Eat Green for St. Patrick's Day (recipe roundup) (2024)

This year, eat something (or many things) green in commemoration of St. Patrick’s Day! Dietetic Intern Carlie Saint-Laurent wants to share her festive St. Patty’s Day recipe roundup-great for celebrations, or any day of the year. Here are her top 3:

Start the day off with a refreshing green smoothie that will guarantee to satisfy your cravings. Smoothies are a quick and simple way to squeeze in (no pun intended), the daily recommendation of four to five servings of fruits and vegetables. I recommend buying a blender with a container you can take on-the-go to save time and energy washing appliances, because why not minimize washing dishes?

When preparing a smoothie, always consider your macronutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrate) just as you would any other meal. Our bodies work best with a balance of all three.

Green Leaf Clover Smoothie

Ingredients

• ½ frozen banana
• ½ kiwi
• ¼ avocado
• ¼ c green grapes
• 1 cup raw spinach
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup coconut water (lime juice can be used in replacement)
• Water, enough to give it the consistency you want
• 1 tsp of chia seeds (optional)

Instructions:

Add all ingredients into blender, blend, and drink up

Pro tip: Add spinach closest to the blade-this will help keep a smooth consistency.

Original recipe by Dietetic Intern Carlie Saunt-Laurent

There is no comfort like having a warm, hearty soup in winter. Cabbage is low in calories and high in nutrients. This Irish food staple contains vitamin C which can aid in preventing cancer, reducing high blood pressure, and improving brain function. Just 1 cup of cabbage meets half of the recommended 65 to 90 grams per day! So lets get festive and whip up this quick, easy, and inexpensive soup to celebrate!

Cabbage Roll Soup

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1½ lbs 93% lean ground beef
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 large carrots, chopped
• 5 cups packed chopped cabbage
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium beef broth, divided
• 3 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ tsp dried paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ¾ tsp dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• ¾ cup dry long-grain white rice
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground beef and season with the salt and pepper. Cook the meat, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned; transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of rendered fat and return pot to stove.
2. Add onion and carrots to pot and cook for 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add cabbage and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and cook 30-60 seconds longer, or until fragrant.
3. Pour in 2 cans of the beef broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, Worcestershire, paprika, oregano, thyme, and bay leaves. Return beef to pot and bring to a light boil. Stir in the rice, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
4. Stir in remaining can of beef broth + 1-2 cups water to thin as desired. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve hot.

   Nutrition info: serving size:~ 1¾ cups Calories:319 Fat:8.5g Carbohydrates:39.9g Sodium:887mg Fiber:5.6g Protein:23.1g

   Recipe courtesy of Nicole Morrissey

Finally, its time for something sweet. How about spinach cake? Let’s step out our comfort zone and give it a try! Why not have a dessert that also packs a ton of nutrition? Spinach has fiber, vitamins, and iron, to name a few nutrients, and can help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and some cancers. Much like adding spinach to a smoothie, you don’t taste it over the other sweet flavors in the recipe.

Spinach Cake

Ingredients:

500g baby spinach, washed, drained (1 large container)
3 eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil, plus additional for oiling pan
1 1/4 cup honey
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups spelt flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda (note: this is to offset the acidity of the honey)
Plain nonfat Greek yogurt for garnish, optional

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.

2. Purée spinach in a food processor; set aside. Whisk egg and honey. Add oil, lemon juice and rind, vanilla and puréed spinach. Then add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Mix for a few minutes. Pour into an oiled rectangular cake pan.

3. Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes. (TIP: Check with a toothpick to test doneness; bake until toothpick comes out clean.) Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

4. Once cooled, remove cake from pan. As an optional garnish, cut off sides of cake (about 1 inch wide) and process in food processor to create a powder; set aside. Slice cake when ready to serve and spread with Greek yogurt. Then sift cake powder over top.

Nutrition info: per serving
Calories: 124, Fat: 5g, Carbs: 17g, Fiber: 3g, Sugars: 2g
Protein: 4.5g

Recipe courtesy of Sammie Kennedy