Pesach Ain't Easy+ meal ideas

Everything is off balance during Passover. My house is upside down right now. With boxes of Passover pots and pans and random spices and very sharp knives that only get used once a year. There are crumbs of matzah everywhere. For a holiday about freedom and controlling your own destiny, the preparation and execution is oppressive and out of control. Cleaning, cooking, aching backs, and seriously high receipts from Shoprite in Plainview remind us that redemption is not a walk in the park.

I'm in a little bit of a Passover haze. The holiday is in full swing and I literally do not know what to eat. When I would normally grab a granola bar, now I grab... matzah and cream cheese. When I could throw together a pasta salad, now I grab.... matzah and cream cheese. Everything is out of sorts. Eventually, you get sick of matzah and cream cheese and the creative side of you takes over. As they say, "necessity is the mother of invention." I start exploring old recipes with appropriate Pesach substitutions and googling new recipes. Moroccan soup, zucchini fritters, spaghetti squash marinara start popping up in my mind.

This seems to be the goal of Passover- to take you out of your comfort zone so that you remind yourself of your resourcefulness.

Anyone who has started a new profession, moved homes, or started over in some way, knows that redeeming your life takes hard work and sacrifice. It is an act of changing course, of reimagining your life and executing a new future. There are many steps towards the process and you are forced to get creative.

Pesach is our yearly reminder that we and our families have the strength to withstand some upheaval for the sake of our own growth. A zissen pesach, my friends.  May your resourcefulness yield creative and new and enjoyable recipes!

Here are a list of recipes that frequent my Kosher for Passover kitchen:

Roasted eggplant

Eggplant Parmesan

Zucchini Fritters

Shakshuka

Ratatouille

Guacamole

Hearts of palm, tomato, and avocado salad

Quinoa with beets and sweet potatoes

Cauliflower Fritters

Letting Go

I want you to picture the Costco-sized container of hamantashen sitting on my parents’ marble countertop on Long Island, begging to be eaten. When I was a child, we would pack special Purim baskets, mishloach manot, to give to friends and family. They were full of peanut chews, pretzels, Hershey kisses and, of course, hamantashen. I sat there filling the cute little decorative boxes that had “BERNSTEINS” emblazoned on the front.

Unfortunately, more hamantashen got into my mouth than into the baskets. It was like the Looney Toons cartoon where a mobster gives out money to his gang, counting, “One for you, one for me. Two for you…One, two for me…” It was fun and carefree, not a big deal. But this kind of behavior made me significantly overweight by the time I was 16. That was when I started Weight Watchers, lost over 50 pounds and changed the course of my life.

I am a big fan of mindful eating, but once I started following the points plan I also resented having to be so precise about what I ate. Why couldn’t I just eat until a button popped? Better yet, why couldn’t I be that person who could eat what she wanted and still stay thin?! (I hear those mythical creatures actually exist.) I was so focused on my new self-control that I never allowed myself a “night off.” But this control sometimes backfired. Being too strict triggered some enormous binge fests. So I began to ask if there a way to relieve some of the pressure of always being so good, without running the risk of falling back into old habits? Can we plan to go a little crazy?

Purim offers a little guidance on this subject matter. In a nutshell, the evil Haman wanted to wipe out the Jews, especially Mordechai, but in the end, it was Haman and his people who got the noose, and the original plan was turned on its head.

That is why Purim is a wacky night. It is the Jewish “opposite day,” so much so that the rabbis in the Talmud said that a person is obligated to become so drunk [with wine] on Purim that he or she cannot tell the difference between the cursed Haman and the blessed Mordechai. We dress up in costumes, eat elaborate feasts and just have a good time.

The anthropologist in me sees the connection between Purim, Carnevale and Mardi Gras. These are somewhat sanctioned nights of “letting go.” It’s a valve that releases the pressure of our strict expectations.

We can apply the same concept to eating. It’s unreasonable to expect that I will never eat an eggplant Parm hero (my Achilles heel) or enjoy a few hamantashen on my favorite holiday. It’s important to make room and decide how we want to splurge on something that is worth it.

Once a month I would eat carefully all week and save up points for an entire hero. For others, it’s the cocktail hour at a wedding or 4th of July barbecue. We can foresee a night in which we want to relax with something really tasty and save up to splurge. Then we just get back on track at the next meal. It’s about feeling less deprived.

Sometimes you have to plan to be a little out of control.

- See more at: http://jewishfoodexperience.com/a-sanctioned-night-of-letting-go/#sthash.xUufvQSM.dpuf

Searching for My Mojo

I felt like I was in control of my eating for a few months. I would sit down for a meal, finish what was on my plate and not go fishing in my fridge for something more. Sometimes, I would even (gasp) leave a little food if I was full. I ate when I was hungry. I asked my body what it needed to eat instead of telling it. And now… I feel like my mojo is gone and I'd like to get it back somehow. You know when you’ve hit that smooth spot of weight loss, and whatever you're doing it's working, and you just want to bottle it for when you're in a rough patch? Anyone have some bottled mojo?!?!

There is nothing like those first couple of weeks on WW where you follow the plan to a “T” and the weight just melts off. That was some good mojo. I remember my first week and a half on Weight Watchers. I was an overweight teenager who had promised herself every summer that she would magically lose weight and suddenly everyone would look at her differently. Never happened... and you begin to feel like a failure after a while.

But after my first week and a half, I went down 6.8 pounds. I absolutely couldn't believe it. After they told me how much I had lost, I felt this strong sense of pride and relief and shock taking root in my chest. I felt tears forming, eager to flow down my cheeks with amazement and joy. I quietly took my seat grinning ear to ear. I had done it. 

To think back on those moments actually makes me feel a little stronger right now. To remember how far I have come…to remember how much it meant to me to take control over my life.

This past Rosh Hashanah I talked about memory. There is a whole portion of the service called Zichronot (remembrances) devoted to remembering what God did for our ancestors. I introduced this section to the community with the following quote: “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December (James M. Barrie).” Memory can be so powerful. We don't stop to reflect on our paths often enough to be witness to our own strength. We take successes for granted and setbacks as failures. Winters and summers come and go just like weight losses and gains. For everything there is a season. And when our mojo is frozen perhaps we need to reach back in our memories to sweet smelling moments of pride and success to last us until the winter thaws. And it will thaw. I have faith. 

So… until Weight Watchers and Oprah figure out how to bottle mojo, I’ll rely memory.