Easter Eggs

There was an interesting article in the Portland Press Herald this morning on dyeing Easter eggs. The FDA (Food & Drug Administration) can’t say definitively whether or not artificial colors will cause hyperactivity in children who are sensitive to that sort of thing but they can’t deny it either. Since ADHD seems to be an ongoing issue with a number of children, anything that will cut back on that is a good thing. (Too much sugar, perhaps? I have a theory but that is a subject for a whole different posting).

The reporter who wrote the article tested a number of different vegetable, juice and other products that will naturally dye eggs. What I really appreciated about the article is that she didn’t just list the products that worked well (onion skins, red cabbage, certain teas, etc.) but also those that didn’t work well and why (cranberry juice, grape juice, etc.).

I remember the fun of dyeing eggs when I was growing up. We used food coloring and it did tend to seep through the shell and color the actual egg. We still ate them and I don’t remember becoming hyper from it. But my family didn’t have that problem at all. Yes, we were active kids and tended to be loud and boisterous but we weren’t hyperactive. Then again, we didn’t eat a lot of artificial ingredients or stuff with sugar in it (sugar cereals were forbidden). Maybe that had something to do with it.

I don’t dye eggs these days because I haven’t been blessed with children. But my sister does so I am going to send this article to her. Her kids aren’t hyper so that isn’t why I would send it. Rather I know her and her sister-in-law are into alternative ways of doing things and might enjoy using natural dyes rather than food colorings this year.

If you want to read the article, here is a link:

http://www.pressherald.com/life/foodanddining/easter-eggs-to-for_2011-04-13.html

Happy dyeing!!