What are your favorite mm to get, and is that what you give?

keym

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:17 pm

This year I got several salads. A sealed bodek lettuce with containers of dressing and croutons inside. Packaged at the plant. Those are yummy but expensive.
Someone gave out yogurt, oj, ww muffin. That was fought over.
Bagel, grape tomatos and butter packet was a hit.
Iced coffee and muffin or danish- yum.
Im personally not a fan of adult mm that have candy. The kids love it but my dh and I would prefer less pure sugar and corn syrup.
I know someone who gives her kids teachers and rebbes a pie of fresh pizza or sushi tray with a sparkling grape juice. Im sure thats very well received.

Zehava

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:19 pm

Sometime in the future when I have a bigger fridge and stop going out to deliver but instead receive people in my own home I will definitely go for more real AKA perishable food.
Then again more often or not unopened mm stays in the car overnight and if it isn’t cold enough outside the perishables aren’t good anymore. So I’d aim for a clear container so the recipient knows what they’re getting and will eat it right away.

thunderstorm

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:22 pm

Love homemade baked goods, real food and salads. Every shalach manos we got this year contained homemade baked goods. We have a nice assortment of baked items for Shabbos morning now and a challah for Shabbos as well.

gold21

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:26 pm

giselle wrote:

For the most part I don’t touch the homemade stuff unless I really trust that person’s cleanliness which is rare. So while I would technically appreciate real food, I end up dumping or giving away a lot of it.

Is it really so rare for someone to meet your standards of cleanliness?

Do you ever eat out at friends for Shabbos meal? Do you ever sample homemade goodies at a Kiddush?

amother

Ginger

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:28 pm

Until this purim I firmly remained in the homemade-items-get-tossed camp.
Then I realized that I was thinking about the themed cookies etc with food coloring, which are unappetizing. But this year we got some delicious looking pastries (a lot of cinnamon buns!) and a soup that were presented nicely, and are from normal families. So I just shut my OCD brain off (it can't be worse than restaurant food!) and ate and enjoyed. Thank you, neighbors!

We give salads. (Bought from a company, packaged with dressing etc in a separate sealed container.)

fmt4

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:40 pm

amother wrote:

The mm I enjoy the best are: full potato kugels, a full cake, a full challa, veggie platters, and soup. The kids enjoy the junk, so I guess its good to get at least some of that. For some reason, I always give dessert food though, because I think it is nerdy to give healthy food. This year we gave out brownies, chocolate milk and Viennese crunch.

Trying to understand this post. You love to recieve healthy food, but you think giving it is “nerdy.” (Shouldn’t there be a ban on using that word after the age of 12?)

giselle

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 2:42 pm

gold21 wrote:

Is it really so rare for someone to meet your standards of cleanliness?

Do you ever eat out at friends for Shabbos meal? Do you ever sample homemade goodies at a Kiddush?

I’m a germaphobe. Didn’t say it’s a good thing. I have my ways of dealing w eating out at friends when I don’t have a choice. And I try to only go to the friends who I know are super clean.

mfb

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 3:02 pm

giselle wrote:

Do u ever eat at restaurants or store bought packaged food? Most of these places probably wouldn't live up to your standards either!

Stars

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 3:21 pm

I give out homemade rolls and something to it that doesnt need a fridge - one year it was Miriam Pascals roasted red pepper dip, one year it was gherkins , one year we did cherry tomatoes and whole mini peppers.
People love it but I really only give these out to people I know personally and they know me. teachers etc get a bar of good dairy chocolate and a sparkling.

Jewishfoodie

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 3:23 pm

gold21 wrote:

Is it really so rare for someone to meet your standards of cleanliness?

Do you ever eat out at friends for Shabbos meal? Do you ever sample homemade goodies at a Kiddush?

Restaurants are the worst offenders. I much rather eat from people!

OutATowner

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 3:28 pm

Another preference for real food from reliable people (hechsher). But I do appreciate the chips, wafers, etc...tbose are snacks I usually don't buy and now I have three shopping bags worth of snacks for my kids that should last until Pesach.
Someone gave a small container of cut up veggies and dressing. That was a treat. My kids will enjoy the candy over the next few months.
I know this sounds corny, but most of all I like the feeling of giving/receiving and being part of a community where everyone is valued. One of the days where I really appreciate everyone.

amother

Black

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 3:50 pm

Sushi salad! It’s a great food and I love eating it, but too hard to make fresh and give out. I give milk chocolate and a bottle of beer Smile

super easy and I know it won’t get thrown out! At worst it will get recycled.

N'sMom

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 3:56 pm

I love getting fresh fruit (whole or cut up) or veggie salads. I give those as well. I don't eat sugar so home baked goods are lost on me. This year one friend gave home made pita chips and dips. That was very popular around here.

seeker

Fri, Mar 02 2018, 4:19 pm

gold21 wrote:

Is it really so rare for someone to meet your standards of cleanliness?

Do you ever eat out at friends for Shabbos meal? Do you ever sample homemade goodies at a Kiddush?

I have a serious food allergy situation, so yes many homemade things get tossed, the absolute best-looking get hoarded away for me to eat when the kids are away, and if something significant (like those whole cakes or enough cookies that I can serve for a Shabbos dessert) comes from someone I know and trust then I'll call them to ask whether it's safe.

But also, I'm a slightly shy/picky eater so even though I would send a soup or kugel and people would love it, I'm less likely to enjoy a soup or kugel that I receive. Though I'm happy with salads, veggies, bagels, etc.

Bnei Berak 10

Sat, Mar 03 2018, 2:16 pm

mfb wrote:

Do u ever eat at restaurants or store bought packaged food? Most of these places probably wouldn't live up to your standards either!

Finally the truth was said! So refreshing.

amother

Pumpkin

Sat, Mar 03 2018, 3:55 pm

I send prepackaged junk, but always prefer to receive real homemade food like soup. I don't send it because I am worried people will chuck it.

But all of these MM threads made me think how it doesn't say

משלוח מנות ראות הרבה איש לשכנים שהוא לא כל כך אוהב (ומשקיבל חייב ליבדוק טוב מאוד את החכשר ולזרוק את המנה שהשכנה שלך אם לא ממספיק בשבילך)

Raisin

Sat, Mar 03 2018, 4:38 pm

This year I gave (good) chocolate with either dried fruit or challah. I only give food I would like to receive. Not really into themes, just food that (kind of) goes together, and usually involves chocolate and something else. One year, I gave cherry tomatoes, cheese and individual pack of melba crackers. I would love to get real food like that. It is definitely a pain having to pack up food on the day and in any case most of the people I am giving to are not frum so they may not appreciate that type of thing in the way frum people do. They all like challa though. Even challah needs to be baked fresh or frozen until purim day which is why only some of my mm got challah.

I appreciate most of the things I get.

amother

Goldenrod

Sat, Mar 03 2018, 6:56 pm

Is it 'nerdy' to give fruit?!

For my dh business sm we give nice glass dishes with a good whisky and whole fresh fruit I.e. big bunches of red and white grapes, clementines, kiwis etc. And its always well received.

My sil was away for purim so I offered to make and deliver 2 sm for her on purim day and offered to do the above (as thats what I had). But she poked her nose up at it even saying hmm I wonder if you can give fruit for sm... like it wasnt good enough..

I would love to receive whole fruit (or veg), or anything healthy, I hate all the junk food..

gold21

Sat, Mar 03 2018, 7:21 pm

I send homemade (healthful type) things.

I keep my kitchen clean, I have regular cleaning help, and I wear disposable gloves when I work on my MM.

I only send pareve foods, and I honestly don't think anyone I send to is concerned about my level of kashrus.

I hope that's good enough, but if it isn't, I guess I don't really care. I like sending homemade foods. If you wanna toss it, go right ahead. Lol.

(I don't send homemade to teachers or Rebbes)

Last edited by gold21 on Sat, Mar 03 2018, 9:54 pm; edited 2 times in total