Passover is almost here!

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How can I stay on plan for Passover?

Is it your goal to stay on plan for the upcoming holiday? For me personally, I do my very best to stay on plan for holidays, but there are a few foods I will enjoy a bite or two of because they only come around once a year.

My goal is to inspire us all to make healthy and delicious choices as we remember this season of deliverance. My suggestion to you would be choose a fuel type, either go low fat for an E option or low carb for an S option. We will do an S option, although I would guess I will land in crossover territory and I am very OK with that.

My family is involved with a home fellowship. For years now we have hosted a seder in our home for our wonderful group. One tradition we enjoy is having a sleepover with all who wish to stay. We remember the command that the Israelites were not to leave their dwelling place on that fateful night. In the morning, the men of our group assemble breakfast for everyone. This one tradition has made many wonderful memories for our family.

Our menu traditionally consists of these basics:

Lamb - which my husband roasts outside on our freshly cleaned barbecue (YUM!)

Barley side dish - I usually find a new recipe each year, I do this to remember this is the season of the barley harvest

Charoset - my friend makes this, and now she is a THM with me....so I will add a link or two to some recipes that will work on plan

Vegetable side dish - this also varies year to year, I now keep it to FP vegetables so it is light and doesn't add more fuel to an already full meal

Matzah - of course. I am gluten free, I am hoping to make Raye's oat matzah recipe this year and buy boxes for the people who are not on plan - Here is a pin for her recipe: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/130182245455426724/
Make plenty so you will have it all week to snack on!
Here is a link to Raye's Place Blog where she has lots of wonderful recipes.

Matzah brittle. That's just bad news folks. Move along...there is nothing to see here (My kids COUNT on this each year, it is their favorite....there is probably a way to THMify it, maybe something I can work on over the next year, a good goal.)

Of course all the elements of the seder are always included as well. Our guests always arrive with many dishes to add to the meal. The above are my basics.

Charoset: I have found other recipes at Elana's Pantry that I have enjoyed. This is a link to her charoset recipe, to make it THM I would sub liquid stevia and some orange extract for the orange juice and goji berries or unsweetened cranberries would work as well. This would be a crossover with the apples and nuts.
I wonder if you could use that zucchini in place of apples trick here...I bet it would work. Maybe I will try it and let you know!
http://elanaspantry.com/charoset/

Side Dish: I have made this Nutty Barley Bake from Taste of Home in the past and everyone loves it. It is definitely a crossover and I reduced the butter greatly, it is way too much. I used a tablespoon and it was plenty. It will be on my table this year as well.

Dessert: Cheesecake berry crunch would be a wonderful dessert that could be made in larger batches and placed in dessert goblets.
I have made these No Bake Coconut Crack Bars by Chocolate Covered Katie and they are delicious! I did the sub recommended of water and stevia, and it worked perfectly. I think next time I would add a teaspoon or two of gelatin to the liquid to help them hold together even better when cold. In addition, to give these that traditional chocolate covered macaroon flavor, I would put a layer of skinny chocolate on top! This would be a delicious S dessert and easy to make!

Now, after the big night how do we continue to stay on plan without our MIM's and cupcakes? We are going to need some inspiration!

I am thinking my menu will look something like this:

Breakfast:
*Overnight oats, I use goat yogurt in mine, it makes a yummy and quick FP breakfast
*Jennifer Griffins Warm Chia Porridge S - in the time it takes to make my tea, my breakfast is also ready!
*Goat Yogurt and berries is my quick and easy on the go breakfast.

Lunch:
*Just like campbells tomato soup with grilled cheese...WAIT! No bread! Here's my trick, I plan to make the oven flax crackers which contain no leaven, but make it thicker and use as bread! YUM!
*Rice and beans with chicken breast - burrito bowls! Quick, easy and inexpensive. This is also something my kids love. I make up a batch of pico de gallo, a large batch of dried beans and a quadruple batch of sprouted brown rice at the beginning of the week and we have an instant meal on hand!
*Salad - I love tossing together a wonderful S salad, with avocado, olives, loads of veggies and a protein source. I often pick up a pound or two of lean deli meat to chop up and toss on top. So quick and so easy. My current favorite dressing is homemade "honey" mustard.

Dinner:
*Lamb Meat loaf with mashed fauxtatoes and gravy. A nice salad on the side
*Spaghetti and italian chicken sausage sauce over spaghetti squash. If you can do dairy, its delicious to add mozzarella to the top and place under the broiler to melt and brown a little.
*Sloppy joes over sweet potatoes, a large side salad or broccoli on the side.
Here is my recipe adaptation: http://anointedwithoilofjoy.blogspot.com/2015/04/e-meal-sloppy-joes-in-crockpot.html
With ground beef if I rinse and watch portions of very lean its an E, or ground chicken breast. I may make this a crossover, or use shredded chicken. All great options.
*Chicken cashew lettuce wraps (sub on plan sweetener) - I will make brown rice for the family, I will do a lovely veggie stir fry with ginger and sesame oil
*Unstuffed Cabbage Recipe - this ones a hit in our home. I think I will add in some not naughty rice to round it out.
*Amish Cabbage Patch Soup - sub in on plan sweetener. I will make this for erev Shabbat so I have plenty of leftovers for Shabbat. http://www.food.com/recipe/amish-cabbage-patch-stew-390884
*Big Mac Salad
(I got a deal on ground beef, so we are using it up this week!)

Dessert:
*Cheesecake Berry Crunch - I make this with goat cheese that comes in a log from Costco, it works great and I can tolerate it!
*Tummy Tucking Ice cream with skinny chocolate drizzled on top
*Skinny Chocolate! Here is my favorite recipes: http://thenewlighterlife.com/trim-healthy-mama-skinny-chocolate-3-different-ways/ Remember, 1/3 of the recipe can be had per day!
*Coconut crack bars I have linked above
*Big Boy Smoothie - a favorite always!
*Fudgy No Bakes - I cant have peanuts, so I sub in some cashew butter and they come out rich and decadent! http://sherigraham.com/trim-healthy-mama-fudgy-no-bake-cookies-s

If you've made it all the way down here, I would like to share a little of my heart with you. This season of deliverance is so meaningful for me. Each year as I clean my home of leaven I prayerfully also search my heart for the spiritual leaven that has taken root and needs removal. God has shown us numerous times how what is in the natural exists also in the spiritual, so our daily tasks are not mundane, but can be elevated to holy acts before the Lord. Searching my home, reading ingredients and washing to remove that which is forbidden is a blessing. It is a time of drawing near and asking God to show me His will and ways in my life. It is a time of removal and surrender of things not of Him in my heart and soul. In addition, this season reminds me of His strong arm of deliverance. He has carried me through many trials in life, He is truly my deliverer. He has parted the waters of chaos and death in my life and brought life forth when there was nowhere else to turn. I love Passover, I love coming together with our fellowship family and remembering what God has done for Israel in the past. I love seeing the pattern of His redemptive and protective arm recurring season after season, year after year. I love having hope for whatever the future may hold, I know I can trust Him because He is faithful, He is consistent and He has shown Himself to be a good Abba to His people.

                                                                       
I hope you have a most blessed Passover season. The Lord bless you and keep you, may He make His face to shine upon you and give you His Shalom.

With Joy ~ Tina