Entertaining Gundry Style

After 21 years educating southern California's youth, my mom is heading into retirement. Her school always hosts a huge, fun-filled dinner with a tribute show. This year's show was Abba-themed and my mom's tribute song was Recycling Queen - I'm so proud! Anyway, I thought it would be special to start off the evening by gathering her closest friends and family for a toast. As you may have read, my parents as well as my aunt and uncle are also on Gundry. So, I was in a bit of a quandary trying to figure out how to host a gathering that would satisfy non-Gundry'ers, but provide Gundry-friendly foods for those that wanted to stay on track. Well, my mind of course went first to CHEESE - a crowd-pleaser that in moderation is well within the bounds of a Gundry lifestyle. I chose three harder cheeses that could easily be sliced and eaten without bread or crackers and a softer goat cheese. I picked up some yummy antipasto from Whole Foods - roasted garlic, marinated bell peppers, feta stuffed peppers and some adorable flower-shaped red peppers I'd never seen before. I served store-bought tapenade and a homemade Gundry-friendly artichoke dip (recipe follows) with endive, radicchio and red bell peppers for dipping. With the delicious spread, I served my new, favorite red wine, Rosso. For the non-Gundry'ers I also had crackers available, but was pleasantly surprised to see that everyone gobbled up the vegetable dippers.

Artichoke Dip

1/2 lb. cottage cheese

2 Tbsp plain yogurt

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1/3 Cup parmesan cheese, grated

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp each salt & pepper

Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, washed, stems removed

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until smooth. Serve with endive, radicchio and red bell pepper or your choice of vegetable dippers.