I cannot believe I only have two days left of my challenge, time has gone by SO fast. I am super excited too about how I will finish my challenge – with a My New Roots Potluck! I have 8 friends attending the potluck, and each of us is going to bring dishes from My New Roots (either cookbook or blog). We are in the planning stage now of coming up with great dishes to bring, and don’t worry, all the food groups will be covered!
In order to share the potluck experience with you, the readers, I am going to have a similar evaluation tool from the chocolate tasting challenge to rate all the recipes that we make, and I will be giving out prizes. The categories for prizes will be: Best overall recipe (based on highest score in all categories), Best presentation (I will take photos of each dish to share with you, not to worry!) and most complicated – because well whoever decides to sprout wild rice or make their own ginger bug should get some extra credit!
Here are my criteria for the judging:
- Ingredients and Preparation – I will get the “potluckee” to explain the methods of preparation and the ingredients present. Those with intriguing ingredients and extensive preparation methods will get a higher score, just because they deserve the effort! Also the recipe will get a higher grade if it appeals to many dietary restrictions (we will have vegans and those with celiac in the group).
- Presentation/Appearance – Again, the “potluckee” will get a higher score for their method of presentation; do they provide adequate ways of distributing the item (ie. is it in a nice bowl/plate), and is it appealing to the person who is about to eat it?
- Flavor and Texture – this criteria is based on the overall taste of the item, and is also credited a higher mark if it is properly cooked, prepared (no burnt bits!) and is seasoned appropriately.
Do you think I’m missing any categories? If so, please comment below! I am drafting up the marking sheets and prizes as we speak, so your opinion would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Okay, now for my review. I have two recipes left to share with you from Week 2 of the My New Roots 21 Day challenge: The Comfy Sweet Potato, and the Raspberry Macadamia Thumbprint Cookies (cookbook page 109). Both recipes I really enjoyed, but I will give you a more thorough analysis below 😉
First off, the Comfy Sweet Potato – a perfect meal for a day where you just want to curl up and have something hearty, and well…comfy. I have to give credit to Sarah, she really knows how to make appropriate recipe titles. This recipe has some prep work – specifically the red blanket sauce that is drizzled over the top, made with a tomato base, spiced with cumin, cinnamon, chipotle and cacao powder… super unique! I really liked this sauce, and the recipe makes two cups, so I ended up freezing quite a bit of it for later use. I had some black lentils left over from the Lentil Salad in week 1, so I used this as opposed to black beans, but I could see both being great!
I like how simple this recipe is, although the sauce takes some time to prepare, it really lends itself to the sweet potato and the flavor it releases once it is cooked. Because of this, it is fairly low in cost (which is a bonus for me as a student!). The taste was really hearty, rich and sweet, with a great contrasting crunch of sprouts. If you add lime, you really get that holy trinity of flavours (as described in the My New Roots Cookbook). Nutritionally, this is a great all around meal, with a great amount of carbohydrates and fibre, which is great for a post workout! Protein count is a bit on the lower side, so best like I said after some physical activity to store up the sugars that you deplete. You can see the full nutritional info here
Overall, I gave this recipe a 33.5 out of 40, a pretty solid comfy score! hehe.
The last recipe I am going to review from the week, and one of the best in my opinions is the Raspberry Macadamia Thumbprint Cookie! Wow was this fantastic. The ingredient list was a bit on the pricier side, just because raspberries are not in season at the moment (had to get frozen) and macadamia nuts are not cheap! I really like that this is oat based, great for gluten free friends.
(Photo credit: Kendra MacFarlane)
It has minimal sugar content, sweetened only with maple syrup, which is really nice. Nutritionally, it is a healthy dessert, with 9.4 grams of sugar, and 8.1 grams of fat (but healthy fat from coconut oil!). My only real constructive criticism of this recipe is that it could use a bit more oat flour than suggested, my batter was fairly runny, so I added about 1/4 cup more flour. I would be interested to hear if you found the same! I gave this one a 34.5/40.
(Photo credit: Kendra MacFarlane)
Thanks again for sharing all your recipe reviews and inspiration on Instagram! Please do not forget to use the hashtag #MNR21challenge so I can find you and like it 🙂 It really is making my day to see all these great recipes and get inspired! Let’s make Sarah proud of her great work!!
xoxo Hannah