How to organize an ecological celebration of Easter

One of the most important holidays of the year for Ukrainians is approaching – Easter. To celebrate it with minimal impact on the environment, we offer the following tips.

House cleanliness without harming nature

There is a lot of preparation and cleaning to be done before next Easter. However, it is important to do this consciously so as not to cause unnecessary environmental pollution. Instead of just throwing things away, consider repurposing them, such as donating them to charity. And what can be recycled is better to be recycled to provide material for new products. It is also important to choose environmentally friendly cleaning products, because many of them contain harmful substances that can get into water bodies and pollute the environment.

Crayons with natural dyes and without plastic decorations

Krashanki are an indispensable part of the festive table on Easter. But instead of artificial dyes and plastic wraps, you can use natural materials for coloring, such as leaves and flowers. It is not only environmentally friendly, but will also add a special charm to your eggs. Here are some ways:

1. Onion Wraps: Collect the outer skins of the red onion. Put them in a pan of water and add a spoonful of vinegar. Bring to a boil, then cook for another 15-20 minutes. Strain the shells and leave the decoction to cool. Immerse the eggs in the broth and leave for several hours or even overnight to achieve a deep red color.
2. Turmeric: Mix turmeric with water to form a saturated solution. Immerse the egg in this solution for several hours to obtain a bright yellow shade.
3. Juice fresh vegetables and fruits: You can use beetroot juice for a pink or red color, spinach juice for green or carrot juice for an orange shade. Immerse the eggs in the appropriate juice for several hours for coloring.
4. Coffee: Cook eggs in coffee to create a light brown to dark brown color.
5. Tea: To dye an egg with tea, follow these steps:
6. Choose a tea: Choose a tea drink depending on what color you want to get. For example, black will give the egg a brown color, green – light green, and hop tea can give a yellow tint.
7. Prepare the tea solution: Brew the tea in a sufficient concentration to cover the egg. Allow the tea to steep and cool.
8. Add vinegar: Add a little vinegar to the tea solution (about 1 tablespoon per cup of tea). This will help the paint to fix better on the eggshell.
9. Dipping the egg: Prepare the egg by cleaning it from dirt and fat. Immerse in the prepared tea solution and leave it there for an hour to achieve the desired shade. The longer you leave the egg in the broth, the deeper the color will be.
10. Pull out and dry: After obtaining the desired color, remove the egg from the solution and dry it in air or with paper towels.
11. Polishing (optional): To make the egg more shiny, you can rub it lightly with vegetable or corn oil.

Remember that the time for which you immerse the eggs in the broth affects the saturation of the color. The longer you leave the eggs in the solution, the deeper the color coating will be. After painting, you can polish the eggs with vegetable oil for more shine. And using eggshells for composting is also a great way to reduce waste.

Festive table taking into account ecology and finances

For the celebration of Easter, it is better not to cook too much food in order to avoid throwing it away. It is also worth giving preference to local products and avoiding the use of plastic packaging.

Buying products without excess plastic – both on holidays and everyday can significantly reduce the negative impact on the environment.

How our grandmothers cooked: paska according to an old recipe

This is the tastiest Easter breakfast spread that doesn’t require too many ingredients. How complicated is this recipe?

– Relatively simple, but, as in the situation with other yeast products, requires time.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
Milk 2.5% 500 ml
Sugar 400 g
Pressed yeast 50 g
Wheat flour 1 kg
Butter 73% 100 g
Margarine 100 g
Chicken eggs 5 pcs.
Vanilla sugar 20 g
Raisins or candied fruit 200 g.

For the glaze:
Egg white 1 pc.
Powdered sugar 4 tbsp. l.

Recipe:
Heat half of the milk until warm, add yeast, 200 g of sugar, 100 g of flour and mix in a bowl until smooth. Leave the dough in a warm place to ferment for 1 hour.

Separately, mix the rest of the sugar and eggs and beat until fluffy. Pour the egg mass into the dough, add the rest of the ingredients and knead a soft dough. Cover with a towel and put in a warm place for 1 hour so that it “fits”.

Wrap the dough and spread it into the prepared forms for strips. Leave for 15 minutes to rise. Bake in an oven heated to 180°C for 30-40 minutes until golden.

For the glaze, beat egg whites with powdered sugar in a mixer until stiff peaks form. Spread the cooled strips with glaze and wait until it hardens.

There are many eco-friendly ways to decorate ribbons, which will help you create beautiful decorations without excessive use of plastic or other harmful materials. Dried flowers, berries, cereals, etc.

Bon appetit!