Shana Tova!!

Happy New Year!

It's going to be a strange beginning to the new year. My son has bought a house and will be moving out within 2 weeks. The cat is happy. I am very pleased for him. He'll be 27 this year and should be out on his own.

I thought that I would give ideas for a healthier New Year.


First Tip: Think Sampler Sizes

In order to taste everything at the Rosh Hashanah table, have a small amount of everything - like apples and honey and apple challah; have just one matzo ball in the soup; enjoy the brisket in moderation; and have the fruit compote instead of the honey cake.

Second Tip: Lighten up the dishes that are rich and at the same time particularly desirable and comforting (and easy to over eat).

A healthy recipe for tzimmes:

Carrot Tzimmes
(Carrots are sliced into coins and eaten as a symbol of prosperity and good luck in the New Year)

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup seedless golden raisins
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Minced fresh parsley

Mix everything except the parsley together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the carrots are crisp tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the cover from the pan, raise the heat and cook the carrots until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thickened, about five minutes. Sprinkle the parsley on top and serve.
Serves 6

Per Serving: 125 calories, 2 g protein, 26 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g fat, .2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3.3 g fiber, 42 mg sodium (not including salt). Percent calories from fat: 17%

Light Changes: (In order to bring down the calories and grams of sugar a bit). Take out a tablespoon of non-dairy margarine and upped the orange juice by a tablespoon. You can also cut the honey and brown sugar in half (from 3 tablespoons to 1 1/2) and decreased the raisins from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup.

Potato Kugel

1 large onion, grated
6 large potatoes, peeled and grated (about 1.75 pounds of potatoes before peeling)
2 eggs well beaten (higher omega-3 if available)
1/2 cup egg substitute (if you don't want to use egg substitute increase the higher omega-3 eggs from 2 to 4)
1/4 cup canola oil (in the old days this used to be schmaltz - rendered chicken fat!)
1/4 cup double strength or condensed chicken broth (low sodium chicken broth can be used)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grate the onion first. Grate the potatoes and add to the onion to stop the potatoes from turning brown. Further chop half of this mixture with the blade of the food processor. This makes the kugel less dense. Mix everything together. Pour into a 2-3 quart rectangular casserole dish that has been coated with canola cooking spray. Bake for about an hour or until very brown and crusty. Cut in to squares to serve.
Serves 8

Per Serving: 187 calories, 5.5 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 8.3 g fat, .9 g saturated fat, 53 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 91 mg sodium (not including salt to taste). Calories from fat: 39%

Light Changes: You can cut the oil in half (from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup) and specified canola oil which is higher in mono-unsaturated fats and plant omega-3s. You can add some double strength chicken broth to compensate for the moisture loss and to add a nice chicken flavor. You can also replaced half of the eggs called for with a nice egg substitute (like Egg Beaters) and suggested higher omega-3 eggs are used if available.


Not so healthy but very tasty sounding:

Sliced Lamb In Apricot Mushroom Sauce

4 pounds lamb, cubed
2 onions diced
3 cloves garlic, whole or minced
1 pound mushroom, sliced
2/3 cup apricot preserved
1 cup dry red wine
½ cup water
¼ tsp. Pepper
2 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 350.

Place vegetables, apricot preserves, liquid, and seasoning into a medium bowl. Mix until combined. Place meat in roasting pan and pour apricot mixture over it. Bake covered for 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Check meat during baking. You may want to mix it so that the flavor of juice gets well absorbed. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 300. Return meat to sauce and reheat for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Excerpted from Spice and Spirit, The Complete Kosher Jewish Cookbook, published by Lubavitch Women's Cookbook Publications

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May You have a Happy and Healthy Year.