Happy Passover! All of us Jews are going to seders tonight to kick off the holiday. Oh wait - not my family. We are getting our floors redone, so our house right now is essentially empty. So that means…we’ll probably be going out for sushi.
But, we’ll be attending a seder tomorrow and I wanted to share with you how I plan to be gluten (and dairy free!) When it comes to family holidays and gatherings, I find it particularly difficult to explain why you eat a certain way or another. You don’t want to seem high maintenance, you don’t want to offend anyone by not sampling what they brought to the party, aaaand you simply don’t want to miss out on the fun.
So, how can you be gluten free at Passover and not cause any ruckus?
1. Avoid the matzoh. Unfortunately, matzoh is made with wheat and therefore is a no-go BUT is a huge part of the seder. Womp womp. That means, no matzoh ball soup, no matzo with charoset (the awesome apple-nut-wine-cinnamon mixture), no late-night-too-many-glasses-of-wine-matzoh-with-butter. I plan to help out with the serving of the matzoh ball soup instead of just saying “no” awkwardly at the table. And when the charoset comes around, I’ll just eat plain spoonfuls of it because honestly that’s the best way to do it because its delicious.
2. Offer to bring a dessert! That way, you can make something that you can to eat yourself. The majority of desserts that are Passover-friendly are flour-free too, so I definitely have my pick of what to make. Check out my blog post on five flourless Passover dessert ideas if you’re still looking for some!
3. Take The Little Honey Bee‘s advice in her hilarious post “How Not to Be a Food Snob“. It documents her experiences at Passover and how she ate paleo without causing any attention. I definitely will be following some of her tips!
4. Plan ahead. Just like I am right now - I’m making a game plan! For holidays that revolve around dairy or wheat-based foods, you can reduce a lot of stress by thinking through the night ahead of time. It’s really easy to stress about it, but know that the majority of people who are at these gatherings will likely roll your eyes and support you and love you just the same even if you won’t take a bite of their matzoh balls.
5. Bring your own gluten free matzoh! You can buy it in the store - check out some brands here or here. Or you can make your own grain-free version!
6. Enjoy every other part of the seder. Thankfully, Passover is a holiday which does not include much gluten except for the matzo. It even bans bread or other leavened grains! So you can happily enjoy the brisket…the vegetables..the charoset…the wine…the flourless desserts…I know I will!
Thanks for stopping by! 
