"Go Nuts, It's Your Birthday!" | Silk Nutchello

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Oh, how birthday celebrations have changed. In my 20's, wild parties and all-nighters out on the town dotted the social calendar monthly, our young livers and pre-parenthood energy levels allowing us to bounce back without needing much more than a jumbo iced coffee and a couple of ibuprofen the next morning. These days? Not so much.

Now that most of my friends and I are in our 30's, recovering from crazy outings {ie. more than 2 glasses of wine} makes those kinds of celebrations way less desirable, if you know what I mean. {Read: A full weekend on the couch feeling like you got hit by a bus while your toddler repeatedly honks the horn on their all-too-realistic-sounding toy truck. No, thank you.}

Luckily, getting together with a group of friends and enjoying each other's "nutty" company can be just as fun {and way less ouch} than the celebrations of the past. 

In honor of one of my gal pals birthdays, I hosted a lunchtime party with the tongue-in-cheek theme, "Go Nuts, It's Your Birthday!" to celebrate her in a way that we could all enjoy without having to pay for it the next day.

Silk's newest product, Nutchello, {found in the milk/milk alternative aisle at Walmart stores} made for an on-theme centerpiece and signature drink for an afternoon celebration!

With varieties like Rich Dark Chocolate + Walnuts, Toasted Coconut + Cashew, and Caramel Almond + Cashew, there was no feeling like we were skimping on flavor or keeping things "light." Yet, with only 90 calories at most per serving, we could also indulge without doing too much damage!

The menu I came up with was punctuated with nutty additions to the lightened up party fare:

Menu:

Nutchello

Rich Dark Chocolate + Walnuts, Toasted Coconut + Cashew, and Caramel Almond + Cashew

Chicken Quinoa
with Walnut Pesto 

Apple Soda Bread
with Pecan-Honey Butter

Arugula and Pear Salad with Candied Walnuts

Crostini

Olive Tapenade & Zucchini, Blood Orange-Ricotta with Honey & Walnuts

Homemade Caramel Almond Granola 

with Silk Dairy Free Yogurt 

Party Favors: Vanilla-Cayenne Candied Walnuts

Fruits, veggies, healthy grains and nuts were the main ingredients in most of the dishes, and I had lots of dairy-free options for the honored guest who recently eliminated dairy from her diet since finding out that her little one was showing signs of dairy intolerance after nursing. Luckily, Nutchello is free of dairy, soy, lactose, gluten, casein and carrageenan, which means it can still be enjoyed by those who usually have to pass up creamy beverages.

As if getting nutty with the menu wasn't enough to solidify my theme, I also used nuts in the decor, adding cashews, almonds and walnuts to small vases as festive filler, then topping each with a pillar candle and adding some sparkly ribbon to bring it all together.

I chose a neutral color scheme of white and nut brown with gold accents and pops of mint green throughout and used lots of textures to make the tablescape visually interesting. A large piece of burlap worked as a simple table cloth, and instead of bothering with cloth napkins I used inexpensive paper ones in the same mint shade as the other details. I found a small wooden crate and rustic wooden chargers at the craft store and used them to accentuate the natural theme. A set of utensils was tucked into a small mint colored pail that also held gold and white straws and small drawstring polka dotted bags filled with my favorite sweet and spicy candied nuts that I gave away as favors.

I loved mixing formal plates with rustic elements to keep things looking pretty but casual, and I was even able to get away with using ornate plastic utensils {yay! Less to wash!} since they went great with the faux-fancy touches of the decor.

An afternoon celebration is a great reason to bust out the Nutchello and declare, "It's 3 o'clock somwhere!" At the end of the day, the best part of any celebration is gathering with your favorite people... you'd have to be "nuts" to disagree! ;) 

For more Silk recipe inspiration and to learn more about Silk products, head over to the Silk hub!

Meanwhile, check out my recipe for Walnut Pesto Chicken Quinoa -- a great addition to your Nutchello party menu!

Walnut Pesto Chicken Quinoa 

For Walnut Pesto

About 4 cups loosely packed basil leaves 

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1 garlic clove

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil

1. In a food processor or small blender, pulse together all of the ingredients until almost smooth. {You may need to stop once to scrape down the sides.}

Set aside until ready to use. 

For Quinoa:

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions*
1 large cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into small pieced
2 Roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/3 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

1. Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add cooked, diced chicken and diced tomatoes. Toss to combine.

2. Pour Walnut Pesto over quinoa mixture and mix until pesto coats all ingredients.

3. Sprinkle toasted walnuts over top.

Serve warm, room temperature or cold as a salad.**

*1 cup of uncooked quinoa will fluff up to about 3 cups cooked.
** Refrigerating for a while before serving may dry out the pesto a bit. If this is the case, just drizzled with a bit of olive oil and toss before serving.