Happy & Healthy Easter!

I love how holidays allow provide opportunities for children and their families to spend quality and creative time together. There are so many fun physical activities you can do at Easter time to offset any extra calories that may have been eaten. Easter egg hunts using hollow eggs filled with trinket toys or even a "clue" to where the next Easter egg might be is a great way to have fun. You can even have an Easter egg race by dividing into 2 teams or even bunny hop races using potato sacks and bunny ears could be lots of fun. Use your creativity to get the family and neighbors out to celebrate this great holiday. I found a great selection on the Little Kids' Games Online. Do a Google search to find even more ideas to get pumped up about being outside this Easter for some family exercise and fun.

Many parents ask me about ideas on putting healthy Easter baskets together. Easter, much like Halloween and Valentine's Day, is one of those holidays that is vulnerable to exposing your children to excessive amounts of candy. It doesn't help that Easter candy portion sizes have increased with the rest of food portions. While it is fine to have some candy in your child's Easter basket, it really would be a better idea to mix it up with fun toys, brain teazers and games. SuperKids Nutrition has an awesome article out on creating healthy easter baskets. I happen to be one of the contributing editors for SuperKids Nutrition, but I truly believe that the SuperKids website resource is one of the best ones out there on pediatric nutrition! All the articles are free for your reading pleasure and are written by dietitians specializing in pediatrics and wellness. Melissa Halas-Liang, dietitian and creator of SuperKids Nutrition, has written a series of children's books with "Super Crew" characters that serve as healthy role models for your children on healthy eating. My daughter absolutely loves her books!
So if you were wondering, yes. At our house, we do allow our children some Easter treats. However, as a Christian family we choose to emphasize the true meaning of Easter with friends and extended family. Enjoy your holiday within moderate limits and Easter will remain a much-anticipated and unintimidating thing for you and your family.