Blog2022-09-07T08:15:15-05:00

Veggie Platter For Thanksgiving

Turn Your Vegetables Into A Festive Snack Board

Looking for something the entire family will love to make and eat this Thanksgiving? Try making a turkey veggie platter. 

This festive snack is healthy and full of personality. It’s also a great way to get the whole family involved in the kitchen. 

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it with whatever you have on hand or love snacking on.

The fresh vegetables are arranged as the turkey’s feathers. The turkey’s face is made with the cut end of a bell pepper. Make his face with pieces of carrots and you can make eyes out of anything from olive pieces of tomato, capers or pickle pieces. The dip inside the bowl can be anything you love from homemade hummus to ranch or veggie dip. 

Arrange your cut vegetables on the top half of the bell pepper. Make it as small or large as you wish. This is the perfect activity for the kiddos.

Here is a recipe for homemade yogurt dip you can fill your bell pepper with: 

Ranch Yogurt Dip

1 cup of yogurt

3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

3 teaspoons of ranch seasoning mix

Mix everything into a bowl and combine. Refrigerate overnight. 

If hummus is more what you had in mind, check out our recipe here.

Halloween Stuffed Peppers

Use WIC approved foods to make these Halloween stuffed peppers!

Ingredients:

1 cup steamed rice

1 can black beans

½ can of corn

1 cup of diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)

½ cup minced cilantro

1 cup shredded cheese

4 large bell peppers

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. 

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl, then mix in ¾ of the shredded cheese.

Use a small knife to cut the bell peppers like a jack-o-lantern and use a spoon to fill the bell peppers with the mixture. Set the filled peppers into a baking tray and top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 25 minutes then let them cool for 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Important Update

The Government is open. Texas WIC is operating as usual, and WIC benefits are being issued like they always have been. There have been no changes to the WIC program. 

 Since talk began of a government shutdown, some WIC clients may be confused about the status of the WIC program. A government shutdown was recently avoided, and WIC is operating as usual. Congress is still working to get the government funded past mid November. While we can’t speak for WIC, we don’t believe there will be any impact to the program in the near future. 

Lone Star Family Market stores are helping customers redeem benefits as usual. We are open for business. We hope to see you soon.

Halloween Deviled Eggs

Use WIC approved foods to make this fun Halloween recipe!

 

Ingredients:

6 boiled eggs

1 avocado

Green & Purple or Red food coloring

Paprika, Salt & Pepper to taste

 

Boil 6 eggs. Crack the shell of each egg all around with a spoon, but don’t peel them! Add the boiled eggs into a tupperware filled with water that covers all of the eggs, and add red or purple food coloring to the water. Let them sit in the fridge overnight to soak up the food coloring and give a spooky spider web effect. Peel the eggs and cut in half. Remove the yolk and add to a bowl along with a sliced avocado. Mix the yolk & avocado together and add green food coloring to enhance the color. Add a spoonful of the green mixture to each egg and top with paprika, salt & pepper.

Texas WIC Expanded Fruit and Vegetable Benefits Extended To Nov. 17th

Texas WIC has announced that the expanded fruit and vegetable benefits will be extended through Nov. 17th. 

WIC clients are offered Cash Value Benefits through the WIC program. The extended benefits are:

  • Children get $26 each month 
  • Pregnant, postpartum women get $47 each month 
  • Breastfeeding WIC clients get $52 each month 

According to Texas WIC, all clients who receive benefits on or before November 17 will get the higher amounts for the entire month of November. 

“if you are pregnant and have two children (ages 1-5) receiving WIC, you will get $99 ($47 mom + $26 child + $26 child = $99) each month in October and November to buy fruit and vegetables,” according to the Texas WIC website. “If you already have benefits on your card for October and November contact your local WIC office for a time to update your benefits.” 

If changes are not approved by congress, the fruit and vegetable cash value benefit amount will return to its original levels on Nov. 18th. The original benefit levels are $12 for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women and $10 for children ages 1 to 5.