St. Patrick's Day has come and gone, but you can 'go green' this Easter by coloring eggs with plant-based dyes, or preparing eggs from 'Easter-egg chickens,' such as Araucana and Welsumer breeds, that lay naturally colorful eggs.

Natural Eggs
The simplest colored Easter eggs come straight from the chicken. Araucana chickens, originally from South America, lay pale blue and green eggs, and Welsumer chickens lay fun, speckled brown eggs that outwardly resemble chocolate. If you raise these chickens in your own backyard, their eggs will also be better for your health. Birds raised on a grass diet lay eggs with less cholesterol and more vitamin E, beta carotene and omega-3 fatty acids. See The Chicken and Egg Page on MotherEarthNews.com for more information.

Natural Dyes
Easter eggs originated with ancient festivals celebrating the return of spring. In the Middle Ages, people painted bird's eggs with fresh, springtime colors and handed them out as gifts.

This Easter try using natural materials to color your eggs. Some dyes work best when the coloring agent is boiled with the eggs, while others successfully stain pre-boiled eggs. For the brightest colors, plan to let the eggs soak in dye for a few hours; if you're going to eat the eggs later, be sure to keep them in the refrigerator while soaking. White vinegar helps deepen colors; for each dye mentioned below, we added 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to the dye solution.