Updated June 2026

At every party and dinner, we have a basket of crudités as a better-for-you option with pre-dinner drinks. Wen try to select veggies on the “heirloon” side to make the platter more visually arresting: lemon cucumbers, multicolor baby carrots and cherry tomatoes, purple green beans, red endive, romanesco, and watermelon radishes, for example.

Now, for fun, we’re serving up some flower power with this bouquet of crudités, inspired by Hidden Valley.

Hidden Valley serves them with their Original Ranch Dressing as a dip (recipe in *footnote).

We substituted a nonfat yogurt dip (you can use 2% or 5% yogurt as you prefer).

June 16th is National Fresh Veggies Day and June 17th is Eat All Your Veggies Day.

Below:

> Recipe #1: Bouquet of crudités.

> Recipe#2: Garlic-lime-herb yogurt dip.

> Recipe #3: Fruit bouquet with honey yogurt dip.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The year’s 95+ vegetable holidays.

> The year’s 80 fruit holidays.

> The year’s 90 snack holidays.
 
 
RECIPE #1: BOUQUET OF CRUDITÉS

Use a small vase, flower pot, or planter, ideally with a block of floral foam at the bottom. The floral foam isn’t essential, but it makes your arrangement easier to style and also, easier for guests to remove the skewers.

Cut the floral foam in half and trim to fit inside the vase. Stack the two halves on top of each other, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and place at the bottom of the vase.

If using a glass container, line the container with kale leaves (see photo #2).

If you don’t have a vase or other container, you can lay the skewers on a platter.

Prep time is 15 minutes plus arranging time.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the dip (recipe #2 below) and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

2. WASH all vegetables and pat dry. Seed the peppers and cut jagged edges into the tops.

3. STICK the snap peas on the skewers to create the leaves. Insert the skewers through the bottoms of each pepper and put the tomato in the center as shown. Arrange in the vase.

TIP: To prepare the bouquet in advance and keep the vegetables chilled, place the skewers on a platter and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to place in the vase and serve.
 
 
RECIPE #2: GARLIC-LIME-HERB YOGURT DIP & SAUCE

This recipe can be served as a dip with crudités, pretzels and other snacks, or as a topping/sauce for grilled fish, meat, poultry, even burgers. As a sauce, the one cup makes four servings.

You can also mix it with potatoes, macaroni, or shredded cabbage for a fat-free potato salad, macaroni salad, or coleslaw.

Mix and match the seasonings to the food you’re saucing.

Ingredients For 1 Cup

[2] You can do the same with fruit (photo: The Nibble).

[3] We came across these and adapted them for our veggie bouquet. Here’s the recipe. We substituted a small mozzarella ball to fill the “flower” (photo © Stacy Cravatt).

[4] Our favorite Greek yogurt (photo © FAGE USA).

 
Preparation

1. BLEND the yogurt, garlic, lime juice and ginger in small bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
 
 
RECIPE #3: FRUIT BOUQUET & HONEY-YOGURT DIP

Ingredients

 
Preparation

See recipe #1 about using florists’ foam in the base of the container.

1. MAKE the dip. Using recipe #2, replace the garlic with honey and the herbs with lime or other citrus zest (lightly sweeten the dip so it doesn’t compete with the sweetness of the fruit). Cover and refrigerate.

2. THREAD the strawberries (3 or more, depending on size) and 6 grapes onto separate skewers and set aside.

3. USE a melon baller to scoop out one half of the cantaloupe. Cut the balls in half. They will form the center of the pineapple flowers. Set aside.

4. CUT the remaining cantaloupe half into cubes, wedges, or a combination. Thread the cantaloupe and honeydew pieces onto separate skewers and set aside.

5. CUT flowers from the pineapple slices with a flower-shaped cookie cutter, cut out the center of each pineapple slice.
Thread onto an 8-inch skewer and then top with a a melon ball half on top of the pineapple to form the flower. Repeat with remaining pineapple. Set aside.

6. ASSEMBLE. If using a glass container, line with kale leaves. Insert the cantaloupe and honeydew skewers around the edge of the container. Next, insert the strawberries around the melon and then the pineapple flowers. Fill in with the grape skewers. If necessary, fill empty spaces with kale leaves (or create more fruit skewers).
 
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*The Hidden Valley recipe combines 1/2 cup Original Ranch Light Dressing and 8 ounces softened fat-free cream cheese, chilled until ready to serve.
 

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