All Natural Food Dye - How to create vivid purple and teal food dye with cabbage

Sprinkles (aka dried coconut dyed with beet and cabbage juice)

It's no secret that we first eat with our eyes and manufactures have long been including chemical food dyes in foods to increase their appeal. There is a long debate about whether or not these dyes are healthy and my opinion is that more research is needed. Different countries have different regulations and some have banned certain food dyes.  I am a minimalist and believe that extra additives are not needed in our diets and I avoid chemical dyes at Happy Belly Design as well with all of my family's foods.

Red cabbage - our natural dye source

As a former pastry student and art teacher - I love color. More so than color I love bright colors. I realized that just because I want to exclude chemical dyes from my diet I could create natural dyes to still add colorful splashes of color. After unsuccessfully removing a stain caused by beets and red cabbage I realized that these were two powerhouses of color.

The above sprinkles are dyed coconut flakes - the top magenta flakes are dyed with beet juice and the purple and teal are from red cabbage. You can juice beets or find pure beet juice in your juice aisle. The red cabbage does need a bit more work because to truly extract its color you must cook it.

I find that about half of a red cabbage yields about 1/4 cup of dye, which is plenty. Chop it up into medium pieces and put in a saucepan with about 1 cup of water. Cover, bring to a boil, and let boil for 2 minutes.

Large chunks of cabbage in water. Remove the white core

Cabbage that has been boiled - notice the color has seeped from the leaves

You will know the cabbage is done when it seeps all of its color into the liquid and looks a little grey.


Once your cabbage is cooked, remove it from the pan and bring it back to a boil. You want to reduce the liquid to a syrup and for me this takes about 10 mins on my stove.




Tada! You have purple dye! You can use this to dye just about anything. To make teal dye, add a tiny pinch of baking soda to the cabbage dye. You're done.

The end result - a brilliant purple dye

Rainbow cupcakes created with the above coconut sprinkles

Save your extra dyes in a covered ice cube tray in the freezer. You can shave off what you need to use.

To create sprinkles, add a few drops to shaved coconut then dry in a low oven for 10 mins. You can use on top of your creations of mix into a cake batter to create my childhood favorite - funfetti.

Natural Purple and Teal Food Dye
1/2 red cabbage
1 cup water
1/8 tsp baking soda
Chop cabbage into medium sized pieces and put into a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Cover and boil for 20 minutes until the color has seeped from the cabbage into the liquid.
Remove the cabbage leaves from the saucepan and reduce the liquid to 1/4 of a cup. It should be a thick syrup.
Use as a purple dye in all of your creations.
To create teal - add a tiny amount of baking soda to the purple dye until desired color is reached
Store frozen in a covered ice cube tray

Banana and Oat cookies - Simply the best treat for little (and not so little) ones

Ripe banana and rolled oats

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of finding new ways to bake healthy treats for children. How this treat managed to say off my radar for so long is a mystery. Take heart healthy oats, mix with a ripe banana and bake. That's it. You're done. This has quickly become a favorite of mine, my Mom friends and our course our kiddos.

I love baking with bananas. They have such a pure sweetness and with Happy Belly Smash Cakes we use bananas instead of sugar. I save my ripe bananas for baking - once they don their speckles and the flavor becomes rich and floral I know it is time. Not to mention, they are a nutrition powerhouse. Full of potassium, fiber, and B6 they are great for bone and heart health. Oats are another fantastic food, high in fiber and rich in antioxidants they can also can protect against childhood asthma.

For this recipe take your ripe banana, and add in oats until it is about the consistency of oatmeal. Then mix together with a fork. To fuel your creative fire, add in a few more mix ins. I really like a sprinkle of cinnamon or a splash of vanilla. Dried fruits are great and you could add flax meal or fresh fruits too.

This is one large ripe banana with about a 1/2 of oats. 

Once they are mixed spread into small bite shapes on a lined baking sheet. I like parchment paper or you could use a silicon sheet or a greased plain sheet. These are sticky so be generous. Any shape works. If these are for an early eater a finger sized shape is great for easy grabbing.

I got about 6 treats - I flatten them with my fork to encourage even cooking

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins. The are done when the oats are golden and soft. Allow to cool completely on the sheet then transfer to an air tight container (or to hungry tummies).

Oats are golden, treats are soft and holding together perfectly.

I just love mason jars. But not in my diaper bag - let's get real this is how I store these treats.

Same treat with dried cherries 

These will last 2 days at room temperature and up to 5 days in the fridge. You can freeze them after baking too - just thaw on a rack at room temperature. Since they are so quick to make I recommend making them in small batches and eating fresh.

Enjoy! Coming up next week is more natural baking tips - I'm tackling all natural food dye!

Banana Oat Treats - yield 6
1 overripe or ripe banana
1/3 cup of oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Optional mix ins - dried fruits, fresh fruits, flax meal - whatever you desire!

Mash banana in a bowl with a fork. Add in oats and mix until combined
Spread into bite size treats onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
Bake 15 mins at 350
Store in an airtight container once cool