Healthy MM | Imamother

Chippies

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 7:32 am

I'm not so into themes, but my husband and I are into healthy eating, so I was thinking that this year, for shaloch manos, I would make the greeting, "Have a happy and healthy purim!" and include only healthy foods. We also like to keep things simple. I was thinking of just an apple, an orange and maybe a bottle of water. Is that too simple? What would you think if you received something like that? My husband suggested that maybe we include a little baggy of carrots with hummus in a small container, but the thought of putting a spoonful of hummus into 30+ containers is not so enticing. I guess it's not such a big deal - I just need to find the right size containers and maybe my kids can help. Any other suggestions? Ideally, it would be something that I can do a few days before purim, so that on the day of purim, I won't be stressed about finishing everything.

Thanks!

1387

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 9:01 am

I have seen people send veggie sticks with a container holding a dip. Cut up fruit is also nice. I would appreciate getting something healthy & ready to eat. To be perfectly honest, I'd be embarrassed to send an apple, orange & a water bottle. A pineapple along with something smaller seems much more presentable to me.

justcallmeima

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 9:31 am

Absolutely you should send healthy nutritious food!!! The kids eat so much sugar, fat, salt, and chemicals all day on Purim it takes weeks to get that junk out of their system. If you think it would be ok in your community to send an orange and a water bottle, do it! If you put it on a plate and wrap it in coloured cellophane with a bow, it will look just as good as any other MM. Go for it!!

spinkles

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 9:38 am

We get little containers of hummus in MM every year, and every year they sit out too long because there's no time to unwrap all the MM during the day, so every year they end up in the garbage.

Go for healthy options that don't need refrigeration:

granola bars
little bags of nuts
fruit
popcorn
etc.

sky

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 9:39 am

I plan on sending healthy this year. Rolls, techina, carrots.

If an apple and orange are different minim it should be okay to give just that. I don't think water can be counted as one of the things you give. I think healthy m'm are great.

boysrus

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 9:41 am

sky wrote:

If water cant be counted, does that mean that seltzer also cant be counted as a min? Where do I find out? I was thinking of doing seltzer again this year...

amother

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 9:43 am

chana_f wrote:

I found little hummus packages that don't require refrigeration. At least I don't think they do.

http://www.kosherbyte.com/kosh.....2.htm

amother

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 10:09 am

boysrus wrote:

If water cant be counted, does that mean that seltzer also cant be counted as a min? Where do I find out? I was thinking of doing seltzer again this year...

Ask your rav but I think flavored seltzer is different then plain water.

naomi2

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 2:48 pm

how bout some homemade granola? it can be made in advanced and stored in any nice bag or container send with a mini milk carton and fruit.

mummiedearest

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 3:08 pm

the purpose of mm is to give something that can be used for the seuda. I've given mini baked ziti, bagels with mini peanut butter/jelly packets, small cornbreads, banana pancakes, mini potato kugels, mini oj containers, etc. I usually get a few calls after purim thanking me for lunch on the road. it really doesn't have to take a ton of prep. when I did the pbj one, I bought bagels from a local bagel store and put them in paper bags with little pb packets and jelly packets that I ordered from amazon in advance. I think I stuck a napkin in as well. it was easy to throw together.

sky

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 3:46 pm

amother wrote:

I found little hummus packages that don't require refrigeration. At least I don't think they do.

http://www.kosherbyte.com/kosh.....2.htm

I was wondering about this.
Techina contains techini paste which I keep in my cabinets, water, spices and lemon juice. Not something you have to be concerned about if it stays too long out of the fridge.
Chummus is similar with chickpeas added. Again not something that goes bad very quickly.
Its not like there is dairy, eggs, mayo, or any other very perishable ingredients involved. Plus here it is cold but I think even indoors it would be safe for a bit.

Chippies

Tue, Mar 04 2014, 8:12 am

Thanks so much for the responses! I am not a member of costco, but my mother is so I'll find out through her if they have small containers of hummus! That would be perfect! I'd rather stay away from baked goods because there are some people in my community who keep yoshon, but we don't. I guess I could always buy yoshon flour, but the one store that for sure sells it is a shlep for me to get to. So I think a fruit and then veggies with hummus and water is the way to go. Thanks!

And by the way, I think sending an orange and an apple is ok, but even if it's not, we'll give the morahs and rebbeim nicer MM (grape juice and wafers/chocolate bar) which would definitely count.

sababa

Tue, Mar 04 2014, 11:23 am

Last year I did an adorable fruit basket, with a carton of fruit juice. It was popular. It's all about presentation... and people appreciate that the most. Or you can do pineapple with another item -that automatically makes it respectable.

Tue, Mar 04 2014, 1:22 pm

If you have some time to prep in advance, this MM can be frozen, and it gets rave reviews!!!!

-8 oz plastic container homemade soup (Black bean, tomato, potato-leek, cream of zucchini, veggie, etc) customized to your theme color. Frozen.
-homemade healthy bread (banana bread, corn bread, etc) or muffin (bran, raisin, blueberry, zucchini). Wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen.
-homemade large healthy cookies (oatmeal raisin, oatmeal with sprinkles). Wrapped and frozen.

Cupcake = Stack the individually wrapped baked goods on top of soup with cookie on top. Use large coffee filters (the white ones) as "cupcake" liners under the soup container. Place in clear bag.
Flowerpot = make a brown colored soup (black bean soup) as flowerpot. Wrap baked goods in colorful papers, and fluff out the tops of the paper like a flower. Stick spoon onto side like plant label.