Easter 2023

It is that time of the year again when the chocolate bunnies and jelly beans are out in full force. Mini eggs used to be my weakness. I would open the bag and I couldn’t stop eating them until they were gone. While they are still one of my favourites, I can eat a few here and there and be completely content. In fact, I currently have a part bag in my pantry that has been there for a few weeks already.

I will readily admit that there was a time when I had trouble saying no to sugar. I had secret stashes all over the place – in my purse, in the house and even at work. Over the years, things have changed and I have been able to form a healthier relationship with sugar. It took time and patience with myself – it didn’t happen overnight. I learned to deal with those cravings with new strategies. Sometimes it was exercising, calling a friend or putting a serving of chocolate into a bowl and NOT going back for seconds. Some days were tough. Some days I felt like I succeeded managing my cravings and some days I didn’t. The good days were just as important as the bad days in my learning curve though. The good days showed me I could do it and the bad days, when I felt nauseous afterwards, reminded me why I needed to keep working on the goal of reducing sugar.

During these special occasions and holidays, I often think about instilling healthy habits in our children. In many ways it feels like we hop from Halloween, Christmas to Valentine’s and then Easter, all with a pretty significant focus on sweet treats. While I am all in for a little indulgence here and there, what are we teaching our children when we bombard them with sugar at every occasion? What kind of habits are they forming that they may have to struggle to break as they get older? Will they too struggle with eating too much sugar just like I did?

With all this in mind, I thought I would share some alternative ideas to fill your child’s Easter basket with. While some sweet treats are fine, there are so many other wonderful things to include in a fun basket.

• bouncy balls
• bubbles
• vegetable seeds & gardening tools
• good quality chocolate – no hydrogenated oils – avoid cheap chocolate!
• skipping ropes
• shorts & t-shirt
• swim suit
• sandals
• Fruit to Go – real fruit leather
• fold up soccer net
• mini hockey sticks
• reusable water bottle
• crafty things – stickers, pencils, markers, googly eyes
• books
• side walk chalk
• ball glove and baseball
• ice pop molds – make your own frozen yogurt or smoothie tubes!