I love my Greek culture's Easter traditions and customs, but a new idea surfaced recently. If you're looking for something new to fill your Easter basket, try making dyed Easter potatoes instead of eggs.

You'd be surprised how many small potatoes make unique and colorful paschal decorations, and end up as bird food.

When egg prices skyrocketed, someone remembered necessity was the mother of invention. The Idaho Potato Commission shared a short tutorial and came up with the very affordable and colorful idea of painting tiny potatoes as a creative way to substitute as an alternative to the expensive and very fragile egg.

Get our free mobile app

Even though I hold in the highest regard the deep red dyed eggs that Greek families use in a tradition of cracking eggs until the last unscathed egg stands, and that will forever grace the holiday table, the kids will enjoy doing completely different than they've ever done.

This article is merely the messenger of good news. Go to your favorite search engine and choose a video tutorial or a how-to-blog for creative ways to paint and decorate the potato, known back where I grew up as a Jerusalem artichoke.

Some farmers in other parts call them earth apples or ground pears. Whatever you call them, the idea of painting potatoes and experimenting with the different colors sounds like the kind of fun the kids would enjoy.

If you're looking for a new family activity, or a new Easter tradition, you may want switch up this year, save money and paint Easter potatoes.

As a passing thought, depending on what kind of paint you use, I wouldn't recommend eating the potato but rather roll them in something like suet and bird seed and hang them outside.

Here's wishing all families the blessings of the season.

How To Transform A Potato Into An Easter Tater

An affordable alternative to eggs this Easter.

These are the best-selling Easter candies in America

Instacart looked at data leading up to the 2022 Easter holiday season to see which candies were the most popular across the nation, as well as which candies were top-sellers in each state.

More From WBSM-AM/AM 1420