How To Colour Food Without Dyes

We agree that the final product of some recipes may not be visually appealing and could use a pop of colour; however, we don’t agree in using artificial dyes to achieve a desired vibrancy. 

Depending on where you look for your information, you may find a mixture of information about the safety of food dyes and colourings. Regardless, the majority of health research agrees on the connection between food dye consumption and hyperactivity in children and allergy reactions in all ages. 

Some governments have banned the use of artificial food dyes. In Canada many are still permitted in foods. You can see which here.

We believe that colour makes food more interesting - after all, you eat with your eyes first! We use real food to enhance the colour of our treats, not “natural” or naturally-derived colouring agents.

The “custard” layer of our Naniamo bars becomes a brilliant yellow from turmeric, the indigo hue of our Blueberry Cashew Cheesecake is from blueberries and acai powder, and the deep, minty green of our Spirulina Goji Bars is from spirulina. There’s a real food that can create every colour of the rainbow. (If we needed to make anything black, we’d use activated charcoal. 

Here are some suggestions for adding colour in your food at home:

Red or pink - dehydrated strawberry, raspberry or beet powder, pomegranate juice

Orange - carrot powder, paprika

Yellow - Turmeric

Green - Matcha, spirulina, chlorophyll

Blue - Blueberry juice or powder

Purple - Acai berries or powder

Brown - Espresso, cocoa powder, cinnamon

Black - Activated Charcoal