Enjoy an adult “lunchable” with this simple Bagel Box. Supplement the humble bagel with homemade flavored cream cheese and plenty of fruits and veggies.
4cupveggie dipperssuch as carrot sticks, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, grape tomatoes, and sugar snap peas
4piecesseasonal fruitor 4 cups cut fruit
½cupwhole almondsor other favorite nuts
½cupdried cranberries
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Stir in the scallions, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper. Chill until ready to serve. If packing the boxes for take-away, divide the cream cheese mixture into four small containers with lids.
Slice the bagels in half horizontally. Toast if want them toasty.
Divide the ingredients among four containers with lids. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Instead of paying full price, buy more than you need when you see it on sale. Then you always have it when you want it. FYI: Bagels freeze well, so buy them on sale and toss them in your freezer.
Bake your own. My friend Kate bakes her own bagels all the time. I did it once and then never got back into the swing of it. It's on my list of skills to tackle this year. In the meantime, when I want to get the price point down on this box, I can substitute Pumpkin Onion Rolls or Italian Sandwich Rolls for the bagels. We couldn't call it a bagel box, at that point, but it would be cheaper.
Shop the stores that have the best prices. When I didmy big grocery store showdown, I learned that Costco has the best price for a lot of the things I buy, but not all. I might get the dried cranberries at Costco, but stock up on veggies on sale at Sprouts. I might grab the almonds from Trader Joe's and the cream cheese from ALDI. I just try to work my shopping trips in with errands I’m already running, and keep a specific target price in mind so that I'm not spending more than I should.