My daughter, for one, used to get very high on her horse (read
belligerent and very cranky), after she would eat food which contained
artificial food dyes.

Fortunately, as she has gotten older, this has
been less and less of a problem for us. However, young children are
especially vulnerable to chemicals that affect the central nervous
system, and it is no joke that one by one, the artificial dyes are
taken off the market as they are discovered to cause cancer or be
highly neurotoxic!

Here is how I safely dye my Valentine cookies and cupcake frosting red!

Simply take any of the juice of red fruits and vegetables that stain clothing, such as that from beets, strawberries, raspberries and cherries, and use that to dye the frosting or baked goods.

I often buy canned beets, for example, and just drain off the juice to use for these projects. (And then you can eat the beets for dinner!)
Or, thaw some frozen berries, and use the resulting juice (there will be plenty).

Sometimes the additional liquid of the fruit or vegetable juice is a problem, so in those instances, I simply substitute the fruit or vegetable juice for some of the recipe’s liquid.

And if you’re worried about your frosting tasting like beets, don’t worry: The sugar seems to obliterate the taste.