On this grand green holiday of Irish traditions, why not use the festivities to your fullest advantage. If you are struggling with the challenges of a special diet, you may not feel so very lucky, but you can count your clovers this week – St. Patrick’s Day just may give your GFCF life a wee little pick-me-up.

This week, eating GREEN should be an easy sell, even to those picky eaters. It is the perfect time to get creative with hiding some of those nutrient-rich green veggies into traditional favorites.

~Blend some peas, broccoli, or green beans into mashed potatoes.
~Bake up some delicious zucchini muffins with pureed peas.
~Mix up a “super-green” smoothie

Under most circumstances, a spoonful of anything green may have your kiddo locking those lips down tight, but selling it as festive food-fare that the leprechauns devour to help them “find the gold at the end of the rainbow” – well, it’s just plain fun! And what kid doesn’t like to have fun with their food?

To add to the atmosphere, be sure to decorate your table-top with equally festive emerald embellishments. Setting the green scene will just add more credibility to the fun-factor so that when you present your green dish, your little eaters will be more concerned with the holiday hoopla than with what is actually making the food green. You may just find that this holiday brings you luck all year in the green veggies department. So, Patty really is a Saint!

Try this recipe for delicious green muffins!

Green Zucchini & Pea Muffins

2 cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Gluten-Free baking soda
¾ tsp. xanthum or guar gum
½ tsp. celtic sea salt
½ tsp. nutmeg (optional)
1 cup brown rice syrup
4 eggs (or 2 tablespoons egg replacer +1/2 cup water)
1 cup oil (grapeseed is my favorite)
2 cups finely shredded zucchini
½ cup applesauce
½ cup pureed peas (or 2 small jars of baby food)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients and whisk together. Make a well in the center and pour in your oil, brown rice syrup, applesauce, and pea puree. Stir to combine. Add zucchini and stir again until well blended.
Pour into paper lined muffin tins and fill each approximately 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy, and luck of the Irish to you!