Easy On Hand Shabbat Meal

Observing the Sabbath day means preparing ahead of time for meals. Easier said than done, I know. Try as we might sometimes plans fall through and the week gets away from us. Sabbath can be fast approaching with no leftovers in the fridge and nothing in the oven. What do you do then? I present a simple meal.

You may already know this as a crudité platter or cheese tray or perhaps simply an appetizer board. It's also perfect picnic food. You may come to know this as the meal that saves the day. The only prep time is opening jars and slicing a few things, which is strictly optional. Essentially going through the cupboards and serving up what is on hand. Or if you're pressed for time after work on Friday, swinging into the grocery store and grabbing a few things that don't need to be sliced and sauted.

What you will need:

Pickles
Olives - I used kalamata and garlic stuffed
Veggies - fresh or pickled
Grape leafs
Almonds and other nuts
Crackers
Cheese
Dried fruit

Have you noticed a pattern here? All of these things have a very long shelf life, so you can keep them on hand thus always having a backup plan for a Shabbat meal. Since none of these things requires cooking you could use this as a Saturday lunch if leftovers weren't plentiful from the night before. This meal is also the best go-to for power outages and emergency type situations. 

Keeping the core of this meal on hand in the cupboard at all times is such a time saver and stress reliever. And you can supplement it with any fresh vegetables or leftovers you have. Apples and carrots can both stay good for months in the fridge so I usually have those too. Cheese also has a surprisingly long shelf-life when it is sealed in the package. Kosher certified goat cheese is easy to find and typically good for at least a couple of months. The same for cheddar which can also be kept frozen.

This tray includes:

Hummus (they sell canned hummus, but I haven't tried it.)

Goat cheese

Roasted red peppers

Crackers

Stuffed grape leaves (try a squeeze of lemon to liven up canned ones)

Carrot sticks

Cherry tomatoes

Pickles

Olives

Almonds

Apple slices

Dried cranberries

Dried figs

Fresh plumbs

Dried pineapple

Brazil nuts

This can obviously be adjusted to suit your tastes or whatever you have at the time. Since there's so many options everyone will like at least a few things.

Other ideas would be:

Sliced cheddar cheese

Canned artichokes

Tapenade

Pesto

Rustic bread or a baguette

Escabeche or pickled vegetables

Pita or pita chips

Brie cheese

Sliced pears

Broccoli or cauliflower florets

Baby carrots

Lunchbox peppers

Chutney

Salsa

Cashews

Nut butters

Snap peas

Grapes

Stock up on a few of these non perishables the next time you're grocery shopping so that you and your family can have a delicious Shabbat meal no matter how crazy the week gets.

More on this topic:
The No Stress Guide to Sabbath Meal Prep
Sabbath Friendly Oatmeal Recipe
Biblically Clean Make Ahead Salads

What does Scripture say about what we eat?

Does YHWH care what we eat? I admit this was initially a very hard idea to swallow for me. Doesn't God care more about what kind of person I am? Before you get to hung up on that question remember humanity's very first sin. Adam and Eve ate something they weren't supposed to. They were kicked out of Eden because of something they ate.

YHWH cares about every part of our lives. He gave us instructions for food for a reason. And he cares very much if we are willing to be obedient to his word.

Many teach that Yahusha “made all foods clean,” but did He?

Mark 7:19 is the verse that is used to say that, “All foods are clean.” However, that statement was added by translators who misunderstood the text. That sentence is not in original copies of the manuscript. Taking a closer look at the context of the verse helps to clarify this. Chapter 7 isn’t focused on what is being eaten; it discusses eating with unwashed hands.

We should also understand that in the Scriptures if something is not Biblically clean, then it is not called food. Nowhere in the Scriptures will we find something unclean or forbidden referred to as food.

Mark 7:5, The Pharisees and the Torah-teachers asked him, “Why don’t your disciples live in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?”

Please note: if Yahusha had in fact taught that it was okay to eat any type of meat their question would have been, “Why do you let your followers eat shrimp and bacon?” But that is not what they asked! They inquired why Yahusha and his disciples weren’t following oral tradition—doctrines of men, which required a ceremonial hand-washing before a meal. Yahusha taught that this practice was not required, as it is not written in the Torah. Yahusha never taught against YHWH's directions on what to eat. We know since he never sinned (1 Peter 2:22) he never violated any dietary commandments.

What does Scripture permit us to eat?

-Certain meats including cows, sheep, and goats.
-Milk and milk products from permitted animals.
-Fish with fins and scales. Salmon, cod, tuna, tilapia, perch, etc.
-Certain poultry including chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pigeon, and dove.
-Eggs from permitted poultry.
-Locusts, grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles.
-Fruit, vegetables, grains, and nuts.

What does Scripture tell us not to eat?
-Pigs, rabbits, camels, and horses. (Leviticus 11)

-Ostriches, eagles, bats, swans, pelicans, vultures, and herons. (Leviticus 11)

-Milk or eggs from unclean animals. (Leviticus 11)
-Blood (even from permitted animals) (Deuteronomy 12:23)
-Fat from cows, sheep, or goats. (Leviticus 7:23)
-Meat sacrificed to idols. Including 'halal' certified chicken, beef, etc. (1 Corinthians 10:28)
-Swarming insects. (Leviticus 11)
-Beef, lamb, or goat cooked with dairy. (Exodus 23:19)
-GMOs. (Leviticus 19:19)

The majority of food instructions are found in Leviticus 11, and it's a little gross. Mostly a list of things most of us would never think about eating. Bats, ravens, camels, vultures, uhh no thanks! While it's a little hard to fathom in this culture, YHWH has the same thoughts about pork and shellfish. Gross.

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that eating a lot of these unclean animals is bad for us. Be it from high levels of toxins in shellfish to trichinosis in pigs. But that is really not the point. The point is simply to follow YHWH's instructions. There is some cost to it, perhaps you'll need to give up something you've grown up eating; it takes effort to eat as Scripture instructs. It's not always easy, but it is always worth it to be obedient to the Creator.

More about what Scripture says about what we eat:
10 Times Scripture Talks About Clean Eating

Why Daniel Refused the King's Meat
How to Start Eating a Biblically Clean Diet
A Hebraic Perspective on Peter's Vision of Eating Unclean Animals