Thanksgiving Turkey Vegetable Tray

We were having our last meeting for Girls on the Run and I wanted to bring some healthy snacks for the girls. I decided that I would make a vegetable tray and try to turn it into the shape of a turkey. For someone who isn't very good at this kind of stuff, I think it turned out pretty well! ;-) I have another one I need to make soon so I'll make it again (try to improve!) and post it here.

I went to Costco and bought a vegetable tray ($9.99) a bag of peppers (6 mixed peppers for $5.99) and a bag of cucumbers (3 for $3.99). I ended up only using one pepper and one cucumber and only half of the carrots from the tray. You could easily make this for under $10, depending on how many people you are trying to feed.

I modeled mine after this one and a few other pictures I saw floating around the internet.

You can really use any vegetables you want, just make sure you use ones with a lot of colors! As I mentioned, I started with a vegetable tray that contained carrots, broccoli, snap peas, cauliflower, and dressing. I also added cucumbers and bell peppers.

I started at the top and placed by broccoli in a semi-circle. Then I added the carrots and sliced peppers. I transferred the dressing from the plastic container into a glass one. I placed it under the peppers and then started filling in the gap with cucumbers. Around the bottom, I added snap peas.

All you have left to do is to put together the turkey face! I used a red bell pepper and cut off all of it except for the end. I also cut a hole in the middle so that the beak would fit in and stay put. For the legs, I used carrots and just carefully cut out little "toes" using kitchen scissors. For the eyes, I used raisins and just mashed a few together with my hands to make them stick (how's that for professional!?). You could also use dates. It might be best to wait and assemble the turkey face when you get your tray to where it will actually be consumed. That way you don't risk the whole thing falling into the dressing!

That's it! This is an easy and inexpensive way to dress up a vegetable tray! Enjoy creating your own. Let me know if you think of something different or have a picture to share!