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The Passover Survival Guide

April 14, 2008

As Passover is quickly approaching, I have had many requests to put out a newsletter on Passover, or as I call it, The Organic Experience Passover Survival Guide. So here it is my organic converts, both Jews and non-Jewish guests at Passover Seders, the guide to experiencing the beauty of the Jewish tradition without the accompanying food hangovers, lethargy, digestive flare-ups, headaches, bloating or weight gain. L'chaim!!!

photo of female rabbi

This is the time of the year that we as Jews celebrate redemption, freedom and the end of our bondage in Egypt. I really liked this picture of a female rabbi leading an all-women Passover Seder in Andover, MA. For me it symbolizes a fervent appreciation of our old traditions blended with an open-mind to the beautiful expansion that we are experiencing in our culture today. I felt a great theme for this newsletter would be to focus on how to respect our traditions and remember what our ancestors went through, while opening our minds to what modern day nutritional science can teach us. Although our traditions remain very much the same, unfortunately our food supply is not at all what it was in the time of Moses (or even in the time that our parents were kids). I don't know about you, but I used to feel awful after eating Passover meals. It doesn't have to be that way. We absolutely CAN celebrate without making ourselves sick. With that in mind, here are some guidelines for feeling your best while you celebrate.

Watch your matzoh. I actually really like matzoh but it is not as benign as one might think. Matzoh is made from wheat. Gluten is the protein in wheat, rye, oats and barley and it is very hard to digest. It can actually inflame and damage your digestive lining. The most severe kind of reaction to gluten is called celiac disease, but many people have a much milder form of this disease called gluten intolerance. In fact 75% of Ashkenazi Jews are gluten intolerant! (Sephardim are more like 50% so you guys are not totally off the hook). According to Julia Ross in her book "The Diet Cure," gluten intolerance is not a severe allergy like shellfish. It's more like "food reactions that you are so used to that you may even think they are normal like bloating, stomachaches, gas, constipation, low energy, joint pain, headaches, ear aches, runny noses, postnasal drip and even ADHD." In fact, we often become addicted to what we are allergic to. (Bagels anyone?) If you are addicted to wheat products (would you actually cry if I told you that you had to give them up, this is a sure sign), then you are more than likely gluten intolerant.

Yikes! So what do we do? Well this is a great time of year to just clean it up and RELEASE YOURSELF from the bondage of allergy addictive foods like gluten and sugar. You have to clean the house of all chametz anyway right? I like to recommend that Jews use Passover to stop eating most gluten and all sugar. You can still celebrate. . .just follow along here.

This year the first night of Passover falls on a Saturday. Normally you make sure the house is cleaned of all chametz the night before, except this year the night before is Shabbat. That means Thursday night we get rid of all the un-kosher for Passover stuff AND all of the other crap that might be lying around. Throw out or donate all of your bread, cookies, cakes, candy bars, soda, crackers, cereal, granola bars, etc. Anything with refined sugar has to go with all the unkosher stuff. Even once Passover is over, I'd like to recommend that you don't eat anything with gluten or sugar until May 1st (or NEVER!). It takes about two weeks to begin to clean up the gut and if you have a sandwich on May 1st and fall asleep right after or have other negative reactions, you know that you are indeed gluten intolerant and every time you eat gluten you are detracting from your health.

I consulted with Rabbi Maurice Appelbaum (AKA my cousin Mo) who informed me that it is only necessary to eat matzoh at the 1st and 2nd Seder to preserve the tradition. That's it. And that's all I would recommend. Yes there are wheat-free matzohs, but they are made with oats which most nutritionists agree has gluten. They are also hard to get and not worth the effort unless you have celiac disease. (Google "gluten free matzoh"). I did find a gluten-free matzoh ball recipe:

MY GRANDMOTHER'S MATZOH BALLS

Adapted for a gluten-free diet by Beth Hillson

  • 2 eggs separated
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • a few grinds of pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely ground blanched almonds
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon potato starch
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons chicken fat

To the yolks, add salt, pepper, and cinnamon and mix. Beat the whites until stiff and fold into yolks. Add the almonds and potato starch and fold in. Add the water and oil and mix. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Bring soup to a boil. Lower heat to medium. Mix matzoh ball batter lightly. Drop by tablespoonfuls into boiling soup. Return to simmer and cover. Cook 15 minutes. Serve. Makes about 15 un-matzoh balls.

Stock your house up with organic vegetables, fruit, meat, chicken, fish, dairy, eggs and nuts and let these foods be what builds your meals during Passover. I did a google search for "organic kosher for Passover" and found some good meat if you are having trouble finding it at your local organic market.

Rabbi Appelbaum said that traditionally we should drink 4- 4oz. glasses of wine (or grape juice for kids or those in AA) at each Seder. Use your judgment on this one, but 16 oz. of wine or juice is a lot of sugar and really not a good idea. If you can get in the celebratory spirit with just a little wine (one 4 oz. glass or less), I would highly recommend it. And if you don't want the kids climbing the curtains from all that sugar, watch their intake and make sure they are eating some protein.

At the Seder you may eat freely of protein, vegetables, broth (easy on the matzo balls), and rice for the Sephardim (LUCKY!). However, there are a few notes of caution on what NOT to eat. I repeat DO NOT eat:

  • kosher for Passover cereals. Most of these are loaded with chemicals. If the label says "artificial flavors or colors", even if its the last ingredient, this food is poison, don't eat it. Would you eat it if heroin was the last ingredient? (EGGS FOR BREAKFAST ARE GREAT!)
  • dessert if you had a meat meal. Pareve desserts are seriously unhealthy. Filled with margarine and other hydrogenated oils which have been linked with cancer, these are bad news. They are also full of sugar and artificial chemicals. (FRUIT FOR DESSERT IS GREAT!)
  • diet soda. If you family is anything like mine the diet soda flows freely. Aspartame and Splenda are neurotoxins and are linked with cancer. If diet soda was around in the time of Moses, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A PLAGUE, not something to consume while celebrating freedom. (FLAT OR SPARKLING WATER AS A BEVERAGE IS GREAT!)
  • gefilte fish and not just because my mother thinks it's gross. A lot of store-bought gefilte fish has hydrogrenated oils. If you check the label and there's no hydrogenated oils or anything artificial (and you like it), then go for it, but use caution because it also has gluten in it. (FRESHLY PREPARED FISH IS GREAT!)
  • table salt. We use salt water on Passover to remember the tears of the Jews for all of those years in bondage. Back then salt was natural and not refined. It is refined table salt that causes high blood pressure and many other negative health effects, so if you don't want angioplasty with your celery, don't do it. (UNREFINED SEA SALT IS GREAT AND HEALTHY! ESPECIALLY CELTIC BECAUSE IT'S LOWEST IN MERCURY.)

Walking on the holiday is a great way to get some exercise and catch up with relatives. Especially if you are doing both a Passover lunch and a dinner on the same day (like Sunday). Get out and take a brisk walk between those meals, get some fresh air and burn some calories. (Bring flat shoes).

Like any other time of the year, the 80/20 rule applies. Keep your diet clean, organic and healthy 80% of the time and you can get away with eating unhealthy stuff 20% of the time.

Have a wonderful holiday! Wishing you health, happiness and togetherness. I hope this newsletter takes the stress out of making healthy decisions this Passover. As for the kids screaming "Dayaynu" or the family inquisition about who you're dating. . .sorry I can't help you there!