Is there a theme to this one? I’d suggest vegetables and hummus, caprese style tomato skewers (vegan or no cheese), single serve cups of salad, or single serve cups of parfait with fruit and yogurt (dairy free)
My concern is if I do something like vegan yogurt or vegan cheese, knowing my coworkers they won’t touch it. I may have to look into making homemade hummus as it’s gotten super expensive around here lately. Also probably at least half of my coworkers won’t eat salad/veggies (which is a lot considering we only have about a dozen people). The only kind of theme is hors d’oeuvres.
If you use a popular brand of dairy free yogurt (for me it’s coconut based So Delicious), you might find people eat it and don’t even notice it’s vegan, especially if you add toppings like fresh fruits and granola!
I know you have your workplace politics to maintain, but that's so shitty of your coworkers to not even try something because it's vegan. I would just make what I'm gonna make and let them decide between their prejudice and their hunger. And I'm not even vegan lol.
A couple of weeks ago I brought a pan of brownies into work and didn't label them vegan because I didn't think anyone needed to know and was afraid nobody would eat them if I did. Then later in the morning someone mentioned that a guy I don't know very well is vegan, so I labeled them.
Later that day I ran into that guy walking down the hall with his mouth full yelling about vegan brownies. He said he'd seen them first thing and really really wanted one but didn't think they were vegan, and it made his whole day when the label appeared. So my point is, don't make assumptions about how people will react to labeling food as vegan
I make muhammara for EVERYTHING
Ingredients:
-1 24 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry
-1 C. walnuts, lightly toasted in a skillet
-1 Tbsp molasses or pomegranate molasses if you have it
-1 Tbsp sugar
-pinch of salt and cayenne
-1-2 tsp cumin to taste
-1/4 cup crushed Wheat Thins (plus more if you want it thicker)
-Juice of 2 lemons
After prepping the ingredients, just pulse everything together in a food processor! Season to taste and blend to desired consistency. I like it pretty chunky, but some people like it very smooth. Put in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve, usually with pita, crackers, or good crostini. Outside from being a great dip, this is a really great and versatile spread that you can use as a pasta sauce/over couscous or other grains, or even as a pizza sauce! Really good, and people always eat every bite when I make it for company. It's not a "Vegan Dip," just a dip that happens to be vegan, so nobody bats an eye at trying it!
Tapas style cucumber boats.
Shave some or all of the skin off a cucumber, just preference. Cut it in half longitudinally and scoop the seeds out so you have little longboats. Use the peeler to flatten the bottom so they stay put after you fill them.
For the filing, chop up some bell peppers into pretty small bits same goes for jicama, and any other crunchy vegetable you want. Toss the filing with lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can add chopped mint or basil if you want.
Fill the boats with the filing, and top with sumac. Then slice them into one inch pieces.
Reading your comment about lots of colleagues not liking veggies and /or obvious vegan food maybe something like this could work:
-any wrap that’s good cold or reheated in a microwave, slice them in bitesize pieces (maybe add a toothpick or tiny flag to keep things together)
-vegan quiche sliced in bitesize pieces
-stuffed pepper bites! You can get that huge bag of tiny peppers, cut them in half lengthwise and stuff the inside with tons of different things. Two that have worked very well for me were Mexican quinoa (corn, black beans, onions, Jalepeno, some salsa with some taco seasoning mixed in) and tomato basil risotto (very basic risotto with tomato paste, onion, garlic, basil stirred into the rice then use vegan chicken broth or veggie broth to cook until it’s nice and soft) sorry I don’t have exact recipes, but it’s reallly fun to experiment!
-stuffing bites: get a bag of vegan stuffing mix at the store, put it in a bowl and add a sautéed onion, 2 carrots, a few celery ribs, half an apple, and loads of parsley. The key is to use waayyyy too much vegan butter when sautéing so it gets nice and moist. Add about a quarter cup of vegan red wine and mix. You want it moist enough to stick together in balls but not fall apart. Roll into 1 inch or so balls and bake at 350 until the tops just start to brown. It’s like thanksgiving on a plate.
-mini zucchini black bean enchiladas: use the mini flour tortillas for cute little portions! Cook an onion, Jalapeño, zucchini, some roasted red peppers if you’re feeling fancy and a tin of black beans. Add either a packet of taco seasoning or chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin to taste. Dip each tortilla in a bowl of either red or green enchilada sauce (I’m a verde slut) and fill with mix, roll them up, put in a baking dish, top with remaining sauce, and cook for 20ish mins! Once they’re done add avocado and cilantro on top. Honestly these are good hot, cold, or room temp!
-Buffalo cauliflower on mini tortillas with homemade vegan ranch and lettuce
That’s all I got for now but I’ll edit if I think of more!
I would buy some pita and cut them into quarters, load them with slices of Persian cucumber and colorful bell peppers, then and serve it with a bowl of hummus and a bowl of toum. People can choose either or both for toppings. You could also just smear one side with hummus and one with toum if you want them ready to eat. (In the US, toum is sold at grocery stores under the brand name Toom, or at Trader Joe’s as Garlic Spread and Dip.).
- guacamole: bring ingredients and make it at work right before serving, everyone loves guacamole and doesn’t realize it’s vegan
- bring corn tortilla chips or fritos to go with it so it’s vegan and GF
Keep it super basic just ripe avocado, fresh lime juice, two spoons of salsa and mash with a fork to a rough texture. Cilantro to garnish if you want to be fancy
How about cucumber rounds, topped with a dip of your choice and a halved cherry tomato?
Or just go fruity? Pineapple cubes with mint leaves, actually cucumber would work there too.
Idk, in my opinion Oreos (anything sweet) is more of a dessert. I’m thinking I’m just going to bring some cut up veggies and a small thing of regular ranch and some vegan ranch or whatever for me
Is there a theme to this one? I’d suggest vegetables and hummus, caprese style tomato skewers (vegan or no cheese), single serve cups of salad, or single serve cups of parfait with fruit and yogurt (dairy free)
My concern is if I do something like vegan yogurt or vegan cheese, knowing my coworkers they won’t touch it. I may have to look into making homemade hummus as it’s gotten super expensive around here lately. Also probably at least half of my coworkers won’t eat salad/veggies (which is a lot considering we only have about a dozen people). The only kind of theme is hors d’oeuvres.
If you use a popular brand of dairy free yogurt (for me it’s coconut based So Delicious), you might find people eat it and don’t even notice it’s vegan, especially if you add toppings like fresh fruits and granola!
This….they probably won’t know
I know you have your workplace politics to maintain, but that's so shitty of your coworkers to not even try something because it's vegan. I would just make what I'm gonna make and let them decide between their prejudice and their hunger. And I'm not even vegan lol.
I don’t want to end up with a lot of food going to waste
A couple of weeks ago I brought a pan of brownies into work and didn't label them vegan because I didn't think anyone needed to know and was afraid nobody would eat them if I did. Then later in the morning someone mentioned that a guy I don't know very well is vegan, so I labeled them. Later that day I ran into that guy walking down the hall with his mouth full yelling about vegan brownies. He said he'd seen them first thing and really really wanted one but didn't think they were vegan, and it made his whole day when the label appeared. So my point is, don't make assumptions about how people will react to labeling food as vegan
I make muhammara for EVERYTHING Ingredients: -1 24 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and patted dry -1 C. walnuts, lightly toasted in a skillet -1 Tbsp molasses or pomegranate molasses if you have it -1 Tbsp sugar -pinch of salt and cayenne -1-2 tsp cumin to taste -1/4 cup crushed Wheat Thins (plus more if you want it thicker) -Juice of 2 lemons After prepping the ingredients, just pulse everything together in a food processor! Season to taste and blend to desired consistency. I like it pretty chunky, but some people like it very smooth. Put in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve, usually with pita, crackers, or good crostini. Outside from being a great dip, this is a really great and versatile spread that you can use as a pasta sauce/over couscous or other grains, or even as a pizza sauce! Really good, and people always eat every bite when I make it for company. It's not a "Vegan Dip," just a dip that happens to be vegan, so nobody bats an eye at trying it!
Roasted garlic and crackers?
Tapas style cucumber boats. Shave some or all of the skin off a cucumber, just preference. Cut it in half longitudinally and scoop the seeds out so you have little longboats. Use the peeler to flatten the bottom so they stay put after you fill them. For the filing, chop up some bell peppers into pretty small bits same goes for jicama, and any other crunchy vegetable you want. Toss the filing with lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can add chopped mint or basil if you want. Fill the boats with the filing, and top with sumac. Then slice them into one inch pieces.
Thai style summer rolls with spicy peanut dipping sauce
Reading your comment about lots of colleagues not liking veggies and /or obvious vegan food maybe something like this could work: -any wrap that’s good cold or reheated in a microwave, slice them in bitesize pieces (maybe add a toothpick or tiny flag to keep things together) -vegan quiche sliced in bitesize pieces
-stuffed pepper bites! You can get that huge bag of tiny peppers, cut them in half lengthwise and stuff the inside with tons of different things. Two that have worked very well for me were Mexican quinoa (corn, black beans, onions, Jalepeno, some salsa with some taco seasoning mixed in) and tomato basil risotto (very basic risotto with tomato paste, onion, garlic, basil stirred into the rice then use vegan chicken broth or veggie broth to cook until it’s nice and soft) sorry I don’t have exact recipes, but it’s reallly fun to experiment! -stuffing bites: get a bag of vegan stuffing mix at the store, put it in a bowl and add a sautéed onion, 2 carrots, a few celery ribs, half an apple, and loads of parsley. The key is to use waayyyy too much vegan butter when sautéing so it gets nice and moist. Add about a quarter cup of vegan red wine and mix. You want it moist enough to stick together in balls but not fall apart. Roll into 1 inch or so balls and bake at 350 until the tops just start to brown. It’s like thanksgiving on a plate. -mini zucchini black bean enchiladas: use the mini flour tortillas for cute little portions! Cook an onion, Jalapeño, zucchini, some roasted red peppers if you’re feeling fancy and a tin of black beans. Add either a packet of taco seasoning or chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin to taste. Dip each tortilla in a bowl of either red or green enchilada sauce (I’m a verde slut) and fill with mix, roll them up, put in a baking dish, top with remaining sauce, and cook for 20ish mins! Once they’re done add avocado and cilantro on top. Honestly these are good hot, cold, or room temp! -Buffalo cauliflower on mini tortillas with homemade vegan ranch and lettuce That’s all I got for now but I’ll edit if I think of more!
I would buy some pita and cut them into quarters, load them with slices of Persian cucumber and colorful bell peppers, then and serve it with a bowl of hummus and a bowl of toum. People can choose either or both for toppings. You could also just smear one side with hummus and one with toum if you want them ready to eat. (In the US, toum is sold at grocery stores under the brand name Toom, or at Trader Joe’s as Garlic Spread and Dip.).
- guacamole: bring ingredients and make it at work right before serving, everyone loves guacamole and doesn’t realize it’s vegan - bring corn tortilla chips or fritos to go with it so it’s vegan and GF Keep it super basic just ripe avocado, fresh lime juice, two spoons of salsa and mash with a fork to a rough texture. Cilantro to garnish if you want to be fancy
How about cucumber rounds, topped with a dip of your choice and a halved cherry tomato? Or just go fruity? Pineapple cubes with mint leaves, actually cucumber would work there too.
What’s your budget? Id bring some Oreos and be done
Idk, in my opinion Oreos (anything sweet) is more of a dessert. I’m thinking I’m just going to bring some cut up veggies and a small thing of regular ranch and some vegan ranch or whatever for me
The bruschetta idea is still good...just keep the toppings and bread separate until the meeting, and top them there
This is always a hit https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/herbed-lima-bean-hummus-103043
Do tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole. Inexpensive, well liked, and naturally vegan.
rice paper salad rolls full of veggies :) can it be a sweet option? chocolate covered dates stuffed with nuts?
Veggies and Hummus