Hanukkah, the festival of lights, begins in the evening of Saturday, December 8. I remember celebrating the holiday as a kid and my mother would make a box of Manischewitz potato latkes. They were filled with grease and let’s just say they would make their way out as fast as they would make their way in (TMI!). I did enjoy the applesauce and the chocolate gelt coins that all of the kids received.
While I don’t really celebrate anymore, I wanted to try to find some healthier versions of traditional dishes served at Hanukkah. Happy Hanukkah to all!!
Oven Baked Latkes
I definitely will be trying this latke recipe from SlashFood! I had a few conversations with Jewish friends and my sister who said that one of the big things for Hanukkah is the oil. I understand the importance of oil but there is no reason not to still eat healthy during the Hanukkah holiday.
Alternative Latkes
Here are two other latke recipes worth trying: a spinach latke and a zucchini latke recipe. The spinach version uses a small amount of olive oil to pan fry. The zucchini version uses canola oil to fry the latkes – I’d suggest using grapeseed oil instead since canola can often be a GMO product.
Raw Applesauce
Here is a healthy raw applesauce recipe – I totally suggest using this instead of buying a processed bottle of applesauce. This recipe only needs 3 ingredients: apples, lemon and cinnamon.
Roasted Brisket with Parsley, Mint and Thyme
This recipe for roasted brisket comes from Whole Foods Market. The recipe is dairy-free and has no added sugar.
Mushroom Kale Noodle Kugel
Growing up I always loved noodle kugel – I would always pull out the raisins! This kugel recipe, also from Whole Foods, looks way tasty and low-fat. What a great idea to get some nutrition into kugel from the kale and mushrooms.
Healthy Chocolate Gelt Coins
One of the big treats during hanukkah, especially as a kid, is to get a bag of “gelt”. The gelt are chocolate coins – and my guess is that they are made with the lowest grade, crappy, filled with garbage chocolate out there.
This chocolate coins recipe from FatSecret looks like a perfect, healthy replacement. You will also need to buy some foil to wrap the coins. You could use a dreidel to imprint each of the different markings on the coins while they are cooling.
Raw Apple Snack
No Hanukkah going forward will be complete without my apple snack. My apple snack is super easy to make and is a perfect dessert after a holiday meal. You could get the kids involved to help juice the orange and the lemon and also mix up the slices in the bowl with the juice after an adult cuts the apple into slices.
Check out some other groovy posts:
Happy Hanukkah to all that celebrate! You found such great substitutions Allen – i hate those fried latkes but they taste so good