Happy Passover!
… and to my “goyim” friends, Happy Easter! We love you too!
So what’s the deal with Passover? Well the basic wrap is that when the Jews were fleeing Egypt, escaping slavery of the Pharaoh, they had to leave in haste. In fact, they left so hastily that they didn’t have time to let the bread rise! MAJOR travesty, or so it would seem. So much so that we commemorate this unleavened bread each year… I mean, the escape from slavery. Yes, that. Hellooooo matzah!
What is matzah? We call it unleavened bread, so it essentially looks like a cracker, but it’s basic ingredients are flour and water.
During Passover it’s customary for Jews to not eat any leavened products, or really anything that rises. Included on that list are foods made with wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oats. More conservative Jews have a longer list that may include products containing rice, millet, corn and legumes (like beans and lentils).
So that leaves the magical question:
What CAN we eat? ESPECIALLY if you’re GLUTEN-FREE, and matzah is off the list.
On a side note, the ingredients for matzah are the same ingredients on WikiHow’s 4 Ways to Make Glue. Yes, glue. Think about how well that adhesive is going to pass through your body… if it does.
So to answer the question of what CAN I eat, the answer is… LOTS. Passover is actually an OPPORTUNITY to allow yourself to eat a bit cleaner. Go to your local farmer’s market (or grocery store… or Fresh Direct), and pick up your favorite vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and go crazy. You can make some rockin’ soups, salads, stir fries, roasted roots, smoothies, juices, the list goes on…
But just so you have something concrete I’ve picked out some favorite recipes of mine to get your through the day. These all come from my 7-Day Cleanse & Reboot! (which, HINT will be launching again SOON), and are great if you’re keeping kosher for Passover or if you just want some healthy recipes that are actually DELICIOUS!
Here we go!
Green Machine Smoothie Madness
- 1 cup coconut milk, rice milk, almond or hemp milk
- 1 banana
- 1 handful of kale
- 3 Tablespoons hemp seeds or 1 scoop hemp protein
Combine all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth!
Sweet Potato Hash
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 large beet
- 2 turnips
- 1 onion
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Preheat oven to 400. Chop vegetables into half-inch chunks. Coat with coconut oil. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread evenly. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary. After 25 minutes, add garlic, stir, and roast for an additional 10 minutes.
Falling in Love with Pear Salad
- 1 bunch of well rinsed kale
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 pears diced
- 2 avocados cubed
- Sea Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 lemon juiced
Chop the kale, pear and avocado into bite size pieces. Combine all other ingredients together and toss enthusiastically. Add the cranberries and pumpkin seeds on top of the salad and the juice of one lemon.
Roasted Root Veggie Salad
- 1 pound root vegetables (beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips), diced
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium shallots
- 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
- 3 cups arugula
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Dash of sea salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In medium bowl, toss diced vegetables and shallots with Tablespoon of coconut oil . tsp sea salt to coat. Spread the veggies out in one layer on a baking sheet. Roast in oven until all veggies are tender (about 20 minutes). Drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and add fresh rosemary to the vegetables and toss to coat. Combine remaining 2 tbs. of olive oil, vinegar, and mustard in a small bowl and whisk with a fork until combined. Place arugula in a mixing bowl, pour dressing over greens and toss to coat. Top with roasted vegetables.
BON APPETIT and Chag Sameach!
Got any questions? About Passover or anything nutrition related… I’m here to answer! Comment below or shoot me an email at jennie@jenniefagen.com.
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