Product Review: Sugar Bowl Bakery Palmiers
Why color Easter eggs with chemicals when you can use the natural color present in other foods?! Get in the kitchen with your little chefs this Easter with these egg decorating tips from our friends at iVillage! Have little hands cut up fruits and vegetables with kid safe knives, to help in the dye making process. AND this is a great way to teach kids their colors and teach them about different fruits and veggies! So hop into the kitchen now and get those eggs ready for the Easter Bunny!
Easter’s right around the corner, which means it’s time to dye those eggs! But instead of picking up a kit at the grocery store, skip the chemicals and use what you have on hand to create homemade, all-natural Easter egg dyes.
Not only will you be able to eat those hard-boiled eggs without worrying about chemicals, there’s something magical about using an ordinary bunch of beets or a handful of cabbage leaves to create gorgeous, vibrant dyes. And while you’re dipping and dyeing, you’ll introduce kids to all sorts of foods they might not know about yet.
Here are some common ingredients that make great Easter egg colors:
Blue: red cabbage, blueberries
Red/Pink: beets, paprika, Red Zinger tea, strawberries, cherries, cranberries
Purple: grape juice, blackberries
Orange: yellow onion skins
Yellow: ground tumeric, carrots, yellow apple peels
Brown: coffee
The beauty of natural dyes is that no two batches are the same, so results will vary – which is all part of the science experiment fun. Here is a basic recipe for making an egg dye, but feel free to tinker!
For fruits and vegetables:
1 cup of chopped fruits or vegetables
2 cups water
¼ cup white vinegar
Place the fruits or vegetables and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve or colander, reserving the liquid. Add the vinegar and stir until combined. Let cool to room temperature and dye your hard-boiled eggs. The longer the eggs sit in the dye, the brighter they will be.
For ground spices:
4 – 5 Tbsp. of ground spices
2 cups of water
¼ cup white vinegar
Place the spices and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve or colander, reserving the liquid. Add the vinegar and stir until combined. Let cool to room temperature and dye your hard-boiled eggs. The longer the eggs sit in the dye, the brighter they will be.
For liquids like tea or juice: Do not add water, just mix ¼ cup white vinegar into 2 cups of liquid. If using tea, make the tea in 2 cups water, then let it cool and add the ¼ cup vinegar.
The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.
Related posts
