HOW TO MAKE A VEGETARIAN GRAZING BOARD

ILIOS vegetarian grazing board

Ah the grazing board; the perfect appetizer for a party! And, just in time for this week’s special occasion, we have an awesome recipe for sweet cranberry and maple jam that will thrill your guests this Canada Day!

More than just a cheese board, the grazing board is a variety of little bits and bites that look so delicious, you don’t know what to snack on first!

Putting together a grazing board may seem like a no-brainer: just toss some fruits, veggies, cheeses, and crackers on a board and voila! Not so dear friends. While grazing boards are the essence of easy entertaining, it takes a little thought and strategy to build one that will really wow your guests.

Here are 5 tips to make an amazing vegetarian grazing board!

5 Tips to make a vegetarian grazing board

As you know an ideal grazing board has a good balance of flavours and textures and has items that contrast and complement each other. Here are some tips for making pairings and choosing ideal options for your grazing board:

Choose a platter and bowls for dips

So, you want to start this off but you realize that you don’t own a giant wood board to serve everything on? Don’t you worry! There few tricks that can help you make an awesome presentation:

You can use a charcoal-coloured or all-white dinner or charger plate (ideally larger than 10”). Round or square shapes work best.

You can also place 2 regular sized wood cutting boards side-by-side to create the illusion of a larger board.

For little condiment or antipasti bowls, find decorative measuring cups, ramekins or other small bowls in your kitchen cabinets. Having different shapes and sizes can definitely enhance the design of your board.

Pro tip: Using parchment/baking paper on top of your boards make it easier for you to clean after and can add a nice texture.

Prepare your shopping list in advance

Once you’ve found your inspiration and a theme for your grazing board, it’s time to go shopping! Make sure you list the number of people you are expecting for your party so you can buy appropriate portions of each of your ingredient and ask your guests if they have any intolerance or allergies so you plan ahead.

Start with some quality cheese

Work with 50g of each type of cheese per person with a selection of two or three varieties of cheese. Variety is key when selecting cheese. Try choose a type of cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheeses. Typically, one soft (like brie or camembert), one hard (cheddar, manchego), one aged (gouda, aged cheddar) and something funky like blue cheese or feta cheese that is bold and can stand out on its own.

Quality cheese is important when creating a grazing board

Feta cheese is not often a cheese that you will find on the typical grazing board. Impress your guest by matching your brie with a homemade whipped feta recipe that you can create with ILIOS feta cheese.

Pro tip: always leave your Brie on the counter for at least an hour before serving. You can be sure that by doing this your cheese has time to soften and is easier to spread when everyone is ready to eat.

Embellish your board with fresh and dried fruits and fresh and marinated veggies.

You can get creative on this aspect and add what you love to surprise your guests with fancy elements. ILIOS has a great selection of marinated vegetables to choose from to add a special “je ne sais quoi” to your board.

One thing to keep in mind though is to make sure that you pick seedless olives or grapes so there is no bad surprise.

Do not forget to add your crackers, biscuits, breads and dipping sauces

Just like a selection of cheeses, a selection of different crackers is important too.

A variety of crackers makes sure your guests have choices for the different dipping sauce, cheeses and other ingredients you add to your board. You will like the selection of ILIOS crackers and bread sticks because they have great texture and come in a variety of flavors that compliment almost any cheese and dipping sauce. Particularly the olive crackers that you can use with your favorite dips like ILIOS Artichoke Bruschetta. Yummy!

ILIOS crackers come in a variety of flavours

Bonus:

As promised, check out this special jam recipe for your special Canada Day vegetarian grazing board. We are sure you and your guests will love it!

sweet cranberry and maple jam

Sweet cranberry and maple jam

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter

• 2 onions, chopped

• 2 1/2 oz of whiskey-based maple-flavoured alcohol

• 3/4 cup maple syrup

• 3 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries

• 2 stalks of fresh thyme

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Recipe

1. Heat your pan on high, add butter and let melt, reduce to medium heat and add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add the maple alcohol and cook for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove the juices.

3. Pour in the maple syrup and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and thyme, then season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring a few times.

4. Serve this cold or warm jam with your favorite cheeses (it goes GREAT with ILIOS brie).

Bon appétit!

Mother's Day Menu

Mother's Day is this coming Sunday and since you can't take her out to the spa or spoil her at a fancy restaurant, we came up with a full day of meals you can cook her right from home.

Mother's Day is the day you let your mom or special lady in your life relax and enjoy the little things in life

Let mom or the special lady in your life relax this Sunday in her fuzzy slippers and her cozy bathrobe and tell her she doesn't have to lift a finger in the kitchen! You don't need a seaweed wrap or a 5-course gourmet meal to make her feel special and appreciated. So put on your apron, gather the necessary ingredients and treat mom to a day of home-cooked meals. Don't forget to do the dishes after!

BREAKFAST - fruit PARFAIT

A fruit parfait is the perfect way to start Mom's day!

Making mom a fancy breakfast parfait is a super easy way to wow her and to start her day off with a delicious, light and healthy treat.

A parfait is a combination of fruits, yogurt and granola. It is arranged in layers, usually in a fancy glass or mason jar, in the following order: Fresh or frozen fruits (make sure they thaw before serving), yogurt (we love thick and decadent Greek yogurt) and granola (make sure to use ILIOS organic granola!). Add extra visual interest and repeat the layers to create 6 thin layers of pure yumminess. Top the whole treat with a sweet sauce like maple syrup or a fruit coulis (make sure to use plain or vanilla yogurt so it's not too sweet).

Here are a few of our favourite combos:

Maple Orchard Parfait

Plain Greek yogurt

Diced apples and pears pan fried in brown sugar and cinnamon

ILIOS Nut & Pumpkin Granola

Top with pure maple syrup

very berry Parfait

Vanilla (or berry-flavoured) Greek yogurt

Thawed mixed berries in their juices

ILIOS Dark Chocolate Granola

Top with a raspberry coulis*

* To make the raspberry coulis from scratch, cook 1.5 cups of frozen raspberries in a frying pan with 1/3 cup of sugar and 3 tbsp of water or orange juice. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. Break down while cooking with wooden spoon or, blend once cooked for a smoother texture. Keeps for about a week in the fridge or 2-3 months if frozen.

very berry Parfait

Vanilla (or berry-flavoured) Greek yogurt

Fresh berries or thawed mixed berries in their juices

ILIOS Dark Chocolate Granola

Top with a raspberry coulis*

* To make the raspberry coulis from scratch, cook 1.5 cups of frozen raspberries in a frying pan with 1/3 cup of sugar and 3 tbsp of water or orange juice. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. Break down while cooking with wooden spoon or, blend once cooked for a smoother texture. Keeps for about a week in the fridge or 2-3 months if frozen.

Tropical Parfait

Coconut milk yogurt (BONUS! It's vegan!)

Diced kiwi, mango and banana

ILIOS Cranberry Granola

Top with a peach syrup (get the recipe)

lunch - Quinoa Falafels

Quinoa falafels are the perfect midday treat. Fresh. Healthy. Delicious!

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked ILIOS Quinoa

1 jar of ILIOS Chick Peas

1 onion, cut into chunks

5 cloves of garlic

2 cups of fresh parsley

3 1/2 tsp. of salt

4 tsp. of cumin

2 tsp. of ground corianger

4 tbsp. ILIOS Vegetable Oil

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup water

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor (works better than a blender), combine all listed ingredients except for the cooked ILIOS Quinoa. Blend until semi-smooth with some small chick pea chunks remaining.

3. Transfer to a large bowl with cooked quinoa and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until well-combined.

4. Roll mixture into golf sized balls and place on the lined baking sheet. Spray balls with cooking spray and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown, turning once.

5. Serve falafels hot out of the oven with ILIOS Homemade Hummus, tahini sauce, or garlic sauce. Serve with a side of green salad or taboulé, and with warm pita or naan bread.

Dinner - pan-seared gnocchi with browned butter & sage

Pan-seared browned butter sage gnocchi is a decadent dish!

Ingredients:

1 package of ILIOS potato gnocchi

1/4 cup of butter

1 clove of minced garlic

15-20 fresh sage leaves

1/4 tsp. of salt

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp. of grated parmesan cheese

Recipe:

1. Cook the gnocchi as per package instructions, drain and set aside.

2. In a skillet, melt the butter over medium hear. Add the garlic and cook until softened (about 4 minutes).

3. Stir in the sage and salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Add the cooked gnocchi and gently toss with 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and pepper.

5. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese to serve.

POST-WORKOUT ILIOS SNACKS

Many of us are taking full advantage of the warmer weather to get outside and get some exercise. That's a great thing! Living an active lifestyle is key to maintaining good health and a positive attitude.

Part of living an active lifestyle is getting the right foods into your body to supply your body with the right nutrients for adequate recovery and to maximize the benefits of your workout. The perfect post-workout snack is a combination of healthy fats, protein and good carbs.

Check out these great post-workout snacks using some great ILIOS products.

ILIOS Rice Crackers make the perfect snack!

ILIOS RICE & CORN CAKES

ILIOS Rice & Corn Cakes make the perfect base for the most delicious snacks! Try toppings high in protein like peanut butter (or any nut butter) with fresh fruit or go salty with turkey and hummus or mustard.

There are so many creative and delicious combinations! What do you dress your rice cakes with?

Have you tried ILIOS Fruit & Nut Bars?

ILIOS Fruit & Nut Bars

ILIOS Fruit & Nut bars are the perfect post-workout combo snack because they are a good source of healthy carbs (fruit!) and healthy fats and protein (nuts!). They are free of any processed sugars, only natural honey is used as a sweetener.

Workouts aside, these bars are so yummy even the kids will love them as a healthy afternoon snack. One of our favourites is the Peanut, Almond, Blueberry & Apricot bar. Have you tried them yet?

The Tuna Salad Sandwich: A light, healthy post-workout meal

ILIOS TUNA SALAD SANDWICH

Tuna salad sandwiches are part of an exclusive list of staple sandwiches that have been nourishing families at summer picnics, family parties, and outside gatherings for generations.

Because they combine the carbs of healthy whole wheat bread with the protein and healthy fats of tuna and mayo, tuna sandwiches also make great post-workout snacks.

Add some strips of cucumber and a bit of fresh dill for an extra cool and summery taste!

We DARE YOU to make your hummus from scratch! It's so easy!

ILIOS CROSTINI CRACKERS & HUMMUS

Another trifecta of carb/fat/protein goodness is the healthy spin on "Chips'n'Dip" - Crackers and Hummus! ILIOS Crostini Crackers are bursting with great flavours (hello rosemary) and are the perfect size and shape to dip into some fresh made hummus using ILIOS Chickpeas and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Did you know that fresh hummus is super easy to make? With the help of your trusty food processor, in a matter of minutes you have a batch of delicious, healthy, protein-packed fresh hummus. What's in our secret recipe? CLICK HERE to find out!