A better Easter basket

The Journal Sentinel staff

Twice a year, conscientious parents face the quandary of the Great Candy Orgy.

At Halloween, the contents that wind up in their young trick-or-treaters' loot bags is mostly outside their control. Not so at Easter.

With apologies to any stray readers for whom the Easter Bunny is REAL, parents can put whatever they want to in their children's Easter baskets. They can stuff them with a dentist's nightmare of chocolate and jelly beans, if they wish, or they can make them completely candy- free.

Tiny toys including stickers and play figures, jewelry and other gift items have been the answer for many parents. But it isn't necessary to abandon the tradition of edible goodies in the name of avoiding a major holiday sugar rush.

Alternatives to candy, some of them downright healthful, abound.

Loads of individually bagged snacks are available now in the supermarket, including peanuts (variety of flavors), sunflower seeds, fish-shaped crackers, animal crackers, raisins and granola bars. Just check the labels not all snack bars are created equal.

One father of five stuffs individual cereal boxes in his kids' Easter baskets each year. It's the only time of year they come into the house, so they're truly a treat.

Packets of instant oatmeal in fun flavors, and juice boxes (look for "100% juice") are other easy- to-find possibilities.

If you shop at a natural-foods store, or are willing to go out of your way to one, you widen the pool of "good" treats considerably.

You might start in the bulk section. Bins of natural snacks for bagging yourself include trail mixes, yogurt-covered pretzels and raisins, and crunchy sesame snacks. A typical trail mix at Outpost Natural Foods, 100 E. Capitol Drive, combined raisins, pineapple, papaya, dates, banana chips, almonds, walnuts and pecans. Wrap the selections in colored plastic wrap, if desired, and tie with pretty pastel ribbons.

Stores like Outpost also carry pre-packaged items ideal for a kids' basket. "True" fruit leather snacks, for example, made with only apples, pears, one more fruit (depending on the flavor) and lemon juice but tasting as sweet as candy.

Other ideas include all-natural, low-fat granola bars and snack-size bags of organic blue- corn tortilla chips. Marie Greenfield, marketing and merchandising manager at Outpost, suggested including small cartons of kefir, a sweet, fruit-flavored dairy drink that any yogurt-loving kid would like.

Outpost even carries a line of Easter candy, some chocolate and some flavored with carob, the caffeine-free chocolate alternative. All of the candies under the Sunspire label are dairy-free (for kids with allergies) and contain no refined sugars. Try the foil-wrapped Vegan Carob Duck or Rascally Rabbit.

Parents of children with diabetes deal with this issue year- round. Check with your favorite candy store for sugarless selections. Or, try Kellie's Cafe in Menomonee Falls, which carries a special line of baked goods geared to people with diabetes.

By calling in advance, you can order bunny- and egg-shaped decorated cookies made from a recipe of the American Diabetes Association. Exchange information and nutritional values are provided with the cookies. Because they have some sugar in them, the cookies are appealing to all kids, not just those with diabetes, said store owner Kelly Tautges.

Or, if time permits, make your own homemade goodies.

Your imagination can guide you to other food-related basket stuffers. A few ideas for starters:

m Microwave popcorn packets ("light" on the butter, please). Attach a gift certificate for a free video rental.

m Homemade, undated coupons promising "Your favorite dinner" or "One free cooking lesson with Mom (or Dad)."

m Packets of vegetable seeds for planting with your child. Include one of a vegetable your child already likes and a new one to try.

m Children's books about gardening or eating nutritiously. One appropriate choice would be "Gardening with Peter Rabbit" by Jennie Walters (Penguin Group, 1992, $9 hardcover), with gardening projects for all four seasons.

Two final thoughts:

A little candy doesn't hurt most kids. Some of us veteran parents can't imagine giving up the fun of watching our kids methodically devouring their chocolate bunnies (first the ears, then the tail, then the feet . . .). To other parents, it wouldn't be Easter without a slew of colorful jelly beans hidden in the mounds of Easter grass, or a marshmallow "peep" or two.

Finally, don't forget eggs real eggs still a very nutritious food. Just be sure that any decorated eggs intended for eating don't stay out at room temperature longer than two hours. 1-inch hairline here

If you've got the time, try these homemade goodies in your kids' Easter baskets. Just don't tell them they're good for them. The first two recipes are from "The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster" by Vicki Lansky (Publishers Group West, 1988). Note: Honey can be harmful to kids under age 1. Fruit Leather