Friday, March 29, 2024 -
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Purim Sameach!

After a period of quiet in the Jewish calendar, it’s all starting up again! Wednesday night is Purim, which means megillah, masquerades and mishloach manot! The mid-week date, however, poses somewhat of a problem. Many of us will be at work, sadly unable to participate in deliveries of Purim goodies, typically accompanied by raucous joke telling and costume comparing. So what to do?

Inspiration struck in the form of Kellogg’s miniature cereal boxes, a standby for camping trips and skiing breaks. What about a breakfast pack? Most – if not all – of the items can be easily purchased and assembled in advance and the final breakfast basket can be delivered either at an early morning megillah reading or en route to work. Not only are you not missing any work time but you’ll be giving people a special “Purim” start to the day! (Of course the ensuing sugar high helps with that too!)

Once you decide to go down the breakfast road, you’ll realize the possibilities are endless. I stuck with the original Kellogg’s cereal boxes, and decided to add a chocolate milk, mini banana and cinnamon bun muffin. (I was also limited by rectangular shaped Purim bags I’d purchased last year in Israel.) The only item which requires a bit of extra work is a homemade pastry, however you can always bake on Sunday and freeze, or simply take it easy and pick something up from a bakery.

Some other goodies could include:

  • a small bottle of freshly squeezed juice
  • a small smoothie
  • small fruit yogurts (in Europe called “Petit Suisse”)
  • any kind of fruit muffin, doughnut or breakfast pastry
  • a breakfast roll
  • individually wrapped butter and miniature jam, honey or peanut butter
  • mini Babybels or cheese triangles

The common denominator here is “small” or “miniature” and what makes that easy here in Switzerland is that the grocery stores have a kid’s line which offers smaller portions of things like fruit and yogurt. Do Kings Soopers, Safeway, Albertson’s or Whole Foods have the same?

What will you be making for Purim this year? Let us know by posting a comment.


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