Holidays present some challenges and opportunities for the GAPS person. In particular, the GAPS mom If your kids are used to a candy-filled Easter, it can be difficult to make the transition to Easter, GAPS-style.  In this GAPS Easter Round-Up, we give you ideas for GAPS Easter brunch recipes, baskets, and the egg hunt, all in one place.  Where to start? Well, when I was a kid, we woke up to Easter baskets!

GAPS Easter Baskets

Here’s the GAPS Easter Round-Up on Easter Baskets, including recipes for Easter candies and treats.

• Candy-Free Easter Baskets – from Katie Wells at Wellness Mama.  There are lots of fun ideas for all ages.  Many of the baskets can be themed with your child’s interests or with an experience that you think your child would enjoy doing with you, such as family movie night or gardening.
• Homemade Easter Chocolates– recipe from Fellow GAPS Practitioner Jennifer Scribner, including an amazon link for fun Easter chocolate molds.
• Homemade Marshmallow Peeps– beautifully colored with naturally dyed, shredded coconut!  YUM!
• GAPS Chocolate Truffles– Easy, dairy-free, no mold required! You could shape them into eggs and place them in a little “nest” of shredded brown paper.
• Chocolate Nutbutter Cups– from Traditional Cooking School.
• Gummy Snacks- from Mommypotamus

Easter eggs make a nice basket item too, which brings us to the…

GAPS Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter egg hunt is a bit of a problem since most of the eggs are filled with commercial candies.  So we bought a set of different-looking plastic eggs (metallic eggs worked for us, but you could choose another color for your GAPS children, or mark them somehow) and we filled them with GAPS-approved goodies.   Then my son would trade with all the other kids for the eggs that were his GAPS eggs after the hunt.  This was not a problem since the other kids weren’t really interested in the special diet eggs, and we chose treats that my son loved so he was happy to trade as well. Try the dollar store for small toys and stickers. Here are some ideas for filling GAPS Easter eggs:

• dried fruit
• fresh blueberries
• crispy nuts
• date coconut rolls such as these
• Heavenly Organics Honey Patties
• coins
• toys your kid left on the living room floor (Haha! Joking, but not really)
• stickers
• matchbox cars
• polished stones or crystals
• Naturally colored hard-boiled eggs (my son would eat 4-6 hard-boiled eggs every easter!)
• shells
• mini dinosaurs or other figurines
• pencil eraser toys like these
• colored hair ties or fun barrettes

What’s next in your Easter celebration?  For us, it was often a delicious, springtime brunch.

GAPS Easter Brunch

In this GAPS Easter Round-Up we list some great GAPS recipes for a beautiful Easter Brunch!  Most of them are simple and easy.  Here they are, in no particular order…oh wait, looks like I did dessert first.

Dessert

• Chocolate Cupcakes– One of Melanie’s most popular recipes, and for good reason!  These deliver sweet, chocolatey goodness every time! Frost them with strawberry buttercream for a spring-worthy pink color!
• Strawberry Cake– Beautiful presentation- this cake has a WOW factor!
• Berry Cream Cheese Dessert– A great make-ahead and chill option. Plan ahead because you will need to make homemade cream cheese.
• GAPS Approved Carrot Cake– with cream cheese frosting. Again, plan ahead to make your cream cheese.
• Maple Carrot Cake– from Paleo Patisserie.  This is a beautiful cake from someone who has mastered baking without refined flours. Real food and grain-free but NOT GAPS since it contains maple sugar.

Meats, Fish, Eggs

• Frittata– Make your own variation on this simple frittata recipe for an easy egg dish.  I have often brought these to Easter brunches with rave reviews from non-GAPS people:)
• Homemade Ginger Sage Sausage– An easy meat option!
• GAPS Gravlax (Lox)– Legal from Stage 2!  Delicious with 24-hr GAPS Sour cream, red onion, lemon, and some butter lettuce.
• Prosciutto Wrapped Salmon Cups– I would love to try these the next time I’m bringing something to a brunch potluck!  They look beautiful and delicious. Find uncured prosciutto that is nitrate-free.
• Herb Roasted Turkey Breast– from Ina May Garten.  Substitute a little melted butter or coconut oil for the olive oil and use a real sea or Himalayan salt rather than kosher salt.
• Oven-Baked Salmon– This recipe is similar to what I do when I bake salmon.  Again, just use melted butter or coconut oil in place of the olive oil.  Serve with Blender Hollandaise.
• Deviled eggs- This simple recipe can be altered using more spices, apple cider vinegar, cayenne, bacon drippings, or fermented jalapeno!  Use Melanie’s Walnut Garlic mayo for the mayonnaise.
• Lamb- is a traditional Easter food. You might want to try this recipe.

 Soups and Salads

• Broccoli Bacon Salad– makes a great side for any main. Kids love it too!
• Spinach and Rosemary Pea Soup– It wouldn’t be a GAPS list without at least one soup! This one is lovely spring green and utilizes spring veggies.
• Spicy Yogurt Dill Coleslaw– is a great side to go with rich meats or fish.
• Fruit Salad– Make your own fruit salad, any combination of fruit mixed with fresh lemon juice works.  Mix pineapple, mango, banana, orange, and cantaloupe with lime juice for a tropical fruit salad. You can add 24- hr GAPS yogurt or coconut cream and coconut flakes if you like.
• Artichokes– I love artichokes, and they are a lovely spring food!  This post shows how to prepare them, you can even adapt her dipping sauce for GAPS by using Melanie’s mayo and yogurt.  They are also delicious with simple garlic butter.
• Asparagus– another spring veggie, here is a simple recipe.  Again, substitute melted butter or another fat for the olive oil since you will be heating it.

Baked and Breads

• Banana Bread- A crowd pleaser!
• Lemon Cranberry Muffins – would make a bright addition to an Easter table.
• Grain-free biscuits– These are easy, GAPS legal, and can be paired with gravlax, poached eggs, and Blender Hollandaise for Eggs Benedict! Or serve with lemon curd.

Beverages

• Mimosa– make this with fresh-pressed juice (mango, grapefruit, and orange are great) and a dry (or extra brut) sparkling wine, prosecco, cava, or champagne.
• Kombucha Mule– can be a mocktail too.
• Pellegrino from a glass bottle with a slice of lime or lemon

That’s it! Our GAPS Easter Round-Up.  How do you celebrate Easter?  Have any great GAPS Easter ideas or traditions?  We’d love to hear them in the comments!