Last weekend I held my first Food Demo. I had 22 ladies and two cute little babies come to taste a while host of plant-based dishes. I had a great time and I think they did too! I’ve even been invited to do similar Demo’s at a couple of the ladies homes.
There was so much to do I didn’t get much of a chance to share the “why” of adopting a plant-based diet, I focused more on the “you can eat real, delicious food” on a plant-based diet.
Dinner was Mexican food; it’s something that we really like and seems “normal” to people who don’t normally eat Plant-based. I had wanted to prepare a lot of different kinds of foods but as more ladies RSVP’d I knew I wouldn’t be able to prepare/store/serve that many dishes in quantities large enough for everyone to enjoy. I had a few more ladies RSVP that were not able to come. We enjoyed:
- Quinoa Taco “Meat”
- Unfried Beans
- Mexican Rice (recipe near end of that post)
We also had lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, and faux cheese sauce served with a choice of organic chips, corn or flour tortillas. I demonstrated the faux cheese sauce for the group. One of my friends has been dairy-free for years, she LOVED it! There was also the obligatory veggie tray and hummus trio.
I also had a wide selection of desserts:
- Watermelon Cakes
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Peppermint Brownies (recipe below)
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Banana Mini-Muffins
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Mini-Muffins
- Chocolate Mousse
- Chocolate Chia Pudding
- Strawberry Short Cakes
- Strawberry Short Cake Cupcakes
I had two ladies coming who are mostly gluten-free so I wanted to have at least one more gluten-free dessert. I came up with these brownies.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Peppermint Brownies
Ingredients
- 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 very ripe bananas
- 1/3 cup agave
- 1/2 cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract (I spilled it and add way too much)
- 1/4 cup raw sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chunks)
Do
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Process beans in food processor.
- Add the rest of ingredients except flour and chocolate chips.
- Process until smooth then transfer to a large bowl.
- Stir in brown rice flour then chocolate chips.
- Pour into non-stick pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until done.
Serve
I cut these into bite size pieces for easy eating. They could also be cut into big pieces and served with non-dairy ice cream or even blended into a shake or other ice cream treat. I think these will be a go-to recipe at Christmas paired with candy canes or even red and green sprinkles.
