A Successful Healthy Dinner Party...

As promised here is a full recap, pictures and review of the Why Food Works (WFW) dinner I participated in over the weekend. Working with WFW was a great experience and I am excited to see if Sarah and I can combine our talents and create a flavorful partnership.

Before I tell you about Saturday's dinner I want to provide you with a bit more information as to how these dinner parties work.  The Dinner Parties are available in the Washington DC area. This is a guest minimum of 4 and max of 8 but hopefully with my assistance I think Sarah may be able to expand that max to 11.  All food, kitchen gadgets, utensils, plates, and glasses are supplied and here’s the best part, WFW will take care of all the clean up! The costs of these dinners are very reasonable; $65 per person but the host will receive 50% off marked price. If you would like a wine pairing along with the dinner it is an extra $8 per guest. These parties are a great excuse to bring your friends and family together in a fun and healthy way! For more information about a Why Food Works Dinner Party, click on the link below and enjoy!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ughONwSk4

Back to the dinner! Sarah and I prepared a deliciously healthy meal for the hostess Lauren and 8 of her friends. 

 On The Menu: 

Appetizers; served with fresh cut vegetable and gluten free crackers

•   Black Olive Tapenade

• Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

• Spinach, Kale and Artichoke Dip

Soup

• Chickpea Soup with Olive and Mint

Entrée

• Fish En Papillote

o   Literally meaning, “fish in parchment”. This is one of the easiest and healthiest ways to cook fish. The fish is combined with your choice of citrus, vegetables, herbs, seasonings and drizzled with your choice of oil. The fish is then wrapped in parchment and cooked in the oven. 

This was the fun part, the guests were all asked to put together their own parchment basket of fish with their choice of vegetable and flavorings. Who doesn't love playing chef ?!?  

 Dessert 

•   Coconut Chia Pudding with Blackberries and Shaved Dark Chocolate 

The dinner was a great success. The hostess and her guests loved getting involved in the cooking process and really enjoyed hearing Sarah and my tips to living and cooking your way to a healthy lifestyle. Most importantly, THEY LOVED THE FOOD! I am really looking forward to creating a partnership with Sarah and Why Food Works. Stay tuned to find out where our partnership takes us!

What’s Up Next??

This Friday is VALENTINE’S DAY! They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but there is nothing sexy about a fatty greasy meal. This year, cook something Nutritiously Gourmet for your man or woman! This week I will be posting my Nutritiously Gourmet menu, recipes and pictures for a fun, sexy and healthy Valentine’s Day meal! 

Healthy Twist on a Guilty Pleasure...

Today’s featured recipe is going to be a bit different than what you will grow to know as my weekly posts but it is a special occasion! I am prepping for a “healthy dinner party” with a fantastic D.C. company called Why Food Works founded and owned by Sarah Waybright; Registered Dietitian and foodie. The concept of the dinner party is to introduce people to basic cooking techniques while learning about healthy foods, healthy eating, and all around wellness. While you enjoy your meal, a Registered Dietitian and/or Chef will explain to you how to prepare these healthy meals and throw a healthy dinner party. This is my first time participating in a WFW dinner party and I couldn’t be more excited.  I will post all about the event on Monday!

Alright, let’s dig in!

Spinach, Kale & Artichoke Dip 

Traditional Spinach and Artichoke dip is served at almost every popular food chain and honestly, it’s one of my guiltiest pleasures. Here’s the problem, this famous dish is about 1600 calories per serving and 21 grams of fat.

 My new take on this classic appetizer is going to cut those calories and almost completely eliminated the fat. This recipe is VEGAN (V), GLUTEN FREE (GF), GUILT FREE AND DELICIOUS!  I have added one of my favorite vegetables, kale. Kale is packed with a ton of vitamins and minerals.  Besides being nutritious, kale takes up a lot of room in a dish, leaving less room for guilt. Originally kale was what I would call a “misused vegetable” being used as a decorative on serving plates and food displays. However, in the past few years it’s climbed its way up the nutritional ladder and into our hearts!  

I know what you’re thinking, WHAT ABOUT ALL THAT CHEESE?? And no, I am not using any type of dairy-free imitation cheese. For this recipe the cheese is being replaced by cauliflower. I prefer using cauliflower as a replacement in a creamy, cheesy dish because when slightly roasted and pureed it does a fantastic job of taking on the appearance and texture of melted cheese without any of the fat!  Using certain pureed fruits and vegetables to replace fatty ingredients is a great way to cut the fat from any dish. It’s just about finding the right vegetable (or fruit) for the job. Enough about the facts…let’s get cooking!

Here’s the recipe:

3 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 large onion, small dice

2 heads of cauliflower, roughly chopped

2 Tbs. Thyme, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

5 cups of kale, ribs removed

1 bag of spinach, roughly chopped

2 cans artichoke, rinsed, chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1 Tbs. Sriracha Sauce

¼ cup Gluten Free bread crumbs (optional- adds a crunchy texture and soaks up moisture from the

spinach)

Salt and Pepper, TT (To taste)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

1.       In a large bowl toss cauliflower, onion and thyme with olive oil.

2.       Spread mixture onto a large baking sheet. Roast in oven until all vegetables are golden brown. Cook for 30 minutes. Toss garlic in with mixture. Roast of another 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool. About 10 minutes.

3.       Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine spinach, kale, artichokes, lemon juice and Sriracha Sauce.

4.       With a standard blender puree the cauliflower mixture until creamy and smooth.  You want the mixture to remain slightly warm so it is easy to toss with the kale/spinach mixture.  

5.       Slowly combine cauliflower pureed mixture with the spinach and kale mixture. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a large rectangular baking dish.         

                 

6.       Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with your favorite Gluten Free chip or your favorite cut vegetable and ENJOY. Healthy Eating!

**If you’re looking to save time the day of your party, make this a day in advance. Follow the instruction up to step 6 and refrigerate.  The day of your party let the dish come to room temp. then follow step 6**

Welcome to Nutritiously Gourmet!!

Are you ready to Cook Your Way to A Healthier You??

My name is Alison Steelman I am a Personal Chef and Nutritionist. In my short 25 years of life I’ve been fortunate enough to work in many different facets of the culinary industry. From restaurants to some of the most well known companies in the industry and through it all, my passion has always been nutrition. Nutritiously Gourmet is your go to blog for everything healthy and everything delicious. I will post weekly recipes , why they're healthy  and I may occasionally slip in a recipe or two with a bit of sinfulness to them…because everybody deserves a little bit of decadence RIGHT??  So let's get started! It's just about REAL food and REAL recipes. 

Healthy food can be GOURMET, DELICIOUS AND FUN!