St Patty's Day - how green can it be?

Need a fun excuse to have a party? Why not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and create a eco-friendly, organic, green and natural celebration, which will express your commitment to social responsibility and the natural world.

Saint Patrick's Day, colloquially Paddy's Day or St. Patty's Day, is the feast day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (373-493), the patron saint of Ireland, on March 17.

St. Patrick's Day - celebrated worldwide by Irish people and increasingly by many of non-Irish descent (Usually in the US and Ireland) hence the phrase "Every one is Irish on St. Patrick's day". Celebrations are generally themed around all things green and Irish; both Christians and non-Christians celebrate the secular version of the holiday by wearing green, eating Irish food, imbibing Irish drink, and attending parades.

The color green, shamrocks, leprechauns, four-leaf clovers and that lucky pot 'o gold are what most people associate with this day.

Each year on the Saturday before March 17, the Chicago river runs emerald green in celebration of this annual holiday. The dye used is actually "orange" in color, but when mixed with the natural color of the river it becomes almost fluorescent green for several hours.Hope the dye is eco-friendly???

Need a fun excuse to have a party? Why not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and create a eco-friendly, organic, green and natural celebratiion, which will express your commitment to social responsibility and the natural world.

Of course, it would be easy enough to eliminate the impact on our environment by eliminating parties, but that would prevent us from sharing our happiness with the people we love best. And that's certainly not the point. If you’re looking for a fun way to celebrate the “luck of the Irish” here are a few eco-friendly suggestions.
It's to celebrate, joyfully, without being unnecessarily wasteful. There are, we have discovered, many ways to do that.

Raise your recycled glass in honor of St. Patrick, and use these tips to throw a eco-friendly party that will have your friends green with envy!

Leave the table hungry.
Leave the bed sleepy.
Leave the table thirsty.

An old Irish recipe for longevity

St. Patrick's Day Party Ideas

Anywhere you can prevent using resources, simply because it is not necessary, is going to generate the most environmental savings. Reducing the guest numbers would be the ideal place to start, and having an informal fun event.

Serve local, organic food ...to limit global warming pollution from transporting these items, keep toxic chemicals out of the environment and support local farmers and farms. Finger foods are always great for parties and reduce the need for plates or dishes.

Traditional Irish food is changing these days. As the knowledge of food and its link to health and long life is spreading, Ireland is capitalizing on its nutritional treasures: fertile soil, wonderful produce and clean coastal waters teaming with delectable seafood. Their meals are fresh and simple and their updated cuisine highlights homegrown simplicity and freshness.

Serve organic beer, with a touch of Pop-Eye, if desired (spinach juice). Organic wine and make your own green fruit cocktails.

Make this St. Patrick's Day unforgettable with Irish-inspired healthy organic recipes.

Make mini versions of traditional fare, like potato pancakes.

Opt for more richly-flavored cabbage and kale than its corned beef partner.

St. Patrick's Day isn't just about wearing green. It's the holiday when many folk make an extra effort to eat like the Irish. It may be the one time a year when we sit down to a corned beef and cabbage dinner, (organic cured corned beef is available from organic stores). Serve plenty of greens - kale etc, amd less meat.

When we think of "Irish food," we often think of the irrepressible potato. The Irish are known for their leprechauns, delightful sayings, green shamrocks and...their potatoes. The traditional Irish diet for centuries has been a healthy mix of meat, dairy products, oatmeal, wheat and lots of potatoes.

But the potato actually wasn't brought to Ireland from the New World until about 300 years ago. Besides potatoes, beef and dairy farming are strong in Ireland.
Wheat and barley crops have been growing in Ireland for about 5,000 years, and oats and rye became staple cereals about 1,500 years ago. You'll find these smart carbohydrate-rich cereals in many an Irish recipe.

Use green pepper (capsicum) chunks cut in the shape of shamrocks to garnish your serving plates, or to add to a salad. Use small cookie cutters to make this task a breeze. Sprinkle whatever you can with fresh chopped parsley or green onions, or serve your appetizers or party finger food on a bed of crisp green lettuce. Green salads make a perfect first course!

Serve avocado and pesto dip, with broccoli and asparagus spears to dip.

Spinach will be your best friend on St. Patrick's Day! Use your imagination and bring the luck of the Irish to your table.

If you don't have time to whip up a batch of Dublin Coddle or Colcannon for your St. Patrick's Day meal, jazz up your regular fare by adding a touch (or a healthy dose!) of green.

Pesto green organic pasta / bite size pizza / green garlic bread (add loads of parsley) / pastry delights, bruschetta, organic chicken balls / potato balls / baby potatoes accompanied by pesto.

Create Your Own Organic Cupcakes / muffins. Whip up a batch of cupcakes and let them be the canvas for your child's imagination. With a little inspiration included, your little ones can decorate them to their heart's content with green frosting, dried fruit, seeds, coconut, nuts etc. Green coloring.... pureed, cooked spinach (thawed frozen spinach works great or freshly juiced spinach).

Use cookie cutters with your favorite healthy biscuit mix and create shamrocks or leprechauns.

Shamrock Cookies....Let your little leprechauns in on the fun by baking up pretty St. Patrick's Day shamrocks that get their gorgeous green color from spinach juice colored arrowroot frosting.

A traditional Irish saying goes:

Rye bread will do you good,
Barley bread will do you no harm,
Wheaten bread will sweeten your blood,
Oaten bread will strengthen your arm.

Irish cooking reflects the temperament of the people. The Irish are a lyric group, so poetic by nature that they have a saying: 'Never harm a poet, never love a poet, and never be a poet." The Irish have given us the finest poets and writers, and their instinct toward the music inherent in language spices their food.

With meager resources for the kitchen, Irish cooking is based on simple, but hearty dishes. Irish cooking is poetic cooking, however, and a simple dish of potatoes and cabbage is lifted from the ordinary by calling it 'bubble and squeak' after the music heard in the pan. When fair Molly Malone sells her cockles and mussels, she doesn't shout that the mussels are fresh, she sings out that they are 'alive, alive-o.' There are even rhymes based on Irish food, such as the potato pancake, called Boxty: "Boxty on the griddle, Boxty in the pan, If you don't eat your boxty, You'll never get your man."

In Irish mythology we find legends that inform us of the native foods. There is the legend of the Nine Sacred Hazels. Near the river Shannon was a copse where the nuts of knowledge grew. Some say this was the source of the Shannon. There is also the legend of Fionn Mac Cumhail, leader of the Fianna and one of the most honored characters in Irish legend. It was he who first tasted the Salmon of Knowledge, giving him all wisdom.

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way
Good health, good luck and happiness
For today and every day.

Traditional Irish toast

St. Patrick's Party Decor & Children's Craft Activity

Make shamrocks from green construction paper / recycle found cardboard etc from around the home and hang them from yellow or white yarn, or string them together to form a festive garland. Hang the garland in the doorway for good luck!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!