Holli Thompson

Hosting Nutritional Styles® 

A glass of Viognier on the back porch, dinner in the garden. Casual, cook-it-all-myself, in sandals and a breezy dress.

It’s what Summer is all about. 

But how to be certain everyone will be happy with the menu?

If you’ve taken the Nutritional Style Quiz, you know I believe that most people fall into one of three Nutritional Styles®; Healthy Omnivore™, Flexible Vegetarian™, or Modern Vegan™, so I make sure to include something for everybody at every course.

On this particular night in July, I had a lot to do in very little time.

For drinks on the back porch, the ease of an appetizer board did the trick. I bought locally cured meats for the Healthy Omnivores, local raw and goat cheeses for the Flexible Vegetarians and raw almonds, goldenberries and dried apricots for the Modern Vegans. (everyone loved the goldenberries!) Gluten free whole grain crackers for all. Everything must be organic.

For dinner I chose wild salmon, one of my favorite things to serve (please not Atlantic or GMO farm raised salmon).  I baked it with a fresh pineapple and cayenne glaze.  Healthy Omnivores, check.

For the Flexible Vegetarians, I went with a fast cooking ancient grain, farro, rich in B Vitamins and fiber, mixed with lentils for added protein. I tossed in fresh vegetables from the garden–peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions, with herbs and EVOO (find that recipe here).

Modern Vegans, (often that’s just me) enjoyed a big mixed field green salad, again, from the garden, with fresh herbs.  I added pine nuts, raw goat cheese, and dried cherries, (dried without sulphur please) tossed with an olive oil vinaigrette.

All of the components went beautifully together and most people ate everything. The dishes looked gorgeous, and they tasted delicious.