Veggie Christmas Party Treats For ALL Your Guests to Enjoy! | #ThisGirlEats

Christmas always comes with at least one inevitable party or social gathering and, if you’re unlucky, you’re stuck hosting it. Coming up with new ideas for party food is tricky; you don’t want to be boring but you don’t want to make things too stressful for yourself, and you’ve got to find some sort of middle ground to cater for everyone. It’s a minefield!

Something we need to consider more these days is providing some delicious vegetarian and vegan options. I’m sure we all know someone with these dietary requirements – or are that someone ourselves! – and no host wants to let any of their guests go hungry, so coming up with simple, fun, tasty ideas to suit everyone is essential.

Below are five different ideas with links to some great recipes, all of which are either vegetarian or vegan and TOTALLY delicious!


Mushroom Rolls

Mushroom rolls are a great alternative to sausage rolls, the classic party buffet food. A finger food spread just wouldn’t be the same without them, and to make a delicious vegan substitute all you need to do is swap out the meat for thinly diced mushrooms, onions and a splash of soy sauce. Watch out for the puff pastry, but I find Jus Rol is a safe bet if your local supermarket brand uses dairy.

I’ve actually got my own recipe for these ones, which you can check out here.


Nachos with Fresh Tomato Salsa & Guacamole

The great thing about nachos is that the effort you put into them can be as minimal as you like. You can make your own salsa with fresh tomatoes, onion, chillies and coriander and you can whip up guacamole by mashing together avocado, red onion, garlic, lime juice and, you guessed it, more coriander. Or, if you can’t be bothered, you can pick up ready made versions from the store and just throw it all together at home. Either way, you can’t go wrong with chips ‘n’ dip!

Jamie Oliver’s Classic Tomato Salsa

Simple Guacamole from Loving It Vegan

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Fried Halloumi Sticks

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am OBSESSED with halloumi, especially halloumi fries. There are two main kinds of halloumi fries; strips of halloumi that have just, literally, been fried, and halloumi in a crispy, crunchy batter that more resembles a chip. These might not be so great for a cold buffet, but if you’re happy to serve hot food straight out the kitchen these would go down a storm!

Crispy Halloumi Fries from Scrummy Lane

Joe Wicks’ Halloumi Dippers 


Mini Veggie Taquitos

Taquitos are like Mexican spring rolls stuffed with a spicy filling, usually fried but can be baked too. You’ll often find chicken taquitos as a restaurant appetiser, but there’s absolutely no reason you can’t wrap up a veggie-friendly version for your guests. I love Mexican flavours, and the versatility of these is fantastic – I’ve only listed two recipe options here, but have a quick search online and you’ll find dozens of different filling ideas.

Vegetarian Baked Taquitos from Weelicious

Vegan Taquitos with Chipotle Sauce from Vegan Heaven


Antipasti Skewers

Antipasti (or antipasto, I’m not entirely sure which is correct and I do apologise!) is an Italian appetiser which usually combines a variety of ingredients. I’m sure you’ve seen antipasti platters with cured meats, olives, cheeses, pickled vegetables, etc. and, to be honest, serving up a huge board full of Italian treats is a pretty good party idea by itself. But to be more finger food friendly, you could layer up a few ingredients, such as sundried tomatoes, olives and mozzarella balls, onto a toothpick and create mini antipasti skewers.

Easy Vegan Antipasto Skewers from Sweet Simple Vegan

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These Are a Few of My Favourite Things (Christmas Edition!) | #ThisGirlEats

Christmas is now officially on its way, with only a few weeks left before the big day is here. I’m super excited (duh!) because I love this time of year – and here are my favourite things about it!

1. Food markets in every town. Doesn’t matter what size, there’s a food market popping up on every corner and they’re full of delectable treats to indulge in.

2. The local Christmas fair. Everywhere has a local Christmas fair, right? They’re great for gift ideas, crafts, food, drink and just general festive cheer.

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3. Prosecco on tap. As soon as December hits, it seems like there’s no reason too small to pop open tho prosecco and, to be completely honest, I am down with that.

4. Presents – for other people. Sure, receiving presents is great, let’s not lie. But I actually prefer coming up with awesome ideas for other people and when I stumble across the perfect present for someone it really makes my day.

5. It’s always dark enough for candles. Now it’s pretty much always gloomy we can have candles on all day long. Gingerbread, cinnamon, cranberry… think of the scents!

6. Wearing novelty jumpers is compulsory. I don’t even mean Christmas ones, necessarily – just an excuse to wear any fun, loud ones is good enough for me!

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7. Rotating my 1,007 pairs of boots. I’ve honestly got so many pairs that are forgotten about half the year, but now it’s time for them to come out of hiding and be shown in all their glory once again!

8. Decorations. Tacky or classy, I don’t even care. Christmas decorations are the best and I’m so excited to see everyone’s homes covered head to toe in them!

9. London at Christmas. My nearest city is London so I’ve done lots of Christmas shopping there and I just adore it this time of year. The lights, the window displays, the general vibe – oh, and Winter Wonderland, of course!

10. Parties (and party outfits). Christmas always comes with parties, or at least some fun get-togethers with your nearest and dearest. And you know what that means – new party clothes!

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11. Christmas dinner. Need I say more? I mean… really?

12. TV specials. We all binge watch a load of telly over the festive season, right? I love lounging on the sofa nibbling leftover pigs in blankets and finding out who’s going to die in this year’s Christmas episode of Eastenders, this time of year just isn’t the same without it.

Cute Christmas Gifts for Your Inner Foodie | #ThisGirlEats

This weekend, I spent yet another afternoon perusing a local Christmas market – just try and keep me away from the damn things! This time I found myself in the middle of Canterbury, where the high street has been transformed into an adorable Santa’s grotto, with traditional huts, twinkling lights and cutesy stalls selling all sorts of unique gifts, tempting treats and lovely liquid delights.

I came across countless bits and pieces as I wandered about – mostly completely useless but charming trinkets that would help create the boho boutique decor I one day dream of showering my home in without having any real practicality whatsoever – but, alas, my budget wouldn’t allow such frivolous spending. These are just some of the knick-knacks I stumbled upon that made my inner foodie squeal with excitement…

This lavish sweet treats stall, decked out with literally hundreds of mouth-watering nougat, fudge and cake bars, decorated marvellously with tasty decorations and fun, novelty themes, not to mention sliced and wrapped beautifully.

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This quintessentially British stall, featuring traditional family board games such as Monopoly and Cluedo on one side and copious amounts of unique alcoholic beverages on the other. Christmas ales, mulled wine flavoured gin, marmalade vodka, you name it, they had it (and they let you try it as well!).

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This totally f’ing adorable bloggers journal which, no, isn’t technically a foodie gift and, no, isn’t something I found on one of the market stalls, but it’s something that this particular foodie would love for Christmas (guys, take note) and, you know, it came from a shop on the same high street, like right next to the market, soo…

bloggers journal