This week we are want to talk about energy and foods that can DRAIN energy from us.
Even if you feel you have good levels of energy normally, overindulging in certain foods at special occasions such as Easter, Christmas or birthdays can leave us feeling fatigued and a bit sluggish.
To help you enjoy the Easter celebrations without all the sugary sweets and avoid the stressful blood sugar highs and lows, we've put together an alternative easter egg recipe.
Eggs provide our bodies with protein and healthy fats and are great for stabilising blood sugar.
Stable blood sugar equals stable energy.
They also give us a complete set of essential amino acids which are used as the building blocks of proteins in our body. Our body cannot create all of these amino acids itself so we need to get these from our food.
Post-Easter, if you find you've consumed a few too many chocolate eggs or hot cross buns a good tip to remember is that eggs are high in the sulphur based amino acids which can aid in digestion.
Other than being a lot of fun, we recommend using natural dyes as store-bought food colouring is an artificial additive. All artificial additives can have strange effects on our bodies. Like the toxins in the environment, additives can place unnecessary load on the liver.
The artificial additive most people have heard about is Red #40 food colouring. While most people associate this effect with a 'sugar high', research has shown that this additive can make children extremely hyperactive. We recommend avoiding all artificial additives and checking ingredient labels for them too.
We recommend avoiding all artificial additives and checking ingredient labels for them too.
To colour the eggs in this recipe we used the natural juices from boiling vegetables and spices. As these dyes are derived from natural food sources, the body is able to recognise them as food rather than a foreign protein. When we introduce foreign proteins into our bodies it tags them as a virus, triggering your immune system and an inflammatory response. Just one of the negative effects of artificial food.
Your kids will love getting involved and seeing the colour changes... and it's the perfect activity for a rainy Easter weekend.
Natural Rainbow Easter Egg Recipe
As you're working with natural dyes, chances are you are going to get a variety of different results!
The final colour of your egg depends on how concentrated your dye is and the natural colour of the original egg.
Colours will appear brighter on lighter eggs and a deeper shade on brown eggs. Speckled eggs create a beautiful, spotted design on your final egg.
I used a variation of egg shades here - some were very light (almost white) and others were a dark brown.
The egg I am holding in the image was a darker egg and dyed in red cabbage dye. It came out as a lovely green shade. The blue eggs in the nest were also dyed in red cabbage dye however they were almost white in colour originally and came out a much lighter shade of blue.
Colour key:
2 x cups grated beets - Dark Purple/Pink
2 x cups yellow onion peel - Dark Orange/Brown
2 x tablespoons turmeric - Gold/Yellow
2 x cups shredded red cabbage - Blue/Green
Base Ingredients
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2 cups water
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1 tablespoon vinegar
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Natural dye materials
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Eggs
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Coconut or olive oil (optional to polish)
Instructions
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Hard boil your eggs and allow to cool to room temperature.
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Using warm water and a natural soap, gently rub the eggs with soft towel to remove any oils that prohibit natural dyes from adhering as effectively to the egg shell.
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Place dye matter and water in a pot and bring to the boil with the lid on. Turn heat down low and allow it to simmer for 30 minutes.*
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Allow liquid to cool to room temperature.
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Pour the liquid into small mason jars.
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Add tablespoon of vinegar.
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Carefully lower eggs into the dye, place the lid on and store in the fridge. I left mine overnight but if you want stronger colours you can leave for longer.
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When the eggs have turned the desired colour, scoop them out and gently dry with a paper towel.
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Leave them to dry in the egg carton.
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Optional: To decorate and add a bit of shine, give the eggs a polish with coconut or olive oil.
Notes:
* Eggs will turn out a few shades lighter than the dye. If you want a darker shade you can leave to simmer for up to 60 minutes.
If you liked this post check out our gluten and dairy free champion hot cross bun recipe.
We'd love to see your Naturally Coloured Easter Eggs or any other naturally sweetened Easter treats. Share them with us using #bepurebenwarren or tag us @bepurebenwarren for your chance to be featured.
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