Healthier Meals? Bring Back The Relish Tray!
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Nowadays, with our focus on getting kids to try new things and eating more healthful foods, this is the perfect time to bring back the old custom of having a relish tray at meals, with a modern twist to tailor it to our own tastes. Don’t go thinking this is just for kids though! Adults love relish trays almost as much, if not more, than the wee ones. My mother always slices up cucumbers and carrots while we’re cooking at family get togethers. We nibble…and nibble..and then have to make a brand new relish tray before the meal because we’ve ate it all!
This also helps keep our portions of more caloric fare to a minimum as we’ve already partially filled up on the good stuff.
My typical relish tray includes: cucumbers, bell pepper strips, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and of course a little ranch dressing!
Now I know some of you are looking at this and thinking “That’s a veggie tray”. Well, its not. Why? Because I said so.
The reason I call this a relish tray is that the dish I am using is called a relish plate and I actually serve these things alongside my meals as a form of condiments so technically, in a highly technical fashion, this is a relish tray. It would just look more like one if my family ate pickles, but we roll with what we got here.
When the kids want a little snack, just pull the handy dandy relish tray out of the fridge and set it on the table.
This is a GREAT way to get your little ones to try out new things. Just set the tray out and go about your business. Without the watchful eye of a parent, you’d be surprised what kids will try!
Relish Tray Ideas:
- Carrots
- Tomatoes (sliced or mini)
- Peppers, sliced
- Green onions
- Diced onions
- Jicama (a new favorite of mine)
- Apples
- Spiced apple rings
- Canned fruits or veggies
- Pickles (all varieties)
- Banana Peppers (hot peppers if only for kids)
- Marinated mushrooms (soak mushrooms in Italian dressing..YUM!)
- Radishes
- Grapes
- Berries
- anything you can come up with!
You can include dips if you like but if you’re going for healthy, that muddles up the picture considerably. 🙂
If you enjoy Southern Plate, please tell a friend!
Peanut butter on celery? It was one of my absolute favorites. It was just one of many, many reasons I was labeled as being “weird.”
Sadly, however, I’ve not had it in years. It wreaks havoc on dentures.
😉
I’ve always followed family tradition and had a “relish tray”.. I’ve got about 5 different ones, including my mothers, my grandmothers, and my own… I serve baby sweet gherkins, spiced apple rings, pimiento and jalapeño stuffed olives, black olives, and pickled okra and baby corn in one.. Sometimes I’ll use 2-3.. I prepare them the nite before, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, then set them out as appetizers, along with spinach dip and carrot/celery/cherry tomatoes … And bring a couple more out later for “grazers”…
Thank You! Tomorrow is Thanxgiving and I am tasked with bringing the Relish Trays, Veggie Trays and Snackage.
The only item I had forgotten was the radishes which, thanx to you, I will include.
Here is my list:
Whole Baby Dills (Vlassic)
Whole Baby Sweets (Vlassic)
Farmers Garden Bread & Butter Chunks (Vlassic)
Baby Corn (Drained)
Pic kled (Dilly) Green Beans
Pickled Mushrooms
Pickled Okra
Green Olives (W/Pimento)
Black Olives
Green Onions
and now also Radishes
The Veggie Tray will have 3 special dips
Cuke Wedges
Baby Carrots
Sugar Snap Peas
Mushrooms
Cherry Tomatoes
Celery
Califlower
Broccoli
Cherry Peppers (Sweet)
Red Pepper Strips
Yellow Pepper Strips
Peanut Butter Celery
Cream Cheese Celery
The Hot Tray will also have 2 dips
Jalepenos
Pepperocinis
Hot Califlower
Hot Cherry Peppers
I hope Y’all have a great Turkey Day!
this is great! my sister Debbie gave me a tray just like yours as a Christmas gift one year, only my fruit has colors. Beautiful.