Veggie trays aren’t just for parties. Here’s how making one every week can help your whole family eat healthier!
Do you love holiday buffets? I do. I love the fudge and the cookies and the soft cheeses you spread on fancy party crackers with those tiny knives.
But I also gravitate to the veggie trays. When vegetables are already washed and chopped and served on a plate alongside a delicious dip, it feels like a treat.
Over the holidays, I was dunking my thousandth broccoli floret into creamy dip when it occurred to me that I could easily replicate this treat at home. Couldn’t any old day be special enough for a veggie tray?
So on Sunday, I made one. While I was photographing it, my third grader walked by and snagged two carrot sticks. When I set it out on the table that night, he finished all the snap peas. Last night he crunched through all the red peppers while I demolished the broccoli. In just two days, we’re both eating more veggies–just because they’re there.
| You might also like: Here’s How Many Fruits & Veggies Kids Need Every Day |
How to Make a Weekly Veggie Tray
- Buy a variety of veggies each week, such as carrots, celery, peppers, snap peas and snow peas, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower.
- Wash and chop everything and arrange it on a plate or tray.
- Nestle one or two small dishes of dip within the veggies. (Here’s why I’m okay with my kids loving ranch dressing.)
- Bring out the veggie tray at meals, snack time, or when your kids are hungry before dinner and you don’t want them filling up too much (or when you’re cooking dinner and need something to nibble).
- Keep the veggie tray covered in your fridge (bonus points for having extra washed and chopped vegetables on reserve so you can refill it mid-week.
It’s super simple, but it works.
And maybe it will work for you too. So here’s to making healthy choices easy (and a little bit special-feeling) all year long!
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