d like to learn more about them, you can click here. Code JESS will save you $$$! I really love these products and it is beyond easy to find ways to incorporate some of them into your recipes!

Tips for Success

1. When someone asks if they can bring anything, ask them to bring an activity for everyone to participate in! From board games to trivia questions to a wine tasting, how awesome to have something fun already organized for everyone! I know I can sometimes get overwhelmed when trying to think about what dish each person brings, so doing it all myself is usually easier. Relying on your guests for entertainment is a way to get them involved and provides one less thing for you to worry about! 

2. Specify details of the happy hour. Are you making it a happy hour turned dinner? Just light bites? Be clear so your guests know how to plan their meals prior to!

3. Know your audience. Depending on who is coming over, I plan accordingly. So if I know I am entertaining people who are not so into adventurous eating or healthier things - I will keep things much more mainstream and simple. I’ll still lighten things up but it won’t be super obvious. If I am entertaining my friends who are interested in this stuff - well then a vegan cheese board it is!

4. Timing is everything. Stress is not fun. I want to have fun. I love to create things that do not require much stove time, so I can either put them together beforehand and have them waiting in the fridge, or they are oven-cooked so again, I can have them in there and ready for us! When it comes to timing - I try not to be cooking or prepping when guests arrive so I can enjoy myself!

Mocktails:

These are great for guests who are interested in an alternative, or for the kids! I also quite enjoy these as a fun afternoon drink by myself. lol!

Citrus Ice Queen, makes 1

• 1 cup lemon-lime sparkling water or seltzer

• Juice of ½ lime

• 2 oz pineapple juice

• Mint leaves

• Small handful of fresh blueberries - half mashed, keep other half whole

Instructions

1. Add lime and pineapple juices to a shaker with ice - shake

2. Add sparkling water, mint, and mashed blueberries to shaker - shake again

3. Strain into a large glass filled with ice and top with some whole fresh or frozen blueberries. (I like the frozen blueberries more!)

Cocktails

For a parent’s night out, I like to have options. Wine, beer, and then a specialty unique cocktail pitcher. 

Gin and Ginger with Further Food Turmeric

• 4 ounces gin

• ½ teaspoon Further Food turmeric

• juice from ½ a lime

• 6-8 ounces ginger beer/ginger ale

Instructions

1. Add gin, turmeric and lime juice to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.

2. Strain mixture evenly among two highball glasses filled 2/3 of the way with ice.

3. Top with even amounts of ginger beer or ale. Garnish with a lime and serve!

Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

• 1 bottle of red wine

• 1 orange, cut in quarters

• 2 sticks of cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

• 60 ml (1/4 cups) brandy

• A few dashes of maple syrup to taste

Instructions

1. Add red wine, orange, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and brandy to the slow cooker.

2. Stir through and add maple syrup. Only add a small amount at a time.

3. Cook on low for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so.

4. Put the slow cooker on warm after 1 hour and serve from the slow cooker as needed.

5. Add wine throughout the night as needed, the sweetener may need to be topped off as well.

Food

Appetizers

I really love making appetizers because they don’t always make you feel full, so you can dabble in a few flavors and try a little of everything! I am big “sampler” and like to try it all. I am sharing some of my favorites, without getting into too many recipe details. If there are certain appetizers you see here and want the full recipe just let me know! Sharing some of my previous favorite recipes too! 

• Vegan Granola (ok this isn’t a full blown appetizer, but perfect snack to add to your spread - it’s perfect on a cheese board as a sweet and crunchy addition)

• Skewers (load them up with anything you want and throw them on the grill or in the oven, serve with a ready-made sauce like pesto, marinara or honey mustard)

• Hummus Platter (here is my favorite recipe for Hummus, and you can also add in Further Food collagen for a little extra boost of protein, this is great for those days when you need hummus and veggies to be your meal because you don’t have time!)

• Crostini for your guest to dip or spread with this bread in a crockpot recipe! Add a homemade bruschetta with tomatoes, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

• Vegan Goat Cheese Balls

• Buffalo Cauliflower

• Pizzas - check out this recipe for some unique flavors and this one for making your own crust- they are my favorites!

Dips Galore

Everything is better with dip. My sorority (still to this day!) has a Dip Sisterhood where one half brings their favorite dip, and the other half brings things to dip into them. When we are all able to get together again - how fun does that sound for a party theme?  I thought this could be a unique and healthier way to include tons of different ingredients and flavors at our next happy hour. In the ideal setting I would sit out a wide variety of “dippers” including fruits, veggies, crackers, breads, etc and people can pick and choose what they dunk. 

When I am looking for “dippers”, the whole foods are my first choice, so fruit, veggies. Next - when we get into the carb options, I try to find things that are simply made without a lot of ingredients. 

When it comes to the dips - the ultimate way to make everyone happy is to flavor balance. That happens by balancing sweet, salt, fat and acid - so make sure you are choosing dips that fit those profiles! Some of the dips I love are:

• Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip

• Avocado hummus

• Fresh salsa

• Yogurt and fruit swirl

• Buffalo cauliflower (can also serve chicken)

• Vegan Queso

• Chocolate and almond butter

• Taco dip

• Cowboy caviar

I hope some of these tips will help inspire you to host a successful and healthy happy hour!