Easter eggs.

"I am a fan of old-school traditions for Easter. I love dyeing hard-boiled eggs the way I did growing up. It's a good way to do something novel that's not about candy."

Chocolate Easter Eggs — Photo courtesy of Lusoimages/Thinkstock

Chocolate eggs.

Unwrapping the foil and finding a simple piece of chocolate inside – to me, that's Easter.

Jelly beans.

I use the holiday as an excuse to enjoy a handful of coconut jelly beans. My favorite. I love the richness of the coconut in candy form.

Veggies.

Easter means spring – break out the vegetables! I love fresh asparagus, shaved raw into a bowl with some lemon juice and zest and some Parmesan cheese.

More veggies.

I also love a few fresh fava beans or shelled peas mixed with lemon zest and olive oil and served on grilled bread with a little ricotta for creaminess.

Bunny pretzels.

Dip pretzel in white chocolate and decorate the ends with pink frosting to look like bunny heads.

Easter shapes.

A bunny- or egg-shaped cookie cutter can make Easter pancakes or butter cookies look special.

Carrots, er, strawberries.

Put a drop of orange food coloring in white chocolate, then dip in strawberries. That makes them look like carrots.

Onion dip treat.

For a savory treat, roll onion dip in large carrot peeling to make it look like a stuffed carrot and finish with a bunch of parsley at the top.

Parsnip cake.

Instead of carrot cake, celebrate one of the first vegetables of spring by substituting parsnips for carrots in the recipe.