Saturday, December 13, 2008

Healthy Holiday Appetizers

...from Pillsbury, of all places. The other day I picked up a copy of the "Pillsbury Holiday Appetizers" magazine at the grocery checkout stand. I was drawn to this adorable Christmas Tree Vegetable Platter on the cover:



Isn't it cute? What a great appetizer to bring to a holiday party, with a healthy vegan dip on the side (I'm thinking hummus, Yumm! Sauce, vegan ranch, guacamole...) You could even substitute some carrot sticks for the pretzels.

The magazine had several other healthy-sounding vegan appetizers: Fig Spread, Salsa-Lime-Bean Dip, Roasted Green Beans, and Lettuce Bundles. Wow, who knew?

Are any of you planning to bring healthy vegan dishes to holiday events?

P.S. Speaking of Pillsbury, aren't some of their products "incidentally vegan"? It seems to me I remember picking up a package of their refrigerator crescent roll dough or something, and noticing that it was oddly animal-free ... then carefully setting it back down and backing slowly away.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, several Pillsbury products are accidentally vegan. My friend at AlbionCooks.blogspot.com makes the most delicious English sausage rolls using Gimme Lean and Pillsbury puff pastry dough.

¡Yo Soy Liz! said...

yeah isn't it nuts that crescent rolls are vegan? I actually made a pretty mean "cheese" danish with them the other day: http://yosoyblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/easy-as-can-be-cheese-danish.html

Anonymous said...

That is so cute! Thanks for sharing it! I'll be making that one next week, for sure! All of our vendors send in fudge, etc. blech! A good tray would be excellent!

I've already signed up for our department potluck. There's one other vegan in the department and he's bringing his famous wild rice salad that everyone loves.

I'm gonna bring some "Wheatballs in Cocktail Sauce" - a play on the Cocktail weiners in the grape jelly/Heinz chili sauce (have to check to see if it's veg). I'll use the Trader Joes wheatballs. I'm just afraid they'll fall apart if they cook too long...maybe I'll get the sauce going by itself, then put the wheatballs in.

I wonder if Pillbury is doing penance for all of its frankenfood??!!!! :)

penny said...

Yeah, I can imagine the hallelujia dance my mom must have done in the grocery when she found that I could eat Pillsbury breadsticks. I wouldn't say they're doing penance for their past frankenfood creations though, because even the vegan products contain a long list of unpronouncable ingredients. I'll admit the veggie tree is impressive, though. I've seen similar things done with veggies in Family Fun Magizine. The turkey made of veggies (with colorfull bell pepper tail feathers and everything) was particularly cute.

Pittsburgh Midwife said...

"...noticing that it was oddly animal-free ... then carefully setting it back down and backing slowly away."

Ha Ha! I really wish that you had NOT mentioned this. I can totally picture myself doing this, but then running back forward to grab like four tubes of the stuff!!

Nicole said...

My grandma cut that out of a magazine for me and I'm very excited for this broccoli tree to make an appearance at the Christmas party!

Mary Ann Abner said...

I didn't need to know that Pilsbury crescent rolls are "accidentally" vegan. I also didn't need to learn (from my brand new copy of Vegan Lunch Box, BTW) that most Oreos are vegan. Not good for my waistline. Maybe you can start putting info like that in a password-protected section of the blog!

veganf said...

How cool! I'll have to check the grocery store tomorrow.

Unknown said...

That tree looks very cute, and I definitely agree with replacing the pretzels with carrots - I love pretzels, but carrots make a lot more sense!

We're having a holiday party at work this Friday, and one of the activities will be a dessert contest. I'm only veggie myself, not vegan, but we do have a couple vegans in the office so I'm planning to put something together they can enjoy. I'm thinking about the vegan gingerbread cookies from your book...they sure sound great!

Denise said...

Man... I kind of wish they weren't! They're going to make my life convenient!!!!

jd said...

That's adorable!

Don't you just love getting inspiration from unlikely (ie: Pillsbury) places?!

Bianca said...

How precious!!! I wish I'd seen this before going to a potluck this past weekend. It would have been far less labor intensive than what I brought.

As for healthy holiday treats, I am bringing a batch of Happy Herbivore low-fat Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes to my grandma's Xmas party. I would call cupcakes healthy, but they're way low fat compared to the ones I normally make.

Kim said...

The tree is a fun idea, I especially like the califlower "snow" at the bottom! Just got my latest issue of Vegetarian Times and was very happy to see such a nice mention of your book on pg 17. Congrats!
And as always thank you for your wonderful ideas. Your blog has helped me get out of mealtime ruts many times.

gunnard said...

I love buying new recipe magazines and veganizing their recipes. check out the holiday Cooks Unlimited for some great ideas.

Cindy said...

I thought that the crescent rolls were vegan as well, but then I read somewhere that one of the ingredients was animal derived. It's the ingredient "Datem" which is an acronym for something. It could possibly be vegan, but is commonly derived from a combination of animal and veggie fat. To be safe, I stopped eating the crescent rolls. It's always something....

Unknown said...

I am planning in making a large version of your Vegan Wellington that you made for Thanksging. I have the recipe from Vegan Lunchbox but have only made the minis. Any tips I should know when making the larger model? I plan to add the mushrooms as suggested in your book.

Kaci said...

I'm so gonna make that! =>

Jennifershmoo said...

Vegemommy -- Yumm! You'll do great! It's made just like the small ones, only with the cooking time adjusted up quite a bit because it's larger. I hope it's a big hit! :-)

Lunchbox Obsessed said...

I made the broccoli tree on Christmas Eve for a party for folks of all ages, it was a big hit! Thanks for posting, you always have great ideas on your site.

Unknown said...

My grandmother went to the finals of the bake-Off(Pillsbury) twice. She loved to play with food . She never won, but of course, I think she should have! Though I don't know much about their appetizers.

Manhattan Hippy Vintage said...

So cute. I'm planning a vegan holiday party and that veggie tree will be perfect! Love your blog!

www.marcylangworthy.com