Dip is the Answer

For the past few months, I have been serious about meal planning to save money and time.  Each family member is assigned one day to prepare and cook dinner. Looking at the meal plans, I notice a pattern of vegetables which mostly includes corn and green beans. No mention of broccoli, carrots, cucumbers or spinach which is a regular in most of the meals I prepare. The common response when questioned was that it was easy and familiar. I knew I needed to shake this up which is why I was so excited when I learned that I won a medium share of fresh veggies each week from the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative.

Each week until October, we will receive a box with fresh vegetables. It could not have come at a better time. I had been toying with the idea of joining but wondered if I would be wasting money and also afraid that the family might not eat the stuff. We just received our first box and I was pleased with the haul. It was actually more than I expected and at $23 per week, this is a great deal for any family.

I looked at the haul and grew nervous about how I would avoid any waste and within minutes, my daughter walked in and asked me to peel her a cucumber with dip. The answer was so simple-dip. I learned early on that my children will pretty much eat anything that has dip. I am not certain why dip is so magical but it is.  While peeling the cucumber, I decided to prepare the gold zucchini as well. I sliced it to resemble the cucumbers added one of our favorite dips from Litehouse Foods and within minutes they were gone.

Why Litehouse?

Litehouse is a family business founded over fifty years ago on the principles of Faith, Stewardship, Integrity, Commitment to Excellence, and Accountability. It's a brand that I trust. I will admit that I had only used 3 of the products previously but was pleasantly surprised that they offer an array of products that make healthy eating a snap. I stress the word healthy as they products are made fresh and stored mostly in the refrigerated section.The dressings are preservative free. The company is 100% employee owned so they take great pride in providing something that I can feel good about giving my family.

I was introduced to the added benefits of Litehouse Foods during a sponsored nutritional chat with Dr. Janet Brill, Nutrition, Health and Fitness Expert hosted at ELA restaurant in the olde city area of Philadelphia. We learned how to make some healthy yet delicious dishes while sampling the great food that ELA had to offer. My favorite recipes were the roasted cauliflower buffalo wings with chunky blue cheese litehouse dressing and quinoa salad. I love the smell of buffalo wings but I don't eat chicken wings so I think this will provide a great mix.  The quinoa salad was easy to make and provides a ton of nutrition. .

I am excited to integrate by new veggie stash with all the dressings and dips available from Litehouse Foods. Stay tune as we explore and discover new pairings for the family. If you have any suggestions, please share them! Thanks

Disclosure: This sponsored post was made possible by Litehouse Foods and iConnect but all opinions belong to the Neighborhood. The Neighborhood was compensated for participating.