Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Primal Easter Baskets


So we're nearing Easter, the end of Lent, and a time of major celebration in the Church. We typically celebrate by attending Mass, the Easter Bunny leaves a basket, and later in the day, the kids hunt eggs. (Tom and his mother do this weird tapping eggs thing... I don't know why.) And the girls wear brightly colored dresses. 


Mass, I've got a handle on.
Dyed eggs? Check.
Pretty dresses... almost. 

But Easter baskets? ACK!  How do I build a Primal-friendly Easter basket?!  


Now some people may say "Oh come on, they're kids, they can have a "normal" Easter!"  And I would partly agree with these people. 

My goal in life is NOT to be the perfect Primalist. One of my goals as a mother is to teach my kids to make better choices when it comes to eating. I think we (Tom and I) started this early on in their lives. And I have no doubt they'll grow up to understand food and lifestyle and how it makes a difference in one's quality of life. (Now that's not to say that they will decide to keep Primal once they are on their own, or driving and can do whatever they want food-wise, but I can rest easy knowing I've done all that I can to give them a good grounding in food.) So I'm okay with them having an occasional cupcake, or ice-cream, or even jelly beans.


Having said that... it still makes me slightly uncomfortable (okay, more than slightly) with the idea that they'll have a huge basket of candies that are not only filled with sugar, corn syrup, and grains, but also all the different dyes. I think putting all of that together makes for a nightmare. 


I've watched the kids carefully after they've eaten a cheat food (which is not often), and I've noticed that Regina tends to have intestinal issues. Veronica has emotional issues. I don't notice anything with the baby. And Amy seems to handle it very well. So my hesitating to give them the traditional Easter treats really has to do with the ill-effects they suffer, and how it seems to take a few days for them to fully recover, which leaves me looking for more healthy/primal options. 

We have the obvious: more toy like items, books, religious items, etc.... But I do want them to have something fun to snack on.
So I thought I could make the easy Primal Brownies (recipe below), make into 1x1 inch squares, and fill some eggs that way. 
Dark chocolate (the good stuff).
Chocolate covered goji berries.

.... what else?  

Of course for Easter I'll be doing some baking (without coconut flour) and making cookies and bread. I may even make a Primal Cheesecake. 

Anybody have any other ideas for basket fillers?

I did find this one blog with a bacon basket. Totally awesome. 


Brownie Recipe:

 1 cup Nut Butter  (I wanted to use cashew butter, but I didn't have enough, so I went with Sunbutter)
1/2 Cup Honey  (you could use less, I think)
1/4 Cup Coconut oil 
1 Egg


Mix all ingredients together.


Pour into an 8x8 dish. 


Bake* at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  


*I sprinkled a few dark chocolate chips on top before baking.

14 comments:

  1. Peanut Butter (or any nut butter-I know you have some allergies) cinnamon bites. Super easy and so delicious! If you double this, you can cut down on the honey/maple syrup. Just taste it. http://thesummerhouse.blogspot.com/2012/03/gluten-free-peanut-butter-cinnamon.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jana! I will definitely add this to our list.

      Delete
  2. I saw a post on Primal Kitchen about some ideas for Easter: http://primalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/03/lindt-chocolate-half-price-vouchers.html. Also you might find a little bit of inspiration is some of the homemade treats Primal Kitchen created for a real food advent calendar: http://primalkitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=advent. Be sure to scroll all the way down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Many thanks, I can't wait to read through them tonight!

      Delete
  3. Primal or not, I hate the fact that the highlight of Easter comes down to what's in the basket!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I know what you mean. Easter really has very little meaning for so many people nowadays. But I can assure you that it's properly revered, and for the right reasons, in my house. Baskets are just a fun thing we do.

      Nice blog you have!

      Delete
    2. FWIW, I didn't mean for that to sound judgmental. We do the Easter baskets, too, and it's something I agonize over every year because I'm primal(ish) and no one else is. At least your whole family is, so that helps.

      Delete
  4. I second the Primal Kitchen! She said that deal was only valid for a day or two, but I got it after that and ordered myself a Lindt bunny. Also, coconut milk ice cream? Lara bars? Nut butter cups are really easy to make as well, and I've actually seen decent dark chocolate almond ones in stores (okay, I bought them once)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Adrianna!

      We'll definitely let them have some coconut ice-cream, but that can't go in the basket. lol

      Once? I'd go back a few times! ;)

      Delete
  5. I gave my kids Larabars (the ones with chocolate chips and/or chocolate) and Yummy Earth brand gummy bears and lollipops for Easter last year. For Christmas they each got a small bar of dark chocolate from Trader Joe's. Also fruit is always a huge hit with my kids. Clementines (why are they calling them "cuties" now?), even apples and bananas (or mini bananas, those don't taste great but they're fun and cute), maybe some unusual fruit like kiwi, etc. My kids also go crazy for herbal tea packets, new shoes or flip flops, stuffed animals, and let's face it - it's not about what's in the eggs, they just want to play with those stupid plastic things. :) Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohh, yeah, I forgot about the decent(ish) candies at our health food store. thanks!

      Yeah, "Cuties" is a stupid name. It belongs with "smoothie" in my opinion.

      Great ideas! LOL, *NO* joke!

      Delete
    2. Cuties is the brand name. They are now grown in California too. Clementines used to all be imported from Spain and Madrid.

      Delete
  6. This site has tons of little treat-y things. As a warning, lots are not technically primal, but most are. I bet you could make a basic batch with dates and maybe almonds or pecans, then divide and add extra things to make more kinds of little truffle balls. And you can make them small enough to go in the irritating little eggs.

    As a side, my mom always had us help make the treats and while we did that, we talked about the symbolic meaning of Easter treats and things. We did the same at Christmas. It stuck with me and I do it with my kids too. Messy, but very sweet family time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2012/04/all-natural-homemade-marshmallow-chicks-honey-sweetened.html

    ReplyDelete