Easter has snuck up on me once again. It is a shock that it's April, but it is a relief that it is sunny. We don't have a strong Easter tradition around here, but this is a good week for us nonetheless for at least five reasons.
1) The Eggs.
I've never really cared for those plastic Easter eggs that open up primarily because they usually have something very ordinary inside. My son just got a pink one, wrapped in more plastic, with a green Jolly Rancher inside. That seems like a lot of plastic for a Jolly Rancher.
When I was a girl, I used to get a big chocolate egg from See's Candy here in California. That was a treat, but it was always a little much and now I need it like a hole in the head.
In my opinion, the best Easter eggs are actual eggs.
If you can find some brown eggs, white eggs, and even green eggs then when you dye them, the range of colors is really cool. We have a variety of hens and get a whole range of egg colors, so the Easter egg dying is even more fun than usual.
The yoke under that colored shell is also loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids because our hens are allowed to range and eat bugs. Commercially, the Omega-3 eggs you find in stores from hens fed flax or algae are a good bet too.
2) The Chocolate.
I am always skeptical about research that links some sort of dessert to improved health. My dad tells me regularly that ice cream helps his depression. And once when I did a depression buster pizza makeover (important book research of course), my dad ate a bite or two and said "I know I feel better already. It does help my depression."
Well, Dad doesn't really have depression and just enjoying a food isn't really enough to make something a depression-buster.
But chocolate does have some properties that make it stand out in the dessert category. It is a good source of depression-fighting magnesium and it affects your serotonin levels. My friend Terri recommends raw cacao for this purpose. It will be a far sight better than the Easter chocolate available at the quick stop this week.
4) The Dinner.
Holidays are always a great opportunity to hone cooking skills. Easter is great because that meal can be just about anything we choose. I choose beef over ham and turkey because of its nutrient content. Beef also fills my freezer after the recent slaughter of my steer, so it is an economical choice in this house.
This year is actually even better because we will be doing more eating than cooking. We are traveling to southern California to spend the holiday with my family.
3) The Sunshine
I know some of you are up to your eyeballs in snowflakes this week. Our weather has been so glorious that I've gotten almost nothing done on my computer. My garden gloves are leaving tan lines on my forearms as evidence of my activity this week.
Sunshine on your skin will raise your levels of vitamin D, a deficiency many implicate in Seasonal Affective Disorder (winter time blues). Light entering your eyes, unprotected by sunglasses, will increase your levels of melatonin and help you get a better night's sleep.
5) The Family.
As much as sunshine feels like the highlight of the week since I have had a few great days outside, I will tear myself away and make a five hour trip for a dinner. It feels like a big chore given the sunshine here, the many weeds that need pulling, and the satisfaction I feel with getting things done outside. But I know that the schlep will be more than worth it. We have a great family and do not see them often enough.
