Bunnies love Carrots, and there’s a reason for that. Carrots are loaded with Vitamin C and make a delicious dessert to satisfy any sweet tooth. Our Carrot Cake (recipe below) includes carrots (of course), applesauce, eggs and walnuts, the perfect combination of protein, carbs, and healthy fats like Omega-3. It’ll get you hopping with health like that Bunny.

Coloring Easter Eggs is a fun and Easter Bunny tradition. This year give it a new twist: Instead of using extra expensive real eggs, make colorful paper ones. They’re fun to make, will help your budget and are easy to use for either decorating or an Easter Egg Hunt.

All you need is a glue stick, a pair of scissors, squares of colorful paper and a bit of time.

• Gather 10 squares of colored paper. You can use heavy wrapping paper scraps or your kids’ construction paper. Use lots of different colors. The paper should all be the same kind

• Cut out 10 egg shapes, all the same size

• Fold each one in half, length wise

• Put glue on one half of the folded egg. Add another cut out folded egg

• Repeat until all the halves are attached. Glue the first egg half to the last one.

• Open out and surprise, a beautiful egg

Start a new tradition and help your budget. You can make “flat” eggs for your children to decorate or fancy “honeycomb” eggs. Watch Video.

If you decide to color real eggs and plan to eat them, please remember; Put hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator within 2 hours of cooking. Eggs will last for up to a week, but they must be refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking.

Happy (and Healthy) Easter from all of us at Harvest Home.

Treats from the Easter Bunny

Recipe: Carrot Cake

• 3 cups of finely chopped carrots (about 6 large ones)

• 1 cup chopped walnuts

• 2 cups flour

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp baking soda

• ¾ cup of apple sauce

• ¾ cup of salad oil

• 2 cups sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

TO MAKE

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

• Chop the carrots and walnuts and combine in a bowl. Use a food processor if you have one. Carrots should be finely chopped or shredded (a vegetable peeler works well)

• Combine flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda in a separate bowl.

• Mix together apple sauce, salad oil, sugar and eggs until smooth. Add the mixture to the carrots and walnuts.

• Blend in flour mixture. Pour into a lightly greased baking pan & place in the oven

• If you are using a 9" x 13” pan, bake the cake for 1 hour. If you are using a tube pan, bake the cake for 1 ½ hours.

Let the cake cool and then decorate with Cream Cheese Frosting: Mix together 4 0z 0f cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla & 2 cups of powdered sugar

TIPS For a Healthier Easter

COOKING TRICKS

Apple Sauce: Peel and slice 6 cooking apples, like Macoun or Pink Lady, in a pan. Add about a ½ inch of water and cook stirring occasionally until apples are soft and mash easily. Add small amounts of water if needed. Ready to use in your favorite recipes!. If serving as a side dish, add a little sugar and cinnamon.

Eggs: Hard boil eggs before coloring them. Refrigerate eggs withing two hours of cooking. Easy way to peel eggs: Run eggs under cold water Then roll them on a hard surface to crack the shells.

Easter Eggs as Snacks: Ideas for flavoring. Cut six peeled eggs in half. Remove the yokes & mash them with one of these mixtures

• 1 Tablespoon mustard & 1 Tablespoon lime juice

• “Asian:” 1 Tablespoon each of soy sauce & rice vinegar

• Curried: 1 Tablespoon of water & 2 teaspoons of curry powder

• “Mexican:” 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon mustard, 1-2 Tablespoons minced picked jalapeno peppers. Top with very small pieces of avocado. Sprinkle with a dash of taco seasoning

Delicious but Healthier Easter: Buy dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. It's healthier for you! Actually it’s good for you.

Nest decoration for Easter Cake. Make a nest out of shredded coconut. Add the jelly beans in the middle. Coconut is deliciously sweet, full of vitamins C, E & B-complex & can help balance cholesterol.