Eating GREEN!

I decided to repost this in honor of St Pattys today....

10 Fun Foods to turn Green. 

I didnt really want to add a lot of artificial coloring into our diets so I found some natural food coloring here.  Or you can see how to make your own food coloring here.

Smoothies:  Have you ever added spinach to a fruit smoothie?  My mother-in-law taught me this trick and my kids have never noticed!  It is even easier at St Patty's because they don't question why they are green!  I used bananas, peaches, yogurt, milk, and ice for mine (and of course, spinach!).  Sometimes I sprinkle in some splenda to make it a little sweeter.  You might want to add a little bit of food coloring to make it more green, it depends on how much spinach you use.  At first the spinach was chunky and very noticeable but if you let it blend a little longer, the chunks disappear and it all blends smooth.

  

Shamrock French Toast:  Try this for breakfast or dinner this month!  First mix your egg mixture ( I use about 6-8 eggs, 3/4 c milk, a splash of vanilla, and a sprinkle of cinnamon) Then take out about 3/4 cup and turn it green (I just left it in the cup I scooped it out with).  Then take a loaf of white bread and cut the "shamrocks" out of the middle of the bread with a cookie cutter (or use whole wheat for the ouside and white for the shamrocks).  I didnt have one so I improvised with a 4-heart cookie cutter.  Then dip the outer bread into the regular egg mixture and dip the shamrock into the green.  Place them onto the griddle and the egg will hold it all together as it cooks.  Cook it at 300 to cook it through but not turn it brown.  We want to see the GREEN!

Then you make the Buttermilk syrup.  This is SUPER delish!  My kids were skeptical because it was green but they were asking for seconds and thirds!  In a tall sauce pan mix 2 c sugar, 2 T Karo syrup, 1 cube butter, 1 c buttermilk (if you dont have any just mix 1 T vinegar with enough milk to make 1 c) and 1 T vanilla.  Bring to a rolling boil then stir in 1/2 tsp baking soda (and a drop of food coloring if desired).  If you only try one thing in this whole post, make this syrup.  You will be glad you did!
My friend, Julie, over at not-to-shabby (we used to be neighbors!) gave me this recipe and it is one of our all time favorites!


Here is a glimpse of the Easy Green Shamrock French Toast covered in Green Buttermilk Syrup!

Alfredo Sauce and French Bread:  You can bet I will be dusting off my breadmaker for this one!  The bread was tinted green but it was still so yummy!

Pizza: Green dough, Green Peppers (cut like clovers), Green Onions...Whats not to LOVE?

Mac and Cheese:  Add  blue to the yellow cheese Mac or add green to the white cheese Mac!  My friend Caroll does this all of the time and my kids think it is the coolest lunch ever!  They do Orance and Blue for BSU, Red at Valentines, etc.  Doesnt it look delicious?  My little guy thought so!  I added blue to this Mac and Cheese and then sprinkled some real cheese on as well.

 

Homemade Egg Noodles and Biscuits:  My friend Caroll says her mom used to do this one!

Chicken Fajitas: Green tortillas, Green Peppers, You could even add a little Green to the chicken! I didnt though.  I didnt add any green to this meal.  I used a fajita mix and a rotisserie chicken so I didnt have to cut or touch any raw chicken. ( I know, I am all for couponing and getting great deals on food but I was not in the mood for raw chicken today!)  I left the green peppers shaped like clovers because they are so cute that way.  The only person that eats them is my husband and he didnt mind!  These tortillas were SO YUMMY!!  Serve the fajitas with avocado, sour cream (you could turn it green!), salsa verde, and guacamole!  We also had green salad on the side.

Cupcakes:  Does anyone have any green conversation hearts left over?  Well, we did, so here is what we did with them.  Make the green ones into clovers and add some green sugar sprinkles.  So Easy!

Cookies:  Use green jello to make sugar cookies really green!

Ice Cubes: Use green koolaid mixed with only half the water it calls for.  Pour it into ice trays and freeze!  I froze it in heart molds because they look like clovers when they are all together.   Add clear soda and sliced limes for a yummy (and festive!) drink.

Lucky Banner

I did it!  I made this LUCKY banner last week with some of my crafty friends.   Its just more fun with company and we had lots of fun designing this little banner together!  Now I think I have one for almost every holiday!  My husband says I still need to make the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria so we can be sure to celebrate Columbus Day with decorations.  HA-HA-HA!  Maybe I just will....and then he will have to find a place to store them....but anyway.....

Here is the Super Mommy Secret for this week:  Plan it with friends! Whatever you do whether it is a craft, a party, a fun night as a family...consider inviting friends.  It will lessen your load in planning and preparing, you will create memories and closer friendships, and its just so fun!  I have to say I am lucky to live in a neighborhood that feels like Camelot with so many fun friends and neighbors, so it is easy to plan fun things together.  But even if you dont live in Camelot, all it takes is a quick email to plan something fun with friends.

LUCKY banner

Here is how I made it.  I got 2 coordinating fabrics from Home Fabrics.  I got a crinkly green and a brown with a green cloverish design.  I cut triangles in the green with pinking shears and then stamped them with brown paint (I mixed red and green fabric paint to make brown). 

Then cut 6 inch wide strips of the brown fabric (you will need to cut all edges of the brown with pinking shears or hem them) and 4 inch wide strips of the green.  Fold the green in half the long way and pin it to the top of the brown.  We bunched it up for a cute ruffle-y look on some of them~ that was Ambers idea!   

Then we sewed the strips together and then the triangles onto the bottom. 

I had some cute brown yarn that we sewed onto the sides to tie the banner.  We also had to go back and tack little folds into the top of the brown to make it hang in a swag.   

17 Fun Things to do for St. Patricks Day!

1.  Send your kids on a Shamrock Hunt.  I am going to do this on a family night well before St Pattys day.  There are so many fun things to do that I need to space out the FUN!!!  I found these cute Shamrocks (below) at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $1 per bag of 25.  I am going to use them for my version of a Shamrock Hunt.  I got this fun idea from a friend last year (thanks Cami.C) but I never got to do the Shamrock hunt because we were busy moving!  So this year, I will do it.  First I will number the Shamrocks, then I will hide them.  Next I will send the kids on the Shamrock Hunt.  Once all of the Shamrocks are found, the kids can trade for different numbers (but they wont know what they are trading for).  Then its time to see who gets LUCKY!!  They get to choose prizes from numbered bags that match the numbered Shamrocks. 

I think I will do 5 shamrocks of each number and then 5 different surprise bags.  Here is what I think I am going to put in the bags: 

1. Green Packs of Gum (I think I will put in four 5-stick packs and one 17-stick pack for the LUCKY one)

2. Greenbacks (as in real money, I think I will do four $1 bills and, for whoever gets LUCKY, one $5 bill)

3. Green Fruits (apples, kiwi, grapes, and for the ones who are UNLUCKY, limes and green bananas!) 

4. Green Candy (I am going to do four yummy treats and one really Sour one)

5. Green Accessories (I cant wait for my 9 year old boy to pull out the green flower for his hair! I am also going to try to find Green socks, Green underwear, a Green tie, and maybe some green lipgloss or nail polish)

2.  Host a Mommy Luncheon where all of the food is St Patty themed. Here is a Green meal I made last year.  (shown below is:  Green fruit ke-bobs, Green bean casserole, Green pudding cups, Green salad, and Green Lemonade) And for fun, make a cute St Patty's day mommy craft like this one from my friend, Amy, at mytalkingwalls.com, while the little ones are playing (hopefully!).

3.  Have a St Patty's breakfast!  Give your kids a brand new box of Lucky Charms (we got these large boxes last year for less than $1 with coupons!) for breakfast. Make a sign that says "You are my Lucky Charm!" Serve it with green milk.  This is ours from last year.  We had just moved so this boring hand written sign was all I could make that morning.  The kids didnt care though!  If you can find them, it would be cute to do the tiny boxes of Lucky Charms and do one per child.  If you arent a cereal family there is always the good old Green eggs and Green shamrock pancakes idea!

4.  Set a Leprechaun trap by the front door.  Here is a link to a really cute one.  I think this is one of the cutest ideas/traditions I have ever heard of (thanks Amber T) ...but we have never done it because I always forget the night before!  This is the year though, I am going to plan on it!

5.  Make a "Lucky" banner.  Hang paper clovers around.  Let the kids put holiday clings on the doors.  Never underestimate the importance of DECORATIONS!! (I hope my husband doesnt see this!).  I am planning to make a banner soon and I will post a photo then.

6.  Fill the kids shoes with green treasure and gold coins.  These photos are ours from last year and the year before.  That leprechaun used Green shampoo, soaps, candy, gum, and juice boxes (this is all stuff that we had in our house that I got for nearly free with coupons! Check out my post on that here, scroll to day 5) and then he also gave them Green glow sticks, Green balloons, and Green headbands (these you can get for $1 at Michaels) and gold coins.  In our house they earn these gold coins for chores and they cash them in for $.25 each so they were excited!!

7.  Keep the fun going and hide a few more gold coins (you could use chocolate ones but my kids hate chocolate, Crazy, I know!) around the house where your kids will be...in the pantry, the silverware drawer, the refrigerator...to name a few.

8.  Give the kids a Green bubble bath. Use your regular bubble bath and add a few drops of green food coloring to the water or make this homemade Green Apple Bubble Bath (you might still want to add green coloring to the water for fun. Dont worry, I tried it last year and it turns the water green but not the kids!).

9.  Make corned beef and cabbage.  This is a photo of ours from last year.  I found a recipe online to make it in the crockpot!  I wasnt sure how this would be received in my family of picky eaters but it is something worth trying.  I think we will do it again this year.  I also served only Green sides and drink (see the photo above).  If you are ambitious, make (or buy) fun Green hats to wear while eating dinner!  I am going to try making these super cute homemade ones (thanks to tipjunkie for the link!).

10.  Give your kids Green T-shirts.  They have to wear Green that day or risk being pinched!  I usually go to Old Navy and get their St Pattys shirts or just give them a Green (non St Pattys) one that I have gotten on clearance for really cheap.  This would be fun to do closer to March 1st so they get lots of wear out of them before the Holiday is over.  Just make sure they are clean for the 17th!

11.  Wreck the house (I turn over the chairs, tip over decorations, nothing too messy!) and make little green footprints all over with washable paint.  I do this every year and my kids love it.  I remember my teachers at school doing it to our desks and I thought it was so fun! 

12.  Send the kids on a Scavenger Hunt with a Pot O' Gold at the end of the rainbow.  This idea is from Family Fun.  It is really cute.  Again, I do this EARLIER, rather than on the 17th.  For us, this is another pre-St Patty's family night activity... Just to space out the fun! 

13.  Take the neighbors a bag of Green treats and wish them a Happy St Patricks Day! We took our neighbors little bags of Green apples, Green glow sticks, and Green gum last year. My kids love being little Leprechauns! This is a photo of a St Patty's bucket that my sister in law, Jen, made for us.

14.  Host an Adult Dinner Party. Serve a "Green only" or corned beef and cabbage dinner. Play a game that involves only luck, like Bunco!  Or, I was thinking a "Host A Murder Party" would be lots of fun. I have to admit that I haven't hosted a St Pattys dinner party yet. We were invited to one 3 years ago but I ended up in the hospital that day! Maybe this is the year.....but St Pattys is on a Wednesday so I need start planning when to do it.....you should too......

15.  For the LDS ladies out there:  Have a "Lay up Treasures In Heaven" Family Home Evening.  Do #12 as the activity!  Make a fun St Patty's treat too.

16.  Make green carnations for a centerpiece or for Grandma.  We used to do this in school and it is a science experiment as well as a decoration!

17. Send the kids to school with a Green St Patty's themed cold lunch.  My son even has a green lunch box!!  Here are some things I think I will do:  Green tortilla turkey wrap- filled with Green lettuce, Green pickles, and Green avocados, Green Sunchips, Green fruit (grapes, kiwi, apples), Green applesauce cup or jello cup, Green juice box, and dont forget a Green spoon and a Green napkin with Green writing that says "I Love You!"!  And maybe a gold coin or two.

Now go plan some good, Green, St Patty's fun for your family!

Happy St Patty's Day!!

 Show me what you did or share your family's St Patty's traditions or ideas!  Leave a comment below!

St Patricks Day

17 Fun Things to do for St.Patty's Day
Eating GREEN
LUCKY Banner