Make Your Own Vegan Valentine’s Day Charcuterie Board from Trader Joe’s Finds

I recently read in a book about weight management and the glycemic index that I should remind myself that I am not a toddler and I don’t need snacks. What if I use snacks to create my meal though?  Is that acceptable?  I am here to say, yes, it is! (Seriously though, I try to remind myself of that helpful nugget of information every afternoon around 4 pm…).  Charcuterie boards have become so popular for their ease to put together, the variety they can offer, and they can be used as snacks, appetizers, or meals.  The Christmas tree board I made my family are for lunch. Today I have another charcuterie board to share with you, and this one has a sweet Valentine’s theme, and it’s made mostly from goods that can be found at your local Trader Joe’s and it’s vegan.  Technically, charcuterie is actually a meat tray and the word actually means pork butcher in French, but in today’s day and age with plant based diets being so prevalent, we’re using the term just to mean food served on a board.  My board features nuts, fruit, vegan cream cheese, crackers, and chocolate so it’s basically a well balanced meal. I am joining several other bloggers who are also sharing winter charcuterie boards today, and you can find them all at the bottom of this post. Let me show you how to build a Trader Joe’s vegan charcuterie board, Valentine’s Day style

As you may have seen last week, I am not really one for romance.  Sarcasm is my love language.  Sarcasm and food.  That’s why I can totally get behind bringing Valentine’s Day into this snack board. 😉

I began by gathering my largest wooden board (It happens have been a gift from a restaurant where my husband used to work, but now he works for a much better restaurant, so please disregard the logo!), as well as all of my food elements.  I dare not call them ingredients because really, what are we cooking here, people?

Most of my items were purchased at Trader Joe’s though a few are from Costco as well but can also be found at TJs.  Because I wanted this to be a little romantic, I purchased some dark chocolate items and fruits.  My selection included salted cashews, raw almonds, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries (the cashier told me I needed those- they’re tart and an interesting complement), dried figs, dates, vegan cream cheese and honey, ABC cookies, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, dark swiss chocolate, and pirouline cookies.

I began by washing all of my fruit, and cutting the tops off the strawberries.

Once that was dry, I began adding my fruit.  I decided to add it in a diagonal formation across the board with chocolate and dried fruit on one side, and buts and crackers on the other.  I did this to keep the items that might have a little moisture together and prevent them from getting other foods too damp.  Additionally, this pattern created a visually appealing look with the color spread across the center of the board.  Below you can see a GIF I created showing you the step by step procedure I followed.  The piroulines ended up being a little large to add to the board, but they created the perfect border.

You will notice above that a little more than midway through a little bowl appears.  In this bowl I combined the vegan cream cheese with a touch of honey to give it a sweet flavor.  The crackers can be dipped in this mixture, or it’s really delicious stuffed inside the blackberries or raspberries.

This was my first time ever using vegan cream cheese, and I was not disappointed!  I thought it tasted really good, and loved it with the touch of honey especially.

The last step for me was having a little fun with the crackers I chose.  Trader Joe’s sells these delicious alphabet cookies that my kids all adore.  Emmy loves to pack them in her lunch with the chocolate flavored hummus we also buy there.  I searched through my tub of cookies for “I LOVE YOU” but could not find the letter “U.” Instead, I opted to keep it really simple, and just placed the word “LOVE” on top of the raspberries for contrast so they would be legible.

 

After I was finished creating this board, I set it all up to look lovely, with eucalyptus from TJs, their amazing French berry lemonade, and some candles.

Now, if I am keeping it totally real here, I created this board on a random Wednesday when Wilder was napping and no one else was home, because obviously Valentine’s Day hasn’t yet happened.  However, I hope it inspires you to create something just as simple and cute for your family.

Once I finished photographing it, I put some if the elements away…

But you know, once you cut those tops off the strawberries and wash them, they won’t stay fresh for long.  I took one for the team, and ate the strawberries.

I also indulged in some of the vegan honey cream cheese, maybe a little chocolate, and had to try the gooseberries.

Then I put the rest away.  Well, most of it.  And this, my friends, is why I can’t be a full time food blogger.  I hate seeing food go to waste, so I would simply be eating it all the time.

Hope you enjoyed this super simple idea for an easy vegan Valentine’s board your whole family can enjoy.  If you did, I would love it if you would pin it.

Now be sure to check out all of the other amazing and creative charcuterie boards!

20 Fabulous Charcuterie Boards!

Hallstrom Home | A Blue Nest | My Sweet Savannah | Cassie Bustamante

Happy Happy Nester | Inspirations For Moms | Art of Everyday Living | Twelve On Main

Craftberry Bush | Jennifer Maune | Zevy Joy | Modern Glam

My 100 Year Old Home | Tatertots and Jello | Two Twenty One | Today’s Creative Life

Sanctuary Home | She Gave It A Go | The Design Twins | Pink Peppermint Design