Thank you to Sabra for sponsoring this post!
When I was little, I remember hovering around my mom when she was making dinner, hungry and being a bother. Her response? She’d feed us veggies. I especially remember eating a lot of fresh bell peppers pre-dinner – she’d toss slices of them back at me and my brother like we were wild animals being held off from making an attack. (Which perhaps we kind of were.)
Now that I’m off on my own, I still use this approach of snacking on veggies before and while making dinner, usually with some sort of delicious dip addition like hummus. It’s something I recommend to my AnneTheRD nutrition clients, too, because it’s a great way to sneak in some extra veggies and nutrition while everyone is hungry.
It’s also the perfect way to use up the random veggies your fridge that don’t work with whatever recipe you’re making!
Sometimes we make this a formal affair with a full on veggie plate and various hummus options to dip in (Classic Sabra Hummus is always a winner, but Matt’s fave is the Roasted Garlic Hummus and I’m loving their new Lemon Twist Hummus lately):
And sometimes we keep it more casual and just grab veggies right out of the fridge and eat while standing/prepping our dinner. 🙂 Mmmm… real carrots – you are so much more delicious and flavorful than baby carrots.
Official meals are all well and good, but the pre-dinner Unofficial Meal is sometimes just as delicious, am I right?! It’s one of my favorite times of day – Matt and I graze while prepping dinner, listening to music, and catching up on our days. Also: how beautiful is this orange cauliflower? Apparently it contains about 25% more vitamin A than white cauliflower – nice!
What’s your favorite #UnofficialMeal snack? Anyone else use the opportunity to pack in some extra veggie power and hummus deliciousness? The chickpeas in hummus are packed with plant protein, fiber, iron, and B vitamins, and the oil and tahini (made from roasted sesame seeds) also add some healthy poly- and monounsaturated fats into the mix – nice!
p.s. Try my Spicy Hummus Queso Dip – great with chips or veggies!
