Celebrating a Healthy Easter
It’s time for egg hunts, baskets, and bunnies. As the trees bud and the flowers bloom, those of us who celebrate begin to plan for Easter. What better thing to find in your Easter basket than a clean bill of health?! This year, let’s make some easy changes so that you and your family can celebrate a healthier Easter holiday.
Dinner Do-Over
As your family and friends gather around the table this Easter season, you could replace some heavier traditional staples with light and fresh alternatives.
Trade the sodium-laden Easter ham for flavorful marinated grilled chicken. A simple marinade of honey, Bragg’s liquid aminos, garlic, salt and pepper, and your choice of citrus juice will have your grill bursting with fresh flavor. If Easter pie tends to be the star of dinner, try swapping in a veggie frittata for a light and gluten-free alternative. Another easy swap is replacing traditional mac-n-cheese for a pasta salad made with protein pasta, fresh veggies and herbs, and a light vinaigrette dressing to bring it all together. Don’t forget the fresh fruit that is always a crowd favorite. Fruit kabobs or mixed fruit salad add a touch of sweetness and color to your Easter table. In addition to fruit, a big green salad is another way to give your Easter dinner a boost of nutrition. Try adding fruit, raw nuts and seeds such as almonds and hemp seeds, topped with feta to a big salad of baby kale, spinach and spring mix.
A Better Basket
Kids can’t wait to find their basket filled to the brim with treats. However, parents are usually less than elated by what all the sugar does to their lil’ bunnies. Candy isn’t the only thing you can fill baskets and plastic eggs with. Money, stickers, fidget toys, temporary tattoos, colored shoelaces, mini-nail polish, rubber stamps, and even earbuds all make great non-candy egg fillers. For Easter baskets, items like books, fun socks, stuffed animals, fidget toys, art supplies, applesauce pouches, organic fruit snacks or fruit leather, reusable water bottles, and gift cards are all great replacements for candy. Can’t resist your sweet tooth? There are options for better candy as well. Lily’s Chocolates, Hershey’s, and Russell Stover all have stevia-sweetened chocolate offerings. A company called Smart Sweets has reimagined gummy candy favorites into low sugar, keto, gluten-free, peanut-free, and vegan options, making it possible to treat your chickadees without the aftermath!
This year, you do not have to sacrifice health, flavor, or fun to celebrate Easter. So gather your family and friends together to celebrate guilt-free. Celebrating a healthier Easter will give you and your family a jump-start to a healthy spring!