My Healthy Cooking Group

A few years ago when my oldest, Bryce was only 18 months old (he's now 5), I joined our local mothers club, Novato Mothers Club, as a way to meet other mothers with children the same age as Bryce. I have made many new friendships through the club and so has Bryce and now Paige. Within the Mothers Club, I joined the Special Interest Group, Healthy Cooking. This sub-group began many years ago by Alice Dow and is still going strong with 15 or so women. The purpose of the group is to get together on a monthly basis to share healthy, delicious recipes and enjoy each other's company and stories. I was happy to be able to attend this month! I hadn't been to a meeting since November due to conflicts between Dominic's and my home schedule. Each month, on a rotation schedule, a member of the group hosts Healthy Cooking Night at her home. Last night was Danielle's turn to host. Being so close to St. Patrick's Day, the theme she chose was 'green'. Food brought over to share was asked to be, or contain the color green. There was a group of nine last night. Danielle, Silvia, me, Alice, Geri, Katey, Cathy & Kristi (thanks Mendy for taking the photo!).... I chose to prepare an appetizer. This is what I came up with: One of my favorites, Trader Joe's Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough.....

Bring to room temperature (about 20 minutes), then spread onto a baking sheet or pizza stone.... I topped it with pesto sauce....... Other toppings included low fat mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, yellow pepper & some Parmesan cheese.... Bake at 400 for 16-18 minutes, cut into bite size pieces & serve on a platter...... You can't go wrong with this as an appetizer.....

At Danielle's house, there was a delicious Mojito calling my name...... Some of the dishes...... This blurred photo is of a bowl of Kale Chips (I'm still in the learning phase of my Nikon CoolPix, I think I had it on the wrong setting because many of the photos came out BLURRY) My plate, after I dug into it (sorry it's a little messy) included: broccoli with a balsamic vinegar, a yummy brussel sprouts dish, and a pork verde with zucchini. It was all SO delicious! ( I will be emailed all the recipes within the week, if you're interested in any of them let me know!) Danielle, Silvia, me, Katey & Cathy... Mendy & Alice....... Katey & Cathy..... A fun night for all who attended!

Happy Wednesday!