Wellness Wednesday: Act Like a Kid (Eassover Edition!)

Easter undoubtedly has the best activities and candy. I mean, Easter egg hunts, baskets, PEEPS! All good stuff. Passover has some cool things, but they mainly involve matzo (not that there’s anything wrong with matzo, mind you!) Here’s my guide for acting like a kid this Eassover!

Easter Baskets

Remember when you got these as a kid? I do too (my family used to give out baskets at the end of our Seder and then we suddenly remembered we were Jewish one year and stopped that). My fiancé and I have exchanged baskets since we started dating. He makes me what he likes to call a “Moses Basket” since Moses was essentially found in a basket on the river. Here’s what I like to put in the adult version of these kid favorites:

-Alcohol (wine, bottle of something, 6 pack) – you wouldn’t find that in a kid’s basket, right?

-Candy (peeps, PB easter eggs, malted easter eggs from Trader Joes) Because every good basket could use a little sugar

-Gift Cards (restaurants, and places that recipients will find useful). They’re small and you know they’ll get some good use

-Something to remind them of being a kid (baseball cards, paddle ball, flying helicopter) – they’ll get that reminiscent feeling of opening their basket as a youngin’

I like to do my easter basket shopping at a drugstore like CVS. Find an inexpensive whicker basket or recycle from last year, throw in some “grass” garnish, and wrap it all up in cellophane! You’re set

Easter Egg Hunt / Afikomen

I think everyone knows the basic premise of an Easter Egg hunt, but Passover has a tradition where you have to find the matzo that’s been hidden in the house and you get a price (usually some sort of monetary one). For last year’s Eassover we scattered plastic eggs and matzo around the house and told everyone when they came inside there were prizes hidden in the eggs, and an extra special surprise for whoever found the matzo. It was fun and added an extra layer to the dinner party. And I kid you not, we were still finding matzos until the day we moved out (eight months later!). In the eggs we put the standard candy and jelly beans, but we also put slips of paper that said things like: “get a signature drink from the bar”, “make an easter egg at the decorating station”, etc so it turned into more of a game. Also, whoever found the matzo was given a price basket that was essentially a mini version of an Easter basket. Fun!

Egg Decorating

I’m always amazed at how simple and fun this is! We just got a pre-made kit from CVS that cost around $10 and had colors and stickers. Then, we just hardboiled a bunch of eggs beforehand. Some of the eggs our more artistic friends created were amazing. Mine was just purple, but still awesome.

Chocolate-Caramel Covered-Matzo Recipe

And because I’m in such a giving mood, here’s a bonus recipe for the week: Chocolate-Caramel Covered Matzo. They will definitely put the wellness into your Wednesday. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Bake time: 15 minutes, Ready in: 45 minutes

4-6 Matzo crackers

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (the recipe I used called for unsalted, but I only had salted on hand and they came out fine – so use whichever you prefer!)

1 Cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ cup chocolate chips (semisweet is my favorite, but I used milk chocolate and

white chocolate and everyone thought they were delicious)

1. Line a baking sheet with foil, Preheat oven to 350. Break apart the matzo into square size crackers (about ¼ of the matzo brick)

2. In a medium saucepan, cook the butter and sugar over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes, whisking constantly.

3. Pour the caramel mixture over the matzos with a spoon. Spread evenly so it’s a thin layer

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Check halfway to make sure it’s not browning too quickly, and rotate the pan

5. Remove matzo from oven, immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the matzo pieces. (tip: if you’re using white chocolate, sprinkle those pieces first since they tend to take longer to melt)

6. Let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes, then spread over the matzo (like frosting!).

7. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes to set. Keep them at room temperature until they’re ready to serve.

8. Soak in the compliments when you serve them!

Makes 16 servings. 1 serving = 200 calories

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week!