Easter Preparation the GREEN Way

In time for Easter preparation here are a few GREEN tips and tricks.  :-)

Last year I posted Coloring Easter Eggs I and Easter "jello" eggs.  Check those out too.  :-)

Hard Boiled Eggs, the right way :-)  Thank you Jessica for this idea!!  :-)
Serves 12
Nobody likes overcooked, rubbery breakfast or Easter eggs. Here's how to get perfect hard-cooked or soft-cooked eggs every time with no guessing.


Ingredients
1 dozen large eggs

Method
Arrange unshelled large eggs in a pot that is wide enough to allow for a single layer. Cover eggs by 1 inch with cool water. Over medium-high heat, bring water just to a boil.

Remove pot from the heat, cover with a snug lid and set aside for 12 minutes (or 3 to 5 minutes for soft-boiled eggs). Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water, stirring gently to cool them down. Once cooled, pat eggs dry and store in the refrigerator until ready to use, or peel immediately and serve.

For accurate timing, be sure to choose the right pot for the right job. If you're only cooking a few eggs, use a small saucepan; for a dozen eggs, use a large, wide pot so that the eggs are arranged in a single layer.  No kidding, these are the best hard boiled eggs I have ever tasted.



Nutrition:  Per serving (1 egg): 80 calories (50 from fat), 5g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 185mg cholesterol, 60mg sodium, 1g total carbohydrate (0g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 6g protein

Naturally and Safely Coloring Easter Eggs (and can save you money) II
Color your Easter eggs with dyes made at home using fruits, vegetables and spices. Experiment with other colorful ingredients such as red cabbage, blackberries, coffee, tea, ground paprika or grape juice, too, if you like.

Ingredients
2 cups roughly chopped, raw beets (for pink/red)
OR
2 cups blueberries, crushed (for blue/purple)
OR
1 teaspoon ground turmeric (for yellow)
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
Hard-boiled eggs (see recipe above)
Wax crayon (the ones with no color just wax)

Method
Put your choice of coloring ingredient (beets, blueberries or turmeric) into a small pot with 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding any solids, and then stir in vinegar. Set aside to let cool until warm or room temperature.

To color eggs, submerge in dye, turning often for even coating, until desired color is reached. For more colors, dye eggs first in one color, then wipe dry and dye in a second color.

Happy Easter!!

*Information from Whole Foods Markets webpage.  

Coloring Easter Eggs

Well, Easter is almost here, so I started to do some research to see what I could find about coloring eggs......you guessed it.....THE NATURAL Way!   :-)

Guess what...I found some pretty cool ideas.  I have not tried this, so if you try this before I do let me know what you think.

As I have blogged about in the past...artificial coloring is BAD BAD BAD!!!!!!  There are studies that actually show that artificial food coloring is carcinogenic....get that???...it can cause CANCER.  You have probably read about Red Dye, it is the worst, but try to avoid all food coloring if possible (but especially any food or drink with red food coloring in it!!). 

Our "perfect" world would consist of clear and all NATURAL coloring used to color our foods and drinks.

So, here is what I found....when coloring eggs, instead of buying those tiny tablets we are all so familiar with to color our eggs try this instead.....

1.  Robin egg blue color---Buy red cabbage leaves
2.  Tender yellow---Orange peels
3.  Smoky yellow green---Carrot tops
4.  Pale lavender flecked with soft rust---Yellow Delicious apple peelings
5.  Orange---Brown onion peels (not white)
6.  Pinkish color with gray-green buffs---Fresh spinach

How to make...
To dye eggs, place eggs in a pan and cover with water.  Add 1 teaspoon of vinegar and dye material.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

The color will deepen or change if the eggs are left in the dye solution overnight.  But place in refrigerator if wanting the deeper color overnight!

If you leave the eggs sit out on the counter over night, please do not eat.

I also bought India Foods food coloring at Whole Foods (all natural from highly concentrated vegetable colorants).  It come in a package of 3 colors, red, blue and yellow.  I might try this to dye my eggs too.