Healthy Snacks, Home Made Hummus, Toasted Pita Bread

Home made Hummus with toasted pita bread sprinkled with herbs and cheese and pineapple or cheese and gherkin bites on toothpicks
Today I had two invitations and was invited to take a plate - bring something festive they said ! I had done the obvious, club sandwiches, asparagus rolls to death and I wanted a new twist and it had to be quick, easy, preferably healthy and look fantastic and delicious.
Go here to find 100 healthy raw snacks and treats
Since one of the occasions was an exercise class I didn't want to take a plate of something we would all spend the next ten sessions working off and the other was a creative fiber group so it need to at least look artistic.
After a rethink here are some quick ideas for a festive occasion finger food that won't involve slaving over a hot stove, can be prepared fast and will look great too How you present  your offering  will make or break it and you can get away with a very simple plate if it looks amazing.   Here are some ideas for quick and  healthy snacks and platters that will be delicious and tasty.

Hummus    - quick version
1  Can chick peas (drained)
1/2 cup Tahini
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
Salt and Pepper
several teaspoons of olive oil to blend to desired consistency
Optional extras  all or some = 1 tsp cumin,  fresh coriander leaves, chopped onion or spring onions
Whizz the lot in the blender and its ready to serve


I can really recommend Middle Eastern Easy Style Cookery - an Australian Womens Weekly cookbook as having a stack of recipes for healthy meals and dips like Tahini Dip, Broad Bean Dip, Baba Ghanoush, Potato Cakes, Felafels . There are some  meat and chicken dishes but ones like Chicken Tagine can easily be adapted to Vegetarian and taste even better with eggplant or chick peas and tempeh.
Transport yourself to Middle Eastern Cuisine with this book also includes a recipe for a spicy potato and coriander salad that tastes divine with coconut cream as a curry -  you will make this again and again   YUM !


Tooth pick pix:
Freshly sliced Brie cheese and slices of pear
Cocktail onions and cheese
Chunks of Pineapple and cheddar cheese
Eggplant rolled up with  spread or dip and cheese
Apricots spread with cream cheese decorated with an almond
Cheese and asparagus roll ups secured with a tooth pick
Cheese and prune   
Chunky slices of  sliced mango (or other fruit of your choice)
Fruit - apple, or  kiwi fruit with cheese
Creative Platters can go down a treat

Try a selection of various sliced meat, fruit, artichokes, curried eggs
Cheese straws with a dip - tomato dip goes extra well with this or an onion and cheese dip
Corn chips and a dip - a very quick dip is yogurt, sweet chilli sauce and a dash of pepper, or yogurt with chopped gherkins, or avocado with a dash of sweet chilli sauce, or avocado, lemon juice, salt and pepper - try some curry in it to give a kick, even non avocado lovers like this one.
Dates, sliced oranges, tropical fruits and some cheese slices
Lettuce "rolls" with a selection of what you have on hand, examples, cottage cheese, brie, artichokes

Go here to find 100 healthy raw snacks and treats
Crostini - you can go mad with a choice of spreads the most basic is olive oil and garlic, to any number of additions, we love smashed up tomato on top of the olive oil and garlic with fresh chopped basil.
Mini pizzas either make these very small individual ones or one large oblong one and cut into bite sized pieces.
Pita bread toasted or grilled with grated Parmesan cheese or alternatively slice the pita bread into triangles and spray with olive oil and sprinkle with herbs before grilling or place on barbeque to grill.
Make your servings bite size and leave a supply of toothpicks to self serve and have some festive paper cocktail serviettes on hand. I like to serve my platters with fresh flowers or herbs and if you arrange them creatively then almost any combination will look mouthwatering.
Parmesan crisps,  grate parmesan and place on oven tray and bake - they will spread out and look lacy, either use as is with dips or use as a base for toppings
For more cool ideas go to the Healthy Urban Kitchen

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