I love the holidays but they also often bring a lot waste and harmful ingredients snd while I’m a big fan of the 80/20 rule with health and just going the best we can, why wouldn’t I try to keep it as nourishing and low waste as possible, especially when there are such great options out there!
Easter egg hunt
I try very hard for holidays and just in general to avoid single use products and plastic where I can
- Eggs (disclaimer the picture is a free stock photo- not the below dyes!)
- Eco Kids egg dye
- Earth paints. These are a powder you add water to. It’s a little weird, but works great as long as you get the right ratio!
- I bought wooden ones like these a few years ago instead of the plastic ones and LO loved decorating them but was so disappointed to not have them open 😂 so now we just use them in the Easter egg hunt along with the traditional ones
- For opening eggs, we use these compostable ones (we get them at Whole Foods) and keep them year to year to avoid waste. These also look perfect as a plastic free option.
- This egg and grass kit also looks so fun!
- Reusable Easter bags/basket. I love this bag for the hunt. It’s no longer available but a simple Amazon or Google search for canvas Easter bag brings such great options. This one is adorable. We have had ours for years and for Easter baskets, we just use durable reusable storage baskets that we use for other things to keep through the years. We love these and these
- Instead of wrapping things, I display them cute with a bow and instead of tissue paper or confetti, you can use cute fabric
Treats
For treats, we try to only eat things we’d find in our kitchen: no natural flavors, citric acid (here’s why), no unpronounceable or funky ingredients, but that’s not always possible while trying to help my kids not feel like they’re missing out, so I don’t worry about it on special occasions/holidays, but I am very strict about avoiding artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors. There’s also no reason to have them, in my opinion, when there are so many options without them. Here are a few great articles about artificial colors and flavors have no place in our food
- Lake Champlain chocolates
- They have fun choc eggs, carrots, and bunnies, have great ingredients and taste phenomenal.
- The hazelnut is my all time favorite flavor!
- I get mine at Whole Foods!
- Unreal candies
- The quinoa crispy gems are my favorite! The peanut butter cups are also delicious!
- Yum Earth
- While the ingredients aren’t perfect, they have so much of the fun candu kids want that I have no issue buying them for special holidays! I especially love the suckers and jelly beans
- Made Good products
- Hu gems
- Perfect ingredients and taste so good. The mint flavor are my favorite!
- I get mine from Whole Foods or Thrive
- Smash mallow or homemade marshmallows (I use the recipe from Sweet Laurel cookbook, but I would bet this one is good as well!)
- While Smash mallow isn’t the best, it’s a great alternative to Peeps!
- Trader Joe’s candies/treats
- While the ingredients are not ideal/great, I do love that TJs doesn’t allow any artificial colors, artificial flavors, or GMOS in things with their brand
Favorite recipes
- For brunch, we’ll have cinnamon rolls. (I love this recipe and this one (had to add a lot of extra flour to this one). This pull apart grain and dairy free one and this gf and df pjs are good options for those who need it! We’ll also have quiche and sparkling Oj (1/3 OJ, 2/3 sparkling water)
- For dinner, we love to have ham, cheesy potatoes (recipe coming!), honey sautéed carrots, and this asparagus salad. The latter, I roast instead of grill the asparagus and it’s SO GOOD!
- For dessert, we’ll have carrot cake, but not sure yet which one. Here are some of my favorites!
- For meals, I never use single use anything (except parchment paper). Cloth napkins, real dishes, etc. helps reduce so much waste!
As always, feel free to reach out with questions! I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend if you celebrate! For us, it’s an especially meaningful time that reminds me of my late Nana and Pappy who we always spent Easter with in FL and my two angels in Heaven with whom I can be reunited one day because of the sacrifice of my Savior. Whether it’s a spiritual day for you or just a fun family day, I hope it’s wonderful and you feel the love of all those in your life!
– Christianne
The Best Fudge