Day 21 (GAPS Intro-Risen with the Lord!)

So I'm really not sure what stage to say the kids are on, because there are some things that may not have been quite at their stage  on Easter, but they both did incredibly well with them. But I can officially say, we have been on GAPS intro for 3 weeks!!
I haven't posted for a few days because this Easter has been the craziest I have ever experienced. I have come to realize that our Easter traditions are pretty extravagant compared to many. We have lots of food, candy, colored eggs, 3 Easter Eggs Hunts, one for the little kids, one for the kids, and one for the adults. This year was a different situation, not only were we on GAPS, but we also had to accommodate others while still accommodating ourselves. Luckily my cousin and her GAPS family, plus my friend Monique who is on GAPS were there to support me in this feast. And as always my mom! But I was most worried about carrying on our traditions that are so warm in my heart. It was a massive amount of work. but I can say that it was better than I ever could have imagined and I can't wait to share with the World how I kept all our Easter Traditions alive. I'm sooooo excited about the things I discovered and created!

Full house this Easter! Had to say the blessing outside!

Before I tell you about our Traditions for Easter, I first want to share with you what Easter means to me and why my traditions mean so much to me. Some people don't get the hype of Easter, but I have to say it all comes down to this day. A promise given to us on Christmas, the promise of Eternal Salvation fulfilled on Easter. I'm Catholic so I practice Lent and I can say that Easter could never be all that it is without Lent. Lent is a time (40 days) of preparation in a sense. A time of anticipation for our rebirth and our rising with the Lord. Though we are given this through Baptism, we are constantly renewing our Baptismal promise. And we are all in need of a little pick me up, or strengthening in our faith every now and again. It's a reminder of who we are as Children of God. Through a Catholic Lent we fast prayerfully and focus on stewardship and reconciliation. We prepare ourselves in a way as to receive all the Graces God has in store for our new life in Christ just as all the Christians did over 2,000 years ago. Uhhh, I love Lent, I love Easter!! I won't go into Ash Wednesday or Holy Thursday........ But they also play pivotal rolls in Lent. So when I think of Easter aside from the Risen Lord and just our fun Easter Traditions I think, De Colores!!!! A traditional Spanish song about the joy and beauty found in colors and the luminous joy in the risen Lord. Just how the beauty of colors illuminates the graces of God, and the beauty and joy in God. Thats how I see Easter, the colors give me a sense of joy in the Risen Lord, celebrating innocent life in our children, celebrating the newness of life in birth and rebirth. It's just a time of celebration, a time to focus on thanksgiving of the Gift of Life!! Uhhh, I just love it.. It's just so beautiful! So to say the least, I worried that because of GAPS the celebration and joy I feel may be diminished. But it was actually enhanced! I discovered God's beauty in nature! His beautiful design goes so far beyond "man." It's in the Blueberry, it's in the Red Beet, it's in the Chokecherries, and Turmeric!! Why have I relied so much on the man made things to bring me such joy when it's all around me!!

So lets focus on the Easter Eggs, a symbol of rebirth and newness of life. My biggest fear with GAPS was going toxin free, yet still having beautiful Easter Eggs. See we have a special family secret with dying Easter Eggs. Though we don't actually keep it a secret, we have told many a people, but it has never caught on for some reason!! Not even the family members that come every year for Easter. But thats okay, I enjoy thinking that ours are the prettiest! I mean seriously, look at them!! I can't even find Easter Eggs that awesome on Pinterest!! ;) And these are all food colored. No not "food coloring." They are colored with food. I searched all over the internet to find natural ways to dye Easter Eggs, but there was really nothing I could find on dying eggs. Just natural dyes that I worried may not dye an egg! So I can say, they do work for eggs. And whether or not what I have to say or whatever guidance I have for dying eggs with food has any significance, I can at least say that I made it work!

This was much easier than I thought it would be. The prep time was way less than I could have expected, but I guess that may be in part to having some things easily on hand since my mom already had beet juice and chokecherry juice. But everything else was pretty easy too. The biggest issue we came across was green. I wasn't sure how to prepare spinach as suggested, there was no information on it. But I guess that juicing would be the way to do it. Cooking it didn't work like the rest of the food dyes. So if you are wanting to try spinach for green, I suggest fresh juice.

What we used:

Blueberries for Blue (cooked and blended) 
1/2 cup blended blueberries
1/2 cup water
3 tbs vinegar (for egg penetration)
Don't be confused, they don't turn blue until after they dry!


Turmeric Powder for Yellow
2tbs boiled in 1 cup of water
3 tbs  vinegar

Blueberries and Turmeric for Green 
1/2 Blueberry mixture w/ vinegar
1/2 Turmeric mixture w/ vinegar
This also turns more and more green as it dries!

Beets for Pink (cooked beet juice)
1/2 cup beet juice
1/2 cup water
3 tbs vinegar
You could always use less water and get a darker egg!

Chokecherries for Purple (cooked chokecherry juice)
1/2 cup chokecherry juice
1/2 cup water
3 tbs vinegar


Coffee for Brown
1 cup strong coffee
3 tbs vinegar

The vinegar is used to help the color penetrate the eggs.

So you may wonder how it is we get the eccentric designs. Our secret ingredient!!! Olive Oil!! Just drop a couple tablespoons of olive oil in with your egg coloring and replenish whenever you feel like it! The best way the get dark coloring is to let your eggs dry on a towel or in a carton for a period of time, then you can put your egg into another color making your egg even more thrilling!! :)

This post has been shared at Thank Goodness It’s Monday at  Nourishing Joy & The Homestead Barn Hop