Meal Ideas for the Feast of Unleavened Bread

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we are instructed to abstain from leavened products for the week. (See this post for details on leaven.) I've rounded up some totally delicious recipes that are free from leaven and appropriate during Unleavened Bread, or any other time of year.

Soups: 

Seriously Good Vegetable Soup from Cookie and Kate

One Pot Spiced Sweet Potato Lentil Soup from Minimalist Baker

Asparagus Potato Soup from A Beautiful Plate

One Pot Red Lentil Sweet Potato Stew from Making Thyme for Health

One Pot Tuscan Style Beef Lentil Soup from Minimalist Baker

Butternut Squash Quinoa Chili from How Sweet Eats

Broccoli Cheese Soup from Cookie and Kate

Easy Butternut Squash Soup from A Couple Cooks

One Pot Everyday Lentil Soup from Minimalist Baker

Eggs and breakfasts:

Foolproof Shakshuka from Cookie and Kate

Healthy Breakfast Casserole from Love and Lemons 

Turkish Egg and Quinoa Breakfast Bowls from Half Baked Harvest

Frittata from Cookie and Kate

Grain Free Granola from My New Roots

Healthy Breakfast Smoothies from Love and Lemons 

Citrus Ricotta Breakfast Bowl with Honeycomb from Half Baked Harvest
*use grain free granola if you're avoiding oats

Berry Superfood Smoothie Bowls from Love and Lemons 

Salads:

Spring Nicoise Salad from How Sweet Eats

Chopped Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing from Pinch of Yum

Simple Green Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette from Minimalist Baker

Mexican Kale and Quinoa Salad from Cookie and Kate

Abundance Salad with Savory Tahini Dressing from Minimalist Baker

Easy Green Goddess Dressing from Cookie and Kate

Mains:

Sheet Pan Chicken Shwarma with Sesame Sweet Potatoes and Hummus from Half Baked Harvest

Grain Free Burrito Bowls with Shredded Mexican Chicken from Minimalist Baker

30 Minute Cauliflower Rice Stir Fry from Minimalist Baker

Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach and Salmon from Half Baked Harvest

Sheet Pan Chickpea Tikka from Making Thyme for Health

Spring Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken and Veggies from Half Baked Harvest

Mujaddara from Cookie and Kate

Sheet Pan Chicken Tinga Bowls from Pinch of Yum

Noodle Free Pad Thai from Minimalist Baker

Stuffed Delicata Squash from A Couple Cooks

Perfect Baked Salmon with Lentils and Lemon Herb Sauce from Pinch of Yum

Sides:

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes from Healthy Nibbles

Wild Rice Broccoli Casserole from A Couple Cooks

Creamed Spaghetti Squash with Browned Butter Walnuts from Half Baked Harvest

Easy Refried Beans from Cookie and Kate

Corn Salsa from Making Thyme for Health

Eight-Minute Sweet Potatoes from Minimalist Baker

Simple Chickpea Salad from A Couple Cooks

Mayo-Free Deviled Eggs from Minimalist Baker

Garlic Spaghetti Squash with Herbs from Pinch of Yum

Roasted Asparagus from Healthy Nibbles

Here's my recipe for homemade einkorn matzah (unleavened bread).
More recipes for the Feast of Unleavened Bread here.
Don't forget dessert! Kosher for Passover desserts recipes here.

Red Sea Crossing Smoothie Bowls

"The Israelites went through the sea on dry ground." -Exodus 14:22

These smoothie bowls are a fun way to remember and celebrate the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry ground. Kick off your Passover with these smoothie bowls for breakfast, or make them anytime to celebrate that YHWH provides a way for us. A way from slavery to his promises!

Any blue smoothie recipe works for this. Mine is made from blueberries and yogurt (it's the same that I used for the Yom Teruah night sky smoothie bowls), but you can also get a blue smoothie using blue spirulina, butterfly pea powder, or blue food coloring (I would recommend an all-natural coloring!). Acai fruit would work in place of the blueberries. Of course, since it was the 'Red' Sea you could play around with that as well. Feel free to use any recipe that works for your lifestyle and appeals to you!

Red Sea 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. The smoothie was more of a reddish purple before I added it.

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

For the dry ground I used finely shredded coconut that I toasted. Doesn't it remind you of sand at the beach? (To toast coconut: just put the coconut in a dray pan on medium heat and stir for 2-4 minutes. It will smell great when it's toasted!)

You could also used crushed up matzah, almond meal, chopped nuts, chia seeds, or a combination of those things. A glob of nut butter or sliced bananas could work too!

To make the shells: I mixed yogurt, almond meal, and a tiny bit of cocoa powder, and then froze in a seashell candy mold overnight. There's no exact recipe, I was just shooting for a beachy/sandy color.

Play around and be creative with the decorating! Color the shells if you want. You could also use candy fish or get a chocolate mold to make sea horses or turtles. Make waves in the sea or make the waves into white caps with a smear of plain yogurt or untoasted coconut. Decorate with berries, a ten commandment gummy, a menorah cupcake topper, nut butter, matzah, or whatever else you like.

New to keeping Passover? See this post for more details on this set apart time.

Recipes to Use Your Homemade Matzah In

What do you eat with unleavened bread? If you're making your own matzah from my recipe or something similar, it will be comparable to Indian naan bread. Like naan, homemade matzah goes great with curries and soups! The possibilities don't stop there though: you can make some serious breakfast sandwiches with homemade matzah or make crispy unleavened bread and dip it into hummus or labneh. Or try using it as a base for pizza or a tasty flatbread. This is a versatile ingredient, so there are all sorts of possibilities out there!

Homemade matzah works well in place of naan, pita, crackers, or even bagels in the recipes below. Make yourself a batch and you'll be eating well this week!

30 Minute Indian Pumpkin Butter Chickpeas from Half Baked Harvest
Unleavened bread is a welcome addition to any curry or daal recipe.

Turkish Fried Eggs in Herbed Yogurt from Half Baked Harvest
Soft and chewy homemade matzah is a great stand in for toast. You can toast your unleavened bread in a skillet, the oven, or the toaster if it fits!

Crispy Baked Falafel Pitas from Love and Lemons
Homemade matzah is pliable and a good stand it for pitas in falafel sandwiches.

Labneh Yogurt Cheese from A Couple Cooks
Use matzah in place of pitas, pita chips, or crackers to eat with cheese, dips, and hummus. It's delicious soft or crispy. (For crispy matzah - either bake a little longer to begin with, or cut your matzah into pieces and then bake in the oven for a few minutes until dry and crispy.)

Roasted Cauliflower Hummus Bowls from Pinch of Yum
Can't stop, won't stop dipping unleavened bread into a great bowl of hummus!

Chicken Souvlaki Bowls with Garlic Fries from Half Baked Harvest
Change up your kosher for Passover recipe rotation with a dinner like this. Lots of the prep can be done ahead too!

Easy Pita Pizza from A Couple Cooks
Yes, you totally can make matzah pizzas from your homemade bread! Just add sauce, cheese, and toppings for a hands-on dinner that kids love.

Smoked Salmon Platter from How Sweet Eats
Why not eat unleavened bread with all of your favorite bagel toppings? Cream cheese, smoked salmon, eggs, and veggies all would be great on matzah.

Ricotta Naan with Fried Eggs and Sweet Potato Fries from Half Baked Harvest
Another breakfast sandwich take. See that avocado on their? You could go full unleavened avocado toast if that's your style.

Roasted Broccoli Rabe Pesto Flatbread from Cookie and Kate
Homemade unleavened bread makes the perfect stand in for store-bought flatbread. Topping possibilities are endless too!

Potato Cauliflower Red Lentil Curry from Minimalist Baker
Dip plain matzah into curry or take it up a notch with a smear of garlic butter.

Chicken Shawarma Naan Salad with Sweet Potato Fries from Half Baked Harvest
Up your salad game with sweet potato fries and then wrap it all in a warm piece of unleavened bread!

Try any of these recipes with my Homemade Einkorn Unleavened Bread recipe.

Lots more kosher for Passover recipes can be found here.

Tips for Kids at Passover Seder

How can you help kids get the most out of Seder this year? Whether you're a parent, hosting a Seder, or just involved in one, here are some ways you can help make this time more meaningful for the children.

Tips for helping children to get the most out of Passover Seder:

-Start early! If Seder is the first time children are hearing about Passover, Moses, the Israelites leaving Egypt, the death of the Messiah, etc. it will be a confusing night for them. Parents, start talking to your kids about the Passover story in the weeks before. Read books, watch movies, make crafts, and have discussion about the events in the Bible you expect to be talked about at Seder. Those involved in children's ministries, the same goes for you. Spend time leading up to Passover familiarizing children with these parts of Scripture and what they can expect at Seder. If your congregation is hosting a Seder, see about getting the kids involved for part of the service via acting out a skit or singing a song or two.

-If you are hosting, make it a kid friendly event! Speak with simple words and use analogies that children can relate to. Ask questions to get them involved or let them ask questions to satisfy their curiosity. Use props or toys to tell the Exodus story in an engaging way. Take breaks to give the kids a chance to move around. Keep the evening to a reasonable amount of time; if it's going to be late, have a place for children to take naps. Remember to not get upset when a small voice occasionally interrupts or a baby cries - this is an important time for them to learn!

-Encourage kids to run around and play beforehand. Seder can be a lot of time sitting still, and it's easier to do that if you're not bursting at the seams with bottled up energy. Before Seder, give kids time to play on the swing set or playground. An adult could organize a game like kickball or an obstacle course (how cool would a special 'fleeing Egypt' themed obstacle course be?). Or simply have all the kids run a few laps around the house or building before the meal starts.

-Ask them to participate. Letting kids be a sanctioned part of what's going on can make the evening a lot more meaningful to them. Have each child recite an age appropriate verse or passage of Scripture. Or ask the children to act out part of the Passover story during the meal. If your Seder will go over the plagues against Egypt, get the kids involved with holding up a puppet or prop to represent each plague (or even let them throw them if that works). Ask them to draw a certain picture related to Passover. Give them jobs like passing out parsley or matzah.

-Let them munch on matzah or another snack. It's not very realistic or fair to ask kids to sit at the dinner table looking at food for an hour before letting them eat. (Especially if you have food out on the table for them to look at!) Let parents know that it's okay for kids to snack on unleavened bread or whatever else during the service. 

-Have discussion time. Especially if the Seder you attend is of the more formal and lengthy caliber, discussing what's going on throughout the evening whenever you have a chance can help kids to get a firmer grasp on what these things mean. Ask if they have questions. Don't hesitate to break down what's happening into simple terms. Say things like, "This salt water is like all the tears we would cry if Yahusha wasn't in our life," or "The Messiah gave grape juice to his disciples at the last supper, just like we're drinking." If you're leading the Seder, be sure and include simple explanations of what's going on for the kids!

-Have quiet activities for them to do at the table. Give the kids coloring books or activity pages related to the Passover story that they can work on throughout the evening. Playing with a small baby 'Moses' doll and basket or toy lamb could be other options.

-Make the setting fun. Use decorations to captivate younger guests imaginations. Could you make the room or table setting look like ancient Egypt? How about having children help you hang up crepe paper or a red cloth on the door to represent the blood of the lamb? Could you put down a blue blanket or paper to represent the Red Sea and have all the children cross it at that part of the Exodus story? What about making that obstacle course that represents different parts of the Israelites journey to freedom?

-Remind them of their own story. There are so many parallels to our own lives from the story of the Israelites being set free from slavery. Be sure to talk to kids about how that works in their lives! Talk about the impact the Messiah's death has on them. Remind them of personal moments where they saw the faithfulness of YHWH.

-How about a present? Send kids home with a small token to help them remember the evening and all that they learned. The Passover activity books could serve a dual purpose here. More gift ideas here.

More ideas for kids and the Spring feasts:
Kids Crafts for Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits
12 Ways to Celebrate Unleavened Bread
DIY Matzah Pinata