Ready for Easter, Part 2

I went to Trader Joes and got most of my Easter candy there. They had peanut butter cups in milk and dark chocolate (but without the artificial stuff in the name brand) as well as Tummy Yummy Bunnies. I bought a few other kinds of chocolates and I think I'm all set with more than enough sugar to get through the holiday. In case you missed my earlier Easter post, I really like Surf Sweet Jelly beans. I usually get them at my health food store and I think they taste a little better than Trader Joes'.

I also made the trip because we had another birthday party. I picked up a package of mini chocolate cupcakes with butter cream icing to take with me. That's what my daughter ate while the other girls had pink frosted cake and fruit punch.

I bought an egg decorating kit (at another store) where you can melt the little sleeve around the egg. If I get my False Indigo to take off in the garden this year, maybe next year I'll have some interesting natural colors to play with. Decided I'm spending too much time getting my garden going to work on natural egg colors this year.

Happy Spring!

Ready for Easter?

Nothing used to stress me out like another colorful holiday where my kids would have to miss out on treats while their friends get to stock up on the sugar. This year seems easier than ever to stay dye free. In case you are worried about how to get through another holiday, here's a summary of current and past ideas for Easter. Make a trip to the health food store or shop online for Surf Sweets jelly beans. They are natural and taste great. I bought a few bags on my last trip. You can also find great natural candies at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Unfortunately, these stores are not convenient to my home, so I rarely shop there. Check out a Kroger Marketplace. I have the good fortune of a new one close to home. Ours has a bulk food aisle with many surprises. We stopped there this weekend to get some bulk quinoa (my new favorite healthy breakfast). My 11 year old noticed the gummy bears were naturally colored. Lucky for us the ingredients were easily posted on bulk food containers. Then we realized we had many new dye free choices: jelly beans, gummy bears, fruit candy, and Sundrops (natural candy coated chocolate like M&M's) in regular and peanut. All these choices were available in bulk. Yay! Consumer pressure is working. Annies is also a good brand for organic gummy bunnies: cute for Easter and found in lots of stores including Kroger. Other Easter ideas: fill plastic eggs with non candy items. In the past we've used plastic soldiers, police, firemen, butterflies, and bugs. We've used dinosaurs, golf tees, foam golf balls, Sillly Bandz, etc. You could also use pennies. Eggs are just as fun without all the candy. I have used larger eggs to fit plastic toys better (I have a bunch that are about 3 inches long). A bag of little trinkets doesn't cost much more than candy and lasts a whole lot longer. Also, watch out for inexpensive chocolate. They may add red dye to make up for the lack of real cocoa or many brands have artificial flavor, which is still a petrochemical like the food dyes. You may also want to prep the grandparents or other family members. Simple reminders go a long way. Tell them to avoid chocolate bunnies that have the cute colored bows and eyes. Take your own candy to family functions if you need to. I was lucky that my mom stopped sending candy and substituted cash or gift cards to book stores. As my kids have gotten bigger, gift cards for books or itunes have been huge hits. We also tend to skip the regular colored eggs. We have used kits that have stickers or sleeves that shrink over the eggs. That way we still have the project of decorating eggs, without intense petrochemicals seeping through the shells. Feel free to post any other ideas you have, especially if you have colored eggs with natural colors.

Food dyes and Easter

I have not looked into dye free Easter candy much this year as one of my children is on a pretty strict "sugar free" diet. We are going to do more stickers, tatoos and small trinkets for Easter baskets and eggs. The last few years I've filled eggs with things like plastic soldiers, plastic butterflies, etc. If you want jelly beans, Jelly Belly and Surf Sweet brands both have some dye free jelly beans. We'll stick mostly to chocolate. Watch out for the inexpensive foil wrapped chocolates as they sometimes contain red #40 if they don't contain much of the real chocolate. You are pretty safe if you stick to known brands like Hershey, Dove, etc.


I think I'm skipping the coloring of eggs, unless I can find some kind of kit with stickers and decorations rather than dyes. I'm thinking my boys' contact with eggs at school has them both reacting somewhat today. I've been wondering if skin contact is a problem, now I may have my answer. I think my kids react to skin contact with artificial colors as well as eating it. I've been getting the dyes out of lotions, tooth paste, shampoos, etc.

We're also on day 3 of the shrieks and screams after Lindsey came home from preschool telling me she ate a blueberry muffin. The staff clarified that it was put on her plate but quickly replaced by her organic blueberry cereal bar that I provide. Well, if she even nibbled at the fake blueberries or if it rubbed off on her plate onto her food, then it doesn't really matter. She might as well have eaten the whole thing. She's reacting like she did. It's so sad to see my sweet, affectionate child turn into a little maniac for a few days. It should run it's course tonight.

I've also had a few more requests for my list of dye free foods this week. I am still willing to send that out if anyone is interested. When I have tried to post it, the table doesn't copy over and it gets all messed up. So, I just email it to anyone who asks. I want as many people as possible to know about food dyes and be able to avoid them. It still stuns me that this is not common knowledge to most people.

I think many doctors do families a huge dis-service by prescribing medication to children with behavior problems and not ever telling the parents that they may be able to fix the problem just by making some simple dietary changes. The problem is that it is sooooo hard to be consistent in avoiding dyes that many mom's I've talked to are reluctant to even try it. I wish other moms could see for even a few days how much smoother life goes when kids don't have dyes in their systems