Erev Pesach and Your Health
Mar 15, 2021 | Rivky Tikotzky - TK Health Club Team
Welcome to pre-Pesach, when health is too often the furthest thing from our minds. Who has time for healthy eating, anyway?
Turns out that not eating right and forgetting to take care of ourselves can cost us more time in the long run. Read on for my tips for a high-impact erev Pesach season.
Cooking
Cooking before Pesach? Forget about it!
That’s what I used to think, at least. I was so overwhelmed thinking of all the work I had to get done that I had no energy to think about cooking! But premade freezer foods, pizza and takeout upped our pre-Pesach expenses – and our calorie intake. Plus, they often backfired: instead of saving me energy, these poor-quality foods bogged me down and made me lethargic.
I’ve gotten more knowledgeable and more experienced.
Healthy meals do not need to take much time or preparation!
For sides, I often soak grains, like brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, and bulgur for 5-6 hours, rinse them and then cook, covered, on a low flame until the water boils out. A few minutes into cook time, I add some olive oil, salt and spices. Takes about five minute total preparation time. Instead of salad, I just slice some hard vegetables and sprinkle them with salt.
Fish and chicken can also be super-quick and tasty. Put salmon or tilapia in a pan, sprinkle with salt and spices, and bake at 120°C for about 20 minutes. Sprinkle chicken with spices, cover and bake at 180°C for about two hours. Barely any prep and zero oven drips.
Shabbos Hagadol is a major takeout Shabbos, but not for the health-conscious. Instead,
make extra food the Shabbos before, before you’ve cleaned your kitchen, and freeze it all. Then simply defrost and reheat. You save on time, money, and quality of ingredients with almost no hassle.
When bread and crackers become your stand-in meal replacements closer to Pesach, stick to whole grains to avoid feeling bogged down. Your body has to work much harder to process refined flours.
Stress
Food is a major ingredient in keeping you functioning optimally, but stress is a huge factor, too. We have to keep the stress levels down – which is a lot easier said than done! Stress is hard on the body. It can literally make you sick, causing backaches, headaches and stomachaches. My latest stress-reduction technique? To focus on the fact that my cleaning is mainly self-imposed and not halacha imposed! I never like to cut corners in my cleaning, but as long as I tell myself that I am doing this because I want to do it, my anxiety goes down.
Childcare
Childcare is another biggie before Pesach. Try sending your children out in the pre-Pesach mornings to a kaytana, and hire a babysitter in the afternoon. It ends up cheaper to send children out than to hire extra cleaning help – and I personally like how I clean best! Then again, if you don’t like cleaning, hire the help. A wise woman once told me, “For menuchas hanefesh there is no price tag too high.”
If babysitting is not an option, try rotating cleaning days and childcare days with a neighbor. This way you can both gain full afternoons of cleaning. If you have older children and you want to encourage them to help, you can turn the cleaning or babysitting into a game or competition. Be creative! Children love having a good time even if it involves being helpful.
Of course, starting my day with a tefillah to Hashem asking for siyata dishmaya in accomplishing my tasks and remaining motivated and calm throughout the day yields phenomenal results. At the end of the day, I take stock and thank Hashem for everything I accomplished and for the stressful times when I still managed to stay calm.
