Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to blend my passion for lectin-light, health-conscious cooking with the vibrant traditions of this festive holiday. While I continue to explore the rich tapestry of St. Patrick’s Day customs, my excitement to celebrate spring through culinary exploration is boundless.
Green, my favorite color when it comes to cooking symbolizes vitality, creativity, and the joy of eating vibrant, nourishing food—a true celebration of life and renewal.
This St. Patrick’s Day, I’m delighted to invite you into my kitchen for a special roundup of recipes that pay homage to both Irish traditions and the bounty of spring, all while staying true to our lectin-light, gluten-free, and sugar-free lifestyle.
Whether you’re a seasoned health food enthusiast or simply curious to try something new, these dishes promise to bring a touch of Irish charm to your table, making our celebrations healthier, happier, and more inclusive.
What’s On the Menu For a Healthy St. Patrick’s Day?
Kick off your St. Patrick’s Day with a burst of vitality by indulging in our nutritious green smoothies, crafted from a blend of avocado, herbs, microgreens, and superfoods, or savor the simplicity of a greens-packed omelet.
Elevate your morning further with our eye-catching spinach pancakes adorned with wild blueberries for a sweet and savory start.
Enhance not only your breakfast but every meal with our green cassava tortillas, infused with the essence of spring through stinging nettle or spinach. Alternatively, opt for our homemade gluten-free and lectin-free mini Irish soda breads, a nod to tradition with a healthful twist.
A personal favorite for bringing the essence of spring to your dinner is our green gnocchi, made from cassava flour and vibrant greens. These gnocchi are not only simple to prepare in large quantities for freezing but also cook up in less than 10 minutes, providing a quick yet elegant dining experience.
For those who love creamy soups, our wholesome asparagus soup and the nettle and cauliflower soup serve as an exquisite way to bring the vibrant greens of spring to your table.
If you prefer creamy soups, our healthy asparagus soup and nettle and cauliflower soup are the perfect ways to bring spring’s vibrant green to the table.
As a nourishing and lectin-light accompaniment, consider our elegant sautéed Swiss chard, or delve into a comforting and flavorful mash of cauliflower, celeriac, and parsnip, which is commendable alternative to traditional mashed potatoes.
For a dessert or a sweet indulgence, our sugar-free apple cake and blueberry scone are surefire hits, blending indulgence with health-conscious eating.
Lastly, don’t miss out on our ultimate spring and summer concoctions for enriching your dishes: vibrant chimichurri perfect for lamb chops or steak, nutrient-packed broccoli microgreens pesto, and a unique carrot tops salad dressing.
The possibilities are endless when it comes to integrating greens into your St. Patrick’s Day feast, inviting you to celebrate the season’s bounty in every bite.
18 St. Patrick’s Day Healthy Food Ideas
Enjoy our collection of gluten-free, lectin-free, and sugar-free food ideas to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the arrival of spring.
Spinach Pancakes with Wild Blueberries
Pancakes are awesome, but green pancakes are pretty and they even pack a little more nutrients than usual. Take these spinach pancakes, my lectin-free take on a Finnish traditional recipe. I love how they look and taste as they are, but adding warm wild blueberries takes these pancakes to a whole different level. The combination between the salty, savory pancakes and the sweet and sour blueberries is, to me, quite the treat. And they are just eye candy, especially for a St. Patrick’s Day lectin-free breakfast feast.
Green Dream, Dr. Gundry’s Plant Paradox Smoothie (Keto)
Power up your day with this healthy and delicious keto green smoothie inspired by Dr. Gundry’s Plant Paradox smoothie! Packed with nutrient-rich ingredients like leafy greens, avocado, microgreens, and herbs, this low-carb and lectin-free smoothie is the perfect breakfast.
Collard Green Smoothie with Superfoods
If we are in the breakfast area, I couldn’t pass the opportunity of including this vibrant green, super healthy superfoods smoothie. Not only is it packed with healthy and nutritious ingredients and easy to personalize to your own needs, but it looks so vibrant and tastes more like a decadent dessert than a green smoothie.
Gluten-Free Green Tortillas
I love to have fun with food, like taking my regular cassava tortillas, adding some pureed greens, and transforming them into these vibrant and nutritious healthy tortillas. I used stinging nettles for this, but spinach would work too. And if you are up for a (mini) challenge, make these tortillas into shamrock shapes.
Beef Stew with Parsnips, Turnips and Sunchokes
Spring is in the air and we are all hoping for more sunny and warmer days, but mid-March, an Irish-inspired beef stew still sounds like a good idea. Trying to keep this dish friendly for a variety of diets, I didn’t use any nightsahes, like tomatoes or potatoes. You can make this in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker and you can adapt the recipe to the ingredients available in your area.
Mashed Cauliflower, Celeriac, and Parsnip
Creamy, flavorful, and festive, this mashed cauliflower, celeriac, and parsnip can be both an everyday nutritious staple and a festive side dish for your holiday menu. This recipe is dairy-free, lectin-free, and a low-carb and more nutritious alternative to mashed potatoes.
Homemade Cassava Gnocchi (Gluten-Free)
This gluten-free cassava gnocchi recipe, filled with greens and aromatics, is not only the ultimate comfort food, but it is nutritious and so easy to make in big batches and freeze. Trust me; they’ll be a lifesaver when you are tired and want to fix a quick, nutritious, and satisfying dinner. Just take them out of the freezer, pan-sear them in extra virgin olive oil or butter, coat them with your favorite sauce or add some sausage and enjoy! Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or any day.
Easy Green Nettle Pasta Sauce
Is the stinging nettle season, spring is here and I just need a quick fix lunch or dinner. Luckily I have some good lectin-free, millet pasta that is ready in three minutes. And this easy green nettle pasta sauce is a quick but nutritious fix coming to complete the picture. You don’t have stinging nettles around you? Try this with spinach, throw in a handful of arugula, and that would work as well. You can leave it as it is, and you have a perfect vegan meal, or you can add some chicken, ground beef, bacon or prosciutto, and you have a meal to satisfy even the hungriest member of your family.
Creamy Nettle Soup with Cauliflower (Dairy-Free)
Spring and early summer is the season of the stinging nettles when the young nettle buds can be collected. The most common way to eat nettles is in a nettle soup. While the traditional ways of making nettle soup involve using milk, sour cream and/or potatoes, or even bacon and eggs, this recipe doesn’t include any of these. This nettle soup with cauliflower is light and nourishing. For St. Patrick’s Day menu, serve it with tortilla chips made with our green cassava tortillas.
Healthy Asparagus Soup (Vegan, Low-Lectin, Low-Histamine)
I can’t think of a more delicious, easier, and healthier way to add vegetables to your diet. This healthy asparagus soup recipe with fennel and broccoli is silky and creamy, but without any dairy, it’s low-histamine, light, and low-lectin. It can be served warm or cold, and I have a feeling everyone will love it, even the picky eaters.
Swiss Chard Side Dish (Perfect and Ready in 10 Minutes)
Not all greens will keep their vibrant color when cooked, but Swiss chard will. This delicious side dish is the perfect excuse to get your family to eat more greens. Anyway, who says festive food can’t be healthy?
Mini Irish Soda Bread (Gluten-Free, Lectin-Free)
No St. Patrick’s Day without soda bread! Maybe not exactly your traditional soda bread if you have Irish blood, but this version, made with wholesome, healthy ingredients, is a commendable alternative to the classic version. Easy to make and quite the treat for those on a gluten-free or lectin-free diet.
Gluten-Free Lemon Blueberry Scones
Breakfast delight or sweet treat for tea time, these healthy scones are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Easy Gluten-Free Apple Cake
Each slice of this apple cake offers the comforting embrace of cinnamon and vanilla, creating a delightful dessert that’s low in carbs and free of added sugar. It’s not just a treat for the senses but also a perfect fit for various dietary needs. Easy to make and even easier to enjoy, this gluten-free and lectin-free apple cake is your perfect companion for tea or coffee time, promising warmth and satisfaction in every bite.
Carrot Top Salad Dressing
I love the beautiful green color of the carrot tops and their delicate taste, reminiscent of the sweetness of carrots, but with herby notes. If you have some carrot tops, don’t throw them away. Make them into a smooth green sauce that can be used as a salad dressing, pizza or pasta sauce, or dipping sauce.
Parsley and Chives Chimichurri with Sumac
I love herbs and always have them around, ready to make some green concoctions and serve them with our meals. This time I had an impressive quantity of parsley and chives, so I made a parsley and chives chimichurri to serve with our grass-fed steaks. This fresh, bright, and flavorful green sauce goes perfectly with all kinds of meats but also with grilled or roasted vegetables.
Super Healthy Broccoli Microgreen Pesto
This super healthy broccoli microgreen pesto is our nutritious and refreshing twist on the classic Italian pesto. Pair fresh basil and the nutrient-packed peppery goodness of broccoli microgreens with rich macadamia nuts, sharp Parmigiano Reggiano, and zesty lemon for a unique flavor profile. If you’re looking for creative ways to use both basil and broccoli microgreens in a healthy way, you’ve come to the right place. This broccoli microgreen pesto is packed with nutrients and so flavorful, making it a great addition to almost any meal.
Spring Micro Greens Omelet
This recipe and the photo were generously shared for this St Patrick’s Day Lectin-Free Food Round-Up by fellow lectin-free foodie Alexandra Binder, an Austrian journalist who is on a journey of healing her Hashimotos and Mast Cell Activation Syndrom.
Alexandra is the founder of Autoimmun Lifestyle blog, a wonderful resource for German language speakers for lectin-light recipes and holistic health information.
INGREDIENTS: 7-8 quail-eggs or 2 pastured chicken eggs; a handful of microgreens; a handful of fresh Parsley; 2 red radishes; 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil; 1 spring onion; sea salt and black pepper; optional: pippali powder, a great addition if you have histamine issues.
METHOD: Mix eggs, parsley, and salt in a blender. Cut the spring onion and the radishes into fine slices. Sautee the spring onions, radishes, and microgreens in olive oil, season with a little salt. Pour the egg mixture over, and fry the omelet for two to three minutes. Flip the omelet and fry for another two minutes. Season with fresh black pepper.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
We couldn’t end a round-up of St Patrick’s Day Lectin-Free Food Ideas without a green cookie recipe, right?
Since I don’t have one, Jenny aka @clean.colorful.life on Instagram generously shared her beautiful green chocolate chip cookie creation.
This is an adaptation of Dr. Steven Gundry’s Recipe in The Plant Paradox Family Cookbook, page 209: After School Chocolate Chip Cookies. She added 2 teaspoons peppermint extract, 3 teaspoons pandan leaf powder, and 2 teaspoons aqua blue spirulina powder and omitted the nuts.
Jenny is a lectin-free foodie and an artist, make sure you follow her Instagram account, it will brighten up your days and will make your health journey more fun. As Jenny loves to say, we are happy to see signs of spring everywhere. Bring on all things green!
Enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with healthy food! Enjoy Spring and all things GREEN! 💚
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