Hola!

I originally started this post from the new WordPress app that I downloaded to my phone, but it wasn’t as easy as I was hoping it would be AND that draft didn’t save, so here we go- Take Two!

As you may or may not know, this week is Passover, which means that my routine is bit crimped, but I’m rolling with the punches juuuuuuuuust fine 🙂

Here is a bit of info from Judaism 101:

Probably the most significant observance related to Pesach involves avoiding  chametz (leaven; sounds like “hum it’s” with that Scottish “ch”) throughout the  holiday. This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a  hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way  of removing the “puffiness” (arrogance, pride) from our souls.

Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley,  oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after  first coming into contact with water. Orthodox  Jews of Ashkenazic background also avoid  rice, corn, peanuts, legumes (beans) and some other foods as if they were  chametz. All of these items are commonly used to make bread, or are grown and  processed near chametz, thus use of them was prohibited to avoid any confusion  or cross-contamination. Such additional items are referred to as “kitniyot.”

Since my beloved oatmeal is off-limits, I did a little improvising this morning and came up with something almost as tasty.

I actually ate this same breakfast every morning during Passover last year and didn’t remember it until I was eating matzoh with jelly yesterday and I was thinking about how much I don’t want to eat that for breakfast every day.

I break up the matzoh, add half a banana, cinnamon and almond milk.  Stick it in the microwave for two minutes and add a spoonful of apple butter.  Notice anything different (besides that food)? I’m using a BOWL!  No more plastic containers.  Hallelujah!

I eat breakfast around 8 and don’t have lunch until 1 on Wednesday, so I always pack a couple of snacks.  Today flew by pretty quickly so I didn’t feel too hungry, thanks to a yogurt and an (unpictured) cheese stick!

By the time I got back to my room, I was so, so, so hungry and made a beeline for all the new food by dad bought me while I was home.  We went to Trader Joe’s and I sort of went a little nuts in the soup isle.  I couldn’t decide on one, so I got them all.  They’re all vegetarian and a few of them are vegan (even the black bean soup).  At least one box lasts me 3-4 days! 

Today I chose the Butternut Squash Soup and it breaks my heart to say that it really isn’t good.  I’m still going to eat it because I don’t want it to go to waste, but it’s bland and just tastes off.  The ingredient list is pretty good, yet it still has a chemical aftertaste to me.  It might be better if I doctored it up a bit- maybe by adding barley, but I’ll need to wait until Passover is over for that.

Although the soup wasn’t a winner, my mom’s spinach pie was!  I have grown up eating spinach pie, not only during Passover, but throughout the entire year.  My grandmom always made it best, but my mom’s comes in a very close second!  She would agree with that statement.  No one does it like Abuela could!

The base is made with matzoh, and then it has a thick layer of spinach, potato and a mixture of parmesan and romano cheese.  It’s hands-down one of my favorite foods, so when my mom told me she was sending me back with a whole pie, I had no issues.  I actually only brought back half because I realistically can’t eat the WHOLE pie before it would go bad.  I have put a nice dent in the container, though.

I had a couple strawberries and half of a banana, as well.

I forgot to take any pictures, but dinner was [spicy] salmon with orange slices, cucumber and spinach!  Even though I was hungry, all I really wanted were the oranges.  I have chemistry right after dinner on Monday and Wednesday, so I stuffed a few of these in my pocket.

My Trader Joe’s at home has something called “The Wheel of Joe”, which is a spinner wheel that customers can spin when their balance ends in .00!  During my TJs shopping spree, I got to spin the Wheel of Joe and after landing on “Spin Again” twice, they let me pick anything on the wheel.  The options are things like free tote bag, any snack in the store, and plant or bouquet of flowers, and fruit or vegetable.  I chose “any snack” and took a solid ten minutes browsing for something that I wouldn’t normally buy.  It was between the chocolate almonds and the peanut butter cup trail mix!  That will be my next choice!  It’s a huge container, so I left half with my family and the other half for me to eat all by myself.

Have a happy hump day!