Yay! Shabbat is Coming!
I've put in my time in the kitchen and we're ready for Shabbat! Yummy salmon salad, organic egg spread, lots of fresh salatim, and veggies dressed in just the right way, make Shabbat health-friendly. Seasoned pargiot grilled to perfection, roasted beets with rosemary, and quinoa with dill. Family-friendly fare can be healthy and delicious at the same time. Your kids will forget about schnitzel and beg for spelt matzah ball soup simmered the perfect amount of time to extract all of the yummy stuff from inside those chicken bones.
What to do about dessert? Ask any of my kids to complete this sentence, "Sugar is ..." The correct answer is evil. Pretty strong word, huh? Sorry, I ain't gonna, ahem, sugar-coat the sugar issue. Sugar is everywhere. It's hiding, it's disguising itself, it's changed it's name, and it's infiltrated our diet in ways you can't imagine. More on that later!
While going on the fact that sugar is bad for you...how do we address dessert? Well, it's Shabbos and we know our kids are expecting something sweet at the end of the meal. As much as I've tried to just serve chickpea brownies and date balls, my kids are not buying it. And my guests, as polite as they are, appropriately tasting and mmmm-ing, nobody is asking for seconds. Okay, I get the hint.
I'm here to be balanced, and in my humble opinion, that means Shabbat and dessert (in appropriate amounts!), go together quite nicely. I adjust my recipes to make room for healthful additions- whole spelt flour, high quality chocolate, organic eggs, and coconut oil are all small steps that you can do to add a bit more nutrition to your dessert concoctions.
Here's my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Don't over bake them and they will be a yummy, chewy texture. Thanks to Levana Kirshenbaum of Levana's Kitchen for the inspiration for this perfect, parve cookie recipe.
2 organic eggs
3/4 cup organic coconut oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup organic unbleached white sugar (available at Duv D'Van)
1 tbls high quality Vanilla Extract (made from real vanilla beans)
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
2 cups of chopped chocolate bars or chocolate chips if you're short on time
Bake for 8-10 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. Makes approximately 40-48 cookies depending on how much raw cookie dough you consume:)