Let your creativity blossom this Easter with these beautiful, yet completely natural Easter egg dyes.
Easter is upon us and I find this holiday to be particularly crafty with all of the spring inspiration around us. A fun holiday tradition to celebrate the start of this new season is by making coloured Easter eggs. One thing I didn’t pay much attention to growing up was what exactly made all those pretty colours possible. Although most people typically use artificial food dyes, the word ‘artificial’ just doesn’t sit well with me and I am positive that it’s not something I’d like to ingest. Luckily, there is now a lot of information readily available cautioning the use of artificial dyes in food products and I would especially avoid when it comes to children.
Dying the Outside of the Egg is Okay, Right?
So why not use food colouring for just the OUTSIDE of the egg? Well, if you plan on eating the eggs later, hardboiled eggs are permeable, so whatever we use to dye them with will ultimately be ingested. Even if you don’t eat them, the colouring gets all over your fingers and children’s fingers. Not something you’d like to linger on your children’s skin.
Fortunately, there’s a way to get beautifully coloured, yet completely non-toxic eggs using everyday foods that you probably already have in your pantry. Here I have instructions on how to make natural dyes for your Easter eggs.
Here’s How to Make Natural Easter Egg Dyes
This is general colour chart but you can get creative with colour combinations. If it dyes your skin (aka beets) it’s going to dye an egg.
Colours:
Blue – Red cabbage leaves, frozen blueberries
Yellow – Turmeric
Green – Spinach leaves, spirulina, chlorophyll
Brown (rust) – Coffee, yellow onion leaves
Red – frozen raspberries
Orange – Chili powder
Purple – Shredded red beets
Directions:
- Bring 1-2 cups water to a boil. Add colouring ingredients, reduce heat and simmer for 15-30 minutes. The longer you simmer the deeper the colour will become.
- Remove from heat and strain. Pour into a bowl or mason jar, allow to cool to room temperature, then add 2-3 tbsp. white vinegar.
- Add 2-3 hardboiled eggs, cover and refrigerate overnight until your eggs have reached the desired colour. You can even shine them up with a drop of coconut oil or vegetable oil when complete.
Now you have a beautiful craft for the weekend and a yummy whole food to enjoy after. Happy Easter to all those who celebrate!
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Happy Easter to all those who celebrate!
~Danielle
