Oh She Glows Every Day Party Challenge Lunch Review

Sep 17, 2016Oh She Glows Every Day Party Challenge0 comments

Hope you all are having a fabulous week! Here over at Whole Foodie Challenge Headquarters (bwahaha good one – if headquarters count as a 400 sq foot apartment), we are cooking up a storm. Today is the Oh She Glows Every Day Lunch Review. We are already a second week into the Oh She Glows Every Day Party Challenge! This week, we will be reviewing the lunch I made for my coworkers. There were 12 of them, mostly meat eaters and many with an acute sense of taste. I thought it would be fitting to get them really into the review by asking them to rate each recipe on a set of criteria. I do work at a college after all!

There were five courses that I will be reviewing today. All five recipes were plant based (vegan) and nut free. Four out of five recipes were also gluten free. Because of the fact that I made these for work, it also was all raw (or cooked and then eaten cold). They also were finger foods so that cutlery was not needed. I spent the entire night the day before making the dishes, however I think some of the ingredients/recipes could have been prepped even prior to that.

You must be curious by now what I am reviewing?! Here they are below:

The Freshest Guacomole
Sundried Tomato and Garlic Super Seed Crackers
Curried Chickpea Salad
Cookie Dough Balls V
High Rise Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange – Maple Coconut Whipped Cream

If you want to download the free e-book I created which includes printable meal plans, a grocery list, nutritional content and prep day ideas, click here.

Without further ado, let the recipe testing begin!

The Freshest Guacamole

This recipe is found on page 65 of the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook. This recipe was a bit misleading, as the main ingredient in it is salsa, which is found on the previous page. It was hilarious as I used a few spoonfuls of salsa, as directed in the recipe, but put the rest of the salsa out for the group to eat as well. Let’s just say, the salsa was the hit of the party!

I think the recipe was easy to follow and the ingredients were easy to find. I did find that on it’s own, the salsa is on the spicier side. However, mixed with fresh avocados, it has quite a mild taste. It was the first to go of all the dishes at the table. It was a crowd pleaser as it’s pretty appealing to many palettes. However, a few people mentioned adding a bit more salt. Consequently, I used the lowest amount on the recipe. I also mashed the avocado quickly but I think it would have been even better if the avocado was blended or mashed finely.

I rated this recipe 85% based on the below criteria:

Sundried Tomato and Garlic Super Seed Crackers

This recipe is found on page 81 of the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook. I found this to be the most challenging of all the recipes. First of all, it has a lot of different ingredients. Secondly, it was difficult to find sundried tomatoes that weren’t in oil (as the recipe stated). Thirdly, I don’t know if I would ever buy both white and black sesame.

The recipe didn’t take too long to make, but you definitely do have to be careful on how long you cook them for, as the sundried tomatoes tended to burn quite quickly. I unfortunately didn’t have time or ingredients to make them again, so I served them as is. That was the main complaint about this recipe, was that it was dry and overcooked. I personally still liked the taste and was quite excited that they were free of flour. Some of my workmates said they were a bit on the crumbly side as well, and weren’t as easy to dip with.

I rated this recipe 73% based on the criteria below:

Curried Chickpea Salad

This recipe is found on page 113 of the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook. I have it photographed here with lettuce so that my fellow staff mates could make it completely grain free by making raw wraps. The ingredients were easy to find and relatively cheap on the pocket book. If you buy chickpeas in bulk, it is even less expensive.

As for the taste and texture, the staff liked the taste and liked the different idea for a sandwich topping. Some of my coworkers suggested adding more curry and warming spices to make it even spicier. I preferred it in lettuce to in between bread as the chickpeas are already a little dense. The only other comment a few of them stated was that the chickpeas were a bit dry. I omitted that from the score as I believe it was my own cooking fault! There is something important to note. To ensure a good consistency, make sure chickpeas are well cooked, almost soft, if making from scratch.

I rated this recipe 83%. I would definitely make this again, however as stated by a few of my coworkers, it needed a little more spice to make it stand out. Also, perhaps a bit more vegannaise is needed. If you are making this for a party, make sure individuals like curry as a few of my guests did not. This would be great as a topping on a buddha bowl or another big leafy salad.

Cookie Dough Balls V

This recipe is found on page 93 of the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook. They definitely require a food processor to make. With one, the balls are super easy to make and blend beautifully. There are not very many ingredients in this recipe which is a bonus. Price wise, they are a little bit on the more expensive side due to the cashews and dates. I used almond butter in mine as that is what I had on hand, but I could see the cashew butter helping to hold it together a little more.

These cookie dough balls were a hit at work. Many didn’t say anything worth changing about these. I had one coworker excited to make them for her grandkids as she thought it would be very kid friendly. Overall a great little snack to have in the middle of the day when your sugar levels are low.

I rated this recipe 86% based on the criteria below:

High Rise Pumpkin Cupcakes with Orange-Maple Coconut Whipped Cream

This recipes is found on page 224 of the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook. I found it fairly easy to make, not too many ingredients and little to no time to bake. It depends on season, but the ingredients are not overly bad. What jacks up the price would be the pumpkin filling and the spelt or gluten free flour.

I chose to make the whipped cream over the icing, as I am not a big fan of buttercream and I was pressed for time. The whipped cream was easy enough to make, but as you can tell by the photos, not the most spreadable.

Most of the individuals at the meal liked the cupcakes. However, a couple were not a fan of pumpkin in general. Another person also mentioned how dense they were. Since they did not contain any egg, I was skeptical on how much they would rise. I was shocked at how well they stood up! I do think however that for some it may be more dense than a usual muffin.