5 Ingredients or Fewer

This recipe will perk up your taste buds during winter’s long fruit drought.

My kids would never eat pies until I began making them with graham cracker crusts. I’ve also lost the taste for pastry crust (who needs all that fat?). The miniature size is perfect for fruit fillings that need not be baked or that wouldn’t hold together in a large crust.

Making parfaits is easy, and they are such a healthful, elegant dessert or snack. Make sure to use lush, ripe fruit and a good, creamy low-fat yogurt. I prefer vanilla, but if you’d like, experiment with lemon- or orange-flavored yogurts. I also like to use two different fruits for the visual appeal, but if you’d like to stick with one, that works as well. Try your own fruit combinations in addition to the ones given here.

This sunny combination of fruits will ease the monotony of winter’s limited fresh fruit choices.

Spread this luscious concoction on toasted Italian bread or whole-grain crackers and serve as an appetizer or as an accompaniment to pasta dishes.

This is fantastic on fresh pumpernickel or rye bread for lunch; or spread it on fresh Italian bread to serve with light pasta dishes.

This is excellent stuffed into or spread on pita bread, as well as on crispbreads and crackers. I like it best on fresh pumpernickel bread.

Whenever I make this for lunch I always think, “I should make this more often.” It’s a pleasant change-of-pace spread that can be served on fresh bread or, better yet, stuffed into pita.

When I serve this to lunchtime company, even tofu skeptics love it! For me, it’s a throwback to tuna salad, something I gave up many years ago, though I still liked its taste. This is especially good served in warm pita bread. I also like to mix leftovers with macaroni for a “tofuna”-noodle salad. For more information on baked marinated tofu, see page 136. For this recipe, it’s best to use a baked tofu product that comes in large chunks like Soy Boy’s Tofu Lin, rather than the type that comes in small cutlets.

Tempeh is a chewy, fermented soy food. For more information, see page 146. This spread is comparable to a curried chicken salad, though if you already like tempeh, you need not compare it with anything; just enjoy it on fresh wholegrain bread or crackers.

Store-bought salsas are generally quite good (I always have some on hand, both for using as a dip and as a shortcut to great flavor in recipes). However, for an occasional treat, nothing equals homemade salsa, especially one made with fresh tomatoes. Serve with tortilla chips or as a condiment with Mexican-style dishes.

This spicy dip makes a filling snack for a crowd. Serve with stone-ground tortilla chips.

Using prepared salsa to make guacamole is an easy way to incorporate the flavors of tomatoes, onions, and chilies. Serve with stone-ground tortilla chips.

A somewhat more exotic salsa, this jazzes up meals with a tropical beat. See the menu with Gingered Coconut Rice, page 96. Serve with tortilla chips or as a condiment with spicy dishes.

Use this as a dip for vegetables or small crackers or as a dressing for salads or pita sandwiches.

Serve as a spread on whole-grain crackers, crisp lavash, or wedges of pita bread. For more information on miso, a pungent soyfood, see page 21.

Silken tofu makes a perfect base for a good, dairy-free dip.

Here’s a dip that could inspire your family to eat more raw vegetables. It’s great for informal gatherings and cold buffets, too. Serve this with an array of colorful vegetables, including broccoli florets, baby carrots, red bell peppers, and halved cherry tomatoes.

This is especially good as a sauce for Shake-and-Bake Tofu (page 138). You can also use it as a sauce or spread with veggie burgers, or try it as a dip for crisp raw vegetables.

Smoky roasted eggplant is tempered by yogurt in this Middle-Eastern-inspired dip. This is good for spreading on fresh bread as well as scooping up on pita.