As families come back together to celebrate the summer, you may be asked to bring a dish to your next event!
Next time, tell them you will bring an appetizer tray with assorted goodies – some call it a charcuterie board and they can be as simple or as fancy as you want!
It’s genius for several reasons:
- No cooking – awesome.
- You know that you are going to be eating pre-meal snacks that are healthy for you.
- The pre-meal snack will help you not overeat at your actual meal.
- It looks like you put a lot of effort into your dish.
- You get to work-in one of the dozens of holiday themed plates you have sitting in your pantry. Perfect!
So, what should you get?
- Start with cheese slices of several kinds. My favorites include pepper jack, cheddar, and Swiss. Slice in thin squares or buy the cubes and fan them out on the plate.
- Next, unwrap the crackers. Get a couple of whole grain or whole wheat varieties. Kroger has a version of the Wheat Thin that is 100% whole wheat – just look for the brown box! For kids, try whole grain Goldfish – always a hit.
- Next, add your fruits and veggies. Try to pick options that won’t brown: grapes, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, etc.
- Nuts!
- Lastly, you can add a few slices of deli meat – try flavored varieties like Cajun or peppercorn turkey. Have the deli slice it thin and then fold pieces in half or roll up to fill-in the last few gaps on the plate.
- If you are a real party champion, you can add some sort of dipping sauce in the middle – like honey! One of my favorites for veggies is the OPA by Lighthouse Greek Yogurt Dressing – found in the produce section at Kroger. Or, if you are more of the Rachel Ray type, you could make your own!
Now you look like a party genius! Congrats, and happy potlucking!