Children anticipate the arrival of the Easter Bunny with as much glee as they do Santa at Christmas. While Santa usually brings an abundance of toys, the Easter Bunny brings chocolate. Mountains of it.
If the sugar from all that chocolate was removed and placed in a bowl, no parent would allow their kids to eat it all.
A couple of Easter eggs as a treat won’t cause too much of a problem, but many people buy and give and eat as though more is better. In the case of all the sugar in Easter eggs, more is definitely not better.
Traditions are an important aspect of family life. We all remember important (or fun) times from our childhood that were repeated year after year. This Easter, take some small steps toward implementing something new that could become your family’s tradition.
How do you honour and reinforce family traditions, keep the kids happy, and look after their health? Here are some ideas:
- Give the kids one or two eggs (not those the size of a football) and a well-chosen gift.
- Do a treasure hunt with little sparkly stickers and a few tiny chocolate eggs rather than the huge chocolate rampage.
- Prepare an Easter-themed breakfast – poached eggs with ‘rabbit food’ such as spinach, carrot, capsicum and tomatoes.
- Make hand-painted eggs: have a look at Pinterest for some gorgeous ideas.
- Make your own hot cross buns: we have a fabulous recipe on our Facebook page.
- The kids could help with making some Easter eggs. Mix together equal quantities of frozen fruit and coconut milk in a blender, then transfer into small round- or egg-shaped molds and freeze for two hours. Take the eggs from the freezer and use a spoon to dip each egg into a mix of 2 parts melted dark chocolate chips and 1 part cream and freeze in a storage container until you’re ready to serve them.
- Entertain family and friends during the Easter break with real food, not chocolate and hot cross buns – it’s the socialising that’s more important than the specific foods, right?
Start some new traditions this year that will have you and the kids involved in the planning and preparation. You’ll all be happier and healthier for the experience.