By Linda Morel
Most Jews look forward every Passover to their family’s traditional foods: matzah balls, briskets, kugels and rich desserts.They enjoy matzah with a myriad of delicious toppings for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
However, the religious prohibition against eating any leavened wheat, barley, rye, spelt or oats essentially eliminates much of the fiber from the typical American diet.
Jews of Eastern European descent also avoid legumes, cutting out even more fiber. But this change in diet presents many people with a situation they rarely discuss —constipation.
To complicate matters, the foods many American Jews use to replace these grain-based staples aren’t high-fiber fruits and vegetables but rather starchy, fiber-free packaged foods.
Matzah is made from fiber-free white flour and water. But the Bread of Affliction is also a digestive system blocker.
Constipation is a normal side effect of eating refined white-flour products with practically no fiber, explained Danielle Zolotnitsky, a dietitian in Philadelphia, in a Diet and Nutrition article.She suggested the best thing to do to counteract matzah-induced constipation is to eat lots of fiber-rich vegetables and fruits. Drinking lots of water can also reverse the slowing effect of gluey carbs.
Here are some ways to increase fiber in your diet during Passover:
- Eat whole wheat matzah, which has three grams of fiber per sheet. Include fruit in your breakfast, such as berries, melon and citrus.
- Snack on raw vegetables. Add veggies and fruit to kugels. Serve side dishes brimming with produce. Eat fruit for dessert, or bake it into pastries. Dip strawberries or dried apricots in melted chocolate, and refrigerate it until serving. Reaching for fruits and vegetables instead of packaged foods will encourage your digestive system to run smoothly during Passover and throughout the year.
Chicken Vegetable Soup | Meat
Serves 8
1 small cabbage, 2-3 pounds
2 split chicken breasts, 4 pieces in all (with bones; and with or without skin)
6 carrots
6 celery stalks
1 large parsnip
1 large onion
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
5 chicken bouillon cubes
Kosher salt to taste
Directions:
Cut the cabbage in half. Remove and discard the core. Slice the leaves into ribbons, and then chop them. Place the cabbage in a large pot. Peel and dice the carrots, celery, parsnip and onion. Add them to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients.
Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Place the lid on the pot, and bring it to a boil on a high flame. Then lower the flame to medium so that the soup simmers. If the water is boiling off too fast, lower the flame. Simmer for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.
With a slotted spoon utensil, remove the pieces of chicken. Cool them down to warm. Discard the skin. Pull the chicken off the bones and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the pot and stir. Serve immediately, or cover the pot and refrigerate until serving. This can be made 2 days in advance.
Kale and Strawberry Salad | Pareve
Serves 8
1 bunch kale, any variety
2 (16-ounce) containers of strawberries
3 Granny Smith apples
⅓ cup raisins
Kosher salt to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Directions:
Rinse the kale under cold water and drain it on paper towels or in a salad spinner. Remove the spines of each kale leaf. Chop the kale into bite-sized pieces. Move it to a large salad bowl. Rinse the strawberries under cold water and drain them on paper towels. Cut off the leaves. Slice the strawberries into bite-sized pieces, about 4-6 pieces per strawberry.
Peel and core the apples. Dice them into bite-sized pieces. Add the strawberries and apples to the salad bowl. The salad can be made to this point several hours ahead if covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. Sprinkle on the salt. Drizzle on the oil and lemon juice. Toss the ingredients together until well-combined. Serve immediately.
