They're Here!

Company. I promised an account of what to make when company comes over. We recently had some friends over who are not vegetarian, vegan or Whole Foods, Plant-Based (WFPB). What could I serve that would please everyone? 

I went with pizza. To make our guests feel comfortable, I bought mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. I also had ingredients to make a Greek pizza, which included kalamata olives, pesto, artichoke hearts, and peppers (recipe from "The Engine 2 Diet" book). This gave people the choice of a traditional pizza (with cheese and meat), a vegetable version (without cheese), or to get creative and mix it up. I was satisfied with the options I was giving, but admittedly nervous at how this would all be received. Maybe people wouldn't want to eat at our house anymore, knowing we're WFPB, and you might have already thought that after reading the "Rutabaga and Parsnips" posting.

To please me and my family, I made a whole grain pizza dough and fresh sauce from a recent harvest of garden tomatoes. Ah, the smell was incredible!

 

Upon arrival of the guests, I introduced the pizza-making process (everyone would make their own) and the ingredients. Later, my friend, Kathy, remarked that she had thought the pizza wasn't going to be enough. This is something that we “super-size” Americans have to adjust to in our minds and bodies when eating WFPB. We don’t need to eat nearly the serving sizes we are used to consuming. Period. This is especially true with whole grains. They are so filling. I made the whole grain pizza dough into squares about 5 in. by 5 in. Everyone had one pizza, and the men had two. I also provided whole wheat tortillas, which a couple of us chose instead of the pizza dough. To the American eye, the pizza dough squares didn’t look like a lot, and this thought crossed even my mind as I was preparing them, but, with toppings piled on it, you really do experience satiety.

I truly hope our guests did not leave our house hungry. I mean, everyone (two women, two men, three kids and a teenager) finished their pizza and the men had seconds, but maybe they were just being polite. I also served a special dessert called “Banana N-ice cream” (from the Whole Foods website. They have GREAT recipes). It’s a dessert made with frozen bananas, soymilk and natural peanut butter or vanilla. It’s pretty yummy, healthy, and nonfat, and the consistency is more like custard.

I think evidence that our guests were impacted was my friend’s later comment; the next day she made an entire meal from scratch: bread and soup. We are paying it forward and, hopefully, friends, family and some of you are making healthy changes. I think it’s safe to say that most everyone desires to eat healthier. For each person that may mean something different. Any change is good, don’t you think?

Maybe my friend Kathy (hint, hint) will comment on the experience or she'll write a future guest post about her family's experience. 

What have you changed, and have any of your friends or family been impacted -- in a WFPB way?