Dying Easter eggs with your little ones is a simple tradition that can be fun for the whole family. Why not change it up this year and try using ingredients you might already have in your kitchen pantry! Using natural food dyes means you won’t have to worry about any yucky artificial ingredients. And it's a great teaching lesson for kids about food color chemistry!

Make sure to use dyes with cooled, hard boiled eggs. Once done, make sure to store them in the fridge to keep the completed eggs fresh.

Ingredients: 
1 Cup Shredded Beets 
1 Cup Yellow Onion Skins
1 Cup Red Onion Skins
2 Tablespoons Turmeric Powder
½ Cup Dried Hibiscus Flowers 
1 Cup Chopped Purple Cabbage
1 Cup of water for each color
1 tbs of White Vinegar for each color

Making natural egg dyes takes only a few common ingredients and a little patience. For each natural dye, plan for about a cup of desired vegetable material per one cup of water. You’ll also need one tablespoon of white vinegar per cup of liquid dye to help the colors set more vibrantly. Your eggs will likely come out a few shades lighter than the color of the liquid dye and have more natural, earthy tones.   

Making the Natural Dyes: 
You’ll make your DIY dye (say that ten times fast) by adding your ingredient of choice to a saucepan with water. Bring it to a boil and simmer the mix until you’ve reached the desired color. This can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Once your natural cooked dyes are ready, you’ll need to let them cool to room temperature.

Once cool, strain the solids from your dye using a mesh strainer. Next, add vinegar – one tablespoon of vinegar per cup of liquid. 

Color Tip: Check the color of the dye by dripping a few drops onto a white plate. 

Toddler Tip: If you have a curious toddler around, you may want to hard boil your eggs and prepare the dyes the night before so that they are cooled and ready when you get started.  

Dipping and Dying:
Now it’s time to give your eggs a dip! You can simply use kitchen spoons and place them on waxed paper. Or if you have some empty saved egg cartons, these make great drying racks. For a quick big batch of the same color, you can soak several eggs together in a baking dish. Whatever dunking method you choose, make sure to cover them completely with the dye mixture.

Vibrant Color Soaking Tip: If your refrigerator has room, store your soaking eggs overnight in cups. When the eggs remain in the dye for three+ hours, watch how vibrant the colors will be!