Looking For Healthy Green Foods For St. Patrick’s Day? How About Some Zucchini Noodles in a Minty Pea Sauce

Reading Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham the other night to my son evoked a childhood memory of the time I was actually fed green eggs and hotdogs. This frightful meal was an attempt at festivity by my well-intentioned mother for St. Patrick’s Day. While I’m all for the celebration of holiday’s, green eggs and hotdogs crossed the line; even for my 6 year old self.

Vowing never to inflict green eggs and hotdogs on my children, I thought long and hard about what healthy green foods for St. Patrick’s Day I could come up with. I quickly concluded that St. Patrick’s Day, with all its green goodness, might just be the best day to try-out a green plant-based dish. I decided on Zucchini Noodles in a Minty Pea Sauce but will likely sell this to my young ones as “Shamrock Pasta”.

Mint is a wonderfully aromatic herb with a host of health benefits. I often give my toddler mint tea for belly aches so he’s grown accustomed to the taste. Mint is not only used medicinally in our house but added to a host of dishes that frequent our table. Combined with the peas and tahini, it makes for a fragrant and creamy sauce that is completely plant based. Vegetable sprializers are very affordable and an excellent kitchen tool to have on hand when feeding young children. If you don’t have a spiralizer you can make do with a julienne peeler or even a regular peeler for this festively green vegetable based St. Patrick’s Day dish.

 Zucchini Noodles in a Minty Pea Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized zucchinis
• 1 cup of fresh shelled peas or thawed frozen peas+ a few more for garnish
• 8 large mint leaves, diced finely
• 2 heaping tablespoons of tahini
• Salt to taste
• 1 clove of garlic
• Juice from 1/2 a lime

 Directions:

• Spiralize each zucchini with a vegetable spiralizer, julienne peeler or regular peeler.
• To make the sauce process the peas, 4 mint leaves, tahini, salt, garlic and lime juice in a blender or food processor until it’s completely smooth.
• Combine the zucchini spirals and pea sauce in a large bowl ensuring all the zucchini spirals are completely coated in the sauce. Dress the zucchini spirals with a few peas and the extra mint. Divide in four bowls, serve at room temperature and enjoy!

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Now it’s your turn! Do you make festive green colored foods for your kids on St. Patrick’s Day? If so, what kinds of foods do you make for them, and how do you make them green?? Share your stories in the comments below!