Easy Summer Meze Platter for Kids

When Lucas and Theo get off school or summer camp they are usually ravenous. I always make sure to bring them a simple snack like grapes, pretzels or cut up apples when I pick them up. I was at Target the other day and found these new Chobani Meze Dips made with Greek yogurt. It inspired me to make a kid-friendly meze platter--carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, pretzels, crackers, sliced cucumbers and simple chicken tenders. My kids usually don't love hummus so I thought they might like these savory yogurt dips instead and they devoured them. It was great because adding the chicken tenders basically made this an easy dinner they could eat with their hands.

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Recipe: Black Bean Polenta

When nick and I met over 12 years ago, he was a vegetarian and I was a big time carnivore (growing up in a Chinese household meant some kind of meat protein with every meal). We came to a compromise on our dietary preferences very early on in our relationship (true love!) which consisted of eating mostly vegetarian but fish, chicken and turkey were okay. We weren't strict and my willpower was next to none--I mean, how could I resist the occasional slice of pepperoni pizza?

Fast forward to 2016, and many documentaries later, Nick has gone back to his vegetarian ways but includes fish (so, a pescatarian). I truly admire his tenacity but I must admit, as the cook/baker in the house, this was initially a bit of a challenge for me. Of course, Nick told me not to do anything differently and he'll just eat his own thing. But that would not be enjoyable for me-- the idea of the kids and I gorging on my Lemon Olive Chicken while he ate a bagel and cream cheese? So I've challenged myself to cook more vegetarian and fish meals--on the nights Nick isn't home for dinner, I'll cook my chicken dishes if I feel like it.

One of the biggest challenges as the cook in the house is making something that satisfies everyone. This Black Bean Polenta does the trick--we all love it, it's inexpensive, makes amazing leftovers, great for potlucks, plus it's vegetarian and gluten free. I love the version the Juice Bar Collective makes and found a version from Farmgirl Gourmet that I slightly modified.

+ Full Recipe for Black Bean Polenta
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