Healthy Chocolate Easter Eggs & Kids Favorite Easter Candy fillers & Alternative Chocolate Treats
Posted: Thursday, February 26, 2009
by Kacycarr
http://www.spotthepimple.com
Chocolate Easter Eggs - Yes I know it`s still only February but tell that to the shopkeeper whose shop shelves are stacked a mile high with Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and other various Easter delights. As if it`s not bad enough as it is for us moms when out shopping with the kids, having to avoid particular supermarket aisles, yes you know the ones - them which consist of sweets, cake, biscuits, ice cream, fizzy pop, cordials, crisps etc. Do these so called food supermarkets sell food at all? Any stress we women suffer is not solely due to the expense of food items, but more like deriving from having to dodge supermarket aisles.
53 mg "dark" chocolate = 100g of catechins
16 g "milk" chocolate = 100g of catechins
Because of its antioxidant properties, dark chocolate helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and helps fight cancer-it even has antimicrobial properties. Dark chocolate contains more antioxidants than strawberries. More often than not kids at Easter nearly always end up with about 3 to 4 Easter eggs if not more. This happens regular if granddad/granny, auntie and uncle or even friends may have contributed.
Why not this Easter suggest that these donors give smaller treats like Easter fruits or mini chocolate eggs. If they donate early enough then you can add these treats to your own special handmade chocolate Easter egg creations. For instance: Easter eggs come in two halves, all you do is separate each one and fill with a variety of smaller chocolate goodies. Plastic eggs filled with little toys are a great alternative to the real thing and the kids will love them. Fill them with money or sugar free jelly beans etc. You can buy soap bubble blowers in the shape of bunnies. Also palm-sized care bears inside plastic eggs, and a bunny keychain that says "Some bunny loves you!" when you squeeze it are fabulous Easter gifts. Consider having a Chocolate fountain it will be a sumptuous centerpiece to have at your Easter party, and there is limitation on how much chocolate the kids can eat because it has to go round. Plastic rings, blowers, bracelets and stickers are ideal fillers.
Healthy, chocolaty treats can include:
Fruit dipped in dark chocolate: If you use berries you double the amount of antioxidants. Berries and chocolate both are high in beneficial antioxidants. An all time favorite of the kiddies is Chocolate covered almonds: Not only do you get the heart health benefits of the chocolate; the children get healthy fats from the nuts too. Remember your diet, the health benefits of chocolate or any other food doesn't account for nothing if the rest of your diet does not consist of other healthy foods.
Figures showed that over 80 million chocolate Easter eggs were scoffed last year at the cost of this chocolate binge totaling around £336 million. Just imagine what could be accomplished if we spent just half of this on chocolate eggs, and the other half on an alternative to the sugary sweets and chocolates that we connect with Easter. People today tend to think more about how their gifts affect people and the world around us, and this is seriously affecting buying habits for others. Is this a good thing or bad? The problem doesn`t lie with the amount of chocolate we eat or the cost, it is the amount of packaging we throw away as a result. Alarmingly, 4,500 tonnes of cardboard boxing and foil wrapping were thrown away last Easter, causing severe impact on the environment. Are you aware that the biggest part of the money spent on Easter eggs goes on packaging? What a waste and especially more so because you can`t eat it.
Why not this Easter "think" and ignore cheap foil wrapped chocolate, and put your money to better use. How?
Buy a virtual egg - You won`t break the bank by buying a hundred eggs, roughly costing around £24.00. This will help and provide a village in Bangladesh with ducks. Needy people of Bangladesh would sell the ducks at market. A family would have fresh eggs to eat and surplus eggs sold to provide an income - Purchase ducks for as little as £24 from Present Aid.
Offset your carbon footprint, and donate a tree. The wild Cherry Tree will make a fabulous gift and a beautiful one too. Expect by spring to see awesome blossoms of pretty pink or white. The trees will be around for years with proper care producing an abundance of red berries, as well as using up all our carbon dioxide! You can purchase a Cherry Tree from Ethical Superstore for about £35.00 upwards.
Eggs we recognize as a symbol of re-birth and fertility. Think practical and give a practical. Seeds for farmers in Zambia will make sure families get a fine crop of fresh vegetables to last them the whole year. Purchase them for £18 from Practical Presents.
Make Easter extra special and decorate your own Easter Eggs, or have the kids help you decorate an Easter Tree. The Easter tree is delicate and not overly full, and has decorated eggs hanging off it. There are different ways you can practice for making the tree. Hang decorative eggs off an artificial or real fern, or house plant. Not to worry if you have none of these, be creative and work with skewers. Wrap them with green floral tape and make your own tree.
Easter Tree Decorations
Using raw eggs poke a hole with a needle on both ends. Carefully hold your egg over a bowl and blow into the pierced end to empty content. Let your eggs dry, normally 24 hours. When dry, feed cotton through the egg, a large darning needle works best, and you tie a knot at the base. Your egg is ready for hanging. You can decorate the shells as you see fitting for an Easter theme.
Decorating eggs -The simplest way, are to purchase Easter Egg Decorating sheets. They come varied in Disney themes. They are circular and easily slide around the egg.
If you want to have fun, have the kids paint the eggs. Any pattern will do. Use water based paint, with a soft brush. Regardless of design consider the egg background being yellow, it`s more ideal for the event. If you prefer to work with glitter pens, or tubes then they do the trick just as well. Easter Eggs look fabulous painted in Spring Colors, bright blues and green. Speckle the eggs. If you like to draw then outline Bugs Bunny, little fluffy chicks or spring flowers, with watered down water based paint. Try tracing your Easter character if you`re not the best with a pencil. Trace around the lines of your chosen picture with pastel markers. Don't coat all of the egg, only sketch over the outline. Roger Rabbit is a good choice. Add glitter to your eggs to make them stand out. If you have decided that Easter is about the kids and chocolate Easter eggs and you feel no need for alternative chocolate with healthy benefits – then at least buy a smaller egg rather than a large one. Azda have an amazing selection of Chocolate Easter eggs for only a £1.00. Favorites are Smarties, Crème Egg, Crunchie, Buttons, Kit Kat and more.
www.jesterminute.com Is An Entertainment Site With Jokes Games And Gags To Suit Any Occasion
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