Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! I hope you’re wearing green or you’re bound to get pinched

I remember St. Patty’s Day being a big deal as a kid. Everyone wore green to school and there were green-themed games and treats galore! I never dreamed this holiday could be so much more fun as an adult, though! My home is very near the main road that our yearly parade travels down and as I was driving to work early this morning there were already throngs of people out celebrating. The parade is a very big deal, mostly because it’s an excuse to dress up and spend an entire day in drunken revelry (how could you not like such a holiday?). However, because I work in retail and Saturday is our busiest day, I’ve never gotten to participate in the festivities. At least not until late in the evening when everyone is exhausted and winding down from all the madness.

Because of this, I have to find my own ways of celebrating! Today I wore green (of course) and decided to eat a lot of green foods–my favorite! I had Kimberly Snyder’s delicious Glowing Green Smoothie for breakfast (pictured below in my green Lifefactory bottle) made from romaine, spinach, celery, apple, pear and banana (you can find the recipe here). I’ve been drinking this breakfast smoothie on an almost-daily basis for 8 months now and it has had an amazing effect on how I feel in the morning. I never dreamed that such a light breakfast could keep me feeling full and energized for so long!

For lunch I had a big mixed green salad topped with Lime and Mint dressing. This dressing is so light and delicious–perfect on salads and veggies during the warmer Spring and Summer months. Not to mention, It’s super easy to make. I always feel better eating dressings I’ve made from scratch because they’re so fresh and I know exactly what ingredients are going into them (no sneaky preservatives and thickeners).

When I was done with my salad I was really tempted to drink the dressing that was leftover at the bottom of the bowl. But I didn’t. I promise…..

I’m such a bad liar.