work potluck - need healthy appetizer ideas!

Mixed veggies...carrots, celery, grapes and hummus to dip.

Do you have a calorie upper limit? 'Healthy' can mean so many different things, depending on goals. A few ideas:

• Hummus
• Mock pate (saute 8 oz green beans, 12 oz sliced mushrooms and an onion in a teaspoon of oil on medium-high; use water as needed to avoid sticking; throw into food processor with 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup walnut pieces, and salt and pepper to taste). Don't make this too far ahead. After a day or two, the moisture in the vegetables separates and you'll have a pool of water around it.
• You can bake your own tortilla chips. Spray small tortillas with cooking spray, cut into 8 wedges, sprinkle with salt and/or other seasonings, and bake until crispy.
• https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/live-spring-rolls-with-lemon-ginger-dipping-sauce

I saw a really great idea for a "watermelon pizza" once! Take a whole watermelon and slice it into discs, then cover the discs with garnishes of your choice--suggestions for things like vanilla yogurt for a "sauce" and other fruit slices for toppings, or you could use nuts or granola and even a tiny sprinkle of chocolate chips. Then slice the discs like a pizza and voila, watermelon pizza.

Google tomato mozzarella basil bites. Easy to make. Healthy. I cut tomatoes in half. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/104806/tomato-and-mozzarella-bites/

Zucchini pizzas are pretty good! Sliced zucchini baked with marinara and a little mozzarella (or for me daiya "Cheese" lol). I also love falafel, but instead of deep frying them I buy a mix and bake them. You can find a lot of good easy falafel recipes online too but I am lazy and just go for the mix hahaha.

Cold gazpacho
Hot squash puree soup topped with dollops of Greek yogurt and sprinkled with herbs
Pulled pork
Pulled chicken
sliced pork tenderloin
Chicken skewers with vinaigrette
Hot German potato salad
Hot vinaigrette potato salad
cucumber salad
Caprese salad
bruschetta
roasted root veggies: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, leeks, butternut squash
sauteed brussels sprouts with bacon and garlic

My favorite is Caprese Bites

Cut fresh mozzarella into 1/2" chunks (or buy a packet of BelGioso pearls)
Cut grape tomatoes in half

Spear 1/2 tomato, 1 piece of cheese, and the other half tomato on a toothpick. Lay on a plate. When the plate is full, chop some fresh basil and sprinkle over. Drizzle a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar over everything and serve.

When I take it somewhere, I do the toothpicks first and cover with plastic wrap, and take the basil and olive oil/balsamic vinegar all mixed up in a container. Shake and drizzle just before serving.

Vegetable sushi might be an option, if you have the equipment.

Sesame-shiitake wonton crisps. Note: Assemble when you're at the potluck or it will get soggy.

For 12 servings:

12 wonton wrappers
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp canola or grapeseed oil
12 shiitake mushrooms, lightly rinsed, patted dry, stemmed, and cut into 1/4" slices. (Note: I am uncoordinated and have a hard time with thin slicing, It's not going to ruin anything if they're thicker.)
4 snow peas, trimmed and cut crosswise into thin slivers
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1 medium carrot, shredded
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish, black if available.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside. Brush wonton wrappers with 1 tbsp of the sesame oil and arrange on baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. (You can also tuck them into mini muffin tins to make cups for the filling. I like this option, personally.)

In a large skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Stir in snow peas and soy sauce and cook 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and remaining sesame oil. Stir in carrot and cooled shiitake mixture. Top/fill each wonton crisp with a spoonful of the shiitake mixture. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and arrange on a platter to serve.


If you can get jicama, you can slice into 1/4" slices and use as a canape bottom. My cookbook suggests using it for guac, but there may be other options. You will want something about the same consistency as guac, though.

estherdragonbat wrote: »

Vegetable sushi might be an option, if you have the equipment.

yumm..yes. or California rolls (+imitation crab) or Philly rolls (+ cream cheese and smoked salmon). (Don't have to worry about the freshness & handling of raw fish with these ones).

French_Peasant wrote: »

Cold gazpacho
Hot squash puree soup topped with dollops of Greek yogurt and sprinkled with herbs
Pulled pork
Pulled chicken
sliced pork tenderloin
Chicken skewers with vinaigrette
Hot German potato salad
Hot vinaigrette potato salad
cucumber salad
Caprese salad
bruschetta
roasted root veggies: potatoes, carrots, parsnips, leeks, butternut squash
sauteed brussels sprouts with bacon and garlic

Well that settles it. The pot luck needs to be held at the sprawling estate of @French_Peasant.

What about mini pizzas?

Use sandwich thins for the crust, top with sauce, cheese and mix up the toppings. You could do turkey pepperoni, veggie and chicken sausage.

Or an egg frittata - eggs/egg whites, turkey bacon, salsa, spinach and mushrooms.

http://www.simplywhisked.com/spicy-sriracha-broccoli-slaw/

I make this for my lunches a lot, also made it for a work pot luck and it was gone before any of the desserts. I personally don't put the broccoli in, just carrots, red cabbage, and green cabbage for color. It's simple and people liked it and a little different than just a basic veggie platter while still healthy.

Caprese salad or screwers with mozzarella and tomatoes, bit of vinegar, salt, and basil.

Brabo_Grip wrote: »

My condolences. I detest work potlucks - can't control the food and I feel obligated to attend even though my lunch hour is for my training.

The only thing worse is a "lunch and learn" where some vendor tries to get me to think that a "free lunch" and a thin veiled sales pitch is worth my valuable training time. Yeah - try and lunch and learn me and you won't be getting my business.

/of tangent rant

Ha....better than a teleconference where the main group is being supplied with a lavishly catered working lunch and you are eating random stuff that you can reach in your desk drawer. But at least you can do bicep curls on the phone with the weights also stashed in the desk.