I recently hosted “Girlz Nite” at my place in DC. I hosted over 30 women with the hopes that old friends would reunite and new bonds would be made between strangers. We talked, played games, discussed business, and of course, we ATE! Eating is what the whole night is about—stuffing your face behind your man’s back so he doesn’t know how many slices of cake you had.
Because we girls at “Art.Food.Life.” are all about being healthy and considering the alternatives to food choice, our menu left the taste in tasty minus the bloated bellies and the “oh-gosh-these-jeans-don’t-fit” feeling. So that the ladies didn’t simply find themselves sitting and eating, we engaged them by encouraging them to help us cook which helped to keep the blood flowing and calories burning. By getting everyone involved, we created interaction in an active setting. Our menu, though light, was decadent and satisfying.
Menu:
Tomato Salad over baby arugula with shaved parm and diced red onion
Pear infused white balsamic vinaigrette
Sweet and Spicy Corn and Tomato Salsa with Guacamole Chips
Mushroom Medley over crostini
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Mini cheesecake shots
Dark chocolate dipped low fat oreo cookies
This menu includes fresh ingredients, lots of veggies, and is low in sugar and sodium. The recipes are easy for anyone to make and portion control is easy because most items are pre-portioned in some way. Here are a couple of recipes for the faves of the night:
Mushroom Medley over crostini—
1 lb sliced white button mushrooms
1 lb sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 lb chopped portabella mushrooms
1 lb oyster mushroom pulled into pieces
2 tbsp butter
Salt
Herb seasoning
crostini
In a hot dry pan, dump in all of the mushrooms. Allow them to cook until they reduce in size about half and render their natural juices. Add butter, salt, and herb seasoning and reduce heat. Allow mixture to reduce by another third and sauce to come together. Total cooking time: about 12 minutes.
For the crostini, if you can get a little help from the store and find crostini style crackers, by all means go for them. But, if you cannot find them (also know as panetini), simply take a petite baguette and cut thin slices on a diagonal. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle a bit of herb seasoning and toast in oven until golden and crispy.
Mini Cheesecake shots—
These little beauties are easy as can be because our recipe takes help from the market.
1 package of Philly no-bake cheesecake mixture
1 package of chocolate cream cookies
1 large can of cherry pie filling
24 plastic shot glasses
In a reinforced gallon sized freezer bag, crush all of the cookies into fine bits like sand. Fill another gallon sized bag with the cheesecake mixture forcing all of the mixture to one corner to create a piping bag. Snip the tip of the bag once mixture is to the edge. Fill each shot cup with a teaspoon of crushed cookies followed by a teaspoon of cherry pie filling followed by a piped dollop of cheesecake. One package of cheesecake mix should make two dozen shots.
These are just a few of the recipes that made our girls night lite and a success. When relaxing with the girls, there’s no reason to forget about eating healthy. Give these ideas a try the next time you enjoy Girl’s Night Done Right.
*if you want the recipes to the other dishes, reply and we’ll send it to you.
