So, last night, I was happy to host a Whole30 potluck for our small group. Just what I needed! We had such a variety of fantastic dishes.
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| Eating Good in the Hood: Jocelyn, Jennifer, Anna, Martha, Dana, and Sadira |
I made bison & butternut cocoa chili from the Practical Paleo cookbook by Diane Sanfilippo. I was hesitant because, honestly, who wants chocolate in their chili? I almost talked myself out of making it, but I'm glad I just went ahead and trusted the recipe. It was surprisingly really good! On a cold, wintery night, it's so nice to have a chili option without legumes. I substituted beef for the bison and actually used closer to 2 lbs of meat instead of 1 lb for a heartier, thicker chili.
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| Bison & Butternut Cocoa Chili |
Dana made Asian meatballs from Nom Nom Paleo. I would have never thought to use sweet potatoes instead of a bread filler. Delicious! In fact, I'm looking forward to adding a few of the leftovers to compliant spaghetti sauce. Mmmmm.
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| Asian Meatballs |
We were lucky that Sadira shared not one, but two of her Asian-inspired dishes. Chicken tinola was a delicious soup made with chicken, bok choy, green papaya, onions, celery, garlic, ginger, and salt. The link above is a similar recipe from the internet that will serve as a starting point because Sadira is bad about cooking without a recipe. I'm jealous as I only wish I could cook like that!
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| Chicken Tinola |
Sadira also made japchae. It was probably the biggest hit of the night. Pasta has always been one of my favorite dishes, so I've been using spaghetti squash or zoodles as a healthy substitute. However, I didn't even know this product existed. You make it just like spaghetti noodles, but it is made from sweet potato starch noodles. This will definitely become a pantry staple for me from now on. (Thanks, Sadira, for gifting me with my first bag!) As before, I've provided a link to a recipe for japchae online since Sadira doesn't use one. She used chicken instead of beef, though. I'm pretty sure there were no leftovers!
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| Japchae |
Jocelyn made detoxifying chicken vegetable soup. I don't know how I overlooked taking a close-up of her with this amazing soup. (Sorry, Jocelyn!) It's the soup in the upper right hand corner in the photo below. With this soup, I learned so much about the healing properties of turmeric. Who knew? Don't let the healthy-sounding name stop you from trying this. Whole30 or not, this is a soup that I will be making from now on. So satisfying!
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| Detoxifying Chicken Vegetable Soup (see top right) |
Anna made a side dish, combining beef, sweet potatoes, squash, onions, salsa, and taco seasoning. Anna, like Sadira, is also guilty of not using a recipe. :) I need to be more daring with combinations like this because it is very, very good!
Martha brought a Paleo salad made with organic mixed greens, spinach, roasted almonds, dried cranberries, and avocado. It was tossed with a wonderful dressing made from olive oil, sweet onion, balsamic vinegar, dry mustard powder, sea salt, an pepper. Such a beautiful presentation!
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| Paleo Salad |
Since desserts are off-limits for Whole30, I served mixed fruit to round out the meal.
I also provided samples of RxBars, my go-to protein bar that is quite tasty. They're great for ballgames or movies when everyone else heads to the concession stand. The sweetness comes from dates. I even love their tagline: No Added Sugar, No GMO, No Dairy, No Soy, No Gluten, No B.S. :)
I'm so grateful for this night of fellowship. Great food. Great conversation. I learned so much! My last ten days of Whole 30 will be a piece of cake . . . the healthy kind, that is!
