Create a New Tradition - Sober St. Patrick’s Day!
☘️☘️ Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘️☘️
I love St. Patrick’s day, and it’s probably due to my Irish heritage!
But for some, it’s quite often a day where the celebrations are used to justify drinking too much without any real understanding of the culture and traditions they’re celebrating.
Thankfully, there are many ways to enjoy a natural high if you don’t drink alcohol!
Here are some quick ideas:
• Attend a St. Patrick’s Day Parade
• Run a ‘Shamrock 5k’ with your partner, a friend, or even with your dog!
• Make a green juice and put it in a fancy glass (see recipe below!)
• Cook a traditional Irish meal like ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ and add a healthy twist - Try my recipe below
• Brew Irish tea – see the recipe below (check out @looseleafteamarket)
• Wear a festive shirt ☘️ and walk your dog 🐶 🐾
• Make Irish Soda Bread 🍞(and hey another reason to break out the festive t-shirt 😉) – Try my family recipe below
• Get shamrocks hand-painted on your nails ☘️☘️
• Dance to Irish music 💃🏼
• Replace your Irish whisky or green beer with some delicious alcohol-free options. Have you tried Guinness 0.0 yet?! 🚫🍺😋
Now for the fun and yummy part – the recipes!
Kristin’s St. Patrick’s Day Green Juice
Ingredients
Kale
Celery
Apple
Lemon to your taste
Ginger to your taste
METHOD
Put all ingredients into a juicer
Pour into a fancy glass
Enjoy!
How to Make the Perfect Cup of Irish Tea…
Assam tea, or ‘Irish Breakfast Tea’, has kept the people of Ireland warm and hydrated for centuries. From their ‘top of the morning to you’ mug of tea to a delectable evening high tea, the Irish are known to enjoy four to six cups of their favorite brew every day.
Get out your favorite teapot and teacup, with a saucer, of course!
Boil the kettle
Warm the teapot with some freshly boiled water (then discard the water)
Add one teaspoon of fresh loose-leaf tea per cup + an extra teaspoon for the pot into the warmed teapot (don’t miss the extra scoop as it makes all the difference)
Fill the teapot with boiling water and let it steep for 3 to 4 minutes
Pour 1/3 of the cup with the milk or cream of your choice
Place a tea strainer over the cup, then pour in the hot, strong, Irish Breakfast tea over the milk
Sweeten to taste
Of course, you can also have your tea black (i.e., no milk or cream) with a slice of lemon.
What Irish Breakfast Tea do I love? Loose Leaf Tea Market! They have gorgeous organic wellness teas for healing your body and mind.
You can find them at: @looseleafteamarket
Try My Family Recipe For ‘Irish Soda Bread’
As a nod to my own Irish heritage, I love cooking my old family recipe for delicious Irish Soda Bread.
Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread to make, that does not require any yeast. Instead, all of its leavening comes from baking soda and buttermilk. This is my own family’s recipe, and it’s awesome!
The bread is dense yet soft and has the most incredible crusty exterior.
Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Caraway seeds
1 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
2 eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk (see my recipe below to make your own!)
¼ lb butter (melted and cooled)
METHOD
Stir dry ingredients together
Fork blend the eggs, melted butter and buttermilk
Combine dry and wet ingredients and stir until a sticky batter is formed
Place in a well-greased and floured pan (spring-pan)
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean
Cool in pan before removing
Kristin’s Buttermilk Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup milk of your choice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar
METHOD
Add the lemon juice or vinegar to the milk and stir
Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes (It may start to ‘curdle’ or go lumpy)
Then it’s ready to use!
Kristin’s Healthy Shepherd’s Pie
In honor of St. Paddy’s Day and my very Irish roots, here’s my recipe for a delightful and tasty Shepherd’s Pie!
The first time I made this dish, I was looking for a lower carb/gluten-free option and when I came across the idea for using cauliflower instead of the usual potato on top, I thought that was brilliant! I’ve also used ground turkey and even bison meat to change it up! This dish is a staple in my house when I’m really craving that Shepherd’s Pie taste! 😋
Ingredients
1 large head cauliflower, chopped into florets
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 pounds ground turkey, bison, or beef
1/4 cup vegetable broth (to sauté)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)
1/4 cup or more frozen peas (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then boil 1 head of cauliflower in a large pot. Let it come to a boil, and then lower the heat.
While the cauliflower is in the pot, sauté carrots, onions, celery, and garlic in a pan with vegetable broth. Optional: add mushrooms and frozen peas.
After about 5 minutes, add the ground turkey.
Let the meat brown for a few minutes and add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and 2 tablespoons of parsley. Add Himalayan salt and black pepper to taste.
Reduce the pan’s heat to a simmer and then drain the cauliflower.
Next, add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and a sprinkle of Himalayan salt and black pepper to the cauliflower. Mash the cauliflower by hand or with an immersion blender.
When assembling, add the turkey meat and veggie mixture to the bottom of the baking dish. On top of that, spread out the mashed cauliflower.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Last step – enjoy!!!
This St. Patrick’s Day ☘️, I’m incredibly grateful to be spending the day with all my senses sober, fresh and invigorated while enjoying, and remembering, my time with family and friends, compared to the drunken-blur and cringy behavior of my past. 😬
It’s a deeply satisfying feeling to enjoy life at a soul level and fully experience the world and its wonders from a space of health, sobriety and appreciation. 🥰
What activities, recipes or other ways to celebrate would you add to the list?
Leave a comment below – I’d love to know what other amazing things people do to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without drinking alcohol.
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Remember…
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