Going Green for St. Patrick’s Day
Since Saint Patrick’s Day is almost here, we wanted to share some “green” treat ideas for your whole family. Here are a few tasty allergen free treats for St. Patrick ’s Day.
The first two links are green treats for purchase. I also wanted to share our Food Allergy Cookbook to help with some yummy ideas. You can make your own green treats by using these recipes and just adding green food coloring (you can use standard food coloring or you could try natural food coloring such as Chlorophyll or Pandan).
As always, make sure all the ingredients are appropriate for your little one. You could also make some guacamole which is another high calorie, “green” treat J.
As a Nutritionist, I had to include these next recipes. Although they are not intended for this special day, I thought, why not? They are green and ultra-nutrient packed, as well as being allergy friendly!
For Will Foods – St Patrick’s Day cookies
Sweet Alexis – Shamrock cookies
Food Allergy Cookbook by Neocate
I hope you and your family enjoy these fun green treats. Let us know if these or any of the Food Allergy Cookbook recipes were enjoyed by your family! I would also love to hear about your own special St. Patrick ’s Day recipes. Please share!
Christine
Kirstie Alley's Green Soup
From Oprah’s website
Ingredients
Servings: Makes 23 cups
- 6 to 8 big chunks shallots
- 8 leeks (Cut leeks just above their white part, about 2 inches. Peel the outer layer off and then slit them open lengthwise, but not completely severed clear through. Rinse them out well.)
- 1/3 cup organic olive oil
- 2 big bunches asparagus (cut the hard ends off about 3 inches)
- 3 big bunches broccoli (cut the stems off halfway up the shafts)
- 2 big bunches spinach (cut off the tiny part of the dirty ends)
- 6 containers (32 ounces each) organic chicken or vegetable broth (check with manufacturer for potential allergens)
- Sea salt (at least 3 tablespoons of coarse grain)
- Pepper , to taste
Directions:
Peel and slice shallots thinly. Put all the olive oil in a very large, deep pot. Turn the heat to medium-high. Put the shallots into the oil and sweat the shallots. "Sweating" means to cook the vegetables to tenderize them without browning them. Adjust heat as necessary to ensure they do not brown.
Add 1 tablespoon of coarse, ground, good quality sea salt to shallots to absorb while they are sweating. Cut the leeks into thin slices and toss them into the oil with the shallots. Sweat the leeks along with the shallots. Chop the asparagus into small bits and then add them to the mixture and sweat them, along with the shallots and leeks.
When the shallots, asparagus and leeks are fully sweated and tender, break the broccoli into small chunks and throw them into the soup pot. (If the shallots, leeks and asparagus combo gets too dry before they are tender, just add small amounts of chicken or vegetable broth to the mix and keep on sweating.)
Let the broccoli sweat a little while (about 2 minutes) and then add half of your organic chicken or vegetable stock. Cook this for about 10 minutes.
Add remaining chicken/veggie stock and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes. (You want the broccoli to be tender, but not overcooked, and you want the color of soup to always remain a nice, bright green.) Add all the spinach and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the flame off the mixture and season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Transfer the soup into a blender by increments and puree the mixture. Put the pureed soup mixture into one big pot. Then taste and season it to your liking. Only season with salt and pepper. If you desire any other seasoning, create an individual serving, not in the whole pot.
Split the soup into 2 equal parts. Cool the soup before refrigerating and/or freezing. You are basically adding the vegetables in order of their hardness. The spinach is so soft, you would never want to add it too early. If you do, it can make the soup turn brownish…ICK!
Green Soup is 62 calories per cup.
This recipe yields about 23 cups of soup.
Green Soup Recipe with Broccoli, Spinach and Ginger
From Gluten Free Goddess
This easy soup can be thin or thick, depending upon the amount of water you add. It cooks up fast. We served ours with a modest scoop of hot cooked jasmine rice in the middle. Super good.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons diced onion
- 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 4 cups fresh broccoli, cut up 1/2 pound of fresh spinach leaves
- 3 parsnips, peeled, cored, chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, trimmed, chopped
- A handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- Fresh water, as needed
- Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- Lemon or lime juice
Using a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and stir in the garlic, onion, and ginger to season the oil. Add the broccoli, spinach, parsnips, celery and parsley, and stir a bit until the spinach wilts and collapses. Add just enough water to cover the vegetables. Remember the spinach will cook down quite a bit, so don't add too much water at first. You can always thin the soup later, if you need to.
Bring to a high simmer, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Cook for fifteen minutes or so until the veggies are softened.
Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
Taste test: Does it need brightening? Add a squeeze of citrus.
Options:
To make this a creamy soup add a dash of So Delicious Coconut Milk.
Serve with a spoonful of hot cooked rice in the center of the bowl.
As we’ve mentioned before, mixing food allergies and birthday parties requires a bit of effort. This includes both