Hosting a Christmas Dinner-yikes!

[Veg4Life]

Hi everyone,

I am in charge this year of a Christmas dinner for the women of my church. There will be 50 women- approximately- and I have a budget of $200- so basically $4 a head. (Everyone is bringing a dessert, so I don't have to do that and I am planning on just serving lemon water to drink-so basically $4 for the meal itself). I am not planning this alone, and I know will have to compromise and probably provide some non-vegan, non-raw dishes (most likely for the main course). Just wondering if you guys had some great side dish recipes that were very economical and also not too scary for the typical SAD eater. I definitely want to do a big green salad with nuts and berries and a vinegarette dressing.

The typical church dinner that I've experienced consists of:
a main course- usually meat :(
two veggies (these could easily be done raw- my salad and one other dish)
some sort of potato or green bean casserole type dish (I'd like to revamp this one as well)
rolls (I'm stumped here...can't really do raw bread for 50 people who are used to wonderbread)

then of course dessert, which I don't need to worry about (I will be bringing at least one raw dessert or a fruit salad)

Any ideas???

[Raene]

Umm....$4? Maybe for $15...

[rawstrength]

Zuchinis are in season now, at least in some parts of the world :) . Could you do zuchini pasta marinara?
Riced cauliflower or parsnips can also be pretty cheap, depending on if they are in season. You can save money on veggies by buying what is in season.
Good luck! I think a raw salad alone for 50 people might cost about $100.

[spicyfull]

Traditional CHRISTmas dinner and make some RAW sides.

[carolg]

Got Farmer's Market going? May see about squash as it will hold for a long time. Then the challenge is cutting up that darn hard squash for raw foods.

Come here and I'll fix you up really cheap with my farmer friends. Too bad they don't ship but they are a small farm.

I know eating with the church draws me to the fresh fruits/veggies.

Not a very large budget to work with. Best to you.

carolg

[Veg4Life]

Like I said, some of the budget will have to go to some sort of SAD traditional main dish.

I'm not worried about the salad. You can get 7 heads of romaine at Costco for $3- most people only have a small portion of salad- I can garnish with seeds instead of nuts and make a cheap homemade dressing.

I just really wanted some side dish ideas that weren't too unique for the SAD eater. I'm not going for a raw, organic dinner...that's not really my audience or obviously in my budget. I just thought since I was on the committee I could infuse some health into a usually heavy, SAD meal. Plus, I want there to be at least a couple things I can eat too! :)

[Veg4Life]

Traditional CHRISTmas dinner and make some RAW sides.

what is a traditional CHRISTmas dinner?

Any thoughts on some raw sides???

[Veganforlife]

Raw sides?

Raw deviled eggless egg salad - http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=22032&highlight=eggless

Alissa's spinach dip

Alissa's onion dip

I don't have her book w/me right now? Do you have it handy? I'd bet there's a ton in there you can pick from...

[Emma-Liza]

Veg4Life, I've been thinking about holiday menus, too. I always host family christmas (around 20 adults, 3 kids) and last year, I had thanksgiving, too. Here are some of the ideas I've had floating in my head (tho' where else would they float? :D) I don't think any would be particularly expensive and all would be seasonally available--

Broccoli salad--as close to the "traditional" kind as I can. Raisins, red onion, sunflower seeds, some kind of creamy dressing.

Jicama "potato" salad--Alissa's recipe

Grated beets--Grated beets, orange/ginger dressing, pumpkin or some other seed as a garnish, optionally served on leaf lettuce

Carrot salad--however it floats your boat...I like olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard (or a raw alternative) and garlic, myself. Surprise, it's not sweet!

Red cabbage slaw--New Orleans style, shredded thin, with a sweet vinaigrette dressing, maybe some poppy seeds

These might be too expensive, but I thought I'd mention them:
Orange/fennel/black olive salad--white wine or champagne vinaigrette
Grapefruit/avocado/red onion salad--lemon juice/olive oil/agave dressing

[annavon]

Grated beets are great for Christmas and are actually and Russian/Ukranian tradition. I have made a raw one using some raw horseradish and some apple cider vinegar and EVOO salt and caraway seeds.

Do you have much leeway to stray from the norm? If so, you might consider having a vegan entree. I have made stuffed dumpling or acorn squash for Thanksgiving/Christmas. The stuffing is made with vegan cornbread, pecans and chestnuts. It's not raw, but at least its vegan. (I got the recipe from the Voluptuous Vegan Cookbook). I made some raw "turkey" dishes in a past year and I wasn't thrilled with the results.

Unfortunately, with 50 people, you will probably have to serve at least one meat entree:( . It would be great if you would show the women that meat is not necessisarily needed for a holiday meal. Hallelujah Acres has a Holiday cook book which probably has both raw and cooked vegan dishes. (I don't have this one).

Good luck.

[Veg4Life]

Thank you so much for your replies. Those ideas sound wonderful! I definitely want to check out that Vegan cookbook you mentioned annavon. My family is not all raw, but mostly vegan, so I will have to check that out for some of my home holiday meals!