Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

These Easter eggs were all dyed with fruits, vegetables, and spices from my kitchen!! It's a fairly easy process, and it's fun and educational for kids.  I was most impressed with the vibrant yellow I got from the turmeric and curry mixture.  I have never gotten store-bought dye to work well when making yellow eggs.  These were SO colorful!

What You'll Need:
2 cans of sliced beets with juice for red/pink

2 Tbsp turmeric and 2 Tbsp curry powder for yellow

4 cups grape juice and 2-3 cups roughly cut purple cabbage for purple

1 head of broccoli and 1-2 cups of spinach leaves for green

White, distilled vinegar (8-12 Tbsp)


What To Do:
For red/pink, pour the 2 cans of beets with the juices into a small saucepan, add 2-3 Tbsp of vinegar, and boil for ~10-15 minutes.  Strain and then dye your eggs.

For yellow, add turmeric and curry powder to 2 cups of water with 2-3 Tbsp of vinegar and boil for ~5 minutes while stirring.  Do NOT strain.  Just put your eggs straight into after it's boiled. 

For purple, add the cabbage and 2-3 Tbsp of vinegar to the grape juice and boil for ~10-15 minutes. Strain and dye your eggs.

For green, add broccoli and spinach with 2-3 Tbsp of vinegar to 2 cups of water.  Boil for ~15 minutes, strain, and then dye your eggs. 

*For darker eggs, let them soak longer.  Another tip is to remove them, let them dry, and then dye them again in the same dye.  Repeat as necessary until you get the desired color.  

I decorated my eggs with ink stippling.  Fine Sharpie or Micron pens work best.

Homemade Steak Street Tacos

Street tacos may not be available where you live, but you can certainly make your own version of them!! They are also a bit healthier when you make them at home. I live in an area where we can't buy them on the street, and I was sad about that....so I figured out a way to make them myself.  :)

Ingredients:

2 small flour tortillas

coconut oil spray

0.5 pound skirt steak (chopped into bite-size pieces)

1/2 bell pepper (chopped - red, yellow, orange, or green)

1 cup chunky salsa 

1 packet fajita sauce

cilantro (chopped)
green onions (chopped)

pico de gallo (I used 1-2 Tbsp per taco)

1/4 cup low-fat shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 Tbsp Mexican creama

grape seed oil

Directions:

Brown the tortillas in a pan on the stove over med-low heat by spraying the pan with a little coconut oil spray and browning each side for ~30 seconds.

Brown the steak (or chicken!) in a pan with a little grape seed oil.  

In a small bowl, mix together the fajita sauce, salsa, and chopped bell pepper. 

Once the steak is browned, add the fajita sauce, bell pepper, and salsa mixture.  ***You will only need about a 1/3 of this salsa mixture, so you will have some leftover for refrigerating and using again later OR dipping your tortilla chips in . Let simmer over med-low heat for ~5 minutes, stirring often.

Divide the mixture between the two tortillas.  Divide the cheese and creama between the two tacos, as well. Garnish with cilantro, green onion, and pico de gallo to taste.  

*If you can't get Mexican creama, you can always just use low-fat sour cream. :)

ENJOY!

Fruit Smoothie

There are SO many ways to make smoothies out there, but you can always use the same kind of base and add in whatever kinds of fruits and veggies you like.  This is just a banana and berry smoothie that I made with what I had in the fridge.  It's great for a snack OR a meal.  You could even freeze them into ice cubes or popsicles for a summertime treat!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (Simple Truth)
1 container Sigi's vanilla yogurt (5.3 oz)
1 large banana
1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup blackberries
1/8 cup pomegranate seeds
1 Tbsp honey
dash of nutmeg or allspice
8 ice cubes

Directions:
Put it all in the blender and blend! ;)~
Enjoy!

Nutrition for 1/2 the pitcher:
Calories 163
Fat 1.5 g
Carbs 27 g
Protein 8.5 g