Snackin' on Artichokes

When you think of snacking on veggies, what comes to mind? Carrots and ranch? A crudite platter? Celery and peanut butter?

Did steamed artichoke make your list? As much as I love them, I don't often think of artichokes as a snack food. However, these lovely thistle flowers, usually served for fancy meals, were on sale this week at the store and I picked up a few. I decided to steam them all up in the afternoon at the same time in a large steamer basket. 1 hour later, I had tender artichokes and a mostly full belly from lunch. So, I ate some of one with some help from family passerbys and put the remnants in the refrigerator for another time, not knowing if they even reheat very well. Well today I needed a snack, and a leftover artichoke was looking at me from the fridge. I popped it in the microwave for a couple minutes.  To my relief, it heated through wonderfully. In my former life, I would dip each artichoke leaf in a dollop of mayonnaise. Not so much any more considering my low fat diet. In fact, I don't even have any mayo in the house to tempt me right now. Instead, I opted for bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a shallow dish with salt and pepper. I may never go back to mayo, I love this new combination so much, which is a huge YEAH for low fat dieting! 

Happy artichoke snacking!