GI Diet Christmas Party

Last night we had our annual Holiday Bash. Each year we host a Christmas party for 20 - 30 of our friends. This year we decided to make it a GI friendly party (well, as much as we possibly could). With so many celebrations in the month of December many of us become "over sugared" and over eat with all the festivities. We did have two or three indulgences but for the most part it was all healthy and most of the dishes were from the GI Diet cookbook. Everyone had a nice time and I think they all enjoyed the food. One guest even told me she was "stuffed full but a good healthy stuffed full". Getting ready to host a party of this size takes a fair amount of time and planning but I absolutely love organizing things. A good friend came over on Friday night and we cooked for four hours and then I spent the entire day in the kitchen the day of the party. But all that work is worth it. It's wonderful having all of our closest friends in one room at the same time.

Here is what we served:
Spicy Popcorn - Parmesan Garlic and Cajun (GI friendly)
Warm Artichoke Dip with Cut up veggies such as carrots, celery, zucchini, and peppers (GI friendly)

Anti pasta Platter - salami, turkey and prosciutto with olives and sun dried tomatoes - one of our splurge items

Layered Guacamole served with tortilla chips - a Canadian Living recipe (Guacamole GI friendly but not the chips)

Quinoa Bean and Vegetable Chili with yogurt cheese (GI friendly)

Mushroom and Arugula Salad with Lemon Olive oil dressing - a dish I copied from one
of our favorite restaurants (GI friendly)

Cheese and Crackers - another splurge because it was not low fat

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins with Cream Cheese icing (GI friendly)

Peppermint Bark - another splurge

Fruit salad with strawberries, blackberries, pomegranates, melon (a red light item), and red and green grapes (GI friendly except for the melon)

And of course the red wine and beer were a special treat as well.

Black Bean Burritos

I am getting hungry just looking at the pictures above. These black bean burritos are yummy and hearty. This is another one of those vegetarian GI Diet meals that you would swear has meat in it. Not because of the flavor but because of how delicious and filling it is. I did however have a hard time finding a soft tortilla shell that I would consider to be healthy and ended up with a pasty version that hardened quickly after being heated up. But despite my tortilla fiasco I still enjoyed this dish and would certainly make it again. If I find a better shell the next time I will definitely let you know.

SERVED WITH: Feeling lazy that night I served them all on their own. But they would have been nice with a healthy garden salad.

COOKING TIPS: Heat up your tortilla shells as you eat them. No matter the variety of shell they will go hard if left to sit to long after being heated up.

RATING: 8. Imagining I made them with better shells.