Ancient origins aside, Easter is now allabout the chocolate. For almost everyone- especially kids- chocolate bunniesand chocolate eggs are the whole point of the festival. While that’s a lot offun, it’s not too healthy. Easter ranks right up there with Halloween when itcomes to tooth decay and unhappy, candy-filled tummies but it doesn’t have tobe that way. Here are a few healthy Easter ideas to enjoy with your kids:

Egg painting.Not all eggs are made of chocolate. Hard-boiled hen’s eggs can be painted withpatterns, faces, or anything else your kids feel like. They keep well in thefridge so you can hold the painting session a few days in advance and thenenjoy a yummy, protein-rich Easter breakfast.

Boil the eggs for at least five minutes.Really big eggs will take longer and it’s always best to err on the side ofcaution- too hard is better than too runny. A simple non-toxic watercolourpaint can be made by adding a few drops of food coloring to water. I use emptyyoghurt pots or peanut butter jars and make three or four different colors thatcan just be painted on with a regular, clean paintbrush. Do watch out forclothes and tables though. Food coloring can stain.

Salad for the Easter Bunny. Santa gets cookies so it seems only fair to leave out somethingfor the Easter Bunny too. Everyone knows that rabbits like carrots and lettuce.Use them as the base for a simple, healthy salad and the kids can help you eatthe ‘leftovers’ once a share has been set aside for the guest of honor.

If you have trouble selling the idea, tellthem the Easter Bunny brings more eggs to houses where his favourite food is onthe menu!

A healthier egg hunt. The best part of Easter is always the egg hunt, where kids (andgrown ups) seek out the treats that the kindly Easter Bunny has left for them.Usually that means chocolate eggs and I’m not suggesting you do away with thesealtogether. A little treat isn’t the end of the world, but encouraging kids toget more fruit is always a worthy goal.

Along with the usual chocolate eggs, wash,dry, and wrap some healthier alternatives in colored foil from a craft store.Grapes, whole kiwifruit, and tamarinds make excellent ‘eggs’ but whateveroval-shaped fruit you can get from the local supermarket will do. In some ways,the stranger it is, the better. The unknown is always exciting, especially ifit’s part of an Easter egg hunt.