Bamboo skewers are very inexpensive: six-inch skewers are $1.00 for 50, and you can wash and reuse them. (Make sure you get skewers with pointy ends, not flat popsicle sticks.)

Then, cut whatever veggies you have into a large dice: bell peppers, brussels sprouts, carrots, celery, cucumbers, green beans, sugar snap peas, and zucchini; whole or halved broccoli and cauliflower florets; cherry or grape tomatoes.

You can get creative, adding anything from grapes to olives; but the objective here is not to make appetizer or dessert skewers but to get people to eat more veggies.
 
If you want a dip, serve salsa or nonfat Greek yogurt and your favorite seasonings. Here are three recipes for starters:

 
Serve the skewers on a plate, vertical in a juice glass or other vessel, or stick the pointy ends into a halved winter squash or a melon (and use the squash or melon for the next meal).

March 28th is National Something On A Stick Day.

Find more vegetable ideas and dip ideas.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

If he or she would prefer some fine tea, one of our favorite tea purveyors, Tay Tea, offers these options in bright red canisters containing the finest loose leaf teas;

 
Although many people can give tea alluring names, few can blend such fine teas as Tay Tea’s Nini Ordoubadi.

Whether for Valentine’s Day or just because you deserve some great tea, check out her wares at TayTea.com.

Read our review of Tay Tea.
 
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT TEA?

For starters, visit our Gourmet Tea Section and check out our Tea Glossary.

THE NIBBLE celebrates its eighth birthday this month. Eight years, some 20,000 pages of content and about one million monthly visitors. Whew!

Instead of a cake, we’ve given ourselves a new home page design. Check it out!

Thanks to Andrew, Leah, Luisa and Sue for making it happen.

If you have comments or suggestions, we’d love to hear them. Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page.