Naturally dyed eggs with organic whole foods

 Last year and this year, we ditched any toxic or artificial dyes for our eggs.  

We made our own organic dyes from whole foods and used eggs from our chickens, choosing mostly white eggs which worked best.  We drew on our eggs with white crayon and used clear tape to make designs but they didn't come out well.  

We used 1/4 cup wild blueberries, 1/4 cup boiled and peeled beets, 1/4 cup boiled purple sweet potato peels, 1 tsp paprika powder, 1 tsp spiraling powder and 1 tsp turmeric powder. 

We put our chosen dying agents in repurposed yogurt cups with about 1/2 - 1 cup distilled white vinegar for about 60 minutes.  We found the dyes worked best when the eggs soaked for longer.

We laid them on a towel to air dry and put them in a carton to store.  

So easy and we didn't pollute the earth with toxic chemical dyes and coloring agents, nor did we purchase (thereby indirectly polluting the earth) any kits made with virgin tree pulp which was bleached and then dyed with unnatural colors and filled with plastics made from petroleum which break down into tiny particles and choke our marine life.  

Not to mention the stickers.  Pretty little pieces of pollution intentionally geared to make one forget the insane amount of processing they take to produce.  Ugh.

The dyed eggs air-dried and ready to munch.

Baby chicks

We are so excited to welcome our eight new arrivals to the family.

They are beyond adorable.

We rescued them from Ace Hardware on 22nd Ave. where they were crammed in with the other chicks.  We are not advocates of factory farmed animals, such as the baby chicks which are sold to feed stores but chickens are something we've wanted to add to our backyard garden and the time was right.  We would rather nurture our own chickens to gather and eat their eggs than continue to buy and eat eggs from the store.

Upon bringing them home, Papa Bare set up a cardboard box with newspaper, filled an old Dr. Bronners Magic Soap bottle with water and affixed to the side of the box, ground up finer their chicken starter feed for easier digestion and gave them a sponge bath with warm filtered water and a washcloth.  We dried them in a towel immediately and put them in their new box home.

Today, we made an anti-mite solution with aloe vera grown in our backyard, essential oils of tea tree and peppermint.  We gave them another sponge bath and used the solution.  We dried them off with a towel but not quick enough as they made quite a ruckus.

Since cleaning them off and treating them with the homemade solution, we are snuggling each chick in our hands and marveling at how adorable they are and what sweet chirps they make.

Have we mentioned how much they poop?  We are changing the paper in the bottom of their box about every two hours.  Impressive.