The Easter Bunny brings my kids dye-free candy!!!

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on it's way and the Easter Bunny is bringing my kids dye-free candy again - I'm sure of it!!!  In case you are wondering how the Easter Bunny makes dye-free candy,  you can find the same types of special candy and chocolates at the Natural Candy Store www.naturalcandystore.com, The Whole Foods Market, Trader Joes, or The Red Dye Free Store (on this blog).  




 Our family makes Easter Eggs colored with Natural Dyes.  Better Homes and Gardens magazine had an article in the April 2012 issue about dyeing Easter eggs - "just simmer beets or apple peals.....soak the eggs from a few minutes to overnight to get an array of hues."  Look up BHG.com/eggdye to find out how to make more colors.  They have a printable guide to natural egg dyes from blue to pink!  

   You can also buy some food dyes
like this one.  We bought India Tree Natural Decorating colors a few years ago, but I need to buy more to keep on hand.  We bought this dye from The Whole Foods Market.  We used it to color our Easter Eggs and they came out very pastel colored - not the bright colored dye that you buy in the little kits that turn even the egg on the inside colors!  We like to avoid consuming artificial colors and we also enjoy the natural colors.  


I hope you all have a Happy Easter!  

The Red Dye Free Store has Easter Stuffers without Red Dye 40!

    I just updated the Red Dye Free Store so that it would be easier to find Easter Basket stuffers without all of the harmful artificial dyes.  If you click on the Red Dye Free Store link  http://astore.amazon.com/re05f-20, it will take you directly to the store.  I included items like candy, stuffed toys, Webkinz Easter stuffed animals, fun and inexpensive toys, and many other fun items to explore! 

 Photo of Webkinz for sale in Red Dye Free Store! 

    Your child can have everything and more without the harmful artificial dyes that are being consumed so abundantly today.  Do the ingredients in your Easter candy look something like this?  “Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil and/or Palm Oil), Whey, Cocoa, Lactose, Skim Milk, Soy Lecithin, Vanillin, Artificial Colors (Blue #1, Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6 & Red #3). May contain Peanuts/Nuts.”   Look at all of the artificial colors in just one Palmer Bunny!  Artificial colors such as these are derived from petroleum- a coal tar.  Some children are very sensitive to these dyes.  Some children may experience hives, migraines, stomach aches, and hyper-activity (to name a few).  Some children are very sensitive to red dye 40 and it effects their behavior drastically and they become defiant and even belligerent.  It is important that parents are aware because staying away from these dyes can change their relationship with their child who is sensitive to the dyes and they can enjoy who they really are.
    I wish everyone a very Happy Easter and may it be very Happy!  :)