St. Patrick's Day

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HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY, BLOGGERS!!!

As it seems to be a tradition with baci---we write a post about upcoming holidays. I realized food and drinks seemed to be an important factor on Saint Patrick's Day, besides wearing green :-) As we all know, kids are picky eaters (as are a lot of other people, too), so how exactly do we incorporate them in this fun holiday, especially when corned beef and cabbage is not exactly a kid's best friend. I came across this article on ehow.com on how to prepare a Saint Patrick's Day meal--from breakfast to desserts.

Fun Things to Eat on St. Patrick's Day for Kids

By Laura Wilson, eHow Contributor

updated: February 05, 2011

Let kids celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some unusual food.

Children enjoy celebrating holidays and luckily St. Patrick's Day is no longer reserved for just the Irish. All families can get in on the fun by creating fun food that centers around a St. Patrick's Day theme using the color green, leprechauns, and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

1 ) Make a Green Breakfast for Kids

On the eve before St. Patrick's Day, leprechauns often visit and leave some signs that they were there causing mischief. Use a few drops of green food coloring to color scrambled eggs or pancakes. Tint cream cheese green to top a morning bagel or "discover" the yogurt turned green overnight with the help of food coloring. Shockingly, the milk is often turned green the morning of St. Patrick's Day thanks to the antics of the little green men.

2) A St. Patrick's Day Lunch

Many children have a sandwich for lunch, which can easily be cut into a shamrock shape using a cookie cutter, according to Perpetual Preschool. To add some green to lunch, tint marshmallow fluff or cream cheese green as part of the sandwich filler. Cut up green vegetables, such as cucumbers, broccoli, or peppers, and include some green dip. Most children enjoy ranch dressing, which can easily turn green with the addition of food coloring.

3) Dinner Options for Kids on St. Patrick's Day

Dinner choices will vary depending on a family's tradition on St. Patrick's Day. Some prefer to stick to traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage. For a fun alternative, roast turkey or chicken can be accompanied by some green mashed potatoes (using food coloring). Pasta with pesto sauce will give a natural green hue. Make a fun punch using green juice and lemon-lime soda, or serve the milk the leprechauns got into earlier.

4) Colorful Desserts for Kids

Dessert is where families can get very creative. Leprechauns are known for chasing a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so create unique rainbow desserts. According to Family Fun in "Taste a Rainbow", bakers can divide a white cake mix into six equal amounts, add food coloring to make typical rainbow colors and layer them in cupcake papers to make rainbow cupcakes. Kids will also enjoy a rainbow-layered gelatin dessert.

Make a pot of gold by creating gold coins out of lemon gelatin and using the "jigglers" recipe on the box. When firm, cut the gelatin in small circle shapes for coins.

For a green dessert, simply add drops of green food coloring to frosting for cakes or cookies or to a vanilla milkshake.