Make a Consciously Kosher Passover
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I have many fond memories of Passover as a kid. Among them are helping my mother bake mandelbread, mixing the Manischewitz cinnamon cake mix, unpacking the gorgeous and delicate Passover dishes – and opening up a package of those treacly, rainbow-colored fruit slices. The fruit slices were about as integral to the Passover seder as the matzo itself. And how can I forget the matzo rolls, the matzo kugels and those cloyingly sweet 7-layer “railroad” cakes – staples to this day at her house on Passover? To my trained mind, these foods define Passover as much as the shank bone, charoset and horseradish.
For details on specific Passover foods to purchase, please download my e-book, The Consciously Kosher Guide To Passover 5781/2021.
Misconceptions Around Passover Food
There's a misconception that Passover is about potato starch, matzo meal, packaged soup mixes and candied fruit slices. There's also a common feeling in Judaism that our food rituals are immutable and eternal across the generations. Additionally, there's a tendency for people to simply deal with constipation and weight gain as though it were an acceptable part of the Passover experience.
This mindset is not helped by the food industry itself, with its annual parade of unhealthy packaged food products that populate the store shelves at Passover time.
Most are best avoided.
How was Passover Celebrated in the Past?
How was Passover celebrated in our grandparents generation – before it came to represent overpriced processed and packaged food items, before we had Manischevitz, Rokeach, Osem or Kedem and before Coca-Cola was certified kosher for Passover? Passover was a holiday celebrated with bounties of fresh fruits and vegetables, matzo made from freshly-ground flour and pungent herbs and spices.
Nowadays, though, Passover consistently represents about 40% of annual sales of the $12 billion kosher market in the US. So there is an incentive to market their products very aggressively each Passover. But what incentivizes packaged food companies does not translate to something that you should be eating.
The Dilemma That Passover Food Represents
One of the amazing aspects of Passover food is that many of the traditional additives and preservatives are not kosher l’pesach (because they are chametz).
Furthermore, there is a Chabad custom that appears to originate with the Alter Rebbe to not eat processed foods on Passover. This obviously does not apply to matzo and wine. (For more details, there is a whole discussion about this processed food stringency. It is fascinating!)
It is not hard to see that an opportunity exists to make food from scratch using fresh, whole and unprocessed ingredients!
If this is the case, then why do so many people rely on highly-processed junk foods on Passover? Two reasons: Convenience and familiarity.
Foods to Avoid on Passover
Even though the absolute number of food additives and preservatives is severely curtailed on Passover, the problem is that many packaged Passover foods still contain additives, preservatives and chemicals. Many of these foods are also lookalike substitutes for conventional foods – but without the same nutritional value. They are both conveniently easy to make and shockingly familiar: Manischewitz cake mixes, jarred gefilte fish, sponge cakes, soup mixes, imitation condiments and many others.
And, unlike during the year, when we are not restricted in what we can eat, we tend to concentrate the amount of the foods that we can eat. These foods are:
Inflammatory (cottonseed oil and other ingredients with too much omega-6 fatty acid)
High in sugar and sodium
Low in fiber
Stuffed with additives (MSG)
Loaded with artificial dyes (red #40, yellow #5)
Filled with Passover-approved preservatives (EDTA, potassium sorbate)
What Foods are Healthy for Passover?
Despite numerous common foods being off limits for eight days, there is a diverse array of fresh ingredients that are kosher for Passover. Furthermore, when you choose to avoid the vast majority of unhealthy packaged Passover foods, a whole world of culinary opportunity opens up.
Some products require special Passover certification. Others may be purchased from year-round brands without additional certification. If you know how to shop, you don’t need to pay extortionist prices for special Passover versions when the year-round versions already satisfy the kashrut requirements. For instance, Costco carries a wide array of healthy foods that can be used for Passover, both with and without special passover certification. Read my Costco mini-ebook for a list of these better-for-you foods, including a long list of the many fresh fruits and vegetables that are not kitniyot. You will be surprised at the variety that can be harnessed for this most food-involved of Jewish holidays!
With a little knowledge of where to shop and which staples are available, you could easily prepare foods that are gluten-free, vegan/plant-based or even paleo. With a little research, you can prepare recipes that use whole foods in their natural state or ingredients derived directly from whole foods. These ingredients include almond flour, grapes, spelt matzo, eggs, potatoes and many other vegetables. For a list of excellent recipe ideas, please visit the Passover section of this website.
Passover Shopping Advice
Here are some basic tips to make your Passover preparations even easier:
Know what is available ahead of time and where to buy it
Plan your meals around what you can easily find
Stick to your shopping lists
Avoid the urge to impulse buy, because unnecessary Passover products can be very expensive
Determine what you will make yourself so you stay away from highly-processed foods
Where to Shop?
For a holiday with food rules as complex as Passover, don't rely on someone else telling you how to eat or what to eat... take control of it for yourself. To begin with, do not underestimate the power of eating fresh fruits and vegetables, buying year-round staples that do not require special certification and identifying key items that you can make on your own to avoid the chemicals.
You can still shop at your local Ralphs, Pavilions or Whole Foods. You might also consider going to Costco and visiting farmers markets, particularly in Los Angeles, where you will find a tremendous variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. This includes Passover staples such as parsley, horseradish, potatoes, romaine lettuce and numerous other veggies.
Passover Food Suggestions
Eat foods as close to their natural form as possible.
Seek out healthy foods that do not require Passover certification.
Drink lots of water (rather than carbonated beverages and soft drinks) to help digest the matzo.
If you are celiac or need to eat gluten free, choose alternative matzos (including gluten-free options).
Purchase low-sulfite grape juice (or make your own grape juice) because regular grape juice, like Kedem, is very high in sugar (and contain sulfites).
Drink better-for-you kosher wines (because regular wines also contain sulfites) that use grapes that are sustainably grown.
Eat lots of raw cacao: Smooths muscles and acts as a relaxant (it's high in magnesium, anandamide, phytochemicals and neurostimulants). It does not hit you in a hard caffeine way and is more “joyful” than coffee.
Tools and Equipment
In order to eat cleaner on Passover, you need very little specialized equipment. The main tools include:
A high-speed blender like a Vitamix
A VeggiChop, for chopping all those veggies really quickly (not for use on Shabbat and Yom Tov)
A cotton or hemp nut bag or cheesecloth (for straining homemade almond milk)
A mortal and pestle for grinding whole spices (not for use on Shabbat and Yom Tov)
A mandoline to slice potatoes and other veggies very thin
An immersion blender to blend soups and homemade applesauce
An Opportunity to Explore
Passover, with all its dietary restrictions, poses a unique challenge for many people. However, rather than seeing it as a set of restrictions, it may be viewed as an opportunity to explore new ways of eating:
Go healthy. Eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts.
Read the ingredient labels very carefully. Avoid any products that contain cottonseed oil, MSG, white sugar and potato starch.
Eat light. Passover foods do not have to be heavy. Eat lighter foods and tons of fiber. You do not need to end up with constipation.
This Passover, cook lighter, more colorful and more natural food, with less prepackaged sauce and fewer boxed foods.
One of the side benefits: You can look forward to not being constipated!
Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach!
