lemon

The challenge: bring over a side dish to a our friends’ house for dinner; keep it simple to not distract from the main course; have it be aesthetically pleasing and, preferably, green; make sure it can be easily heated and/or assembled so as not to burden our hosts in the kitchen when we arrive; and make it toddler friendly? A tall order, I know, but I thought that the Lemony snow peas and mixed mushrooms recipe would be able to stand up to the test.

Reach your goals with these delicious recipes adapted from The Dukan Diet. They're all tested and approved by the Chatelaine Kitchen!

Have you ever made hummus before? How about swapping out the olive oil and tahini for sesame oil and sweet potato? This golden hummus recipe is a nice variation on the classic Middle Eastern chickpea dip. It still looks like hummus and smells like hummus, but the sesame and sweet potato flavours will surprise your guests.

I have not had bulgur in a very long time. It’s a ridiculously healthy, nutty-flavoured wheat grain that we should eat more often. Perhaps it will help counteract the effect of my frequent visits to the new ice cream parlour that just opened up near my home. Bulgur is packed with nutrients like fibre, folate and manganese and it’s extremely easy to prepare. If you don’t think you can wait the 20 minutes for the bulgur to simmer, then make this dish with couscous instead, which takes only 5 minutes. Tabbouleh is a delicious Middle Eastern salad that can also be used as a great filler for a pita sandwich, should you be lucky enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Ah, side dishes: the under-appreciated sidekick to every show-stopping main attraction. Friends that I had wanted to catch up with were dropping by with their 12-week-old baby for dinner. I needed something that could be prepared with little concentration and a low margin of error, and that wouldn't lead to interruptions from an oven timer, smoke alarm or visits from the local fire department. The Greek herb-roasted potatoes recipe sounded like a safe bet.