Ranch and Rainbows for St. Patrick’s Day

We love celebrating St. Patrick’s Day around here!  It probably comes from living in Chicago for so long where the entire city celebrates with two huge parades, the river is dyed green, and lots of other shenanigans.  The kids get in on it too by building a leprechaun trap every year, but that sneaky guy always seems to get away and leave some chocolate “gold” coins behind instead.

Over the past few years, I’ve started experimenting with some fun holiday food ideas for the kids that don’t involve artificial food coloring.  Some studies have concluded that certain food colorings commonly used here in the U.S. are carcinogenic.  Most food coloring has also been linked to hyperactivity in kids, which I have seen firsthand in my own kids.  It took me awhile to make the connection between their behavior and what they had recently eaten, but once I started learning about the dangers of artificial food coloring, I now try to avoid them as much as possible.

As an alternative, its really easy to puree a little spinach with some water and add it to any kind of pancake or muffin batter or even eggs – that’s what we’ll be doing tomorrow morning for breakfast!  Of course, you could make any one of my green smoothie or juice combinations as well!  A combination of almond milk, peanut butter, banana, and spinach is an all-time green smoothie favorite that my kids will devour.  Spinach has such a mild flavor that a small handful will blend right into just about anything without changing the flavor profile.

I thought this was a fun idea that didn’t involve dyeing anything green.  And it went great alongside green pesto pasta for dinner!

Bell pepper strips arranged like a rainbow over a bowl of veggie dip with carrot chips as gold coins at the end of the rainbow.

Just like my post earlier this week with the taco seasoning, I made my own Ranch seasoning mix.  The store-bought packaged versions all contain MSG, even the organic brands.  Its so easy to throw a handful of dried spices together and keep it on hand for dressing or dip.

Ranch Seasoning

• 2 T. dried parsley
• 2 tsp. dried dill
• 1 tsp. dried garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• some fresh ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container.

To make Ranch vegetable dip, mix 1 Tablespoon of seasoning with 1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and 1-2 Tablespoons of good quality, clean ingredient mayonnaise such as soy-free Vegenaise.  Let it sit for 2 hours for flavors to develop.

I hope you have a HAPPY St. Patrick’s Day!