Eating Green

With the “green” month just a few weeks away (St. Patrick’s Day, plus the promise of springtime growth), our thoughts turn to all things green. We wondered…where is the satisfying intersection of all things green and kids’ eating habits? It’s not easy to find, as parents and grandparents know. How do we get them to like eating green foods?

Our go-to appetizer when eating out with our grandkids is...

...anything on a tortilla chip. More specifically, our common ground of green noshing gravitates to guacamole. We decided to explore making our own guacamole, using a recipe our son brought back from Guatemala while volunteering with the organization Hearts in Motion (heartsinmotion.org), which provides care and medical treatment for communities in the U.S., and Central and South America. He participated with their services during his senior year at Bellarmine University.

We assembled:

4 ripe avocados

½ red onion, finely chopped

½ package of cilantro (.33 oz.), finely chopped (about 2 Tbsp.)

Juice of ½ lime, freshly squeezed

¼ cup corn

Cut avocados in half; extract and save the large brown seeds inside. Scoop the green pulp out from the skin. Place in bowl and mash into a smooth consistency. Add and mix in other ingredients. Voila…our homemade guacamole, which was accompanied by tortilla chips and sour cream dip.

We set the saved avocado seeds into glasses of water, using toothpicks to balance them. The seeds will send down roots and later, shoot up sprouts from their tops…another sign of spring.

Contributed by Kathy Bolger, Senior Graphic Designer, Today’s Woman magazine.