Kosher food doesn’t have to mean a diet of potato kugel, matzah balls, and endless varieties of stuffed cabbage or blintzes. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t even mean that a rabbi has to have anything at all to do with its preparation. "Kosher" comes from the concepts of the "Kashrut," a body of Jewish law that deals with what foods are considered to be proper and correct to eat – and how they must be prepared.
Kosher Food From Around the World
In today’s world of processed food, however, it can be difficult to know what supermarket offerings may be Kosher (or not) and so, there is a Kosher certification process for things like hotdogs or packaged foods. But eating a Kosher diet can – literally – mean taking your taste buds around the globe. Just like the old American/New York advertising slogan about "not having to be Jewish to love Levi’s rye bread," you can stay Kosher and enjoy food from just about any culture.
While it’s true that no one ever seems to leave a Kosher Shabbat dinner feeling anything but "stuffed" and satisfied, that feeling often comes from the typical European /Jewish culture’s reliance upon heavy fats and oils (Schmaltz – or chicken fat - comes to mind…) to give it its flavor. That kind of diet might have worked well in farming communities, where every expended calorie was dear, but today’s more sedentary world makes such heavy meals difficult to metabolize.
Kosher Doesn't Have to be Artery Clogging
No nutritionist has ever suggested that a diet of kugel, cholent and fatty corned beef would keep you slim and healthy – and eating Kosher doesn’t have to mean clogging up your arteries in the process. Try substituting more spice, more vegetables and more salad instead. That style of eating is actually more Mediterranean in feel…and every bit as Kosher.
A recent trip to a deli in New York City (Eretz, on Columbis Ave.) really brought this home. Inside the cases were things like Southeast Asian noodles, Mexican Chicken, Mulligatawny Soup, Chicken Dumplings and Chinese Fried Rice. There were Filipino beef strips, a sweet and spicy Asian-style Chicken and a wonderful fish soup. (No, not with seafood…that really isn’t Kosher!). And the place was packed.
Where are the Knishs?
Strangely absent were such Kosher Deli "standards," like knishes, fried zucchini or cauliflower, fired kerplach, Latkes or chicken livers. In other words, it is possible to both keep Kosher and keep healthy. Just keep the emphasis on eating fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and fish from the list of those that are allowed – and save a bit of room once in awhile to splurge on a great blintz or noodle kugel for dessert!
