Ideas to Have an EGGS-tra Special Easter!

There are only a few short days away till Easter! What are the two common components that are always present during this holiday? Easter eggs and Easter candy! Everyone knows that this day calls for endless amounts of candies and consuming large quantities of food throughout the day. It is easy to find yourself losing control and over-consuming all these delicious treats. 

It is important to start Easter morning off the right way with a balanced breakfast. Hard-boil and dye eggs for Easter morning. Eggs are the perfect food! For example, you could have a hard-boiled egg, slice of whole-grain toast, and a bowl of fresh fruit. Having a wholesome breakfast will help keep food cravings at bay and will help to avoid mindless eating later in the day. 

Here are the nutritional facts of a hard-boiled egg, they contain only 70 calories, heart-healthy fats, can be kept in the refrigerator for a week, and are a great source of protein:

How to make a hard-boiled egg:

A major contributor to unhealthy eating on Easter can be attributed to the copious amounts of candy readily available on this day. Everyone is tempted by peanut butter eggs, jelly beans, cream-filled chocolate eggs, marshmallow chickens, and chocolate candies just to name a few. Of course you can splurge and still enjoy some of these tasty treats, but try to keep sweet treat consumption "in moderation." For example, limit yourself to one or two candies. Even consider eating slightly healthier treats such as chocolate covered strawberries or dark chocolate.

 

Candy	Calories	Sugar	Exercise
	170 calories (1 egg)	16 grams	35 min. aerobic activity
	150 calories (1 egg)	20 grams	30 min. tennis match
	140 calories (5 peeps)	34 grams	20 min. rowing
	240 calories (1 bunny)	23 grams	30 min. bike ride
	210 calories (1/4 cup)	26 grams	25 min. run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter candy's main culprit is children, who wait anxiously for this day to arrive so they can find their Easter baskets and all the sweets! This year maybe consider remodeling the traditional candy filled Easter basket to one containing healthier options. Of course candy can still be included within the baskets, just "in moderation." The following are ideas to put in baskets other than candy:

Ø Side walk chalk or bubbles

Ø Jump rope

Ø Sport item (ex: soccer ball or basketball)

Ø Book or movie

Ø Board game

Ø Fruit such as oranges, apples, or bananas 

I hope you and your families all have a great and healthy Easter!

Shannon

Shannon attends D'Youville College and will be graduating from the Graduate Dietetics program with a combined BA/MS of Science in Dietetics in May 2015. Helping people to make healthier choices and providing nutrition education to promote a quality lifestyle or to make chronic nutrition related conditions more manageable is one of the main reasons she decided upon this major. Sports have always been a huge part of her life, and she played college soccer for 4 years. Shannon has a passion for working with athletes and helping them make choices to maintain performance levels, and she also is interested in working with people who are interested in weight loss or want to control chronic conditions through nutrition. When she has time she enjoys continuing to play soccer, training for half-marathons, and reading books.