4 Dish Ideas to Celebrate Dr. Seuss Day

Whether you go with a green scramble or add in some avocado to your dish, making meals with the rhyming books can be a fun way to mark the occasion. When my children were in elementary school, one of their favorite days was Seuss Day in early March. Everyone dressed up as their favorite characters, with teachers putting up primary-colored bulletin boards and reading the books out loud.

However, the most fun tradition on the early March day was before school, when I'd serve a breakfast worthy of Seuss' most famous culinary delight: green eggs and ham. Whether the eggs were made with food coloring or spinach-hued, there's something about a green breakfast that transport kids and adults into the rhyming Seuss world. Create your own Seuss Day memories with the traditional green eggs and ham options or try some new culinary takes:

Finding Your Green Eggs

Finding ham for a Seuss breakfast plate is the easier part, getting eggs to turn green can be accomplished in several ways.

The simplest way to turn eggs green is to add a few drops of food coloring to your scrambled egg mix. A dash of parsley or scallions adds even more green hue and a flavorful finish.

A snackier version of green eggs and ham can be made with boiled eggs. Use green food coloring or a natural dye like spinach to create the right hue on the outer shell. Serve whole on the plate and help your little ones peel away the green layer.

Ham It Up

You have a variety of options for the ham side in green eggs and ham. You can use simple deli ham (either prepackaged or sliced at the deli) or a sliced full ham that you prepare at home or get from a site like Honeybaked Ham. Packaged diced ham or Canadian bacon slices are another great and easy option. If you are in a pinch and don't have ham on hand, bacon can also be a tasty fill in.

Once you've chosen a ham option, you can use your food coloring to dye it too. Put a few drops on the ham and use your washed hands or a basting brush to spread it around. You can then also heat it up by frying it or cooking it briefly in the microwave. Younger kids who may not be able to help with cooking eggs can enjoy turning ham green!

Green Eggs and Ham on the Go-Go-Go

If you're on a Dr. Seuss fan on the run in the morning with no time to set the table, try merging the two main ingredients into easy handheld options. You can still eat green but also get everyone out the door or to their virtual school or office on time:

Egg Sandwich: Stack an English muffin with a green egg circle and green ham slices

Eggs in a Cup: For easy and freezable morning green eggs and ham, take out of your muffin tins and fill them with a mix of stirred green eggs, spinach, diced ham, parsley, and any other green additions you desire.

Green Breakfast Burrito: Take the breakfast burrito up a Seussian notch. Prepare with a spinach green tortilla and add a fun scrambled green egg and ham mixture. Spinach and black beans optional!

Savory Waffle: Make your waffle batter with green food coloring and add in your diced green ham. Easy to make and freeze the night before, green waffles can be a fun way to start any day!

Avocado Eggs and Ham on Toast: We imagine that Dr. Seuss would love avocados on toast—the ultimate green breakfast. Update the trendy breakfast menu item with a green egg topper and some green diced ham.