Sabbath Friendly Oatmeal

Is making food ahead of time for the Sabbath stressful to you? You are definitely not alone, many people have expressed feeling overwhelmed attempting to do so much ahead of time in order to be able to rest from cooking duties on the Sabbath day. This easy, real food recipe is to the rescue! Here is a super simple recipe for a wholesome breakfast or snack that requires zero prep work ahead of time. Once again: zero prep work. Made with pantry staples, you're just some hot water away from a tasty breakfast or comforting snack.

Note: I know not everyone is comfortable with switching on the stove on the Sabbath, so if that's you please disregard this recipe and see this post for meals you can make ahead of time. I will also say that this requires no more effort than flipping a light switch, dirties only the bowl you eat it in, and has no risk of scorching to the pan. Any day of the week those are all wins to me!

Here's what you need:
1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup flaked, dried coconut
2 tablespoons almonds
1 tsp chia seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons chocolate chips

Turn your teakettle on to heat your water. While that's heating up, combine all of your ingredients except the chocolate chips in a bowl. When your water boils (or is close) pour about a half cup over the mixture, being careful to wet all the oatmeal. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and let sit 1-2 minutes before eating.

And that's it! It's a very simple recipe that you can obviously customize to your liking...oatmeal with dried apricots, pistachios, cinnamon, and honey is another of my favorite combinations. This makes a filling breakfast or a nice snack if you are craving something sweet, maybe even with some extra chocolate? You could also mix your ingredients ahead of time and just shake out about 3/4 of a cup into your bowl when you want to make this. Super easy either way!

*One more thing, no you do not need to use instant oatmeal. I have used old-fashioned oats from Aldi, Meijer, and Whole Foods and they all have worked well in this recipe. I find them to be cooked to my liking, and I think the texture is better in this recipe if you old-fashioned oats. If your oats are a bit thicker, or you like extra soft oatmeal, try adding a little extra water and let it sit an extra minute.

Related Posts:

The No Stress Guide to Sabbath Meals

Make Ahead Salads for the Sabbath

Stocking Your Pantry For Easy Sabbath Meals
Slow Cooker Sabbath Meal Ideas

Feast of Trumpets Smoothie Bowls: Fun and Delicious Way to Celebrate Yom Teruah

Looking for a fun and festive way to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets? This recipe is such a fun DIY project to make for Yom Teruah or to teach kids about this special Biblical holiday in a way that's really engaging! Smoothie bowls are healthy and easy to make, and you can of course customize it to suit your preferences and the ingredients you have on hand. It can easily be made gluten free, vegan, or whatever else you may need. I used an ice cream cone as a shofar which makes it perfect for the Feast of Trumpets. The blue backdrop and lots of white and yellow toppings symbolize the search for the new moon, which marked the holiday in the Bible. Celebrate Trumpets in a fun way this year!

You can use any smoothie or smoothie bowl recipe. I wanted mine to look blue since there is such an emphasis on looking for the new moon in the night sky for the Feast of Trumpets. I used blueberries and yogurt, but blackberries or elderberries or acai or blue majik spirulina could also make a blue smoothie. You can easily use whatever you like or have handy, and it's simple to adjust these for any dietary preferences or allergies. 



Night Sky Smoothie:
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 cups yogurt
1 tablespoon spirulina powder
1 tablespoon honey (or to taste for sweetness)

Put your blueberries in the blender and run the ice crushing setting for 30 seconds or so to break up the berries. This makes it easier to smoothly blend everything. (If you don't have this setting on your blender let them thaw for a few minutes before blending everything together.) Once your berries are mostly in small pieces, add the yogurt, spirulina powder, and honey and blend until smooth.

The spirulina is optional but it gives you a nutritional boost and also is responsible for the dark shade of blue. Without it the combination was more of a light purple. 

Once your smoothie is blended, pour it into bowls and decorate.

To decorate I used:

Ice cream cones for shofars (use gluten free if necessary)
Blueberries
Calendula flowers
Peaches
Sliced apples
Melon
Chia seeds
Sesame seeds
Coconut flakes
Menorah cupcake toppers (from here)

You could use any fruit or berry, seeds, nuts, or edible flower. Granola or cereal works here, and so do sprinkles or chocolate. You can use cookie cutters to make fun shapes out of apple slices. A ten commandment gummie would be a great touch too. It's easy to make these exactly to your liking and everyone can decorate their own bowl. If you don't mind a thinner smoothie base, you can even make the smoothie the day before and keep it in the fridge, along with sliced fruit for topping.

I hope you have fun making these smoothie bowls!

More posts on the Feast of Trumpets:

The Beginner's Guide to the Feast of Trumpets
Music and Moonlight Yom Teruah Celebration
DIY Noisemaker Craft for the Feast of Trumpets

Unleavened Desserts for Passover and Unleavened Bread (Kosher for Passover)

Need a dessert for your Passover Seder? Or something sweet to celebrate during the week of Unleavened Bread? Look no further! I rounded up some delicious options that are all kosher for Passover. Knowing different things are in season depending on where in the world you find yourself, plus that everyone has their own dietary preferences, I tried to make a mix that has something for everyone. Yay for real food desserts, vegan options, and good old fashioned meringue. If you're in need of some clarification of the dietary requirements for the week of Unleavened Bread please see this post.

Pink Swirl Meringues with Pomegranate Syrup from Drizzle and Dip

Naturally Sweetened Vegan Chocolate Mousse from Minimalist Baker

Peanut Butter Chip Cookies from Love and Lemons

Matcha Macarons with Mango Buttercream from Snixy Kitchen

Raspberry Vanilla Whipped Cream Pavlova from A Beautiful Plate

Blood Orange, Almond, and Ricotta Cake from Smitten Kitchen

Vegan Raspberry Lemon Chia Cheesecake from Love and Lemons

Passover Cookie Cake from My Name is Yeh

Heavenly Chocolate Cake Roll from Smitten Kitchen

Grain Free Berry Crisp from Minimalist Baker

Lemon Cream Pavlova from Snixy Kitchen

Mini Chocolate Doughnuts from Land of Honey

Raspberry Coconut Macaroons from Smitten Kitchen

Mango Turmeric Sorbet from Making Thyme for Health

Lavender Earl Grey Blackberry Ice Cream Floats from Snixy Kitchen


Wishing all of you a very special Passover time this year!

DIY Ten Commandment Gummies

These ten commandment gummies are a perfect treat for Bible school, Passover, or any of the Biblical holidays! Made with beef gelatin, they are Biblically clean and kosher, and you can use most any type of fruit or juice to make them. Use these to teach kids about Moses and the giving of the ten commandments, or as a healthy treat to enjoy at Shavuot or the Feast of Tabernacles.

The secret to this lies in the awesome candy mold used to make these into the commandment tablets. I found this one and love it! You'll notice that it has the first ten letters of the Hebrew alphabet - each letter stands for one of the ten commandments given by YHWH to Moses in Exodus 20, right near the time of Shavuot. Since we celebrate the giving of the written Word and the Ruach HaKodesh writing his Word on our hearts at Shavuot this is a perfect treat for this time of year. You could make them together as a family or surprise someone with a gift of real food, kosher sour gummies.

These are simple to make and they should work with any real food 'gummy' recipe out there, just be sure to use kosher gelatin! I used Great Lakes grass-fed beef gelatin but you could certainly experiment with agar agar as well. My candy mold holds just over half a cup of liquid. As you can see, these recipes will make for a bigger batch than that. I experimented with halving the recipes but found with that little liquid it didn't blend completely smooth in my blender, and harder bits of gelatin in my gummies are no good in my opinion. So I would recommend making the full recipe. If you have two candy molds that should work out about perfectly. If not, just pour the extra in a dish to set up. It won't be as cute but still tasty.

Strawberry Lemonade Gummies
2/3 cup strawberries (I used frozen but fresh works too)
2/3 cup lemon juice
5 tablespoons kosher gelatin (I used Great Lakes which is kosher and grass fed)
Ten commandments candy mold

Over medium heat in a small sauce pan combine your berries and lemon juice. Cook gently for 3-5 minutes until berries are softened. Place in the blender and blend until smooth. If you want to do a taste test this is the point to do it. If it's not sour enough to your liking add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice. If it's too sour add a few strawberries or a spoonful of honey.
Once you are happy with the taste add the gelatin and blend until smooth. At this point, it is going to smell a little, uh, meaty and that's okay. I promise the smell and funkiness will go away once the gummies are set.
Pour into your ten commandments mold. If you see any large air bubbles you can poke them with a toothpick. Any extra can be poured into a ramekin or small baking dish to set.
Refrigerate one hour or until set. Use a toothpick or butter knife to loosen the tablets from one side of the mold and then peel them out. You're done!

Blueberry Rhubarb Gummies
2/3 cup of blueberries (I used frozen but fresh works too)
1/3 cup rhubarb juice (see below)
1/3 cup lemon juice
5 tablespoons kosher gelatin
Ten commandments candy mold

To make rhubarb juice: place approximately 1 cup of fresh or frozen rhubarb into a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Simmer 15 minutes or until the rhubarb loses it's color. Strain and use the liquid for this recipe.
Over medium heat in a small sauce pan combine your berries with the rhubarb and lemon juice. Cook gently for 3-5 minutes until berries are softened. Place in the blender and blend until smooth. If you want to do a taste test this is the point to do it. If it's not sour enough to your liking add an extra tablespoon of lemon or rhubarb juice. If it's too sour add a tablespoon or two of blueberries or a spoonful of honey.
Once you are happy with the taste, add the gelatin and blend until smooth. You can see adding the gelatin turns the mixture opaque.
Pour into your ten commandments mold. If you see any large air bubbles you can poke them with a toothpick. Any extra can be poured into a ramekin or small baking dish to set.
Refrigerate one hour or until set. Use a toothpick or butter knife to loosen the tablets from one side of the mold and then peel them out. You're done!

Grape Juice Gummies
1-1/3 cups grape juice
5 tablespoon kosher gelatin
Ten commandments candy mold

You don't need a blender for this one. Whisk your gelatin into 2/3 cup of grape juice. Meanwhile bring the other 2/3 cup of juice to a simmer. Whisk the heated juice into the gelatin mixture until smooth.
Pour into the mold and let set in the refrigerator about one hour until hardened.
Use a toothpick or butter knife to loosen the tablets from one side of the mold and then peel them out. You're done!

I think this might be a new Shavuot tradition at my house. Has anyone used a ten commandment candy mold? I think I'm going to try chocolate next! :)

Coconut Cookies for Passover

It's Matzah Week! At least for some of us. My congregation just started observing the calendar that Torah to the Tribes uses so we are celebrating a little earlier than most this year. I wanted to share this cookie recipe today for those of you who are craving something sweet for this Feast but don't know what to make. Or if your Passover is still coming up I think this would be a great addition to the menu.

(Menorah lattes. An ongoing project in my life.)

I don't know if you've had a Passover cookie before, but often other than the name and the shape they bear no similarities to real cookies. They tend to be dry, crumbly, and not very good. These however are nice and chewy with a little bit of toasted coconut crispness on the edges. Since they contain no refined sugar or flour they fit with the GAPS diet and are Paleo friendly, so this should be a winner even for those on restricted diets. They don't taste like a diet cookie though; if you like coconut, this is the Passover cookie of your dreams!

You know how the best part of a coconut macaroon is the edge that got toasted? Flattening before baking makes the entire cookie that good!

You will need:
1 egg
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup finely shredded coconut flakes (unsweetened)
3 tablespoons almond meal or almond flour
2 tablespoons chocolate chips (I used 100% cacao but feel free to use whatever kind  you like)

Preheat your oven to 350°.
Mix together the egg, honey, and salt until smooth. Then add in the remaining ingredients. You will end up with a sticky mixture that is not as together as a typical cookie dough. This is what you want.
Since it is so sticky you'll want to line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Scoop about two tablespoons of your dough per cookie. I ended up with 9 cookies. Then using a clean, wet hand pat your cookies until they are flat. Since they have no leavening they will stay whatever shape they are.
Bake for 14-16 minutes. Your cookies are done once the coconut is nicely toasted and golden brown. When your house starts smelling heavenly of toasted coconut it's time to take them out.
Let cool before eating.

I really like that these aren't cloyingly sweet but if that's more your thing you could add an extra tablespoon of honey.

I know the food restrictions can be a little confusing during this week. If you need a little clarity or inspiration check out these posts for more meal ideas.

Happy Feast of Unleavened Bread!

12 Ways to Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread

1. Bake matzah bread. I know the rabbinical rules to 'unleavened' can be a little intimidating but really what YHWH says is just to not let your bread rise or ferment. Making your own matzah is not difficult and it's SO MUCH BETTER than the boxed kind. Here's my recipe for matzah made with einkorn flour.

2. Read Scripture. This is something we desperately need to reclaim as a joy instead of drudgery. Read appropriate passages out loud, ask children to act them out, memorize a verse this week, or art journal. Our lives and special times will be so much better if YHWH's word is the cornerstone.

3. Make a matzah pinata. Isn't little Lior who made his own mini matzah pinata the cutest? Here are my directions for this super fun Unleavened Bread Week decoration and tradition. Maybe the kids could smash it and get out the goodies at the end of the week?

4. Wear something festive. This Yeshua is the afikomen tee is on sale, or you could wear this shirt! Grab a matzah tie, or even get your dog involved in the festivities with a bandana or collar. Matzah socks, anyone?

5. Celebrate with a sweet kosher-for-Passover treat. Not baking with flour doesn't mean you can't enjoy a special dessert! Try these chocolate donuts,  or a mixed berry pavlova, or these walnut-crusted cherry tarts from Love and Lemons.

6. Make a matzo house. Definitely the answer to the traditional gingerbread house. Decorate with fruit, nuts, or candy. Use frosting or peanut butter for the glue. Martha Stewart shows us how.

7. Get your omer counter ready to go. You can make your own or print one of, but either way counting fifty days to get to Shavuot is a commandment of YHWH. Last year I did a DIY flair one that was such fun to put together. Torah Sisters Magazine also has the prettiest printable cards to use and a kids counter, and both are free!

8. Watch a movie. From The Prince of Egypt to Exodus: Gods and Kings to The Ten Commandments to shorter kids movies there is a fair amount of media that portrays the Exodus story, albeit not usually in a 100% Scripturally accurate way. I find visual aids very helpful, but of course use discernment about what media you consume and be ready to fact check and discuss discrepancies with your fellow movie goers. Here is a children's cartoon on the Israelites leaving Egypt that you can watch for free.

9. Decorate with a printable. 1 Corinthians 5:8 should be central to our focus during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so print it off as a reminder. Lots of other Feast appropriate printables can be found here.

10. Clay matzos. I showed you how to make these last week. Use them for jewelry, barettes, doll houses, as flair for your omer calendar, magnets, or to decorate an inexpensive picture frame with. 

11. Send a card. Receiving cards in the mail was always a marker of a special time to me as a child. Use this chag sameach card from The Climbing Tree or make your own. Sending to friends and family who also celebrate the Feast is fun for all, and sending to those who don't celebrate can be a thoughtful gesture that you're thinking of them.

12. Invite someone to dinner. This is special and memorable. Serve unleavened bread and maybe one or two of these recipes. This simple brunch is a huge crowd pleaser with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and cucumbers on fresh matzah. Discuss the meaning of the Feast and how it pertains to Yahusha to introduce your guests to this aspect of the kingdom.

How will you be celebrating Matzah week?