Thanks Internet!
A choo-choo train of veggie sticks, cherry tomatoes and all things healthy-yummy! It just might do the trick and get your junk-food-meat-and-potato-eaters eating veggies and its fun.
The Base for the Choo-Choo Train
I use cardboard covered with tinfoil (glue 2 or 3 pieces together, 2 feet by 2 feet). Thickness make a base sturdy for carrying. You can decorate the base with something more creative and artificial trees. Lay a plastic train track or draw one with a black marker (if you use a marker, wrap the base with clear seal…toxic marker protection, to be safe).
The Choo-Choo Train’s Box-Cars:
Cut capsicum, especially the sweet peppers, (red, orange and yellow) to be the box-cars. Box-cars can be cut by removing the top, or slicing off a side. I prefer to slice off the side so that the stem looks like the connector. It’s too cute and a lovely way to present veggie sticks. Wheels on your train will go around and around: cut an English cucumber into coin circles for wheels, 4 per box-car, and attach with toothpicks.
The Cargo:
Cut the flowering stems of cauliflower or broccoli. Then, cut sticks of carrots, cucumbers, celery, mushrooms, and those left over bits of the peppers to fill the box-cars. Make sure cherry tomatoes grace a box-car and any other bite size tidbit like snow peas, etc. Stuff the pepper box-cars and put them on the track.
Oh, I almost forgot!
Three dips might be nice: simple mayonnaise, blue cheese, sour cream or whatever are your favorites!
Voila! You have your center piece, snack tray or veggie appetizer!
PS I saw a cute train of green paper cups with black paper wheels glued on, that’s a lots cheeper than capsicum. The cups were filled with veggies and finger foods. The engine and caboose were Fisher-Price, but Tomas and Friends would work, too. Cute! OH, there was no track; it sat on the table. It still worked!
PPS I saw a cute fruit engine made of watermelon for the main base (rectangular cube) and for a red engine. A cylinder of banana sat on on the front half of watermelon base for the engine of the engine. The smoke stack was made of a slice of pineapple with strawberry smoke. For the engineer cabbie, another block of watermelon with 4 toothpicks help up a banana white canopy roof-top. Sliced red grapes made the wheels. A half sliced strawberry was the cow-catcher. Some blueberries decorated the cab. Cute!