# Alternatives to Food Coloring?



## mjbc_1979 (Nov 23, 2005)

Help!
I am making sugar and gingerbread cut-outs for presents for friends and a neighbor. I am trying to do a bit healthier: using whole wheat flour, organic sugar, also making oatmeal cookies. But I want to decorate the cut-outs and don't want to use food coloring. ANy ideas??!
Thanks and hope everyone has a happy holiday!


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Depending on the color you want... beet tea, hibiscus tea, crushed blueberries, crushed blackberries, turmeric


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## lisalou (May 20, 2005)

Dancing Deer actually has natural food dyes made from beetroot, etc., etc. That make good colors. There are a couple of suggestions here

http://www.forkandbottle.com/Kids/sugar_cookies.htm


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## mjbc_1979 (Nov 23, 2005)

The basics:
Red, yellow, green, blue.
I have frozen blueberries, so that's covered.
If I use tea, should I just wet the teabag and stick it in the frosting? I'm using organic powdered sugar icing. Unless anyone has alternate decorative icing recipes?
Thanks.


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mjbc_1979* 
The basics:
Red, yellow, green, blue.
I have frozen blueberries, so that's covered.
If I use tea, should I just wet the teabag and stick it in the frosting? I'm using organic powdered sugar icing. Unless anyone has alternate decorative icing recipes?
Thanks.

No, soak the tea in a bit of hot water (just enough to cover). The water should turn red. You might have to boil it, I'm not sure. I've just used hibiscus to dye cloth. Other reds would be any red juice (cranberry, raspberry, pomegranate, etc.). If you have pomegranate molasses, that would also do it.

turmeric will give you yellow and a little bit really goes a long way. Saffron will give you a gentler yellow, but it is much more expensive.

Blueberries should give you blue (I'd probably puree, cook, then strain). Grape juice will give you a purpley-blue.

Blue + yellow = green. Getting a natural green isn't all that easy. Supposedly you can get it from spinach, but I'm not sure you want spinach flavored frosting.


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## Annabel (Jul 15, 2003)

Spirulina works for green. Add a little but of tumeric if you want a brighter green


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## Ruthla (Jun 2, 2004)

It's hard to get a true green color- blueberries come out purple, and turmeric is an orangy-red- mix them together and you'll get brown, not green.

Whatever you use for color, use it in place of some (or all) of the water in the icing.


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## 425lisamarie (Mar 4, 2005)

I would pass on trying to make something like frosting look green, it usually comes out looking like barf LOL


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## mjbc_1979 (Nov 23, 2005)

Thanks ladies!
I actually went to my local health food store and they had vegetable based colors! I got orange, blue, red/pink, and yellow. I will heed your advice on green. I will let you know how they turn out!


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