The Lorax Dinner Makevoer
We are anxiously awaiting the opening of the Universal Motion Picture “The Lorax” this Friday and have decided to give our family dinner a little “Lorax” makeover to celebrate.
The Lorax Family Dinner Makeover
Many people are participating in Lent this week as well, so Friday I have on the menu a simple pasta dish with vegetables and Alfredo sauce, from our Weekly Meal Plan.
In the movie, the town of Thneedville.. “a city they say that was plastic and fake“….. has no trees… “no nature, no flowers and no one seemed to mind“… until one boy journeys to discover what happened to the trees. I used Cavatappi pasta in our dish because it has that “Suess” feel to it. Then I steamed broccoli and asparagus to represent the trees. And with a little Alfredo sauce for the mystical river, the kids and I will gulp down this simple but healthy dinner before heading off to the movie.
For a little fun, I added a drop of food coloring to our water to boil the pasta to represent the plastic town of Thneedville, along with a drop of blue food coloring for the river. My kids are having their friends over Friday for dinner and the movie, so this will just add to the enjoyment of the movie. Not to mention, even with a drop or two of food coloring, it beats burgers and fries on the nutrition scale.
add a drop or two of food coloring to the water
add steamed broccoli and asparagus
food coloring for the Alfredo sauce completely optional
Ingredients
- Cavatappi Pasta- 1 lb
- Food coloring- Wilton or Duff's Electric Pink, Orange and Yellow (found at Michael's or Walmart)
- steam-ready broccoli florets- 8 oz.
- steam-ready asparagus tips- 8 oz.
- Alfredo sauce- 1 jar
Instructions
- Fill pasta pan with water and add 4-5 drops of food coloring (one color at a time) and a teaspoon of salt; mix well
- Bring to boil
- Add one-third of pasta and boil in salted water until tender
- Repeat steps 1-3 for additional two colors
- Steam broccoli and asparagus
- Transfer pasta to serving bowl and top with steamed broccoli and asparagus
- Combine blue food coloring and Alfredo sauce to mix well, then drizzle over the top of pasta to create a river
To create this pasta dish without food coloring:
Ingredients:
- Cavatappi Pasta- 1 lb
- steam-ready broccoli florets- 8 oz.
- steam-ready asparagus tips- 8 oz.
- Alfredo sauce- 1 jar
Directions:
- Boil pasta until tender, drain
- steam broccoli and asparagus
- transfer pasta to serving bowl and top with steamed broccoli and asparagus
- warm Alfredo sauce and drizzle over the top
For more information about this week’s menu, check out our Weekly Meal Plan from The Organized Cook: “Better Than Burgers”.
Looking for more Seuss inspired food and crafts? Click over to our The Lorax party and Linky!
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What kind of food coloring did you use? I tried coloring pasta this way about a year ago and it hardly changed color at all (just a slightly dirty grey tint if I stared long enough at it instead of purple), despite using about 10 drops of coloring. Could you please give a bit more detail, or should I just dismiss your images as photoshopped?
Dear Annie; I assure you there’s no photoshopping going on here. In fact, it’s on my “to-do” list for 2012 to acquire and learn Photoshop. I don’t use grocery store brand food coloring in any of my recipes because you’re right- the results are not optimal. Wilton food coloring and Duff both give really nice coloring and both can be found at Michaels. If you try again, be sure to share a photo with us on Facebook! Thanks for the comment. Toni
geez, that was kinda mean!
Dud u just use one color or 3 and when do u add it in? Also what bout the Alfredo
Hi Krazee4coupons! I boiled water in three separate pots using one color for each- once the water with food coloring comes to a boil, you can cook pasta separately in the three pots. I chose bright pink, orange and yellow thinking these would be the best colors for the Lorax, which was the perfect contrast for the green vegetables and the alfredo sauce mixed with just a few drops of blue food coloring. Here’s a suggestion: make sure to use a professional food coloring like Wilton of Duff; both can be found at Michaels.
yay!!!! we just made this and it was a hit! the cavatapi i bought made enough for probably 3 different meals, since it was just my 4 year old, 2 year old and myself. it was great though! it is amazing what a little fun does to a child’s appetite!!! thank you so much for the idea!
I loved this idea! I wanted to let everyone know that I tried it with McCormicks Neon food coloring and it worked great. I have a beautiful bowl of pink, green, and blue pasta ready for Easter lunch!
Did the blue “river” tint anyone’s teeth before the movie? Very cool idea. It would be great for holidays too :)
I LOVE this idea! thanks for posting it!
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!! Thankyou, planning an evening Lorax themed birthday party and typed into google ‘pasta lorax theme savoury’ and got nothing then i stumbled across this!!!
Thankyou so much for sharing!!
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen and I am definitely trying it. The blue sauce cracks me right up.