Easter is just a few days away! So, I thought a nod to coloring Easter eggs would be the perfect "E" post for the April 2012 A to Z Blog Challenge.
It's probably no surprise that I'm not a fan of artificial dyes and coloring. So, I thought it'd be fun to share a list of whole foods you can use to dye Easter eggs naturally.
Pink or Red: fresh chopped beets, raspberries, red rooibos tea leaves, cranberry juice or cherries
Orange: shredded carrots
Yellow: turmeric powder, curry powder, ground cumin, dandelion blossoms
Green: kale and spinach
Blue: grapes, blueberries, violet blossoms
Lavender/Purple-Brown: grape juice, red onion skins, red cabbage leaves
Tan: black pekoe tea bags or black brewed coffee
Simply soak raw white-shelled eggs in a mixture of mashed fruits, organic flower petals, edible blossoms or vegetables in a pot of boiling water. After 10 minutes of cooking you have a beautifully hard-boiled, colored egg. The more organic matter you toss in the pot, the more vibrant the egg colors!
I created the egg pictured on this post by wrapping the egg in red onion skins and a thin cloth tied with a twistie tie. Then, added dandelion blooms to the boiling water. (See the yellow highlight on the right side!)
After the 10 minutes, add a splash red wine vinegar to the pot of eggs to seal the color. Let the eggs soak for 5 minutes. The acidity of the vinegar makes the colors more vibrant and long-lasting. The longer you soak the eggs, the darker and more vibrant the color. Rinse the organic matter off the eggs, and store in the refrigerator until it's time to eat them!
What are you favorite ways to dye Easter eggs naturally? Please share in the comments below!
Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!
Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living
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Pink or Red: fresh chopped beets, raspberries, red rooibos tea leaves, cranberry juice or cherries
Orange: shredded carrots
Yellow: turmeric powder, curry powder, ground cumin, dandelion blossoms
Green: kale and spinach
Blue: grapes, blueberries, violet blossoms
Lavender/Purple-Brown: grape juice, red onion skins, red cabbage leaves
Tan: black pekoe tea bags or black brewed coffee
Simply soak raw white-shelled eggs in a mixture of mashed fruits, organic flower petals, edible blossoms or vegetables in a pot of boiling water. After 10 minutes of cooking you have a beautifully hard-boiled, colored egg. The more organic matter you toss in the pot, the more vibrant the egg colors!
I created the egg pictured on this post by wrapping the egg in red onion skins and a thin cloth tied with a twistie tie. Then, added dandelion blooms to the boiling water. (See the yellow highlight on the right side!)
After the 10 minutes, add a splash red wine vinegar to the pot of eggs to seal the color. Let the eggs soak for 5 minutes. The acidity of the vinegar makes the colors more vibrant and long-lasting. The longer you soak the eggs, the darker and more vibrant the color. Rinse the organic matter off the eggs, and store in the refrigerator until it's time to eat them!
What are you favorite ways to dye Easter eggs naturally? Please share in the comments below!
Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!
Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living
###
Wonderful ideas!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! I really had fun exploring with this one. I wish I could spend the day making pretty eggs, but I have lots more writing to do! Have a great day!
DeleteI like to dye mine white. If I had any motivation I would use your suggestions!
DeleteJ.D., you're a goof ball! LOL! :)
DeleteWhat a great idea! I've got two kids and we're going to dye some eggs this weekend. I think we'll do this because a) my kids like to do experiments and b) it might get one of them to try a new vegetable:)
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Have fun and let me know your results! I also did a few with white eggs covered in violet blossoms and dandelion blossoms, wrapped in a cloth, then boiled. The flowers made a neat outline on the eggs!! Have fun! ~Angela
DeleteLove using fruits and veggies to dye Easter eggs, and your idea to boil them right in the pot is really cool! This is a great A - Z Challenge post. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I had tons of fun experimenting in the kitchen! You should have seen the hubby's face when he got home from work and wondered what I had "boiling on the stove for dinner"! HAHA! I said "A blog post!" ~Angela
DeleteThe egg you dyed is beautiful. Natural dyes are wonderful. I used to spin my own wool and dye it with all sorts of things I collected. Every batch turned out a different color.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds wonderful! If I had unlimited time, I'd do everything from scratch. I really would have made a great 1880s gal -- Little House on the Prairie style! :) ~ Angela
DeleteThey're prettier too!
ReplyDeleteAgreed!!
DeleteI've never tried doing Easter eggs this way. I think my kids would have a blast. Every year, we make pickled eggs and red beets for Easter. My kids just love eating the very bright pinkish/purple hard-boiled eggs, while the natural color doesn't scare me (like the eerie colored kids cereals out there do).
ReplyDeleteOhhh! I've never made or had pickled eggs. Now I'm curious and might have to look that up. Thanks for the idea! ~Angela
DeleteThanks for the tips! I've never used anything other than store-bought dye *cringe*
ReplyDeleteThat's ok! Just think -- you learned something new!
DeleteLove the natural dye! The egg salad stuff carrots I posted are definitely not natural. Here's my original post showing how they are made... http://seasidesimplicity.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-party.html
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the link! Off to check it out!
DeleteThis is so neat. I wish I was coloring eggs this year, so I could try this idea. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteSusanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER
I made these this morning and most are still soaking in the dye. The turmeric eggs turned out a nice dark orangish*yellow, the spinach eggs turned out white, the cranberry eggs turned out pinkish lavender, the coffee eggs an interesting tan (just buy brown eggs) and the red cabbage eggs turned out to be very light turquoise. I'm going to do the red cabbage again to try to achieve the nice cobalt blue some others have achieved.
ReplyDeleteYour results sound fabulous! For a darker color with the cabbage, try using a lot more of the cabbage, and less water if possible. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteGreat GREEN idea! And EGGcellent for the A to Z Challenge!
ReplyDeleteHighlighting your Easter Egg post TODAY
on
A Raft of Crafts: Arts & Parts - http://paper.li/LindaAnnNickers/1326205023
AND
Holiday Success & Largesse - http://paper.li/LindaAnnNickers/1317138699
- today. Both are on PaperLi.com.
Hi Linda, Thanks for stopping by! And many thanks for sharing this post on your Li papers! It's so fun to try new natural dyes and see what will turn out!
DeleteGreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteThank you! ~Angela
Delete