Make Your Easter Basket a Little Healthier—and a Lot More Fun

Give your Easter baskets a new twist this year. Don't just focus on food. Include fun and family activities.

Tasty treat swaps

Candy control may sound like a bummer, but it’s a simple way to avoid the sugar roller coaster. After filling up on Easter basket candy, kids go from climbing the walls to crashing (low energy and a bad mood).

You can swap out a few treats with other types of goodies to reduce the number of rides on the sugar roller coaster:

• Choose chocolate—Candies, such as jelly beans or peeps are mostly sugar. Dark chocolate, on the other hand, is a mood booster.
• Pick peanut butter—Treats with peanut butter are protein-packed and help balance out sugar consumption.
• Keep the fun fun-sized—Choose fun-sized candy bars instead of king-size. Remember, good things come in small packages.

Creative healthy foods

Have fun with your treats. Create healthy food options that are also Easter-themed. We’ve made a Pinterest board with our favorite Easter treat options.

• Create cuties—Turn cutie tangerines into carrot bags or cheese sticks into bunnies.
• Don’t forget the fruit snacks­—Low-sugar fruit snacks or chocolate covered fruit are a fun treat for any basket.
• Pick a bunch of bunnies—Bunny-shaped cheddar or graham crackers pack a lot of flavor, but they don’t have high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils.

Spring outside

You don’t have to limit your basket to food treats. Add items such as sidewalk chalk or a jump rope and take your Easter party outside.

Don’t forget to check out our Easter Basket Tips and Tricks board on Pinterest for more fun ideas!