Apart from a basket full of colorful Easter eggs, something I prefer. Easter is important in our family and one of our favorite times of the year. However, I often find myself annoyed by overcommercialization. I also feel angry when Easter becomes an excuse to over-indulge in snacks filled with sugar, food dyes, and human-caused ingredients.
I’m so happy to have the kids enjoy some snacks on special occasions. But, I chose to keep some of our favorite traditions to healthy and natural twists.
Let me explain why!
“Naturally dyed Easter eggs…too extreme?
I admit I don’t know much about the Easter tradition of rabbits (they don’t lay eggs) and provide eggs and baskets filled with plastic candy. I think there is a precedent for the junk food piled up for kids during Easter (and other holidays) to relate the celebration to unhealthy food. For me, there are better ways to develop good eating habits throughout my life.
To some, this may sound extreme. Of course, there is nothing wrong with indulging in unhealthy foods occasionally. But I think most parents who care will agree that children are letting these indulge too often these days. From every child’s birthday in the school class to Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter, etc., kids have plenty of opportunities to get a fun message that is fun and celebrate = unhealthy delicious sweets.
(Maybe that’s just my darling?!)
But, let me get off…to Easter eggs!
How to dye Easter eggs without synthetic colors
Eggs are one of our favorite foods, so I certainly have no problems with the eggs themselves. As you might guess, this is the plastic, candy-filled version I came across.
It turns out that the harmless color tablets used to dye Easter eggs contain harmful dyes that can adversely affect some children. Even this year, the FDA bans certain red food dyes, but synthetic colors are still allowed in food. Yes, we don’t eat shells, but egg shells can penetrate. Some kids are so sensitive to the effects of artificial food dyes that I think it is worth exploring more natural dyes.
There are several ways to use natural ingredients to color eggs. Now, there are even dye kits made with natural colors, now with different shades!
Option 1: Store-purchased natural egg dye
To dye Easter eggs naturally in an easy way, use a safe natural food coloring. Mix according to the following ratios, dip the eggs into the dye bath until they are the desired color. Or buy pre-made natural dye tablets here and follow the packaging instructions.
Option 2: Natural Egg Dyes for Fruits and Vegetables
If you don’t have natural food coloring around you (we often don’t) you can also use fruits, vegetables and herbs to do the same thing. We tried this a few years ago and will do it again this year.
Here are the foods that can be added to boiling water when boiling eggs to make a variety of colors. You can also juice or boil the ingredients, cool to room temperature, add vinegar, and use it as a natural Easter egg dye.
- blue: When boiling eggs, add a cup of purple cabbage to the water.
- Purple – Add a cup of blueberries to the water. This can make a very dark purple tone!
- Brown coloring – Onion skin is made in a good golden brown. Spinach leaves produce a pale yellowish brown color.
- green: Add 1 tablespoon of spirulina to boiling water. You can also squeeze the juice, mix the juice with vinegar, and use it as a cool dye after boiling the eggs.
- Red/pink coloring: Pomegranate or beet juice is added to boiling water. You can also place a few tablespoons of vinegar in pomegranate or beet juice and use it as a cool egg.
- Purple coloring: Add grape juice to boiling water, or soak pre-cooked eggs in grape juice/vinegar mixture. This makes for spotted purple eggs.
- Yellow/Orange: Add a few teaspoons of turmeric or saffron to boil the spices in water, cool, and mix with vinegar to cool the dye.
Some notes: These natural changes make the soft egg more beautiful than the neon eggs produced with artificial colors. Just a warning, though, these methods won’t get any glittering shadows!
DIY Natural Egg Dye Tutorial
These beautiful Easter eggs have natural tones. A fun project to do with the kids!
- 1 cup Red onion skin
- 1 cup Yellow onion skin
- 2 cup Purple or reddish
- 2 cup spinach
- 2 cup blueberry
- ¼ cup turmeric
- 2 cup beet (Chop or chop)
- 2 cup Grape juice
- 2 spoon vinegar (Use the color used)
- White eggs (Brown eggs also work)
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For each color, 1-2 cups of plant materials are required for every 2 cups of water. Use 2 cups to have a bright color. Since turmeric is dry powder, you only need 1/4 cup to make a yellow turmeric dye.
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Add 1-2 cups of fruit or vegetables to a pot with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for 20-30 minutes. You can add raw eggs and vinegar to water and fruits/vegetables, but reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes under low heat, otherwise they will be difficult and cooked.
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Allow the liquid to cool to room temperature and filter the fruit/vegetable and compost. Extrude the plants to extract as many colors as possible. If you want to boil the egg with dye liquid, just cool it, just remove the egg from the liquid and you’re done.
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Put the unstained eggs into the natural dye liquid and add 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Let them soak for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
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To produce a stronger dye effect, after a few hours, wipe the egg off with a paper towel or fabric towel/clean old shirt, you don’t mind staining the stain and then put it back in the dye for a few hours.
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After dyeing, remove the eggs from the liquid and pat dry. Rub the shells with a small amount of oil so they can shine when needed.
- You can dye brown eggs, but the color will be slightly different and will be softer than white eggs.
- Make the dye first, then soak the boiled eggs in water to make the color more vibrant than boiling the eggs in water.
- Before dying, you can design on the eggs using white crayons. After dyeing, the pattern will appear!
Easter egg hunting strategy
I’ve never been a big fan of Easter egg hunting and would give them up altogether, but the kids do look forward to them. Unfortunately, they usually produce a large bag of candies that somehow disappear when my kids sleep (maybe the Easter Bunny stole it!)
In the past, I also hid boiled eggs for them to find (the dog found the eggs they missed!). Or, we have a family day outside, involving many other activities. Last year, we used a treasure hunt with clues, which led to better awards (seeds grown in small corners of the garden).
Healthy Sugar-free Easter Basket Ideas
I have no problem with Easter being a happy celebration and little gifts. As I mentioned before (probably too much!), this is the plastic, candy-filled part of the celebration I attended. That being said, I love baskets and store everything in it, so my kids get a basket full of (non-sugar) candy every year.
Here are some ideas we’ve tried over the years!
Plant your own grass
Plant grass at the bottom of the basket with wheat, alfalfa or clover seeds. Use this instead of the plastic Easter grass you find under the sofa in September. Kids love the novelty of growing grass indoors. As a bonus, grass should be great at cleaning indoor air. After Easter, you can even plant it with your kids. If you are reluctant to plant grass, cut the paper into pieces and use it. Recyclable after completion!
Instead of a basket, give your child a flower pot
In the pot, put on a pair of gloves, a packet of heirloom seeds and a small spatula to let your child grow his own container garden. There are even prefabricated tote bags. Herbs are an easy option for kids to use them in the kitchen! This guarantees longer fun than plastic toys and elves sticks.
View thrift stores
We have a budget to make Easter baskets for every kid and it will surely add up! Check out the local thrift store for some fun gifts for Easter baskets. For example, for a year, every kid got a movie, a book, and some shoes, and I spent less than $10 in total.
Adopt pets
If you are brave, consider a small pet. This reinforces Easter’s “new life” focus and will be more exciting than candies and toys. Just humane! The only one If you plan to keep it and take care of it, adopt a pet, as many chicks, ducks and rabbits are abandoned after Easter.
Provide healthy food instead of garbage
If your child is expecting edible snacks, replace some with healthy and fun foods. Consider jerky, fruit, nuts or homemade energy bars. Really brave? Make some homemade “peeping” with my probiotic marshmallow recipe.
Check out this post for some other Easter basket ideas! happy Easter!
What is your favorite way to dye Easter eggs? When it comes to candy, do you stick to the usual snack version or let your kids enjoy an unhealthy version for the day? I would love to hear your tips and tricks below!
