Easter baskets

[marija_jane]

For those who celebrate Easter, how do you deal with the easter basket thing? DS is 2.5 and "met" the Easter Bunny at the mall and wanted to read books about the Easter Bunny at bookstore today, which of COURSE was all about the Easter Bunny bringing basket of chocolate eggs to all the children. Great moment when he asked at end of story, "Will he bring a basket to ME?!" Very cute, but then I realized I need to figure out what I'm going to do. Obviously the Cadbury Eggs and Peeps I grew up on are out of the question. I'm so "strange" that I think beyond a little raw chocolate I don't think DS has ever even HAD a candy. So I am thinking is there a raw chocolate easter supplier? I am feeling such a clash with my mainstream/unhealthy roots and new (striving for) TF lifestyle.

[AJP]

I get organic candy for Easter baskets, there are some brands of organic chocolate bunnies and eggs, jelly beans, etc. It's still junk food, but at least it doesn't have artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or hydrogenated oils.

[Metasequoia]

We put dyed eggs in ours, pistachios, dried figs, dark chocolate dipped apricots (my Mom usually makes these when the kids aren't around), and I'll get some boxes of herbal teas & put some tea bags in their baskets. That's about it for edible treats, the rest is little gifts like blown eggs, candle eggs, Ostheimer figures, etc.

[chezlyryan]

It doesn't have to be all food. We put in skipping ropes, bubbles, and beach toys in the baskets. I have a weakness for Cadbury eggs so no chocolate suggestions here.

[stilllearning85]

i am going to make my own marshmallows out of honey via a recipe found here:
http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com/.../pancakes.html and then cut them into easter shapes using cookie cutters and cover them in dark chocolate. that will be the big treat around here. anyone know of a good gelatin besides knox? i hear knox is not so good...

[stilllearning85]

ps... where do you get good chocolate? live in a small town, so may need to order online?

[treehugginhippie]

Originally Posted by stilllearning85

ps... where do you get good chocolate? live in a small town, so may need to order online?

Theo Chocolate. I really really really love this company! They sell it at Whole Foods but you can order online too. Organic, made in USA, fair trade and soy free! Very TF friendly!

https://www.theochocolate.com/store/...onal-offerings

[serenbat]

give a "chocolate" bunny- the kind stuffed and furry-

see you got a chocolate bunny!

You could also make one out of a washcloth-"boo-boo" bunny (kind to put an ice-cube in)

[celestialdreamer]

We typically give some sort of small gifts in the baskets and only a tiny bit of sweets anyway. Last year it was swimsuits, sunhats, etc in the baskets. This year we are on the GAPS/SCD diet so even organic candy is totally not happening. This year the Easter bunny is giving them backpacks instead of baskets (to use when we go camping this summer) along with stainless steel water bottles and some books in them. What a thoughtful bunny he is

I planned on getting some fruit leathers and trail mix for them. I think I'll probably make some honey caramels or marshmellows too.

[sarah_bella1050]

We buy some stuff from naturalcandystore.com and the local co-op. Just a few sweet treats and some handmade toys. This holiday is a great time to implement simplicity as there is not TO much hype. We are giving our girls a fair trade candy bar, Panda licorice, natural dried mangos, all natural jelly beans and a hand knit dress-up crown. We are also going out to breakfast after our sunrise service, so it should be a really fun day.

[gardenmommy]

I got each child a few pieces of good quality chocolate from our natural foods store, as well as a few pieces each of other "good" candy (is there such a thing, lol!), such as hfcs-free suckers. I think that is enough, as we try to limit the sweets here. They are also getting some music CDs, books, and DVDs. For us, it isn't the main reason of Easter, just a fun thing to enjoy. I think you can totally skip the candy, and put stuff like bubbles, sidewalk chalk, crayons, etc. in a basket, too.

[Tummy]

Originally Posted by chezlyryan

It doesn't have to be all food. We put in skipping ropes, bubbles, and beach toys in the baskets. I have a weakness for Cadbury eggs so no chocolate suggestions here.

Yeppers! This is us also. For many of the 'holidays'. Like for V-day, I made the kids each a Vbag. Inside they had a large cookie that was in a re-usable tin, v-day pencils, hair clips for the girls, my boy got a ship in a bottle (real deal), stickers, ONE little box each of the sugar filled candy hearts (I could not resist ), girls also had pink colored bangle bracelets, etc... It was a lot of fun for them. Many toys, but very little as far as sugary fun.

[funkymamajoy]

Honestly, I just let it go.

It's just one day. I don't keep much of the leftover candy and we don't have allergies to worry.

[StrongBeliever]

This year, as well as last year(years that I have a child old enough to really question) we are making it an event... More about the celebration of Spring than getting a basket of junk food. I'm really making it a goal to do this with most holidays... Have a big shindig with a tons of homemade goodies, a very small bit of purchased candy, and a lot of fun activities with other kids. I tend to revert to a whole-foods and all-natural foods stance on these holidays. The homemade baked goods I am doing are not going to have soaked grains. There will probably be a lot of chocolate. And, heaven help me, there will probably be white flour because I can't afford organic spelt for a crowd. But I rest easy knowing my family doesn't eat like this every day. Most holidays seem to me like a celebration of abundance anyway... Our ancestors would have busted out whatever goodies they had, right? It makes it special for my kids, I get to show a lot of other people that it can be done without tons of red #40 jelly beans(my junk is SO healthy compared to many of my friends), and I feel we make up for it in the simplicity of our diet the rest of the time. I just feel like a loon spending two hours in the candy aisle trying to find some affordable candy that also doesn't have a ton of garbage in it, reading ALL the labels. Just feel like something has to be shaped like a bunny, ya know? All my childhood conditioning.

[Magelet]

Originally Posted by stilllearning85

i am going to make my own marshmallows out of honey via a recipe found here:
http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com/.../pancakes.html and then cut them into easter shapes using cookie cutters and cover them in dark chocolate. that will be the big treat around here. anyone know of a good gelatin besides knox? i hear knox is not so good...

great lakes or bernard jensen I think you can get both on amazon. (be forewarned, they have drastically different gelling powers. I'd say.... half as much great lakes gels the same firmness as bernard jensen. not sure how they compare to knox, just expiriment a little beforehand)

[ohiomommy1122]

we dont do candy at our house so Easter is a special holiday, we usually put a few non food items in the basket and a very minimal amount of candy, usually 1 cadbury egg and a small chocolate bunny

[elleystar]

Originally Posted by stilllearning85

i am going to make my own marshmallows out of honey via a recipe found here:
http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com/.../pancakes.html and then cut them into easter shapes using cookie cutters and cover them in dark chocolate. that will be the big treat around here. anyone know of a good gelatin besides knox? i hear knox is not so good...

I can't seem to find the marshmallows on the site, but I'm really interested in seeing the recipe! Do you have another link?

My DS is almost 2, but has no interest in candy or chocolate of any kind. So I haven't had to worry about it yet. In the future though I think I might make some of the coconut oil-pb-cocoa-raw honey truffles. And maybe these honey marshmallows if they're something I can get to work. I also love the idea of dipping some dried fruits in good soy-free dark chocolate! (Mmmm Theo!)

[stilllearning85]

Here yah go! SO EASY!!! http://grainfreefoodie.blogspot.com/...shmallows.html

[ginnybee]

Originally Posted by elleystar

I can't seem to find the marshmallows on the site, but I'm really interested in seeing the recipe! Do you have another link?

My DS is almost 2, but has no interest in candy or chocolate of any kind. So I haven't had to worry about it yet. In the future though I think I might make some of the coconut oil-pb-cocoa-raw honey truffles. And maybe these honey marshmallows if they're something I can get to work. I also love the idea of dipping some dried fruits in good soy-free dark chocolate! (Mmmm Theo!)

Would you share that truffle recipe, please? Thx!

[elleystar]

Originally Posted by ginnybee

Would you share that truffle recipe, please? Thx!

It's one that floats around here a lot. Basically you take equal parts raw honey, coconut oil, and peanut butter. I usually do 1/2 cup of each. Mix them together well then stir in some cocoa powder. Start with 1/4 cup, taste, add more if you like. Just chill the bowl for a few hours, then roll your truffles. You can roll them in more cocoa powder, or the way I like them best, in unsweetened dried coconut. YUM! Keep them in the fridge once you're done.