Can You Have A Low-Sugar/Sugar-Free St. Patrick's Day? + FREE Guilt-Free Irish Themed Meal Plan

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I’ve compiled some seriously delicious St. Patrick's Day suggestions that are much healthier and still just as green, Irish and yummy. It’s a fantastic Sugar-Free, Diabetes, & Keto/Low Carb Friendly St. Patrick's Day Meal Plan for your entire day to be festive, while staying healthy, and just as mouth-wateringly tasty-- plus an added bonus there are vegan and keto options to satisfy everyone.

I think most of us would admit to having a secret love affair with Ireland-- and like to dream that there may be a little Irish blood in us!

“If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough.”

Maybe it’s the beautiful land, the spirit of the people, the rainbows - I'm not sure, but what I am sure of is that St. Patrick's Day is almost here, which means it’s time throw on something green to wear, release the inner leprechaun within us all, and make plans for this fun green and rainbow colored celebration-- and of course enjoy a traditional Irish food themed day!

But here’s the thing - for those of us who are trying to stay sugar free, low sugar, keto, are on a diet, or simply just like to stay on our healthy meal plan, eating traditional (and not so traditional!) St. Patrick’s Day food and beverages which definitely aren’t so healthy, low in sugar, or even naturally green (yikes... artificially colored everything!) can be super challenging.

Take, for example, your traditional Irish plate:

with corned beef (full of sugars), glazed sweet carrots (brown sugar), and potatoes (full of starches that spike your glycemic levels), carb-filled beers, and don’t even get me started on those lucky charms for breakfast, and artificial green desserts packed with buckets of sugar!

In other words: it’s a sugary nightmare with no good place to go!

But no need to fret, I’ve got your back; with a bit of thought, some nifty swap outs you’ll have the green light to thoroughly enjoy a sugar-free St. Patrick’s day, not miss out, and feel amazing that you did it without breaking your smart decisions on how you live your health life.   

I’ve compiled some seriously delicious St. Patrick's Day suggestions that are much healthier and still just as green, Irish and yummy. It’s a fantastic Sugar-Free St. Patrick's Day Meal Plan for your entire day to be festive, while staying healthy, and just as mouth-wateringly tasty-- plus an added bonus there are vegan and keto options to satisfy everyone. Let’s take a look:

Breakfast:

Don’t Eat: Rice Cereal Bar or A Bowl Of Lucky Charms

Many north Americans love to have sweet rice cereal bar or a bowl of lucky charms to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the morning to kick off this Irish holiday. Although as many of you already know, these treats are a big no, no. St. Patrick’s Day Krispie Treats maybe a fun, childhood classic, but they are packed (and I mean stuffed!) with sugar, more sugar and then more sugar from all those melted marshmallows.

And when it comes to those Lucky Charms, one serving of their crunchy little temptations contain 11.3 grams of sugar, basically three sugar cubes per cup of cereal. You or your child, definitely shouldn’t be eating this stuff - and this is not even mentioning all those artificial flavoring and colors, yikes!

Try: Mint Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats With Keto Option

Swap out your normal breakfast with a green themed breakfast that is actually guilt free, healthy, totally yum and natural. Mint and chocolate are a classic combination, and applicable to many dishes, the cool brightness of the mint when paired with cozy sweetness of unsweetened or stevia sweetened chocolate just can’t be beat! Get the recipe.

Lunch:

Don’t Eat: Reuben Sandwich, McDonald's Shamrock Shake or those Shamrock Cupcakes from work.

Picking up a Reuben Sandwich at lunch may seem like a cute Irish American lunch but the corned beef and dressing are very likely to be peppered with sugar and that grilled bread is blood sugar level spiking.

And… try not to be tempted by those Shamrock Cupcakes from work, you already know they’re not good and please stay away from that McDonald's Shamrock Shake, a small Shamrock Shake has 460 calories with a grand 63 grams of sugar. WOW!

Try: Green Dream Pizza

Made with naturally green veggies like pesto pizza sauce, light kale and asparagus, this lunch is an easy and totally delicious way to eat your greens, and celebrate green on St. Patrick's Day

Dinner:

Don’t Eat: Corned Beef and Mash or Irish Potato Pie

If you’re one of those people who love to have a plate full of authentic corned beef, I have bad news. Corned beef contains about 285 calories for a four-ounce portion and is packed with a whopping 1,286 milligrams of sodium per serving. More than half of the sodium you're supposed to have all day.

Try: Irish Stew with Savory Herb Dumplings

You can have authentic, traditional Irish dinner, with an Irish stew with some yummy herb dumplings. A super savory combo of cabbage, potatoes, seasonings and broth, it’s Irish goodness.

Another yummy, food traditionally served on St. Patrick's Day is Colcannon, normally a mixture of cabbage and creamy mashed potatoes, for my recipe I swapped out the potatoes with cauliflower to make it a starch free, low glycemic and low carb Colcannon. It’s just as delicious, and creamy, omg you gotta try it.

Dessert:

Don’t Eat: Irish Cream Desserts or Green Fondant Treats

When you eat one of those Irish Cream Desserts you’re adding an extra 175 calories to an already sweet treat, and a ton more sugar. And if you go for one of those artificially green fondant laden desserts, you’re eating a whole lot of sugar, corn syrup and artificial colors… yuck!

Try: Sugar Free Mint Brownies & Mint Chocolate Chip Nice Cream or Blueberry Crisp Crumble

I know mint may not be an authentic Irish flavor, but that green color that's associated with it makes it the perfect flavor for a St. Patrick’s Day plate of brownies. My Mint Brownies are not only sugar free, guilt free and super healthy, but also really thick, fudgey, chocolaty, and overall delicious and once you top it with my green minty nice cream, it’s a real St. Patrick's Day dessert. You wouldn't believe it’s healthy!

And… if mint isn’t your jam, I still got you with a backup recipe for a totally cozy, yum, sweet, mouthwatering Blueberry Crisp Crumble, with no-sugar added and no-guilt. It’ll make you feel like you’re snuggled up in a cozy Irish cottage by the Wild Atlantic Way... yum… yum.

Drinks:

Don’t Eat: Bailys Irish Floats, Shamrock Milkshakes, Green Beer, Pot ‘o Gold Shots, Lucky Charm Shots, Irish Flavored Beers or bottles of Stouts.

Whether it be Bailys Irish Floats, Shamrock Milkshakes, Green Beer, Pot ‘o Gold Shots, Lucky Charm Shots, Irish Flavored Beers or some Irish themed mixer, these drinks no doubt are full of empty calories and buckets worth of sugar, making them a no-go.

When it comes to Stout and Whiskey, they may not have added sugar, but be warned these drinks are loaded with carbs and will spike your blood sugar levels, so try to moderate the spirits.

Try: St. Patrick's Green Bloody, Spiked Basil Lemonade, Sugar Free Baileys Irish Coffee, and Cleaner Beer Brands.

If you can’t stand the idea of not having an Irish themed drink, then try some cleaner options which are sugar free and keto like my St. Patrick's Green Bloody, Spiked Basil Lemonade, Sugar Free Baileys Irish Coffee. If you really want to participate in a beer, and you’re just low sugar, then why not - as long as you moderate and it's just a treat.

So, if you are going to be drinking beer this St. Patrick's Day than I've gathered a quick list of some healthier beers for you. This way you may be drinking beer, which is not so great for you, but at least you'll be having the cleanest option possible. Get The List and Recipes.

Last important quick tip.

Whatever you do NOT skip breakfast today, because it may lead you to over-eat from hunger pangs which is a prime trigger for making the wrong choices and temptation getting the better of you.

Yippee, now you can probably see just how, yummy, healthy and guilt free, a festive St. Patrick's Day full of sugar-free foodie delights can be.

My nifty swap outs will keep feeling festively green, enjoying Irish themed delights, while feeling amazing that you did it without breaking your smart decisions on how you live your healthy life.   

And… because of your Irish luck this fantastic Sugar-Free St. Patrick's Day Meal Plan is free for you to get the recipes and print, so your traditional Irish food planned day will be sugar free/low sugar, healthy, fun, lucky, totally tasty and a breeze to prepare. Get your FREE Sugar-Free St. Patrick's Day Meal Plan + Recipes below, and have a delicious, fantastically lucky and enjoyable St. Patrick’s Day.

So Happy St. Patrick’s Day-- and don’t forget to wear something green so that you become invisible and don’t get pinched by the leprechauns!

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It’s your turn!

What’s your fave St. Patty’s Day Food?

Let me know in the comments or on Instagram @itsisabellem using #SugarWithIsabelle!

That’s it from me, 👋

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