My Festive (and Healthier) St. Patrick’s Day Party Board and Zero Sugar Irish Coffee Recipes on CBS
- Christianne Klein
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, many celebrations revolve around heavy comfort foods and sugary drinks. And while those traditions can be fun, they can also leave you feeling a little sluggish.
So when I joined CBS Sacramento recently, I shared a way to keep the festive spirit of the holiday while adding a nutritional and antioxidant boost.
Instead of heavy party foods, I created a St. Patrick’s Day veggie and fruit board filled with colorful produce and two incredibly simple dips. It’s playful, beautiful, and packed with nutrients.
And the best part? When food looks this beautiful, both kids and adults immediately want to dig in.
Why “Eating the Rainbow” Matters
One of the easiest ways to support overall health is simply to eat the rainbow. Different colors in fruits and vegetables represent different nutrients and antioxidants that help support the body in unique ways.
For example, red foods like tomatoes, strawberries, and red peppers are rich in antioxidants such as lycopene, which supports heart health and helps reduce inflammation. Orange and yellow foods - including carrots, sweet potatoes, oranges, and mango - are high in beta-carotene and vitamin C, nutrients that support immune health, skin, and vision.
Green foods like broccoli, spinach, cucumbers, and kiwi contain chlorophyll, folate, and vitamin K, which play a role in detoxification, bone health, and overall nutrition. Meanwhile, blue and purple foods such as blueberries, grapes, and eggplant are rich in anthocyanins that support brain health and healthy aging.
Even white foods like garlic, onions, and cauliflower provide important compounds that support immune function and heart health. When you build a board filled with colorful produce, you’re not just creating something beautiful - you’re giving your body a wide range of beneficial nutrients at the same time.
Shop our Amazon St. Patrick's Day Store for some of the products we used in this segment.
Golden Hummus with Turmeric & Paprika
This golden hummus is creamy, rich, and packed with antioxidant spices.
Turmeric and paprika give it that beautiful color while adding flavor and health benefits. Add a drizzle of high polyphenol olive oil and you have an antioxidant powerhouse that tastes great and packs
Ingredients
1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
⅓ cup smooth tahini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (plus more to taste)
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
5 tablespoons water (or more as needed for blending)
Optional garnish: turmeric, paprika, red pepper flakes, or fresh parsley
Instructions
Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, turmeric, and paprika to a blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth, adding water gradually until the hummus reaches your desired creamy consistency.
Taste and adjust lemon juice or salt if needed.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with turmeric, paprika, red pepper flakes, or parsley.
Finish with a generous drizzle of a high-polyphenol extra virgin olive oil. For the segment, I used Oliva Dorado, which tests at about 407 mg/kg of polyphenols, giving the hummus beautiful richness while adding an extra antioxidant boost.
Dill Greek Yogurt Dip
This dip is fresh, light, and high in protein thanks to Greek yogurt. It pairs perfectly with cucumbers, snap peas, broccoli, carrots, and pita chips. I used dill because I have so much dill in my garden right now, but feel free to play around with different herbs to create your own unique recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Optional: pinch of garlic powder or dried oregano
Instructions
In a bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, dill, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Stir until smooth and well combined.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed, then transfer to a serving bowl.
Finish with a drizzle of Laconiko Olio Nuovo, the first certified high-phenolic extra virgin olive oil in North America, which has been tested at 774 polyphenols. It adds a bold, peppery finish (it's absolutely delicious!) and even more antioxidant power.
A Fresh Spin on Irish Coffee (Without the Sugar)
St. Patrick’s Day wouldn’t feel complete without Irish coffee - but traditional versions can be loaded with sugar. So I made a version that keeps the flavor but skips the sugar. We used one of my favorite new brand discoveries: Above Board. Above Board is helping lead the zero-sugar beverage movement, using a plant-based sweetener that makes their liqueurs zero sugar and keto-friendly.
But the most surprising part? You truly cannot tell these delicious liqueurs are sugar-free.
The first time I tried it, I took one sip and immediately called my husband into the room because he had to try my drink.
It’s that good.
Zero-Sugar Iced Irish Coffee (Using Above Board Liqueurs)
6 ounces fresh chilled coffee or cold brew
½ ounce Above Board zero-sugar coffee liqueur
1½ ounces Above Board zero-sugar cream liqueur
1-2 scoops zero-sugar vanilla ice cream
Pour the coffee into a wide-mouth coffee cup (no ice needed).
Add the coffee liqueur and cream liqueur, then stir gently.
Top with a scoop or two of zero-sugar vanilla ice cream, which slowly melts into the drink and creates a creamy, indulgent finish. Top with a little more Cream Liqueur.
This isn't just perfect for St. Patrick's Day. Think of it as a keto-friendly affogato or a perfect dessert drink. It's delicious and a great better-for-you option.
You'll love it so much, you'll never go back to sugary Irish Cream Coffee drinks again.
Making the Board Festive
To lean into the St. Patrick’s Day theme, I used lots of green fruits and vegetables, including:
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Snap peas
Broccoli
Rainbow Carrots (yes, even the purple ones!)
Blueberries
Radishes
Cauliflower
Chives from my garden
You can also cut shapes using cookie cutters to make shamrocks (use the heart cookie cutters), or cut out flowers from different types of veggies and arrange the produce in a rainbow pattern with one of the dips as the “pot of gold.”
It turns a simple snack board into something playful, colorful, and perfect for a celebration.
And honestly, when a veggie board looks this adorable, people don’t even realize how healthy it is.
Watch the full segment on CBS here:
Christianne Klein is an Emmy® and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning TV Host, journalist, travel and lifestyle expert, and founder of FoodFamilyTravel.com.
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