Getting together with friends and family for spring holidays like Easter is always fun, but for health-conscious people, it can be a huge challenge. The season is filled with sweets chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, as well as honey-glazed hams, deviled eggs, and so much more. If you’re trying to reduce or cut out sugar, this time of year can be really hard, maybe as hard as Halloween or Christmas, even.
Luckily, we’re here to provide you with some healthy alternatives! Here are a few ingredient substitutions you can use to make sure you avoid temptation and stick with what’s best for you.
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Yogurt Egg Pops
Chocolate eggs are the traditional symbol of Easter, but from what you see at the supermarket, you’d think that’s the only way they come. Luckily, frozen yogurt, fruit and granola make an excellent substitute, providing a treat that’s both visually appealing and tasty. The trick here is to find an egg-shaped candy mold (check a baker supply store). Then fill that with whole fat yogurt, some fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc.) and a little sprinkling of granola. Cover with plastic wrap, stick in a popsicle stick, and freeze.
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Strawberry Carrots
Speaking of yogurt, it can also be used as a substitute for chocolate to coat strawberries. Mix in some natural orange food coloring and dip strawberries in it, then freeze them. Leave the stems on and they’ll look like carrots freshly grown for the Easter Bunny!
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Peanut or Almond Butter Eggs
If you’re still craving real chocolate, this recipe for peanut butter eggs is a healthy alternative to what you might find in the store. You can substitute almond butter if anyone in your family has a peanut allergy (or if you just prefer almond butter), and it has far less sugar than what you’ll likely buy at the store.
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Homemade Peeps
What would Easter be without Peeps? That gooey marshmallow treat is a longtime hallmark of the holiday, but they’re filled with sugar and, worse, corn syrup! The cool thing is that they’re fairly easy to make at home, and you can substitute honey or agave syrup for sugar. Here’s a good recipe that’s fairly easy to follow.
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Dried Fruit
Want something sweet that your kids will love but that’s still nice and healthy? Try dried fruit, apples, pears, mango, pineapple, etc. You can buy them fairly inexpensively at most supermarkets, either in bulk or packaged, and they work great as a little treat to put into plastic eggs.
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