How to Do Hippie '70s Party Food

Veggie pot pie is an authentic hippie dish that's easy to prepare.

The hippie subculture emerged as a youth movement in opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s. Attention to mass produced food, industrialized agriculture and the environment led to widespread criticism of pesticides, mass consumption and cruelty to animals. Hippies promoted eating simple, vegetarian, toxin-free food. A themed-party that features hippie 1970s food can tap into the spirit of this subculture with a menu of health foods and drinks.

Things You'll Need

• Shopping list of health foods
• Place cards

Instructions

1. Brainstorm foods to serve from the 1970s hippie movement. Check out books, such as Frances Moore Lappe's "Diet for a Small Planet" (1976), or read vegetarian or hippie-inspired websites.

2. Focus the party menu around a central main dish that can be prepared in advance. Consider making a few veggie pot pies as the culinary centerpiece. According to Tsiporah Grignon of "Synergy" magazine, veggie pies were a must at any hippie social gathering. Brown rice, veggies and tofu sauteed in soy sauce and topped with engevita yeast round out the main dish menu.

3. Prepare simple finger foods as appetizers. Ideas include a vegetable platter of alfalfa, sprouts, carrots and cucumbers; while cliché, homemade granola or granola bars are an easy and an authentic hippie staple.

4. Serve drinks. Include a selection of herbal teas, water infused with lemon or cucumber, and vegetable juices such as V8, which was popular from 1969 onward. Consider serving popular period drinks such as Tang! or Kool-Aid if the party is in the summer, or alcoholic beverages if appropriate.

5. Include period desserts such as a baked Alaska, brownies with nuts or a fruit salad. Kool Whip is an optional addition, as it was very popular during the early 1970s, but preparing homemade whipping cream may be more in line with the hippie movement's principles.

6. Inform party guests of the menu's historic and cultural relevance with explanatory index cards on the serving table next to each dish.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare all dishes a few days in advance so the day of the party will be stress free.

References

• "Appetite for Change: How the Counterculture Took on the Food Industry"; Warren Belasco; 2007
• Food Timeline; Popular 20th Century American Foods; Lynne Olver; 2000
• "Synergy" Magazine: The West Coast Hippie Diet of the 1970s; Tsiporah Grignon

Resources

• Small Planet Institute; "Diet for a Small Planet"; Frances Moore Lappe; 1976
• Gluten Free Hippie