Easter is just a hop away (sorry, I couldn’t resist) and when you have Lyme disease it’s super important to stay away from foods that might trigger inflammation as well as foods that might cause Candida. Sugar, food dyes, sugar alcohols, and GMO’s are super important to avoid and not just when you have Lyme disease. They’re just plain old bad for you, so why do we give this stuff to our kids?

Easter Baskets

I remember the first Easter basket I ever made for my daughter. It was filled with the healthiest treats, for little ones, I could find at the grocery store. When my husband watched as our one year old opened up her basket he began to laugh! He said he had never seen a “healthy” Easter basket before! Well, there’s always a first time for everything right?

Now, to be fair and to be completely transparent, my husband and I don’t always agree on what makes a good Easter basket. He would be the first one to load that thing up with traditional junk and to buy much larger baskets than I do. It’s a good thing he’s not really interested in taking on that job. We have different ideas on what should go in our children’s Easter baskets, and I would rather give them cut veggies and fruit. However, I have always given some traditional favorites but because I also add a lot of non-food fillers as well as healthier treats, the amount of junk they’re getting is pretty small. I’m not completely legalistic when it comes to treats but I try to implement healthy choices the majority of the time.

Healthier Options

Nowadays, it’s a lot easier to find healthier treats than it was when my kids were younger, so count your lucky stars! When my kids were all sick with Lyme and in treatment, I had to be super creative to make sure their Easter baskets were Lyme and Mom approved. At any given time a number of us were on sugar- and gluten-free diets. I never allowed for sugar-free treats because of the sugar alcohols, which can contribute to leaky gut.

I’ve put together some ideas for how you can create non-traditional Easter baskets. Hopefully, this list will get your creative juices flowing and you’ll be able to create a fun and healthier Easter basket.

If you’re making an Easter basket for someone in your life who has Lyme disease, try to make their basket fun and enjoyable. Don’t fill their baskets with pain creams and Lyme related things. Sometimes, it’s nice to get away from those things that remind, especially on holidays.

Healthier Easter Baskets

Fill those baskets with non-food items.

Bubbles, match-box cars, coloring books and crayons, silly putty, flip-flops, sunglasses, toys from the dollar spot, sidewalk chalk, gift cards, a DVD of their favorite movie, Legos, a flashlight, a devotional, hair ties, crochet supplies, paint by number, gel pens, make-up, beach toys, gardening tools and seeds, a stuffed animal, play-do, a water bottle, nail polish, chapstick, a deck of cards, a yo-yo, a new ball, and the list is actually quite endless.

Think about what your child, teen or spouse really loves and build on that.

Try choosing healthier treats.

If you know you can’t get away with not giving candy at all, try some of the healthier candy options. Be sure to read the labels because many times you’ll ingredients like too much sugar or fillers included and you’ll want to skip those. Try to look for coconut sugar, organic cane sugar or honey sweetened items. Here are some of the things we like.

Dark chocolate covered almonds, Dark Chocolate Candy Bar, Justin’s Organic Mini Peanut Butter Cups, Coconut Date Rolls, Gin-Gins Ginger Chews, Coconut Water, Sweet Potato Chips, fruit & veggie sweetened lollipops like these YumEarth Organic Pops and even jelly beans like Surf Sweet.

Make Your Own Treats.

Coconut Macaroons from Dr. Axe

Try out these homemade treats from A Whole New Mom

Gluten Free Candy Bars from Alan’s Pantry

Fruit Baskets

Why not fill up a beautiful basket with fruit, dark chocolate, and mixed nuts.

With a little creativity, you can make a beautiful Easter basket that’s healthy and fun!

Themed Easter Baskets

How about choosing a themed Easter basket based on your child or loved-ones interests.

Sewing Basket with a sewing kit, new scissors, spring fabric, and buttons.

Gardening Basket with seeds, a small watering can, gardening gloves, a kneeling pad, sunglasses.

Movie Night Easter Basket with popcorn, favorite movies or movie passes to the local theater.

Devotionals, journals, pens, highlighters, journaling paint, and stickers.

Puzzles & Brain Games

Sports basket with a new ball, tickets to a game, a handheld sports game, a sports book or magazine

The Real Meaning of Easter

As you can see, there are hundreds of ideas for creating a fabulous Easter basket that doesn’t set your health back or rot out your child’s teeth. Oh, that reminds me, throw in a new toothbrush and some all natural toothpaste.

Whatever you decide to put into your Easter baskets, don’t forget the real meaning of the season is celebrate the gift of eternal life that Jesus freely gave to us when he died on the cross and was resurrected on that third day!  Happy Easter & Resurrection Day!