Chocolate, Wine and Happiness

Last night I asked my husband what he wanted to do for Christmas Eve this year.  This has always been a 'finger foods" night for us, and truthfully, my kids and I always called it "foods in a box" night because it was all the horrible junk food that comes in boxes in the frozen section of the grocery store--jalapeno poppers, chicken fingers, onion rings, sausage rolls, breaded mushrooms and breaded zucchini.  I'm not Betty Freakin' Crocker.  I bought foods in a box.  It was a gastric nightmare and it always sounded like such a great idea until we sat down with it and 10 bites in, just pushed the plates away.  It was...too....much.  Just too much to digest.  It sat like lead in the belly.

This year, on my whole paleo mighty-horse, I thought we'd say goodbye to finger food Christmas Eve in light of healthier fare, maybe something truly foodie, even.  But what our hearts want is finger food because it is a tradition.  So we brainstormed this one out.  Why not finger foods?  Could we do it paleo-style and not miss the old foods?  The other day I came upon a recipe for grain-free pigs in a blanket.  Now that's something the kids could really get into.  Maybe even like.  So here's what we planned out:

• grain-free pigs in a blanket from
  http://realfoodforager.com/2011/12/recipe-grain-free-party-franks/
• veggies and dairy-free ranch-flavored dip from http://www.janssushibar.com/
• asparagus wrapped in bacon and grilled
• home-made mini-meatballs baked and glazed in paleo bbq sauce from the Primal Comfort Foods cookbook
• chicken threaded onto skewers and grilled, dipped in sunshine sauce from http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/ (basically a sunbutter version of peanut sauce, that I will make spicy)
• avocado and salsa, with plantain chips for dipping (I will buy these from the Bulk Barn)
• maybe I'll even make some dark-chocolate-coated almonds if I'm still on my hormonal PMS roller-coaster....  Because chocolate and red wine make me happy, whether or not it's paleo. 

We've always had a big family Christmas dinner, but this year...not so much.  Circumstances have prevented that.  So maybe, since there will only be 3 of us, we will drive all over town until we can find a restaurant that will take us, and we will, for once, eat slowly, savouring every bite and enjoying the quiet that this year has brought, because next year--it's party on again!

I will, however, be partaking in a Boxing Day dinner feast (And if it snows, I'll take pictures and they'll be spectacular), and just to make sure the temptation isn't too great, (or the stomach pain too much) I will be bringing my own versions of my favorite things--stuffing and pie.  The stuffing will come from http://www.cavemanstrong.com/ and the pie...I'm eyeing the recipe submitted to Robb Wolf's recipe contest labelled French Silk Pie.  I'll let you know how it goes......  And red wine.  We will bring, and there will also already be, copious amounts of red wine.  Red wine and chocolate make me happy.  Have I said that already?  It needs to be said again.  And again.  I'll stop that now..