The holidays are filled with sugary-sweet snacks… from Christmas cookies to candy canes to delicious homemade pies. That’s one reason we LOVE this healthy kid-friendly snack… that’s simple enough for kids to put together without help!

Total time: 30m or less

Ingredients:

• Package of pita bread
• Green Garden Dip* or other green and white dip – like tzatziki, spinach dip
• Brightly colored veggies (tiny cherry tomatoes, red, yellow, and green peppers, black olive slices, etc.)
• Optional: fresh dill

Instructions:

• Cut each pita round like a pie, into eight triangles, and place on a serving platter, points up.
• Spoon green dip onto each pita
• Put little bits of fresh dill on top to look like pine branches
• Chop the vegetables and decorate the “trees.”
• Serve and eat! YUM!

GREEN GARDEN DIP RECIPE

Ingredients:

• Large or mid-size container of Greek yogurt (not single serve)
• Bundles of fresh leafy green herbs, like: dill, parsley, mint, basil, and tarragon.
• 2-4 green onions. Use the whole thing, just cut off roots and any brown leaves
• One clove fresh garlic, or a ½ Tablespoon of powdered garlic
• ½ Tablespoon sea salt
• ½ Tablespoon ground black pepper
• Juice of ½ lemon
• *optional – 2-3 Persian cucumbers, 1/2lb of spinach, water chestnuts, etc.

Instructions:

I use the two-pound size of Greek yogurt, because this green dip is SO delicious, you’ll want lots left over for veggie dip, sandwiches, dressing…you’ll be evaluating everything in the fridge as a possible vehicle for this yummy green goodness. If you want to make a smaller batch, just scale down until you get the herb-to-yogurt density you like. Drain the extra fluid/whey from the container of yogurt before you start. If you want to make a vegan version of this dressing, you can use coconut yogurt, but you might want to add some chickpeas, soft tofu, white beans, or pureed cashews to thicken the mixture.

Clean and leaf the herbs. Discard the stems or save them for flavoring stock. Chop the cucumbers into slices. Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until herbs are ground small and dip is uniform. The more herbs you add, the thicker the dip will be. If you want to add a little more mass to the dip, throw in a Persian cucumber or two, or perhaps some spinach. If you use water chestnuts, drain well and dice small, and add them after the rest of the mixture is pureed.

The dip may be a little runny when you make it, but will thicken a little once it’s been refrigerated overnight. It’s fine to use right away for the pita trees, though.

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