It’s become a tradition (in the two christmas’ I have worked in my current role) for our department to put on a morning tea for the rest of our division. Our way of saying thanks to our colleagues. For my contribution this year, I decided to allocate a tedious job for myself and make something I saw on pinterest a few years ago.

What you need:

∼ 1 apple

∼ 1 carrot

∼ a range of different coloured fruit. I chose strawberries, grapes, rockmelon and kiwi fruit.

∼ Tooth picks

∼ Star shaped cookie cutter

The how to:

Step 1 – Slice the top off the apple so it is able to sit it flat on your plate. (you’ll see I did it the opposite, silly emma, and needed to stabilise with some toothpicks)

Step 2 – Using a knife and/or apple corer, carve a hole in the top of the apple, making enough room to place the carrot stem in.

Step 3 – Slice off a nice slice of rockmelon (or you could use pineapple) and use a star cutter to make the shape of the star.

Step 4 – Prep the fruit how you see fit. I sliced the kiwi, and sliced, diced and attempted to melon ball the melon.

Step 5 – Place some toothpicks in the apple, and at the top of the carrot, and start adding the fruit as you see fit. As I went up the tree, I found it necessary to cut some of the toothpicks to shorten their length. Unlike some how to’s, I didn’t place all my toothpicks in and then add the fruit. I lined up where I wanted the fruit and then stuck in the tooth pick.

Step 6 – Once at the top, add your star. If necessary, add in some small fruit like grapes or blueberries to cover any gaps.

Voila, you now have an edible centrepiece for your table!

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Some other fresh and nutritious ideas to mix up your christmas events can include:

∼ Roast vegetable salad

∼ Watermelon, feta & mint bites (or as a whole salad)

∼ Rice paper rolls

∼ Use ricotta on your pavlova instead of cream (I tried this last year).

∼ Include vegetables sticks (carrot, celery, cucumber, capsicum), snow peas and cherry tomatoes to your cheese and dip platters

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Wishing everyone a happy christmas, and a safe and exciting 2017.

Emma xo