This post includes a recipe for Vegan Choc-Nut Balls
Easter is a special occasion in my family. It is a celebration. This year I will spend Good Friday with my in-laws and Easter Sunday with my sons. Even though I don’t go to church any more, it is hard to break away from family traditions. My children appreciate the effort I make to create a joyous atmosphere.
Easter Traditions – Good Friday
I grew up in a household where Roman Catholic traditions were honoured. Therefore, we fasted during Lent and did not eat meat on Fridays. We went to church nearly every day during Lent. Good Friday was a solemn occasion of prayer and fasting to reflect that Jesus died for our sins on the cross.
Traditionally Good Friday is the one day of the year that all the shops are closed in Australia. Many Australians keep to the tradition of eating fish on Good Friday, even when they are not Catholic. My in-laws have their main Easter celebration on Good Friday. They don’t exactly fast though – there will be prawns and salmon on the menu!
Easter Sunday Celebration
Easter Sunday was the main day for celebration in my family. This was to reflect Jesus rising from the dead. My parents would stop at the corner shop on the way to church and buy us one Easter egg each. These days the shops are full of every kind of chocolate Easter egg and people spend a fortune on them. It has become more commercialised like Christmas.
I have always enjoyed creating a special Easter for my family. I love cooking their favourite food, and hiding mini easter eggs for them to find. My husband and I are empty nesters so these family gatherings are very special to us.
Making Vegan Easter Food
My son’s girlfriend is vegan and one of my sons is vegetarian. I have been searching for vegan recipes so that I can make some easter treats for them. I like to be inclusive and try to make everything vegan so that everyone can eat it. It gets a bit tricky at times.
There are some dishes that can’t be adjusted to make vegan versions, like pavlova. But I have found some chocolate recipes that I can make or adapt, including the recipe below. We will have roast chicken, and I’ll make a roast cauliflower for them. I’ll bake vegan bread and have almond milk, vegan margarine and vegan snacks on hand.
Vegan Choc-Nut Balls
These vegan choc-nut balls are so delicious the whole family will enjoy them. They contain lots of protein so have them after work-outs.
- 1 1/2 cup Rolled Oats
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder
- 1 cup vegan nut butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 45 grams vegan chocolate chips (Chop up small bar of vegan chocolate)
Stir together the oats, cocoa powder and protein powder in a large bowl. Stir in the nut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir until combined. A food processor may be used. Add the chocolate chips and stir through.
Line a flat container with kitchen greaseproof papers. Use a small cookie scoop to form balls. Roll in between hands.
Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. May be frozen.
If you are making a non-vegan recipe honey may be substituted for maple syrup.
Covid-19 continues to disrupt plans
The one concern this year is that a sudden lockdown could be on the cards which would prevent us from being together. My son lives in Brisbane, where there has been an outbreak of Covid-19 cases. My other son was going to go on a road trip to Sydney and Melbourne but the borders have closed again.
Once again travel arrangements are up in the air and the local tourist industry is suffering. It will be so good to see an end to this pandemic as the continual disruptions to normal life are getting beyond a joke. Meanwhile we wait to see if further restrictions will affect our Easter celebration. I hope not.
How do you celebrate Easter? Do any of your family have dietary needs that affect what you serve at special occasions? If you enjoyed this post, you may like to read:
- A Very Special Birthday Celebration
- Celebrating Australia’s Birthday
- A DIY High Tea for a Special Occasion
You may also enjoy some of my other recipes
MidlifeStylist 
14 responses to “An Easter Celebration With My Family”
Hi Christina – I love how you’re researching recipes to make food for the family’s diverse choices. We don’t have our kids with us this year – it feels rather strange being just the two of us (but also quiet and relaxing) We’ll be going to church on Friday and Sunday because they’re important days to remember the real reason for Easter. I hope you get to see everyone and that the lockdown lifts and things settle back down – I’m not sure how long they can keep locking the country down every time there’s a small handful of cases?
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Hi Leanne, it will be a quiet Easter for you. Luckily you have your church community around you. Our lockdown ended suddenly so we are able to go ahead with our plans. I am looking forward to seeing my son who lives an hour away. The house has been very quiet since he moved out. Happy Easter, Christina
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Hi Christina, Happy Easter! Fortunately the lockdown has been lifted and we can attend a dinner with friends and then a family lunch on Sunday. I love the recipe and I think I have all the ingredients. I usually make something similar for gifts and people don’t even know they are vegan! Enjoy your family time and take care. #weekendcoffeeshare
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Hi Sue, Happy Easter to you too. We are so lucky aren’t we. I really thought we’d be in lockdown for longer. I actually use those balls as a protein boost post workout. They’re really nice. Enjoy your celebrations, Christina
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Christina, So good that you make vegan dishes to accommodate dietary needs. Happy Easter to you and your family! Thank you for sharing your family tradition and recipe with #WeekendCoffeeShare
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Hi Natalie, Happy Easter to you and your family too. I love the challenge of adapting recipes. My family all love to cook so it’s a big part of our celebrations. I hope you are enjoying your weekend, Christina
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Sounds like a great plan. I have learned too how to adapt recipes for different eating preferences and find some I really like. I make a similar ball…so good.
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Hi Kirstin, I love to cook and part of the challenge is adapting recipes to suit. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked straight from a recipe! I always add or subtract something! Hope you are having a lovely weekend, Christina
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Happy Easter to you! I always enjoy looking at good vegan recipes. Several friends are vegan and I consider eating a lot more vegan or vegetarian – my husband is a bbq geek so I wouldn’t go fully vegan but definitely to eat less meat, and to make vegan meals when I cook for myself. Those chocolate balls seem nice – I’ve been silly and never considered nut butter! I’ll get some and try these. Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Susanne, I’ve found myself cooking more vegan and vegetarian food in the last couple of years. My husband loves his meat too much to fully convert but there are some lovely recipes that I make that he wouldn’t even know were vegetarian! Thank you for commenting, most appreciated. Christina
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Even though I am not vegan, I love making vegan food and snacks! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
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Hi Julie, I’m the same. I am genuinely surprised that there are vegan or vegetarian options for so many foods. Thanks for your feedback, regards Christina
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That was interesting to read of your growing up traditions. My husband grew up catholic and I grew up sort of protestant. We used to have fish only on Good Friday growing up and I still do that if I can. Dunno why, I like it. My husband dropped all of this religious upbringing many years ago. Our family used to get together at Easter but we live out of Sydney now and each makes their own traditions. I hope you are continuing to do well.
Always delighted to see your posts in Life This Week Link up. Thanks for joining in. Looking forward to next week, when we may, should we choose, Share Our Snaps (photos!). Denyse.
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Hi Denyse, it’s funny how we stick to traditions like fish on Good Friday. I guess it marks the day as a special day even if you aren’t Catholic. I’m hoping my children do carry on some of the traditions that I’ve created for them growing up. I still have an Easter egg hunt even though they are 25 and 28! Hopefully I’ll have grandchildren one day to give them these special memories. Thanks for the opportunity to share my blog – I look forward to it every week. Christina
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