Tag Archives: Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur Break-Fast: Kabocha Squash Soup

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Kabocha Squash Soup

This is a really easy, hearty soup that is a perfect meal pre or post fast (or both!). I like to end my Yom Kippur fast with nourishing, light foods and tend to avoid the deluge of heavy dishes I often find at many break-fast potlucks. This soup is nourishing and filling but not heavy. It is delicious both when immediately ready for pre-fast meal and after sitting overnight for break-fast with a slice of a dark bread to dip.  If you can’t find a kabocha squash, try an acorn one. The squash should be slightly chunky so canned pumpkin isn’t the best option but is do-able in a pinch. Hope you have a meaningful, easy fast and holiday.  Also, scroll to the bottom for my other Yom Kippur recipes. Continue reading →

Break-Fast Berry Tahini Smoothie

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Berry Tahini Break-Fast Smoothie

This is a quick post to share a really easy, nutritious post-fast dish. Personally, I don’t like to go to “all you can eat” break-fast meals filled with bagels, kugel (even if vegan), raw salads, desserts, etc. after a day without food and water. I need easily digestible foods that are nourishing and gentle on my body. I’m sharing a recipe for an easy berry-tahini smoothie that can easily be made within minutes of the fast ending. It is a thick smoothie/bowl that is meant to be eaten with a spoon (again-this is better for digestion). The tahini adds creaminess and fat while the tofu is good for protein. If you’re looking for more break-fast recipes, I included previous years recipes at the bottom. Wishing you an easy and meaningful fast. Continue reading →

Yom Kippur Break-Fast: Easy Squash Soup

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Break-fast squash soup

Fasting is hard for me and I prepare by spending days whittling down meals, drinking an excessive amount of water, and gobbling as many nuts as possible just before the fast begins. I then struggle at break-fasts because there’s few foods that feel good in my stomach. Even if vegan, the pre-requisite bagels and cream cheese, cakes, kugels, cookies, and more feel like poison darts shooting through my now parched mouth and queasy stomach. I prefer to end the fast with fresh pressed juices, soups, and other gentle foods that are digestible and energizing as I transition my body back to heavier foods. So, to add to my options, this year, I prepared a butternut squash soup that is incredible easy to prepare, has minimal ingredients, and is satiating and filling (i.e. good for the tummy).  Continue reading →

Yom Kippur Break-fast: Scottish Pea and Mint Soup

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I had approached a recent 10 day summer holiday in Scotland with a bit of trepidation, expecting endless cold rain and being stuck in pubs eating chips for lack of any other food. Instead, it was unexpectedly filled with mostly sunshine and great vegan food. Except for having to eat a potato chip sandwich and cashews during a 17 mile hike, I found vegan food everywhere–even in a tiny town with only one pub. Another memorable hike was one with endless wild blackberry bushes; those berries not eaten instantly were picked and turned into jam that evening and enjoyed for the remainder of the trip on crackers. And, best of all, Glasgow was crowned with the glorious title of being the vegan capital of the UK.

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Breaking the Fast in Naples

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After Rosh Hashana in Sicily, I took a coastal train to Naples, a city that I was pleasantly surprised by with its picturesque mountainous bay setting, and bustling historic streets. Just blocks from where I stayed in the vibrant waterfront Piazza Vittoria neighborhood, an area filled with boutiques, bars, and cafes, is the city’s sole synagogue. Funded by Baron Rothschild in the 1860s, it is still open for the city’s approximately 150 Jews. The only give-away to its presence was a guard located at a set of massive wooden doors (which one stepped through) at the entrance of a large apartment complex’s courtyard. At the other end of the courtyard, up a discreet staircase, was the entrance to the synagogue. Continue reading →

Yom Kippur: From Fasting to Juicing

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Magical Juice

The anxieties of abstaining from food and water on Yom Kippur (and enduring an expected heat wave in Los Angeles this weekend) start to dance around my head months before the actual holiday. As I try to do the important work of teshuva, I keep thinking: How am I going to prepare for and survive the fast?! How many late summer conversations do I have with my coffee drinking friends about their preferred caffeine withdrawal techniques?

Needless to say, I probably don’t need to remind anyone of the billion plus people worldwide who experience many days like this from lack of access to or fresh water each week, month, year.  Or the 46.5 million Americans who are hungry (21 million children, 7 million seniors). Unlike the daily struggles billions of people endure, this is one day for Jews without food or water.

And even though my mind admittedly will at times be distracted by a visual loop equivalent to the Food Network, Yom Kippur is really a gift. It’s an opportunity to try to move into a deep spiritual realm that is beyond our physical dimensions. Continue reading →