What You Need

• White eggs
• Cold water
• Vinegar (Roughly 2 Tbsp to every pot of eggs you boil, except for the onion skins)

Natural Dye Ideas

• Pink

  Beets - Cut 1 beet into chunks and cook with the eggs. The eggs will turn a pale Victorian pink.

• Pale Blue

  Crushed Blueberries - Put about ¹/₄ cup frozen blueberries in a tall glass of water with two cooked eggs. Stir the blueberries, squish them against the glass and the eggs. The eggs will turn a pale blue with some very interesting specks and streaks where the fruit touched the shell.

• Vivid Blue

  Purple Cabbage Leaves – Boil 2 eggs with roughly half of a head of purple cabbage. Contrary to the striking purple color of the dye, the eggs will turn a brilliant bright blue.

• Bronze-Orange

  Yellow Onion Skins – Boil 2 eggs with the skins of roughly 3 yellow onions. The eggs will turn a rich bronze-orange color. The onion skins will leave a design on the eggs.

• Red

  Lots of Red Onion Skins.

• Violet Blue

  Fewer Red Onion Skins.

Dyeing the Eggs While They Cook

1. Use a separate pan for each color.
2. Add the eggs, natural substance, roughly 2 Tbsp vinegar and cold water to a pan. You just want to cover the eggs with water. (You want the color to be as concentrated as possible so be careful not to use too much water or else the color will be diluted.)
3. Bring the eggs to a boil and let the mixture boil for 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat, cover it with a lid, and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.
4. Transfer the eggs, liquid, and some of the natural substance to a bowl and let them cool completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to let the eggs dye for several hours or overnight. (Include some of the fruit/vegetable substance to add patterns and specks to the eggs. If you want a more solid color, let the eggs soak over night in only the colored liquid.)

Dyeing the Eggs After They Are Cooked

1. Place the white eggs in the bottom of a deep pan. Cover with roughly 2 Tbsp vinegar and cold water. Bring to a boil and let boil for one minute. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it with a lid, and let simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Using a separate bowl for each color, mix the natural dyes with the eggs. You want the eggs to be completely covered by the dye but you want the color to be as concentrated as possible.
3. Once the eggs are dyed, remove them from the colored liquid, rinse them with cold water and let them air dry for 5 minutes. Pat them dry with a paper towel. For a shiny finish, rub them with vegetable oil. Be careful with all of the dyes as they may stain.

Once you’re beyond school age, snacks often get a bad rap. They’re considered appetite spoilers and diet busters, or just plain unhealthy. Fortunately, as long as snacks are well planned, that not-so-great connotation couldn’t be further from the truth. A well-chosen snack can help meet nutrient needs, prevent overeating, and even help encourage healthy eating habits.

When the goal is to eat healthy or lose weight, one of the biggest battles can be against hunger. Long periods of time between meals, skipped meals, and poor food choices can all lead to frequent hunger pangs. While hunger is a healthy signal the body uses to notify us it’s time to refuel, when you’re too hungry it may be easier to make poor food choices (both of the food itself and of portion size).

A recent study at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab showed that hungry grocery shoppers bought more high-calorie foods than non-hungry shoppers. In addition, eating when especially hungry may lead to portion distortion—you may be more inclined to eat out of a container versus dishing out an appropriate serving. Research shows we tend to eat more when food is in larger containers.

Best Times for Snacking

Even if we set out with the best intentions, life can get in the way. Say you had lunch around noon, it’s now pushing 6 o’clock, and you’re rushing to get dinner on the table. If your stomach is growling, are you more likely to wash, peel, and slice some carrot sticks or dive into a bag of potato chips?

To help prevent ravenous binging on an assortment of less-than-healthy foods, try to go no longer than three to four hours between eating during waking hours. For example, if breakfast is around 7:30 a.m., a 10:30 snack followed by lunch around 1 o’clock can help start the day off right. A snack around 4:00 can help prevent that late-afternoon energy crash as well as pre-dinner gorging. Eating moderate meals and small snacks throughout the day helps many people maintain a healthy weight. However there are some who find intermittent fasting (or a series of regular meals followed by periods of skipped meals) more beneficial. The idea is to do what works for you.

Snacking: It’s Not Just When to Eat, But What

A healthy snack is one that helps us feel satisfied until the next meal. Nutritious snacks shouldn’t tempt us to take a nap, nor should they leave us feeling hungry again soon after eating. It’s all about the right types of foods and in the proper portion sizes.

The body tends to quickly digest snacks made up of simple carbohydrates, meaning you may wind up hungry within an hour or so after eating. Simple carbs include sugary foods and drinks such as candy, soda, pastries, cakes, and cookies, as well as fruit eaten by itself. On the other hand, snacks with fiber, protein, and healthy fats take longer for the body to digest and can be more satisfying and filling for longer periods of time.

Portion Size for Healthy Snacks

When it comes to portion size, keep in mind snacks aren’t extra meals, they’re more like mini meals. A snack should be roughly one-quarter to one-third the size of a meal, depending on an individual’s typical meal size. Shoot for roughly 200 calories (though it’s perfectly okay for some snacks to run a little under or over). Ideally, caloric intake of snacks will average out over time.

Snacks can also help people meet nutrient needs. With just three meals a day, it can be challenging to get all of the micronutrient and food group recommendations every day. For example, depending on an individual’s specific needs (based on age, gender, and amount of daily activity) he or she would need to eat roughly one cup of veggies, almost a cup of fruit, and a full cup of milk or yogurt plus the recommended grains, protein, and healthy fats at every meal, every day. Well-created snacks can help fill in nutrient gaps that may occur when only eating just three main meals a day—especially considering fresh fruit and cheese are the two most commonly chosen snack foods.

Now that we’ve got the importance of regular snacking under our belts, it’s time to move on to creative, satisfying, tasty, healthy snacks. When prepping or purchasing snacks, remember to include either a good source of fiber or protein (or better yet, both) to feel fuller for longer. In addition, healthy carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables can help keep energy stores up. By combining both types of foods, you can enjoy a snack that will both energize and satisfy.

Healthy Fiber Sources

• Popcorn
• Whole grain crackers
• Whole grain bread
• Whole grain cereal
• Fresh fruits
• Dried fruits
• Fresh vegetables
• Hummus

Healthy Protein Sources

• Nuts
• Nut butters
• Cheese
• Yogurt, especially Greek
• Milk
• Hummus
• Cottage cheese
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Edamame

Healthy Carbohydrate Sources

• Popcorn
• Whole grain crackers
• Whole grain bread
• Whole grain cereal
• Fresh fruits
• Dried fruits

We consulted with natural health experts for some easy ways that parents can support their kids’ immune systems and hopefully avoid pesky colds and other illnesses. Here’s the lowdown.

Tips to Help Kids' Immune Systems

• Avoid Getting Cold

  Lauren Feder, MD, author of Natural Baby and Childcare (Hatherleigh, 2006), advises to avoid swimming during the change of seasons and to add an extra layer of light clothing to ensure children stay warm during abrupt weather changes. She also says a hot water bottle in bed at night is a great way to warm up quickly.

• Offer High-Vitamin Foods

  Foods rich in vitamin C, such as grapefruit, lemons, limes, bell peppers, broccoli and goji berries, are effective in helping to boost immunity, says licensed acupuncturist and nationally certified herbalist Lexi Hagenson. “So in terms of meals and snacks, I would encourage parents to offer their children foods like veggie pizza, trail mix and yogurt parfaits.”

• Ensure Adequate Sleep

  Especially n times of excitement or stress, experts agree that not just adequate, but even some extra, sleep can go a long way in boosting immunity, and mood. Feder cautions to ensure adequate sleep during busy seasons or when we are susceptible to illness such as the flu.

• Minimize Sugar Intake

  Sugar can depress the immune system, says Hagenson. “Avoid giving children packaged sugary foods and drinks as much as possible,” she says. Offer vitamin-rich fruits as treats instead.

• Eat Moisturizing Foods

  Our bodies can have a difficult time adapting to weather changes, such as dryness, that accompany changing weather, making us more susceptible to illness, according to Hagenson. She suggests serving kids nuts, seeds, pears, honey and organic yogurt, which she says are all great at moistening the body internally to protect it against dry environments.

• Probiotics for Gut Health

  Probiotics are also an excellent way to boost the immune system by increasing healthy gut bacteria, which can then properly fight off bad bacteria and germs. “Kefir smoothies are a nice way to give your child probiotics,” Hagenson suggests. “Just blend plain kefir with a mix of fresh or frozen fruit and a touch of honey or maple syrup as necessary.”

• Keep the Ears Clean

  The ears may also be an entry point for illness-causing bacteria, so keeping them clean may prevent illness especially in preschool-age kids, according to Dr. Feder. “At bath time simply put a few drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear. The solution will bubble and there may be a little stinging. Within a couple minutes, the liquid will drain out.”

• Bathe with Essential Oils

  When added to a bath, a couple of drops of eucalyptus or cinnamon essential oil really help to open the sinuses, Hagenson says. Lavender or chamomile can be calming. Try and keep the bathroom as steamy as possible when using the oils.

For most parents, between work, school, sports and other activities the week seems go by so fast it can be a blur. Follow this list to get you and your family ready for the week, bite by bite.

Ways to Keep Kids Eating Happily

1. Get Kids Involved in Cooking

   Tired of being a short-order cook? Then stop! You have one job and that’s to ensure that quality ingredients are in the house. Grab toppings like pesto, tomato sauce, organic chicken sausage, organic tofu crumbles, organic dairy-free cheese, etc., and put them all out with pizza dough and everyone gets to make it their way. Have one vegan child and the other a meat or cheese lover? No, you don’t make three different pizzas; they make their own. The best news? Not just the time and energy you save, but the fact that they are more likely to “like” it (and eat it) when they make it. Win, WIN!

2. Eat Simple, Natural Foods

   Don’t Learn a New Language. Today’s food product packages can require learning a whole new language, with new ingredients and marketing phrases popping up by the hundreds. Does that mean you have to learn a whole new language to know what “food” your family should eat? NO! The stuff the body recognizes easily—food—is still called by the same name it always has had, or at least it should be. So your only job is to stock the cupboards, fridge and freezer with food—not go back to school to become a food scientist capable of deciphering a new “food” language.

3. Repurpose Leftovers.

   When it comes to school lunches, pack quality leftovers that they WILL want to eat again. Remember the ravioli from last night? Well, if you send it as is the next day, it might get frowned upon (read: traded or ignored); after all, who wants the same thing twice? BUT, if you remake it into something new—pasta salad with chicken sausage cubes and a vinaigrette dressing—they’re bound to think you stayed up all night making a new meal (no need to let them know how much you enjoyed your hot bath or catching up with your friends on Facebook).

4. Freeze Perishable Produce.

   We often forget about the freezer, but when summer’s fresh bounty is gone, as is our spare time, the best place to ensure you have quality food options is in the freezer, where frozen organic fruits, vegetables, whole-grain pizza crusts, nuts, seeds and spices can always be readily available.