The standard Easter basket is pretty much a basket full of cheerfully wrapped poison. It would be difficult to get further away from actual food than a container full of Peeps, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and mini-eggs.
But don’t despair. Eschewing the toxins doesn’t mean that your kiddo must be deprived of all things sweet and yummy on Easter. While the items listed here can’t be classified as necessarily nutritious, at least they aren’t poisonous.
After I did my research on the little basket of horrors that is commonly sold to “celebrate” the holiday, I set out to create baskets of goodies that my daughters would be happy with and that wouldn’t make me cringe too terribly. Despite the fact that my teenage girls are a little more nutritionally savvy than the typical teen, they’re still kids, and they love candy. (And by nutritionally savvy, I mean that mom has grossed them out consistently enough that they are more hesitant than most kids to eat processed food – they know too much! Muahahaha.)
Never underestimate the power of colorful plastic eggs. (I know – BPA – but the food will only be in the eggs for a few hours with no extremes in temperature.) I have discovered I can put nearly any kind of food in a plastic egg and my kids are excited about it.
Here are the goodies that I purchased for my girls:
Because I wanted to make these baskets accessible to most people, the majority of the purchases were made at Target, with just a few supplemental items purchased at Whole Foods. I’m also including links to Amazon for some items in case you live in an area where it’s difficult to find these things. Here is a list of the items I got, where I purchased them, and a link to Amazon if that product is available there.
Annie’s fruit snacks (conveniently shaped like bunnies) – Target
Annie’s Homegrown Organic Vegan Fruit Snacks Variety Pack 24 Pouches
Newman’s Organic Licorice (the strawberry tastes similar to Twizzlers) – Whole Foods
Newman’s Own Organics Licorice Twists, Strawberry, 1.25 Ounce (Pack of 24)
Unreal Candy Coated Chocolates (sort of M&Mish) – Target
UNREAL Candy – Candy Coated Chocolates
Annie’s Snickerdoodle Bunnies (to fill some of those plastic eggs) – Target – these were only $2 per bag
Annie’s Homegrown Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Sugar Bunny Cookies (Gluten-Free), 6.75 Ounce
Annies Bunny Snacks – graham crackers, chocolate grahams, cheddar bunnies and pretzel bunnies – Target
Annie’s Homegrown Variety Snack Pack, 14 Ounce
Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups (These come in milk chocolate and dark chocolate – apparently the milk chocolate is the most similar to the classic Reese’s) Target
Justins Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Cups 1.4oz (Pack of 6)
Justins Peanut Butter Cups, Dark Chocolate, 5 Ounce
Surf Sweets Organic Jelly Beans (these are really expensive but I figure it won’t kill me once a year) Whole Foods
Surf Sweets Organic Jelly Beans — 2.75 oz Each / Pack of 2
Chocolove Orange Peel in Dark Chocolate AND Raspberries in Dark Chocolate – a minibar for each basket – Whole Foods
Chocolove Orange And Dark Chocolate Mini Bar, 1.2-Ounces (Pack of 12)
Chocolove Raspberry Dark Chocolate, 1.2-Ounces (Pack of 12)
Heavenly Organics Honey Patties Chocolate Pomegranite and Chocolate Mint – only 50 cents each at Whole Foods
Heavenly Organics Honey Pattie Chocolate Mint — 40 Pieces
Heavenly Organics Raw Honey Chocolate Pattie, Pomegranate, 1.2 Ounce (Pack of 16)
Newman’s Organic Mints – totally awesome selection of flavors and cool tins
Newman’s Own Organics Mints, Peppermint, 1.76-Ounce Packages (Pack of 6)
Simply Balanced Organic Fruit Strips – Target
Simply Balanced Organic Strawberry Fruit Strips 10ct
Here are the baskets I created. Also included are some non-food goodies like pencils and a little necklace hidden in an egg. My kids are past the stuffed animal stage so no fuzzy bunnies or chick included. I also prefer to get containers that they will reuse in their rooms instead of throw-away baskets. (And I really hope they don’t read this website before Easter!)
What kind of goodies do you like to include in your child’s Easter basket? Please share your ideas in the comments section below!
I have had the Justin’s peanut butter cups-in dark chocolate. They taste exactly like Reese’s only better! Costco sells them in a super large package…..and yes! I bought it! 😉