A vegetable cocktail is a low-calorie, nutritious and filling addition to any meal. Think presentation and turn that glass of juice into a glamorous mini-course. All you need is a good juice, a spiffy glass, the right garnish (that’s where glamor comes into play), a service plate and a cocktail napkin.

Our everyday favorite is tomato juice garnished with key lime (now in season) and a fennel spear (you can substitute celery; we halve the key lime and place it on the plate for the individual to squeeze). Test different juice brands to see which taste the best, or see our review of the best tomato juice.

But dig a little further—at natural food stores especially—and you’ll find absolutely delicious beet juice, carrot juice, celery root juice, potato juice and sauerkraut juice. The juices from Biotta, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week, are out of this world.

A fruit juice can be a dessert course, too. Consider fresh-squeezed blood orange juice garnished with a fresh strawberry, a blend of pear and apricot nectars spiced with a cinnamon stick or your own favorite “fruit cocktail” blend.

• See more of our favorite juices.
• See our review of Biotta vegetable and fruit juices

Beyond the tomato: celery root, carrot and
beet veggie juices from Biotta. Photo by
Corey Lugg | THE NIBBLE.

A combination of two Elvis Presley favorites: cheeseburgers and bacon. Yes, you can spread some peanut butter on the bun. Because he loved bananas, have some plantain chips on the side (photo © Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board).

Today would have been Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday.

 
More foodie things to do on Elvis’ birthday:

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

If you don’t know this brand, try it and become one of the many fans. The products are organic, tasty and better for you than most supermarket brands.

Amy’s aims to appeal to vegetarians and vegans as well as the general audience.

The three new soups include Chunky Tomato Bisque, Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable and Spanish Rice and Red Bean.

• Chunky Tomato Bisque is creamy, velvety and sweet as sugar. Alas, that’s because there are 14g of sugar is per serving—almost three times as much as the other two varieties. You’ve heard us say this before, but there is more sweetener hidden in our food supply than is necessary or healthy. That Amy’s uses organic evaporated cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup means nothing to your glycemic index.

• Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable Soup is vegan, a flavorful mix of tomato, potato cubes, roasted corn, bell pepper, black beans and onions. Green chiles and chipotle are listed on the label, but we tasted pepper rather than chile heat.

Stay warm this winter with Amy’s Organic
soups. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

• Spanish Rice & Red Bean Soup is mis-named. Spanish rice is a spicy white rice side dish prepared with tomatoes, onions and green peppers. Putting the words “Spanish rice” in front of this red bean soup with tomatoes, corn, bell pepper, zucchini and brown rice (which is the eighth ingredient on the label—i.e., not a whole lot of rice) is misleading. But the soup is hearty and nicely peppery.

The line is gluten free, certified organic by QAI and kosher by Ner Tamid K. The soups are low fat, cholesterol free, high in fiber and have no GMOs.