With spring fever comes Easter, a rejuvenating holiday symbolizing renewal and hope. However, traditions involving fake grass, plastic eggs, child-labor chocolate and sugar-laden candy seem to contrast with this spirit. Here are some simple ways to tweak your traditions so that they are more fresh, healthy and green while keeping them festive and flavorful:
Food Dye: Even though food dyes are food grade, they still have some scary ingredients. Click here for a natural dye source or if you'd like to have fun concocting your own, click here for a DYI recipe and color guide.
Grass: Instead of filling your Easter baskets with artificially dyed, plastic grass, why not use real grass? Collect it from your yard, buy it at the store or grow your own sprouted wheatberry grass (takes one week to grow so keep this in mind for next year).
Candy: As we all know there is nothing good or healthy about excessive ingestion of sugar-laden candy. Whether your children have dietary restrictions or you just want to care for their health and teeth, take a look at all the selections available at the Natural Candy Store. There are many options that are gluten free, kosher, organic or vegan and do not contain high-fructose corn syrup or artificial colors.
Chocolate: The thought of children in other countries suffering on cocoa farms so that our children can have cheap chocolate contradicts the joy of indulging. Look for "Fair Trade Certified" on the label to ensure that the chocolate you are buying was made with fair labor practices.
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Eggs: Here again, the spirit of a celebration is stinted if something else has suffered as a consequence. Consider buying cage-free eggs. Not only do they come from happy hens that were allowed to spread their wings, their higher nutritional value will help your family to spread theirs, too.
Easter Baskets: Unless you use the same plastic egg every year, opt for a natural-woven Easter basket.
You probably don't want to completely freak out your children by changing all of their favorite things at once. (If my Mom had suddenly eliminated Peeps from my basket she would have had a crisis on her hands!) But new traditions can be created successfully if done slowly and with an educational twist.
