Unjunk Your Oscar Party
- Sunday, 26 February 2012
This Sunday, Hollywood awards its finest in the biggest celebration of the year, the Academy Awards. Celebrate the Oscars by hosting your own party. While elegance is a priority, serve up hors d’oeuvres and drinks that are both decadent and good for you.
Dark chocolate is a winner at any party. Pick up several dark chocolate bars with 70 percent or more cocoa, break them into pieces, and serve on doilies. Doilies always look glamorous and can be purchased at your local Dollar Store. For added flare (and nutrients), include bars with dried nuts or lemon zest.
Movies and popcorn go hand in hand. Make-ahead caramel popcorn that’s fit for the stars is easy to prepare. In a saucepan, melt coconut oil and stir in Sucanat (unrefined sugar). Mix well and drizzle over freshly-popped corn. The syrup will caramelize on the popcorn as it cools. Another option: toss warm popcorn with some extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese. For an international flare, dust popcorn with a mixture of cayenne pepper and crushed coriander.
Serve whole grain bagel chips, plain tortilla chips and a crudité platter with a decadent dip made by mixing Greek yogurt with caramelized onions or shallots and fresh herbs. If you’re short on time, buy prepared dips such as Simply Organic Ranch Dip, hummous, organic salsa, and guacamole.
All-natural ice cream served in a martini glass and topped with fresh fruit is not only fit for the stars but is so stunning, it will win awards for ‘best picture.’ We nominate GaGa’s SherBetter Raspberry. A perfect topper is a miniature gingersnap cookie, such as Pamela’s Ginger Mini Snapz, or for something more fun, Surf Sweets Gummy Bears.
Even if you don’t dress up for the Academy Awards, dress up your snacks. Bake chocolate cupcakes designed to look like tuxedos made with an all-natural chocolate cake mix and Cherrybrook Kitchen’s Vanilla Frosting.
All the cheek-kissing at the Academy Awards calls for breath mints to be on hand! Avoid artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors with Yummy Earth Organic Wild Peppermint Candy Drops, St. Claire’s Organics Mints or VerMints All-Natural Breath Mints.
Add glam to your party with your own designer cocktails. Start with a tablespoon of pomegranate seeds in champagne glasses topped with sparkling water and juice (try lychee or pineapple juice, or pear nectar) and fresh mint leaves. You’ll feel like a movie star drinking Santa Cruz Lemon Lime Sparkling beverage or Izze Esque Sparkling Limon Juice.
Turn black picture frames or shadow boxes into stylish serving trays. Display black and white photos of your favorite stars, this year’s Oscar nominees, or stills from nominated or classic movies.
The Academy will also give these Oscar-worthy snacks a nod:
A tray of mixed olives
Kale chips
Black licorice – try Panda All Natural Soft Licorice
Snyder’s of Hanover Mini Pretzels
Calbee Snack Salad Snapea Crisps (baked)
Seapoint Farms Dry Roasted Edamame
Oscar-Winning Kale Chips: Massage together a bunch of kale, a tablespoon of olive oil, and a teaspoon of sea salt. Line a cookie sheet, and bake the kale at a low temperature until it’s crispy (but not burnt). Coarsely chop the kale for all the crunchy, salty satisfaction of a chip… and you can polish it off without any guilt.
For more savvy snacking tips, check out our book 'Unjunk Your Junk Food' here.
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