Natural Coloring/Dyes.

Happy Canada Day!

I hope you sport some red and white today and get a chance to celebrate our country's birthday. Today I'm serving some Strawberry-Apple Crisp (red and white!) with some cashew cream and some beet-stained cashew cream (more red and white!).

Speaking of beet stains, have you heard of natural means of coloring foods? Natural food coloring/dyes are gaining in popularity because regular food coloring/dye is made of chemicals, with absolutely nothing natural about them. Bottled food coloring/dyes are available at health food stores, or you can do it yourself using the following guide:

Red - beet juice, simply slice a beet and squeeze some out.
Pink - just a tiny squeeze of beet juice, or raspberry juice.
Blue - red cabbage, boil it and then use the resulting purple-blue liquid.
Purple - more red cabbage juice, or blackberries or blueberries.
Green - spinach juice, or you can use mashed avocado when the food to be colored requires some thickness.
Yellow - tumeric powder, or mustard (mustard's yellow color often comes from tumeric).
Orange - saffron threads, with some tumeric to brighten.