I don’t have a menu plan for the next week!

This week’s meal planning blog is actually not really about meal planning at all.

We have come out of the first set of Jewish holidays, Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, and are moving into the next, which is Yom Kippur. This is a day of repentance, 25 hours to be precise.   At this time we ask G-d for another year of life, for forgiveness for past and future sins, and ask him for our livelihood (our future earnings).

As with all Jewish holidays we either feast or fast. Rosh Hashanah is 2 days of feasting followed by 8 hours of fasting. Yom Kippur is 25 hours of fasting and, for most, a festive meal to end this fast.

Here’s why I haven’t done a meal plan beforehand. As much menu planning and quantity planning as I did for the 2 days of feasting, I still have more than enough left- overs.  So except for ‘after school’ lunches, we will be eating the leftover chicken, meat and vegetables till Friday, possibly even till Monday!  On Tuesday night we begin our fast, just before sunset, and end just after sunset on Wednesday.  Jewish fasting is very intense because, unless you have diabetes, or you are on lifesaving medicine, or you had a baby in the last 3 days, or fasting will significantly harm/endanger your life, you fast. No food or drink of any kind may pass your lips for those 25 hours and then you finish your fast off with a meal!

Since my mother is catering, we will be eating her leftovers for the rest of that week.

And then, we have 2 more sets of Jewish holidays that will require more feasting.  Three weeks after these are finished there is another huge event in the world wide Jewish calendar. The Shabbos Project.  I will cover that event in a later blog, closer to the time.   I just need to get through the next set of holidays!

I want to know from my non-Jewish followers, does this also happen over the festive season and Easter? Is there enough food left over to feed an army?

I was also thinking after speaking to a few friends, do you plan in advance for the extra expense that these big events are going to cost? I don’t, but maybe it is something to look into.  A separate account into which you put money so that when these big events come up, it won’t come out of your monthly budget.  This includes food for vacations.  One friend says that she saves her smart shopper points and then uses that for vacation food.

What ideas or suggestions do you have to budget for these big events?