Easter is a time to nourish your family with food and love

header image; family fig tree lunch

Cyndi O'Meara

Cyndi is about educating. Her greatest love is to teach, both in the public arena and within the large corporate food companies, to enable everyone to make better choices so they too can enjoy greater health throughout their lives. Considered one of the world's foremost experts in Nutrition, Cyndi brings over 40 years experience, research and knowledge.

Easter is a time to nourish your family with food and love

header image; family fig tree lunch

Cyndi O'Meara

Cyndi is about educating. Her greatest love is to teach, both in the public arena and within the large corporate food companies, to enable everyone to make better choices so they too can enjoy greater health throughout their lives. Considered one of the world's foremost experts in Nutrition, Cyndi brings over 40 years experience, research and knowledge.

Easter, a time for togetherness and wholesome foods.

Anything that brings a family together is my favourite time of the year.  Easter, Christmas, family dinner, birthday parties and family holidays are my greatest joys. 

This is also a time for me to nourish my family, not make them sick with ultra-processed foods, like commercial chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns. 

Easter food traditions, from giving Easter eggs to eating hot cross buns, have been a part of our Easter celebrations for years. 

Celebrating Easter is most commonly associated with the Christian faith. However, some Easter traditions are also pre-date back to Pagan rituals too. These rituals celebrated the arrival of Spring and the equinox which occurs around the same time. 

The history of Easter rituals 

The egg is symbolic, representing the earth, new life and resurrection. In Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime, the egg is a symbol of light. When Dinewan the Emu quarreled with Brolga the dancing bird, Brolga angrily grabbed an egg from Dinewan’s nest and launched it into the sky. The yolk struck wood, caught fire and was transformed into a dazzling sun that illuminated the world. 

The hot cross bun has varying symbolizations. It is not only paganism but Christianity that lays claim to this bun. The pagan Saxons baked buns marked with a cross at the beginning of spring to honour the goddess Eostre, which is likely where the name Easter comes from.  The cross represents the rebirth of the world after winter, the four quarters of the moon are the four seasons and the wheel of life. I quite like that symbolism. 

The Christians saw the crucifixion on the bun and replaced the pagan meaning for a Christian one – the resurrection of Christ at Easter.  The cross representing the cross on which Jesus died. 

With these long-held traditions in mind, it doesn’t mean you can’t have chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns it just means to choose these foods wisely. They can be healthy, it’s all about the right ingredients. 

Easter goodies, the healthy way 

This Easter I’ve purchased some Easter bunny moulds to make chocolate for everyone that comes to my home. I make my chocolate with simple ingredients including  cacao melts, cacao butter, Changing Habits Rapadura Sugar and a pinch of Changing Habits Seaweed Salt.  It’s easy to do, it tastes great and is good for your health. With those foundational ingredients I can make a whole host of different flavoured chocolates. I can add roasted nuts, chilli, peppermint oil, That Healthy Co Wild Collagen Reds or Foraged For You The Mothers Blend for extra nutrients.   

Click here for the yummiest Changing Habits Rocky Road Easter Eggs recipe. 

Let’s look at store brought Easter treats 

Once you get into the swing of making these chocolates you will find it hard to go out and purchase chocolate that are laced with additives. Here is an example of the ingredients in a chocolate Easter egg I found in the grocery store.  

 FULL CREAM MILK, SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, COCOA MASS, MILK SOLIDS, EMULSIFIERS (SOYLECITHIN, 476), FLAVOURS. 

Yes, it is similar ingredients to my chocolate recipe but quality is something that may be missing in these ingredients. The added full cream milk and milk solids could also have canola oil and soy lecithin added, it all depends on whether the milk is instantized.   

Sugar is the next ingredient; it will be white and void of all nutrition unlike Rapadura Sugar which is unrefined and filled with nutrition. Emulsifiers (soy lecithin and 476) 476 is known as polyglycerol esters of interesterified ricinoleic acid made from castor oil or soy oil. 

The process of interesterification has taken over from partial hydrogenation which was shown to create trans fats (bad for the heart). Interesterification creates a whole new fat called an IF (interesterified fat). Preliminary research shows that it causes a prediabetic state, margarine and solid vegetable oils are made using this process. You sometimes wonder why we have had a surge in diabetes. 1.7 million people in Australia now suffer from this lifestyle food related disease. 

Emulsifiers (soy lecithin and 476) have an uncanny ability to destroy the bacteria in our microbiome that helps make our mucus layer that protects the gastrointestinal lining, which in turn can prevent against inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic syndrome and other chronic inflammatory diseases. 

What seems to be an innocuous ingredient, when piled with everything else we eat they become a menace to health. It would be interesting for you to go into your pantry and have a look at the packaged foods that have emulsifiers. Many foods have them as they keep ingredients combined. 

The last ingredient is flavour in this Easter egg from a favourite brand, while it seems like a little word it is something quite more.  It can have up to 100 ingredients in the flavour or it can be made using synthetic biology/bioengineering (genetic engineering of microbes to produce the right flavour).  For instance, vanilla flavouring can be made with the genetic modification of a microbe with a gene from the vanilla pod placed on plastic to make the flavour. It’s up to you whether you really want to feed things like this to your family. Once you know it’s hard not to know how they manipulate microbes and chemicals to make us think their ultra-processed foods are food. 

Here are the ingredients from another chocolate that’s a favourite in many households. 

SUGAR, COCONUT (CONTAINS PRESERVATIVE (223 ( SULPHITES)), GLACE CHERRIES (CHERRIES, WHEAT GLUCOSE SYRUP, COLOUR (163), ACIDITY REGULATOR (330), PRESERVATIVE (223 ( SULPHITES)), COCOA MASS, WHEAT GLUCOSE SYRUP, SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (MILK, SUGAR), VEGETABLE FAT, COCOA BUTTER, MILK SOLIDS, COCOA POWDER, GELATINE, INVERT SUGAR, EMULSIFIERS (SOY LECITHIN, 476), COLOURS (120, 160c), FLAVOURS, MINERAL SALT (500).

The mind boggles. 

Now let’s look at hot cross buns. 

My mother made hot cross buns from scratch. Good Friday was always church and then home for hot cross buns, scrambled eggs and black coffee.  She would start them the day before and only use the best of ingredients. The basics – wheat flour, yeast, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, mixed dried fruit, mixed spice, real vanilla and salt. Click here for the Changing Habits Hot Cross Buns recipe.  

These are the ingredients in a hot cross bun from Woolworths. 

WHEAT FLOUR (VITAMINS (THIAMIN, FOLATE)), FRUIT MIX (24%) (SULTANAS (COTTONSEED OIL), CURRANT (SUNFLOUR OIL)), WATER, SUGAR, CROSSING MIX (WHEAT STARCH, WHEAT FLOUR, CANOLA OIL, EMULSIFIER (475, 471). THICKENER (415), SALT), CANOLA OIL, GLAZE (WATER, SUGAR, VEGETABLE GUM (440), ACIDITY REGULATOR (330), PRESERVATIVE (202), EMULSIFIER (435)), YEAST, SPICES, WHEAT GLUTEN, IODISED SALT. CONTAINS: GLUTEN. MAY BE PRESENT: EGG, mILK, PEANUTS, SOYBEANS, SESAME SEEDS, TREE NUTS, SULPHITES AND LUPIN.

As I have gone through the chocolate ingredients, I could go through each of the hot cross bun ingredients, numbers, emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives and dubious ingredients grown using chemicals that not only destroy soil health but your health. I could let you know how each is made and what they do to your health, but I think you get the picture. For a full run down I suggest you read my book Lab to Table.  

If you would like to learn more about nutrition, the best thing you can do for you and your family is to study one of our nutrition courses. This Easter when you enrol in the Introduction to Nutrition course you get the course for $97 (usually $197) plus you receive a FREE Lab to Table audio book. Find out more here

Why not make this Easter a time to nourish you, your family and planet earth by choosing good quality food, ingredients and get back into the kitchen to feed and nourish your family to heal this nation.  

 

Happy Easter! 

Cyndi O’Meara 

Nutritionist 

Researcher 

Best Selling Author 

Founder of Changing Habits, Changing Habits Farm and The Nutrition Academy 

Producer of the Documentary What’s With Wheat 

Join the conversation...

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You might also like...

    Latest News

    Curious about one of our courses? Download the course guide to learn more! Comment 'guides' to get the links straight to your inbox!

    Curious about one of our courses? Download the course guide to learn more! Comment `guides` to get the links straight to your inbox! ...

    4 1
    How do you define a 'healthy citizen'? Do you think the rates of mental health, obesity, and chronic disease reflect the great nation Churchill was envisioning here?

    How do you define a `healthy citizen`? Do you think the rates of mental health, obesity, and chronic disease reflect the great nation Churchill was envisioning here? ...

    27 2
    We'd love you all to share your favourite self care in the comments below.

    We`d love you all to share your favourite self care in the comments below. ...

    12 1
    We're extremely proud to be the first in a huge wave of transformation happening regarding nutrition. Instead of leaving human history behind, we recognise it for its role in humankind today and honour it with our food and philosophy. We reap the benefits, too, of good health and a long, happy life.

    We`re extremely proud to be the first in a huge wave of transformation happening regarding nutrition. Instead of leaving human history behind, we recognise it for its role in humankind today and honour it with our food and philosophy. We reap the benefits, too, of good health and a long, happy life. ...

    7 1
    You know how we’re always trying to feed our families well without spending a fortune?

Well… I found something that I know you’re going to want in on. It’s a free online summit all about eating clean, nutrient-dense, on a budget—yes, it’s possible.

And it's filled with real-life tips, recipes, and strategies for stretching your grocery dollars without sacrificing nourishment.

There are 20+ experts (myself included 💛), and every one of us is showing you how to make deeply nourishing meals that are affordable and delicious.

You’ll learn how to shop smarter, prepare food in ways that unlock nutrition, and create meals your body (and your family) will thank you for.

 🗓️ It starts May 5th and it’s totally free. This is the kind of thing we wish we had when we first started on this path.

 🎟️ Grab your free ticket—click the link in my bio or comment below with "summit"

You’re going to walk away inspired, empowered, and with real steps you can use right away.

#NourishingVibrantHealth

    You know how we’re always trying to feed our families well without spending a fortune?

    Well… I found something that I know you’re going to want in on. It’s a free online summit all about eating clean, nutrient-dense, on a budget—yes, it’s possible.

    And it`s filled with real-life tips, recipes, and strategies for stretching your grocery dollars without sacrificing nourishment.

    There are 20+ experts (myself included 💛), and every one of us is showing you how to make deeply nourishing meals that are affordable and delicious.

    You’ll learn how to shop smarter, prepare food in ways that unlock nutrition, and create meals your body (and your family) will thank you for.

     🗓️ It starts May 5th and it’s totally free. This is the kind of thing we wish we had when we first started on this path.

     🎟️ Grab your free ticket—click the link in my bio or comment below with "summit"

    You’re going to walk away inspired, empowered, and with real steps you can use right away.

    #NourishingVibrantHealth
    ...

    7 2
    Do you want to live with better health, have more energy, achieve your goals; make an impact in not only your own life, but that of your family and your wider community? Try The Nutrition Academy.

    Do you want to live with better health, have more energy, achieve your goals; make an impact in not only your own life, but that of your family and your wider community? Try The Nutrition Academy. ...

    9 1
    Ready to change your life and career, with extra accountability and study support? Join us at the Introduction to Nutrition bootcamp! ⁠
⁠
↳ follow the link in our bio

    Ready to change your life and career, with extra accountability and study support? Join us at the Introduction to Nutrition bootcamp! ⁠

    ↳ follow the link in our bio
    ...

    18 1
    Nutrition is one very important part of a whole, healthy and happy life. Once you have developed a healthy body, you are able to pursue true wellness. What does wellness mean to you?

    Nutrition is one very important part of a whole, healthy and happy life. Once you have developed a healthy body, you are able to pursue true wellness. What does wellness mean to you? ...

    10 1
    'Low calorie' doesn't inherently mean healthy, and if you leave behind essential nutrient groups, you will suffer.

    `Low calorie` doesn`t inherently mean healthy, and if you leave behind essential nutrient groups, you will suffer. ...

    26 2
    The Functional Nutrition course isn't just about being told nutrition facts, it's about developing critical thinking and research skills so you can continue to understand and discover the truth as the nutrition and food industry evolves.

    The Functional Nutrition course isn`t just about being told nutrition facts, it`s about developing critical thinking and research skills so you can continue to understand and discover the truth as the nutrition and food industry evolves. ...

    7 1
    Here's the ingredients from last week's vegan 'food'. Do these ingredients sound better for you, the planet and animals?

    Here`s the ingredients from last week`s vegan `food`. Do these ingredients sound better for you, the planet and animals? ...

    106 5
    Learn the foundations of everything you can do for a happy, healthy life with The Nutrition Academy. Learn about the study pathways at the academy on our website.⁠
⁠
↳ follow the link in our bio⁠
⁠

    Learn the foundations of everything you can do for a happy, healthy life with The Nutrition Academy. Learn about the study pathways at the academy on our website.⁠

    ↳ follow the link in our bio⁠
    ...

    9 1

    Stay Connected

    © Copyright The Nutrition Academy 2024

    Our Newsletter

    Subscribe to receive our emails to keep up to date with ground-breaking nutrition trends, events, articles and so much more.

    Stay Connected

    © Copyright The Nutrition Academy 2023

    Our Newsletter

    Subscribe to receive our emails to keep up to date with ground-breaking nutrition trends, events, articles and so much more.

    Our Newsletter

    Subscribe to receive our emails to keep up to date with ground-breaking nutrition trends, events, articles and so much more.

    Stay Connected

    © Copyright The Nutrition Academy 2023