Turn St. Patrick'S Day Meals a Little Greener

On St. Patrick's Day, have a little fun in the best of Irish tradition. Whether you're Irish or not, enjoy the festivities with some entertainment and food.

Because green is the color of choice on this festive day, one of the easiest ways to celebrate in the Irish style is to incorporate the color in as many ways as possible -- even in food. Course after course, meal after meal, add a hint of green to the foods your family enjoys. With a little bottle of green food coloring, it's amazing what you can achieve.

Breakfast Ideas:

* Tint milk green, whether in a glass or in a bowl of cereal. (Serve with "Lucky Charms, "perhaps?)

* Turn scrambled eggs into "green eggs and ham" and channel your inner Dr. Seuss in the process.

* Make a green smoothie with yogurt, juice and a banana, with a few drops of coloring added.

* Butter toast with green-tinted butter.

Lunch Ideas:

* Make pizza or pasta with a green pesto sauce.

* Serve olive loaf instead of bologna in a sandwich. It has circles of green olives throughout.

* Make sure kids' juice boxes are a green-colored variety.

* Create a fruit salad with mostly green fruits, such as green grapes, kiwis, honeydew melon, and green apples.

* Baked potatoes topped with green-tinted sour cream and chives will be a winner.

Dinner Ideas:

* A vegetable medley of green veggies, like spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and more can be served as a side dish or mixed as a casserole.

* While corned beef and cabbage are traditional Irish dishes, tint the cabbage green for a little more flair.

* Green food coloring added to mashed potatoes can liven mealtime up.

* Make a homemade Irish soda bread or another bread to serve at dinner and add green food coloring to the dough.

Beverages:

* What would St. Patrick's Day be without a green glass of beer? For the kids, tint ginger ale or a lemon-lime soda green.

* Create a green cocktail using Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur.

* Frozen margaritas -- while not exactly Irish -- take on that desired hue.

Dessert Ideas:

* Turn ice cream or milkshakes green using pistachio-flavored ice cream

* Add green sugar sprinkles to cookies and cakes.

* Bake chocolate chip cookies using green M&M candies, instead of chips.

* Fill cream puffs with green-colored cream.

When you think of all the foods you can turn green or are naturally that color, your St. Patrick's Day can truly be filled with emerald magic.