Cheap Eats in Jerusalem

I’ve made pretty clear that food happens to be a major part of Jewish culture. The other thing the Jewish people have been infamous for throughout history, is their relationship with money, i.e. being cheap. Unfortunately, there is no nice way to say it but it has been the stereotype for many, many years. Exhibit A. Shakespeare portraying Shylock from the Merchant of Venice as a rich, money hungry Jew.

So we happen to have a bad reputation for stinginess? (Stingy is one of those onomatopoeic words that sounds horrible in its own right). What better way to combat this than the list below:

Top 14 ways to get free food in Jerusalem

1)      Where else but the Chalva stand in the Shuk, Machane Yehuda? I acknowledge the fact that the Shuk has played quite a prominent role in this blog, but not without good reason. Walk past either of the 2 chalva stands (Mamlechet Hachalva) in the shuk on any given day, and the vendors practically shove chalva down your throat. Look out for the Chalva King himself - Eli, who continuously yells out "בא לטאום!" - come and taste!

2)      Speaking of the shuk, across from the Chalva stand is a shop specializing in olive oil. There are always bowls of sliced bread to dip into the oil. So if you feel like making a chalva sanga, grab a piece of chalva, bread with a dab of oil and you have lunch for the day.

3)      In general the shuk is one big taste test – ask any vendor "אפשר לטעום" - can I taste? and they will never turn you away. Often, they will give you a freebie (or a "מתנה" (, if you are only purchasing one item (e.g. a cucumber). Seriously, try it. It works.

4)      Moving away from the shuk, take a walk on the wild side, Ben Yehuda – a mere 10 minutes away. The well known falafel/shwarma store - Moshiko, throws falafel balls at any passerby. When I say throw, I literally mean: throw. Be careful, noone wants falafel splattered all over their face. They do however, have a reputation for having the best falafel in town so its rare that you’ll be happy with only one falafel ball.

5)      Then there are all the ice cream shops. Asking to try any of the flavours of ice cream will usually result in a bored shop assistant dishing out small spoons of ice cream, until they finally send you running or force you to buy ice cream.

6)      Supermarkets. Surprisingly, supermarkets are often promoting food items and will hand them out as you walk in. Icy poles have been quite common, but you’ll get a whole variety of products.

7)  Festivals (פסטיבל). Always thought it was “Pasta ball”.  Jerusalem, especially in the summer, is full of festivals. Shuk festival, bread festival, wine festival, beer festival, puppet festival, arts and crafts festival – any excuse for a party. There will usually be some form of free food at these street parties, so you will hardly go hungry.

8)      Nespresso @ Mamilla – I’m not entirely sure how long this will be going on for, but for the moment, this innovative shop is handing out coffee tastings of your choice. The coffee shop across the street isn’t too happy about this.

9)      I can’t believe I’m actually writing this, but when it doubt – there are lots and lots of soup kitchens located all over. Maybe don’t go showing off to your friends if you did grab a free meal from one of them.

10)  Friday night meals at the Kotel. A man, by the name of Jeff Seidel helps tourists and nomads find meals to join on a Friday night. I’ve never actually tried it out, but I’ve heard some very interesting stories. On that note, I have been asked by a man on the street on a Friday night if he could join us for dinner. Of course we said yes.


11) English Cakes and other assorted bakeries - usually on a Friday, but sometimes on other days, English Cakes bakery (located all around Jerusalem) hands out free tastings.


12) This one is particularly stingy. Go out to eat with a friend, don't order anything, and enjoy the bread and salads they put on the table. You might even be lucky and your friend will give you his/her leftovers. 


13) Crashing a kiddush on Shabbat day - many Shuls host a kiddush after praying with all sorts of food and drink. This isn't unique to Israel, but you have to know the right shuls to get the right food. Also, get there before 12pm or else you'll probably miss it.

14)  And finally, although its not free – there are a colossal amount of coupon/discount websites that advertise cheap deals on restaurants.

Hungry in Jerusalem? I don’t think so. 

Sufganiyah (Hebrew: סופגנייה): a ball-shaped doughnut that is first deep-fried, then pierced and injected with jelly (aussie: jam) or custard, and then topped with powdered sugar.

When I think of a donut, I think of Homer Simpson - drooling over a box of pink frosted donuts. Mmm…donuts.

Doughnut?

Or donut?

Both. If you want to get technical, the correct spelling is doughnut. The word was shortened to donut in the US, allowing these fried balls of dough to be more marketable and easier to use in advertising (think Dunkin Donuts). More proof that our society is getting lazier with age.

An even older version of the word is doughnaught which means “dough zero”. Did they used to be made out of solely jam and frosting?

Anyway, for the sake of this piece of writing, I’ll stick with donut (the US has done it again).

The Hebrew word for donut, is Sufganiya, derived from the Hebrew word for sponge (sfog) because of its sponge-like texture.

Next week, all around the world the festival of Chanukah (Hanukah) will be celebrated. Instead of one day of presents, we get 8 craazyy nights:

(http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/adam+sandler/the+hanukkah+song_20003925.html)

-          apologies for the corny reference -

Most of our holidays have unique customs with religious or traditional significance, including Chanukah. However, the tradition of giving presents on Chanukah was taken from Christmas. That’s right, we couldn’t even give Christianity their holiday all to themselves..

Usually I celebrate Chanukah in the Land of Oz, with beaches, barbeques and Chanukah in Caulfield park with jumping castles and fairy floss. This year, I will be celebrating Chanukah in its rightful wintry state. The streets are already lit up with Menorahs and the bakeries have been bursting with colourful designer donuts throughout the past month.

A little bit of History…

Chanukah is one of those festivals where the focus is all about the miracle. The Miracle of Lights. Coincidently it falls out around the same time as Christmas, but really has nothing to do with it. Oddly enough, it also happens to be one of the festivals that no one seems to remember the actual story. So here it is in short:

In 165 BCE, a small group of Jews rebelled against the Syrian-Greek King Antiochus. At the time, the King had banned many Jewish practices and introduced idol worship in the Jewish temple. Antiochus and his army were destroyed by this small band of rebels (known as the Macabees), and the defiled Temple was brought back to its original state. Chanukah literally means dedication – referring to the re-dedication of the temple in J.town following the Jewish victory over the Syrian- Greeks.

At this point of the tale you may be thinking, where do lights fit in? When the Macabees were attempting to re-purify the temple, they planned to light the Temples Menorah with ritual oil for 8 days. To their dismay, they discovered that there was only enough oil for one day. They lit the Menorah, regardless of this, and hey presto – the small amount of oil lasted for 8 days! And that - is the miracle of Chanukah. So we celebrate this festival with lots of oil – oil in the Menorah, oil in our foods, and oil in our hair (ignore the last statement). Donuts just happen to be one of the many oily foods we enjoy.

A Spot of Nutrition…

What could possibly be healthy about oil, dough and icing sugar?

Ok, so really – not much. Fat + Sugar = ? Bad idea.

Donuts are almost always deep fried (a baked donut would be more of a piece of sweet bread). Most of us know that deep fried foods absorb a lot of oil, making them extremely high in fat. However, we also have another problem on our hands. Frying foods at high temperatures for a long period of time produces a carcinogen called acrylamide, which has been known to increase the risk of cancer.

While there are ways around this, such as using healthy, unsaturated oils to fry the foods (e..g canola, sunflower, safflower) or heating the oil to the correct temperature before frying the food so that it doesn’t absorb as much fat – majority of people aren’t frying their own donuts. They’re buying them.

So what to do?

The solution to every dietary issue – moderation. If your usual diet consists of whole grains, fruit, vegetables, healthy fats and whatnot, your body shouldn’t suffer too significantly from a few stray donuts.

Unfortunately this usually isn’t the case over the festive season. A common conversation over Chanukah is competing over how many donuts one has consumed. Usually its not 3 or 4..

As a famous Aussie once said..

“9 out of 10 nutritionists recommend your kids eat Weetbix”

How many (donuts) do you do?

This is not my t-shirt

Just for fun: I used to have a t-shirt that said “Hakuna Matata”. For some reason, every time I wore it people thought it said “Hanukah Matata”. I miss that t-shirt.

The continuation of food in Israel – the good, the bad, and the ugly

As promised, here is Part II, with more of a focus on processed foods in Israel.

Juice Drink:

On the one hand the streets are jam-packed with vendors selling freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, grapefruit juice or carrot juice. But, walk into a supermarket or a makolet (milk bar) and it is rare to find a bottle of real fruit juice.

You may be familiar with some of the brand like, “Prigat”, “Spring” or “Jump” . Do not be fooled by their deceptive claims. They are not in any way, a fruit juice. Real fruit juice is never that clear. Real fruit juice is never that sweet. If you are craving a real orange juice, either buy one from the street, spend a wad of cash on an expensive brand, or make your own (or collect juice from the floor of the shuk and pour that into a bottle, no - please don't).

Israeli Cereals:

Breakfast for me = cereal. The cereals in this country just don’t do it. They’re not so much of a breakfast food, but more of a dessert. Filled with chocolate, nougat, vanilla, coated in sugar, packed with sugar-coated nuts and fruit, you end up just wanting more and more and more and more until the whole box somehow ends up empty. On one my trips to the supermarket the other week, I noticed that majority of the cereal shelves were packed with these sickly-sweet cereals, with the exception of Branflakes, which apparently makes up for all of it. Breakfast cereals are also triple the price of cereals in Australia, most likely because the usual Israeli breakfast consists of vegetables, bread, cheeses, eggs and dips. 

* Note - this is one of the recent versions of a box of cereal in Israel, only in this country would the advertising feature for a childrens cereal be "WTF". 

Maafot:

I really like this word. So simple, yet so useful. I know the literal translation is a pastry, but I’ve always thought of it as any baked good. Kind of like an umbrella term. Bakeries in Israel are always boasting about their “Maafot” – buy a cup of a coffee with a free Maafeh. Usually there is a selection of chocolate, apple, nuts, chalva and cinnamon. 

Bamba snack.

Bamba is an Israeli snack food, with a overwhelming peanut butter flavour.. Doesn’t work out very well for the school-kids of today, where peanut allergies are taking over the world.  Interestingly, studies have shown that kids in London have 11 times the rate of peanut allergies as kids in Israel. Is Bamba snack the solution?

It’s been around since 1963, and is still a prominent feature in the Israeli supermarket. Think Cheezles, without the cheese. More modern variations include strawberry-flavoured Bamba (not my favourite), and nougat filled Bamba (weirdly delicious). Bamba is promoted as a healthy children’s snack, but given its high fat content (544 calories in 100 grams, or 137 calories in a packet), I wouldn’t be overly encouraging it (despite it’s peanut-allergy-protective-powers).

Chicken Soup – The Jewish Penicillin

It’s about time I pay homage to the food that has shown its face in Jewish cuisine for centuries.

Chicken soup.

Some like to call it the Jewish Penicillin. Jewish mothers around the world take pride in cooking up this aromatic broth. A Friday afternoon is not the same without its’ smell pervading through the house. It even has a book named after it, “Chicken soup for the  soul”.

A little bit of history...

Soup in itself has a rich history. It utilizes one of the most basic forms of cooking – combining a bunch of foods in a pot with water to create a nutritious and filling meal with minimal effort. Easy to make, easy to digest, inexpensive – it’s no wonder soups have existed through the ages. But how did Chicken soup creep into the  Jewish traditional Friday night menu? It seems to be something we all take for granted..

To start off, there is no law in the Torah (Bible) that states we must eat chicken soup on Friday night. In fact, I’ve had Friday night dinners with pumpkin soup, corn soup, veggie soup, cold mango soup, and…you guessed it – NO SOUP AT ALL. For someone like me who has a tendency of spilling soup over myself and any other victims in proximity, it’s probably a wise idea.

Secondly, it’s not all Jews that have chicken soup on Friday night, only those with a European or Ashkenazi background.

Thirdly and finally, it seems the answer is pretty simple. The meal on Shabbat technically should involve some form of hot meat. In their thrifty nature, when Jews would cook chicken for the Friday night meal instead of discarding the bones, they would turn it into a delicious and nutritious soup. Practically speaking, soup is also easily kept warm, which is fitting for Friday night where foods cannot be heated up directly.

A Spot of Nutrition…

How did chicken soup merit it’s healing properties, analogous to penicillin?

The chicken soup-medicinal phenomena began in the 12^th century, where the Rambam (Maimonides) recommended the broth of hens and other fowl to “neutralize body constitution”. He claimed that chicken soup was curative for leprosy and asthma.

Chicken soup doesn’t have one secret ingredient, it is the combination of its ingredients that makes it so special. A typical chicken soup would include chicken (surprising, I know) with it’s bones, carrots, celery, onions, herbs (e.g. parsley, dill) and spices (salt, pepper).

Nowadays, one of chicken soups more common claimed healing powers is its effect on the common cold.

A study done on the benefits of chicken soup found that some components in the soup have an anti-inflammatory effect, which may result in reducing the symptoms of a cold. Many claim it also prevents sore throats and phlegm production, through the production of an amino acid called “cysteine”. It would seem that the Jewish mothers were onto something...

While many think of the traditional soup to be laden with fat globules on the surface, you can easily skim the congealed fat off once the soup has cooled down. The carrots in the soup contain high amounts of Vitamin A, which is useful for night vision. Unlike vegetable soups, chicken soup has a high protein content which is great for muscle development and strength. Interestingly enough, the bones from the chicken may increase the calcium content of the soup. Why drink milk if you can have a cup of chicken soup?

NOTE: Please do not replace chicken soup for milk, it probably doesn’t go well with Weetbix. I do know a certain somebody that used to take much delight in eating rice bubbles (or rice crispies for any Americans) with his chicken soup. Needless to say, I did not take up such a custom.

Shivat Ha'minim - The Seven Species

 In Jew-ville, we have seven types of grains and fruits and that I like to call the Shivat Ha’minim ­– in English, the 7 species. It also happens to be that the Torah (Bible) has the same label for them. These fruits and grains are the main produce of Israel and back in the ancient biblical times they were staples in the Israelite diet. They also played an important role in Jewish religion. During the times of the Temple, only the first fruits of these 7 species could be brought as offerings. These were known as the Bikkurim.

Fast forward to 2011. The seven species remain important, but do not dominate Israel produce like they used to. We do however have a tradition to enjoy the Shivat ha’minim on the holiday of Tu B’shvat. Tu B’shvat marks the New Year or the birthday of the trees, where they begin their fruit-bearing cycle. Many people celebrate this festival with a “seder” (not uncommon to the Passover seder), or a meal consisting of the 7 species..

And now to introduce these notorious 7 species..

** I can even provide a quote with a source (Deuteronomy/Dvarim 8:8) that cites Israel was “a land of wheat, barley, grapevines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of oil olives and date honey." **

Below each species is a little funky nutrition fact.

First up we have:

·         Wheat (chitah):

Whole wheat flour or white flour? It’s ironic that although whole wheat is healthier for us because it has undergone less processing and contains more vitamins and minerals, it is more expensive than its cousin – plain, white, flour which actually requires more processing, and therefore more labour. Just goes to show you that if we all start eating whole wheat, the demand will increase and the price will go down…one day we will get there..

·         Barley (se'orah)

Low GI. A topical area in the world of nutrition today – glycaemic index. And barley does in fact, have a low glycaemic index (25, where a GI of less than 55 is good)! Which is great news! Low glycaemic index means that the sugars in the food are broken down and released into your blood nice and slowly, so that you should stay full for a longer amount time. Remember this next time you are adding barley to a cholent..

·         Grapes (gefen), usually consumed as wine

Grapes contain an anti-oxidant called resveratrol. It comes along with a whole heap of benefits including protective effects against cancers of colon and prostate, coronary heart disease (CHD), degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease and viral/ fungal infections. Powerful stuff.

·         Figs (te'enah)

Oddly enough, figs are quite rich in calcium. In 100 grams of dried figs, you will get about 162 mg of calcium – that’s the amount of calcium in half a cup of milk. Try not to over consume on the dried figs though, you may find yourself running to the WC.

·         Pomegranates (rimon)

Awesome all-round nutritional powerhouses. Packed with fibre, Vitamin C, anti-oxidants and has been known to fight diseases like prostate cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

·         Olives (zayit), usually consumed in oil form

While olives are high in fat (about 80-85% of the calories in olives are from fat), it’s the good sort. Majority of the fat in olives is from oleic acid – which is a mono-unsaturated fat. In English, this fat helps with reducing the risk of heart disease by lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol levels in our body and decrease blood pressure.

·         Dates (tamar or d'vash)

Deliciously decadent dates. It’s amazing to think that despite their lavish, rich flavour they still have a lot on offer (nutritiously). They’ve quite famous for their laxative effect in assisting with constipation. They also contain a substance called “tannins” which have been known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties. They have a considertable amount of iron (0.9mg/100g). That being said, the iron derived from plants (known as non-heme iron) doesn’t get absorbed as easily as the iron from animal products (heme iron), so try not to rely on this as your primary source of iron.

There appears to be an “8^th species” – almonds. They are sortof an unofficial part of the seven species because they are closely related to Tu B’shvat. Almond trees are abundant in Israel and happen to bloom around the time of this festival. As a result they are often eaten together with the other members of the Shivat Ha’minim.

 

And that’s a wrap.

Shakshouka (shakshuka, shaqshuqa, chakchouka): North African dish consisting of poached or fried eggs cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices (often including cumin, turmeric, and chillies), and usually served with white bread

And my obsession with Israeli food continues...

What came first, the Shuk or the Shakshouka? There is hardly a café in Israel that doesn’t include a bit of shakshouka  on the menu. But today was one of those days where I felt like cooking it up myself. With summer having well and truly bid farewell and winter creeping up on us, I think it is time for something to warm up our hearts and spice up our spirits with this hearty dish.

A little bit of history..

The literal translation of shakshuka means “all mixed up”. Say it a few times over aloud. Seriously entertaining.

The dish is mainly made up of eggs, poached in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions and spiced with cumin, salt, pepper and whatever else you fancy. Originally coming from countries like Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Algeria and Morocco it became popular in Israel from the Tunisian Jews.  Some people believe the dish was invented in the Ottoman Empire and spread throughout the Middle East – often served with a spicy sausage. Yummy yummy.

Two important rules come hand in hand with shakshouka

1)      It must be served in a cast iron pan that it was made in - for the authentic look

2)      Use bread to mop up the sauce

That’s it.

Apparently there's this new version out there called Chamshouka. When I first heard about this, I thought it was chummus mixed with shakshouka. It appears I was wrong. It happens to be a dish made of beef, nuts, onions and garlic. In the more hipster café’s, they also offer an option of “green” shakshouka. Sounds scary? Have no fear, it uses spinach to give it a green colour. I prefer the traditional version…

A Spot of Nutrition...

my home-made version

It happens to the best of us. Ordering Shakshouka for breakfast – BIG MISTAKE. Despite that being the popular option in this country, your body will not thank you for it. Too much oil, too early in the day. However, making your own shakshuka could be a really healthy meal. Here’s a few tips on how to DIY shakshuka the healthy way

1. If you have high cholesterol and are trying to cut back on the eggs, try using the egg whites only – or have one egg yolk and 2 egg whites.
2. Try and use a minimal amount of oil – even if it is a healthy oil, like olive oil or canola oil, oil is oil and oil is fat and fat will usually make you fat (if you have too much of it). So spray a little on the pan before you fry the onions, or if you’re using liquid oil just pour a little to cover the pan.
3. Take this opportunity to bump up your veggie intake. Ever heard of the recommendation of having 5 vegetables and 2 fruits a day? You could definitely squeeze in 2 or 3 vegetables in this one dish – besides for using the classic tomatoes and peppers, you could also throw in sweet potato, carrots, eggplant, zucchini – or anything really if you’re feeling adventurous. The other cool thing to know is that when tomatoes are cooked, they release a compound called “lycopene”, an antioxidant that will help our bodies fight off disease. So you actually get more nutrition out of cooked tomatoes, over raw tomatoes.
4. Eat slowly – because the dish is hot, it makes it easier to enjoy it nice and slowly. It also helps with making you feel full.
5. Eat with whole meal or wholegrain bread (skip the butter) and you get a full meal – eggs, vegetables and bread – what more could you want in life? Sprinkle some cheese on top for some bonus calcium.
6. Refer to previous blogpost on eggs: http://rantingsfromaranga.blogspot.com/2011/03/egg-roundish-reproductive-body-produced.html for more info on the nutrition they offer

Shakshouka from Marakiya

Fast: 1. To abstain from food. 2. To eat very little or abstain from certain foods, especially as a religious discipline.

Through the creation of this blog alone, it is a well-known fact that Jews love their food. A celebration doesn’t exist without food. It’s true that wine holds some importance, but food seems to steal the spotlight. There are however, a few days during the year where we abstain from all food and drink. In Christianity, there is such thing as a “partial fast” – Lenten, commemorating the fast of J.C in the desert, where meat and dairy are prohibited. In Islam, the 30 day fast known as Ramadan bans all food and drink every day until sundown. Judaism and fasting sit somewhere in between the two religions. We have 7 fast days during the year – 5 minor, and 2 major. There are a whole bunch of reasons for fasting, but considering it is Yom Kippur in a few days here is a little bit of a historical, or shall we say, biblical, background to the holiest day of the year..

A little bit of history...

As is quoted in Leviticus 23:27, on the 10th day of the month of Tishrei, "You should do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement ("Yom Kippurim") on which expiation is made on your behalf before the Lord your God.  Indeed, any person who does not practice self-denial throughout that day shall be cut off from his people..”

Great, now that we have the biblical reference, here’s a little bit of an explanation of Yom Kippur (the lite version).

The translation of the word “Yom Kippur” literally means a Day of Atonement. For many Jews – it’s probably the most important day of the Jewish year. Even those who don’t observe any other customs or holidays, will fast and refrain from any work. The reason we call it a Day of Atonement (classic Biblical term) is because it’s set aside for us to atone for all our sins we have done in the past year. The new year begins with Rosh Hashana, a 2 day Holiday where we pray for a sweet year ahead. Ten days later, comes along this awe-some day of Yom Kippur – our fate is finally sealed. No going back. That’s it. C’est ca. G-d makes his decision, and we can’t do anything about it. So Yom Kippur becomes our last chance to change the destiny of our upcoming year.

It’s quite common, that in the days leading up to Yom Kippur people ask each other for forgiveness for anything they have done. There’s also the somewhat barbaric custom of Kapparot where we swing chickens around our head, asking the Big Man up in the Sky to exchange the chickens life instead of our own. A lot of people feel that swinging chickens around is a little outlandish and tend to use money or fish instead. Understandably so..

In addition to refraining from all food and drink there’s a few more prohibitions, of one them being banned from wearing leather shoes – you’ll often spot the Jews walking around in canvas shoes on Yom Kippur, pulled out once a year for the occasion. 

A Spot of Nutrition...

A lot of people seem to like the notion of fasting for a day. They feel it’s cleansing, or a detox – especially in the case of a fast like Tzom Gedliyah, one day post Rosh Hashana where we have been stuffing our stomachs with food beyond their capacities. It’s evident that there is some sort of spiritual benefit to fasting, but is there any physical benefit to fasting?

Apparently there are! Certain people fast on a weekly basis to help with longevity, as depriving our body of food for a day, or short amount of time, slows down the “clocks” inside our cells that trigger ageing, and as a result keeps our organs youthful. There are also theories that suggest short fasts (20-36 hours) can reduce risks of some diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, and that they can improve insulin sensitivity. In English, this means your cells are more sensitive and do a better job of keeping your blood sugar levels stable after eating.

At the same time, starving your body of food makes it really difficult to make intellectual decisions about what to eat, as your body craves instant energy – usually in the form of cakes, chocolate, biscuits or anything high in sugar.

Now here is a bit of science about what happens to our body when we fast. A fast technically occurs after 12 hours of not eating, when the body uses the carbohydrate and fat stores as energy. Once the body starts to use protein stores – this would be considered starvation, rather than fasting (which is what happens in the case of someone with anorexia or untreated diabetes). In other words – any benefits that come along with fasting, definitely do not come along with starvation.

Many advocates of fasting claim that because there is no food entering the body, the body is able to undergo detoxification and break down fat stores. It has no choice – there is nothing else coming in. When the body breaks down this fat, there are other chemicals stored along with the fat released that are also eliminated through this process. Pretty cool? The other benefit that comes along with fasting is some sort of a healing process. Instead of energy going toward the digestive system to digest the food we eat, it goes toward the metabolism and the immune system. The body is also better at repairing any damaged cells. Think of a time when you were sick or physically hurt – you usually lose your appetite because your body is using its energy to fix itself rather than eat and digest.

Despite these proposed benefits, there continues to be many doctors that deny these points and claim that fasting is actually detrimental. When it comes to anything on nutrition – there will always be controversy.

The traditional Friday night dinner – a calorific nightmare.

With the Jewish Holi(y?)day season coming up, our stomachs are gearing up for what lies ahead. Food. Food. Food. And more

Food.

During the year, we are used to feasting every week over the Shabbat (Sabbath). However, during the upcoming month – we endure an extra 2 days a week of intensive eating, not that I’m complaining.

But getting back to the lovely Friday night meal...I thought I’d talk about this nutritious-nightmare we face on a weekly basis.

To start off, we eat our meal late at night. It consists of about 5 courses. We start the meal with drinking wine on an empty stomach. We also usually go straight to sleep after the meal, only to wake up the next day and do it all again.

And here’s something you’ve probably known but chosen to ignore. This delightful dinner easily contains about a days worth of calories or kilojoules (assuming a normal adult needs 2000 calories/day or 8000 kilojoules)

Let me break it down..

1 glass of wine – 109 cal

2 slices of sweet challah – 343 cal

2 tbs chummus (there is no such thing as challah without chummus) – 74 cal

1 piece of gefilte fish – 73 cal

1 spoon of chrein – 10 cal

1 tbsp mayo – 148 cal (being a little generous with the mayo)

½ cup of  garden salad – not much, but watch out for any salad croutons, nuts, oily/mayonnaise-y dressings..

1 bowl of chicken soup – 153 cal

1 matzohball – 84 cal

Handful of soup noodles – 90 cal

1 piece of roast chicken – 294 cal

1 piece of kugel – 250 cal

1/3 cup tzimmes – 150 cal

2 scoops of pareve israeli bright coloured ice cream – 200 cal

A whopping total of………..

1978 calories.. (in Australian terms – 8307 kilojoules)

Yikes

Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration. But pretty close to the truth as well. Especially if you drink a few more glasses of wine, and eat a few more pieces of challah..

The meals over the holidays closely resemble this traditional Friday night meal, with a few exceptions. The challah is round. We dip it in honey. We eat weird fruits, and lots of sweet honey-like foods. But essentially, its quite similar.

So here are a few tips on how to take it easy over the Holiday season and give your stomach a break.

-          Try to have one slice of challah, and save room for other food

-          If spreading a dip on the challah – spread thinly

-          Avoid having soup noodles/niblets/matzoh balls/kreplach in your soup

-          If you can handle it, leave out one course at each meal. E.g. skip fish course or dessert. Actually, it’s probably a good idea to generally skip dessert, or just stick to fruit.

-          If you have a choice of fried or baked fish, choose the baked variety.

-          Aim to have only one serving of the foods that are being offered

-          Watch out for alcohol intake, and on that note...leave out any soft drinks. Water is awesome

-          If there are a choice of a few salads – choose the ones that without a mayonnaise based dressing.

-          And probably the best advice – only eat with interesting people. Boredom at a meal usually leads to overcompensating with eating. Better to keep your mouth busy with talking.

On that note, enjoy yourself – don’t over think it too much or you might drive yourself crazy!