Ice Coffee (not to be confused with “cold coffee”)

Summer is pending. Or it has sort of begun in the Northern Hemisphere. And what happens in Israel when the sun appears? 4 out of every 5 people (I made up that statistic, it’s not an actual fact) will be parading the streets thirstily sipping an ice coffee. Make note. Ice coffee in Israel (said in an Israeli accent – איס קפה) differs to a regular iced coffee out of Israel, in that it is blended with ice and milk. The texture is so thick that it’s probably easier to eat it with a spoon and possibly with some sprinkles on top. If you are looking for a regular ice coffee, you need to ask for a “café kar (kar = cold)”, no surprises there.

Other varieties of this ice coffee include ice mocha, ice chocolate, ice vanilla, hazelnut, irish liquer, french vanilla and probably a whole lot more that I am unaware of. For someone who likes coffee, but doesn't like the coffee flavour (yes - there are many people like this) this is perfect – you can barely detect a coffee taste. On the flip side, for those who want an extra hit of caffeine, you can request to have an extra shot of espresso, making the texture a little slushier.

Nutrition wise? As you might have guessed, it isn't high up there on the food chain. Take a look at the nutrition information from an ice coffee in Aroma café (one of the popular coffee franchises in Israel). The coffees are usually given as a 500mL serve, sometimes there is the option of ordering a smaller size (like in Aroma). The amount of calories it contains is equivalent to about 4 slices of bread. Or a piece of steak. Or two slices of pizza. Or 10 carrots (yum yum). Anyway, you get the picture.

Where do these calories come from? The full cream milk and sugar, making you come back for more, and more, and more. So while you think you are simply gulping down a drink to quench your thirst, or satisfy that sugar hit – you are essentially eating a full meal. On a positive note, drinking through a straw might slightly alleviate the damage the sugar is doing to your teeth.

Fret not however; there are diet versions available in some cafés – depending on where - they use low fat milk and artificial sweetener. The diet variety has about ½ the amount of calories as a regular (150kcal). Then again, there has been many times where I've noticed the same machine being used for “diet” and “regular” so who really knows?

Nutrition Information

	500mL	100mL
Energy	308.33kcal	61.67kcal
Protein	6.82g	1.36g
Carbohydrate	51.19g	10.24g
Fat	8.50g	1.70g
Saturated fat	5.88g	1.18g
Cholesterol	17.79mg	3.56mg
Sodium	221.36mg	44.27mg

If you are looking for some ice-y alternatives this summer here are a few ideas:

-       - Previously mentioned cold coffee which is just milk, ice and coffee – assuming you don’t add too much sugar and use skim milk these have about 1/3 of the calories.

-       - Icy poles or “ices” depending which country you’re from. Ice, sugar and a bit of flavour on a stick – refreshing and low in calories at the same time.

-      - Frozen fruit – try freezing oranges/grapes/pineapple or anything really and the finished product is another thirst quenching addition to your summer menu.

-       - Vegetable juice. It may sound unappealing but is surprisingly good. Go to any juice bar and get a mix of carrot, celery, beetroot, and some ginger or mint for an added kick.

-       - Make your own iced coffee by blending up milk, ice, coffee or use fruit instead of coffee for a fruit smoothie.

-       - Add mint or fresh fruit to water with ice if you find water a little bit tasteless

-      ...... Oh and speaking of water – drink water!

    And in case you want to try making this at home (if you are not in Israel, or just feel like experimenting) - here's is a recipe:

     Ingredients

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 Tbsp instant coffee
• 4 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 packet vanilla sugar (2-2½ tsp)
• 1 bag milk (1 litre)
• 1 bag shoko (about 1 cup chocolate milk)
• 1 Tbsp chocolate liqueur (optional)

Directions

1. Stir coffee into water in a large mixing bowl, blender, food processor, or whatever else seems like a good idea. Add sugars and stir again until dissolved.

2. Add milk, chocolate milk, and liqueur if using, and mix until evenly combined. Store in the fridge or freezer

Communal Dining

On this blog of Jewish food and nutrition there has been different categories of things I have written about: Traditional Jewish foods and their significance, foods pertaining more specifically to Israel and general concepts around food in Judaism like fast days and the separation of meat and milk. A common thread among all these things is that the combination of food and Judaism - will undoubtedly result in some sort of communal dining experience. Jewish holidays – both festive and serious, celebrations and commemorations, Israels Independence Day, the Jewish New Year and so on and so forth. When there is food, in come the aunts, the uncles, the 3^rd cousins once removed, the friend’s friend and the neighbours dog.

We don’t even think twice about having two large meals with 15 people every week. But is there a benefit to communal eating other than the social aspect?

I recently read an article talking about this very topic. It compared the dining experience 

of a single person eating alone each night, to a family or group of friends eating together.

Scenario 1: Person comes home from work. Person is lazy to cook for him/herself. Person sits in front of the TV or computer and eats a packet of food “x” or orders in pizza, or doesn't eat all together.

Scenario 2: Person comes home from work. Person is lazy to cook for him/herself – but decides to invite some friends over for dinner. Friends cook dinner together, eat slowly, talk and end the night feeling happy and satisfied.

Ok, so maybe the two situations are a little exaggerated but you get the gist.

Back to the article – conclusion was that eating with other people has been shown to have health benefits as well, and this goes for all age groups. In nursing homes, having a communal dining hall will inspire the elderly to eat adequately compared to sitting in their room on their own. School kids are more likely to eat a nutritious dinner when eaten together with the family.  Adolescents are less likely to develop eating disorders and skip meals. Children also eat by example and will learn healthy eating habits from their parents.

And then you have the miscellaneous group of people aged 20+ that live on their own and are more likely to skip dinner/eat quickly/order take away food/eat a  tub of ice cream for dinner. 

While one may argue that having large meals with a lot of people might result in over consumption (hello – Jewish world) – it also  brings the opportunity to consume foods like salad, soup, roast chicken (as opposed to a burger and chips) and in general – less processed foods. People are less likely to binge eat in the company of others (usually) and may be inspired to try new foods. Food usually tastes a lot better when eaten with others. Although, now with people posting their lunch on Instagram, it sort of replicates the experience of sharing a meal in real life (does it?).

There has also been a trend for communal dining restaurants that offer the opportunity for strangers to eat a meal together at one table to benefit from this experience.  

Yesterday in Israel was an example of communal eating being brought to life. Israel celebrated its independence and it seemed like the entire country filled any single outdoor area despite the not-such-great weather. Family and friends sat together over a BBQ and enjoyed the fresh air, food and company. Nothing else quite like it..