Simple Foods

Sometimes, maybe usually, healthy eating doesn't make for good recipes. Or good cookbooks. Few authors are going to make their career telling people that you just need to grab some frozen brocolli, steam it lightly, sprinkle it with salt, and put it on the plates.

No, cookbooks sell when they call for 5 different ingredients to add to the brocolli, and dirty 7 dishes by the time the stuff makes it to the table!

Simple food is easy.

Simple food is healthy.

Simple food looks beautiful on a plate.

But it doesn't sell books.

Now that produce is looking good and tasting right, it's time for the return of the veggie tray at our house. My mom gave us an incredibly huge dip tray for our wedding that I used only occassionally for years. But a year or two ago, we started using it regularly to increase our intake of fresh, raw veggies. Last month my friend Janine brought a huge veggie tray to a party over here and that reminded me it was high time to dust off ours!

Super simple. Doesn't require a recipe! Just peel, chop, arrange, and eat. Anytime. Oh, you're hungry? You can get out the veggie tray! (Oh, you're not really that hungry? Well, dinner's in an hour, ok, sweetheart?)

Homemade ranch, hummus, or bean dip work well for the center bowl, or yogurt/ cream cheese dips if your family does dairy. You can find nicew big trays like this at department stores in the summer, or Tupperware makes an indestructable, but pricey, one. For a long time I used to just refill a smaller disposable tray salvaged from a potluck when our family was smaller and couldn't eat 7 carrots, 2 zuchinni, a bell pepper, and 2 cucumbers in 24 hours.

"Courage is like love, it must have hope for nourishment."
-Napoleon Bonaparte