Tips for menu planning, food storage, etc.
Some Broad Principles
Each Family is Unique
Families have different needs, different priorities, and different resources. Therefore, parents are better off deciding which approach to Yom Tov works for them and their children rather than trying to keep up with the neighbors. If they are in doubt about whether they are “doing Yom Tov right,” parents are best off discussing with their family Rav rather than trying to uphold standards that will not work for them.
Don’t Try to Do it All
Multi-course meals, varied foods, meals on china, a clean house, new clothing for everyone, guests, going to shul, and a simcha-dik atmosphere are incompatible goals for most families. This applies especially where there are young children, budget constraints, and/or parents working fulltime. Mother, father, and the older children need to set priorities and come to an agreement on which tasks each will perform to attain mutually accepted goals.
Yom Tov Food vs. Shabbos Food
Our Shabbos food is usually richer than our weekday fare, containing more fat, sugar, and red meat. While this is a nice change of pace l’kovod Shabbos, it is probably better to avoid eating this kind of food for three days straight. One approach is to serve at each meal a special rich food in honor of Yom Tov along with healthier foods.
Don’t Expect Perfection
It may take a few years of “making Yom Tov” until parents get all the details right. The main idea over Yom Tov is to enjoy what went right and to gloss over the mistakes. After Yom Tov is over, it is helpful to think over the experience to decide what worked and what did not work.
Strategies
Plan Ahead
It is easier to be efficient when there is a menu plan, shopping lists, to-do lists, and a schedule. A “Yom Tov” notebook is a convenient place to jot down these lists weeks before Yom Tov. After Yom Tov, parents may insert feedback. The following year, the notebook becomes a useful guide and reference.
Stick to a Few Basics
Parents who are under pressure may find meal preparation easier if they prepare large quantities of a few simple and popular foods, for instance, gefilte fish, roasted chicken, green beans, and rice, and serve them for each meal. Variety may be added through last minute salads or purchased desserts.
Divide the Preparation with a Friend
Friends may decide to each make large quantities of a food and swap with each other. If the families fit well together, they may take turns hosting some of the meals.
Menu Planning
On Yom Tov, most people usually eat less and prefer lighter, healthier foods, especially at night. Therefore, smaller challos and smaller portion sizes for meats, starches and desserts may be sufficient, although it is safer to check with the family first.
Including the Children
Children often prefer different foods from their parents. For a three-day Yom Tov, it is a good idea to keep the children’s tastes in mind and make sure that each meal includes the foods one’s children eat, such as, white challah, meatballs, noodles, cold cuts, cut up vegetables, and gefilte fish. Spreading margarine, peanut butter, and/or jelly on challah extends its appeal to some children. While these foods may not seem classy enough to be appropriate for a Yom Tov table, it is important that the children eat and that they feel included at the Yom Tov meal.
Meal Starters
For evening meals that start way after supper time, it makes sense to have either an appetizer or a soup, but not both. Due to halachic considerations, it is very difficult to have food warm in time to start the meal on the second night of Yom Tov. It is traditional to serve fish on Yom Tov meals. While fresh or smoked fish is more expensive than gefilte fish, it may be stretched by presenting small pieces on a platter surrounded by cut vegetables, pickles, olives, etc. Salads are also good starters. A base of pre-checked (purchased or checked before Yom Tov) greens may be embellished at the last minute with nuts, craisins, olives, cold cuts, hearts of palm, tomatoes, etc.
Fruit soup is appreciated during hot weather. Fruit salad is another alternative that may be put together quickly by cutting up a melon and adding canned fruit such as mandarin oranges or fruit cocktail.
Side Dishes
Rice, farfel, and orzo are easy to prepare in advance and warm up quickly in a pot with some liquid. Kugels, sweet or savory, may be baked and frozen ahead. They reheat best in the oven. If the family is willing to eat them, it is good to serve whole grains, such as brown rice, bulgur, or quinoa, in conjunction with or combined with white, refined starches. Cooked potatoes do not warm up as readily as farfel; however, they are popular when cut up and hashed with some oil in a frying pan.
Vegetables
Vegetables are an important component of the Yom Tov diet. They may be prepared in advance in the form of kugels, in which eggs are used to bind vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, and peppers. Vegetables, such as zucchini, green beans, or carrots, may be poached in a little water. Vegetables may also be roasted or cooked in advance: cut up onions, tomatoes, peppers and/or zucchini tossed with oil and a little salt go well together. Frozen French-cut string beans with slivered almonds are an easy classic. Stir fries may be prepared in advance or at the last minute: snow peas, mushrooms, thinly sliced carrots, and canned baby corn work well together.
Canned vegetables, such as beans, corn, or string beans may be tossed together to make a quick and substantial salad.
Meats
While it is a mitzvah to serve meat at Yom Tov meals, it is easier on the digestion to limit quantities and on the budget to stick to less expensive cuts. Brisket deckle, one of the cheapest forms of roast, when sprinkled with onion soup powder, wrapped in foil and baked at 300 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, becomes tender and tasty. Meatballs are often appreciated as a change of pace from chicken or roasts. Raw boneless chicken cutlets may be sliced thin and marinated in salad dressing for up to 24 hours and then stir-fried or poached in a corn-starch thickened sauce. Or, they may breaded and fried into schnitzel or sesame chicken. Little children may be more likely to eat if the meal includes a hot dog.
Desserts
Fruit, whether fresh cut or cooked in compotes, is a great way to add fiber, nutrition, and hydration to the Yom Tov meal. The fruit may be supplemented by cookies to provide a more festive dessert. Fruit may also be baked with flour, sugar, and/or oatmeal into crisps, cobblers, kugels, kuchens, and crunches. A healthier alternative is to pit and slice the fruit and bake it with sugar or honey and some juice until it softens.
Sweet potatoes (yams) may be baked into pies for decadent desserts with some nutrition. Ices and sorbets are a lighter alternative to ice cream.
It may be healthier and save time to drop the dessert course entirely, after discussing with the rest of the family. However, family members may end up scavenging in the kitchen to satisfy their craving for sweets.
Food Storage
It may be a challenge to find room in the refrigerator for three days of food. Some foods may be shifted to the freezer if it has free space. More space may be created in the refrigerator if the family cleans out the fridge, discarding marginal food items, finishing others, and repackaging bulky foods. Two weeks before Yom Tov, parents may decide to refrain from buying large quantities of any perishable not needed for Yom Tov.
A compact way to store cooked perishable food is to put it in twist tie plastic bags after it cools. For added security against leaks, use two bags. The bags may be labeled and stuffed into the back of the refrigerator. This works well for meat, pasta, grains, and vegetables; however, raw cut fruit keeps better in containers.
Another method to stretch refrigerator space is to buy unripe fruit, pineapples, and melons, and let them ripen outside the refrigerator until needed. These items keep longer if put on racks or in baskets that permit air circulation below and around them. A basement, garage, or den that maintains a somewhat cool temperature may be pressed into service to store potatoes, hard squash, garlic, onions, bananas, and sweet potatoes for about a week. Note: inedible fruit or vegetables may be muktzeh on Shabbos or Yom Tov.