How to feed a healthy meal to a large group of people
As a thank you to all the members of my yoga studio, The Yoga Place, I invited everyone and their families to a dinner at a local park last Sunday. I haven’t been solely responsible for feeding this many people since… well, ever. So I was a bit nervous as I set the date and sent out the invitations. But I resolved to feed everyone tasty AND nourishing food even if it took a whole weekend to prepare it!
Thankfully it didn’t take a whole weekend and I even had some help (a friend brought a lettuce salad and rhubarb crisp). I already had the thought of using a crockpot and, as I did some research online, I solidified that plan.
THE MEAL
- Sloppy Joes with cheese on a bun
- Mediterranean Medley
- Chips
- Carrots and dip (add other veggies if you’d like)
DRINKS
- Water
- Iced Tea
MISC. ITEMS
- Plates, cups, plasticware, napkins (in the future, I’ll ask everyone to bring their own reusable dish ware)
- Serving spoons
- Table cloth
THE PLAN
THE DAY BEFORE
- Main grocery shopping day (I already had beef from a local farmer in my freezer)
- Make the Mediterranean Medley so it can cool overnight in refrigerator
- Boil the water for tea, steep tea and then chill overnight in refrigerator
- Thaw beef in the refrigerator overnight
THE DAY OF
- Make the Sloppy Joe mixture and put in crockpot on LOW for 4-5 hours
- Make the dip for the veggies
- Pack the miscellaneous items