Aoife Hearne: What can I do with leftover Easter eggs?

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Every year, my three primary school children get Easter eggs from relatives on both sides of the family. It’s very thoughtful of them, but I’m left battling the glut for weeks. I tell them to have a little chocolate every day, but it’s like talking to the wall. I’m tempted to bin the leftovers, but my children would never forgive me.

Families up and down the country, mine included, are facing this issue. It’s important not to think about children’s Easter egg consumption in black-and-white terms. Instead, look for ways of dealing with the chocolate excess that fits your family.

In the era of cheap confectionery marketed to children virtually year-round, it isn’t easy to know how to manage it effectively and appropriately. Like in many challenges in parenting, you have to think of the end game.

So, what do you want your children to learn from being inundated by Easter eggs? Are they old enough to understand how too much chocolate affects their bodies? Do they have access to treats year-round? Ultimately, how do you support your children’s healthy relationship with food? These challenging questions need time and consideration, and there is no right answer.

We need to stop thinking of food as good or bad. Some foods, such as whole foods (vegetables, fruits, wholegrain, lean proteins, etc.), are everyday foods. Other foods that are processed and higher in fats, sugar, and salt are fun or occasional foods. As the name suggests, these are foods we have less often.

It’s critical treat foods are not forbidden. Also, they should not be offered to children as a reward for eating their vegetables or given as a comfort when they cut their knee. These are foods we enjoy occasionally and stop eating when we are full. However, we often restrict these foods from our children’s diets so that when they eat chocolate and sweets, they overeat them, creating a vicious cycle often repeated at Easter, Christmas and Halloween.

Relegating Easter chocolate to a little bit every so often is a great way to deal with the leftovers. You could, for example, offer it after their main meal so they are less likely to overeat. However, this approach can only work when no foods are forbidden, and both parents are willing to hold boundaries. Many families will need to work up to this little-and-often approach. It will take consistent practice throughout the year, and there is little point in attempting to implement it for the first time during Easter egg season.

With this year’s chocolate mountain, consider donating some of the additional eggs to food banks or nursing homes.

Even better, if you have the time and energy, you could melt the chocolate and use it to create fun foods or bakes that you can gift back to your well-meaning relatives.

If you have a question for dietitian Aoife Hearne, send it to [e-mail]