Easter Egg Science Project

     I am a terrible parent sometimes. This truth was brought to my attention when my oldest pointed out to me that we never dye Easter eggs. There are reasons for this I admit with much chagrin. First, I'm lazy and it never seems like there is enough time to do this time-honored tradition. Second, I have terrible flashbacks to another Easter just a few short years ago when my daughter's hands were dyed during a grandmother/granddaughter bonding time. Lastly, I hate the smell of vinegar. It makes me nauseous to the point of gagging reflexively when I encounter the smell, especially when it is heated.
     This year I decided to get past all of the above reasons for never doing this with my family before, ignore my gag reflex and dye eggs with my children.

    
     Instead of the traditional food dye method which does nothing to hide the smell of the vinegar concoction necessary for the process I went the Food Network route and went through the kitchen cupboards. Did it take more time? Of course. Was it worth the extra effort? Most certainly. It turned an Easter tradition into a science project. Will the kids remember the year that we dyed Easter eggs using candy, fruit and spices? I have a feeling that next year they will help find the ingredients to make the colors they want to use.

     The plus side of using turmeric to get gold, blueberries to get light bluish-purple, Now and Later's to get light green and purple, and Hawaiian Punch to get bright blue and pink? The smells, varied as they were, left a much better scent in the house than I remember from my childhood. Happy Easter!

Pretty basket of eggs!