Savvy party-givers always provide some low-calorie snacks. A platter or basket of crudités (croo-dih-TAY, French for raw vegetables) attracts dieters, vegetarians, the generally health-conscious and those who are reminded that they should be eating more veggies.

While there’s nothing wrong with the standard repertoire of baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, celery sticks and broccoli florets, you can dazzle by trading up to specialty produce:

EAT THE RAINBOW

Look in farmers markets and specialty produce stores for maroon and yellow carrots; green, purple and yellow cauliflower; baby broccoli (a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli); baby heirloom tomatoes (the size of grape tomatoes in colors from yellow to purple); yellow and white beets; watermelon radishes; radicchio di Treviso (which looks like red romaine); baby summer squash; and oyster mushrooms.

And look in your supermarket for Red Celery, a brand-new, all-natural variety of celery developed from heirloom seeds by Duda Farm Fresh Foods, the world’s largest grower of celery. It’s available year-round. Learn more at DudaFresh.com.

Available in supermarkets from coast
to coast. Photo courtesy DudaFresh.com.

Lightly-sweetened jams make delicious
cheese garnishes. Photo courtesy
Artisanal Cheese.

Portuguese pumpkin jam is a delicate, autumn-spiced cheese condiment. It’s a colorful addition to any cheese platter and pairs especially well with aged sheep’s milk cheeses.

Artisanal Cheese sells an artisanally-produced pumpkin jam, made in small batches using a generations-old family recipe. The jars are $9.00 each at ArtisanalCheese.com.

• See more cheese condiments and a pairing guide.
• Learn all about cheese in our Cheese Section.

One option is to wrap it and stick it in the freezer. But bread easily picks up freezer odors; and even half a loaf takes up a decent amount of room.

To the rescue: Bread Armor artisan bread bags that are reusable and recyclable. These FDA approved, high-performance storage bags keep your artisan loaves fresh longer. They’re sized to fit baguettes and other French breads, ciabatta, rustic loaves and more.

In addition to preserving leftover bread for a week or more, it also keeps your fresh bread from drying between the time you purchase it in the morning or afternoon, until dinnertime.

Bread Armor keeps bread fresh for a week
or more. Photo courtesy Bread Armor.

You can order the bags at BreadArmor.com. They’re $2.99 each, with discounts for quantities.

While plastic bread bags may seem an unexciting house gift or stocking stuffer, anyone who receives a set will be grateful to you.

Sunsweet Ones make it easy to tote
healthy, individually wrapped prunes. Photo
courtesy Sunsweet.

Today is Four Prunes Day. It may sound like a funny name for a food celebration. But four prunes are the minimum of what people who want more “digestive regularity” should take per day (up to a maximum of 9 prunes a day).

We love prunes and prune juice. But many Americans steer clear of them, perhaps because of their association with regularity, which goes back to before great-grandmother’s day. A campaign several years back tried to change the name of prunes to “dried plums” (which is what prunes are) to make them more appealing.

But as anyone who has ever made a pork or chicken roast with stuffed prunes knows, the dried fruits are delicious on their own. One of our favorite hors d’oeuvre is prunes stuffed with chicken liver mousse (you can marinate the prunes in Cognac overnight before stuffing).

The 21st-century view of healthy prunes should be as a high-antioxidant* fruit full of fiber†, potassium‡ and magnesium. A clinical study currently underway indicates that prunes may have the ability to reduce bone loss in post-menopausal women and may help fight osteoporosis.

While dried fruits such as prunes are easy to tote around for a healthy snack, Sunsweet Growers has made it even easier with Sunsweet Ones, which are individually wrapped. Four prunes have approximately 100 calories.

Some say that prunes are a good remedy for a sore throat. With cold season approaching, we’ll have to try that!

*Its high betacarotene content can help prevent cancer and help slow aging of the brain and body.
†Prunes are a good source of whole fruit fiber, and this may help keep hunger pangs at bay.
‡Studies suggest that potassium may help prevent hypertension and stroke. It may also play a role in helping support cell energy by regulating fluid balance, nerve impulses and muscle contraction to increase energy. Source: Sunsweet.
  

You won’t need a fork to enjoy this pumpkin pie—it’s a cocktail.

Developed by Haru Sushi as an October special, it shows that “Halloween spirits” can be delicious.

If you can’t get to your nearest Haru Sushi, make the recipe at home.

PUMPKIN PIE COCKTAIL RECIPE

Ingredients Per Cocktail

 
Preparation

For Halloween and Thanksgiving: a great pumpkin cocktail. Photo courtesy Haru Restaurant.

2. Pour into a rocks glass or martini glass, straight up.

3. Garnish with nutmeg/cinnamon.
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We were inspired by the Pumpkin Pie Cocktail—and THE NIBBLE’s supply of other Halloween cocktail recipes—to invite friends to a Halloween cocktail party. You’ve got plenty of time to plan a party: Go for it! You can assemble a memorable Halloween cocktail menu from the recipes below.