What is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival commemorating the Jewish temple's rededication in Jerusalem in the 2nd century BCE.
It’s celebrated for eight days in December. Also known as the festival of lights, there are various traditions in Hanukkah, such as lighting candles on a hanukkiah (a nine-branched candelabrum) using a candle called a shamash, starting with one candle and adding one more each day.
Blessings over the candles are chanted, and festive songs are sung, commemorating the Maccabean Revolt.
Supporting our Jewish members
While traditional events and festivals are a valuable opportunity to spend time with relatives and friends, focusing on food can be particularly challenging for those focused on reducing carbohydrates and minimising sugar intake.
This guide is designed to support our members as they navigate Hanukkah so that they can stay on track with their health goals while still enjoying some of their favourite traditional foods.
As Hanukkah is an eight-day festival which includes a family gathering each evening, we recommend putting together a balanced meal plan ahead of time that contains breakfasts and lunches that are nutritious and balanced to avoid ‘all or nothing’ thinking throughout the eight days.
Breakfasts might include warm and filling sweet breakfasts such as a yoghurt bowl, apple and cinnamon oats, apple and cinnamon pancakes, or French toast.
Savoury breakfasts might include mini omelettes, savoury slices, no pastry quiche, shakshuka, latkes or half a bagel with smoked salmon (see recipes below).
At lunchtime, you might consider wholesome soup, such as chicken with Matzo balls, or some delicious fish, brisket, and vegetable leftovers.
A traditional evening Hanukkah meal will likely contain several foods, some of which are nutritious foods such as meat and vegetable soups, brisket, salmon or other fish, and a variety of vegetable side dishes.
You could also eat some foods in moderation daily, such as latkes, smoked salmon, or savoury kugel.
We recommend selecting your carbohydrate and filling 25 % of your plate with this. This might involve selecting either kugel or potatoes or a little of each to make up 25 % of the plate, depending on your taste preferences.
A balanced meal may include:
A starter of chicken and vegetable soup
A main course made up of:
25 % of the plate as protein, e.g. brisket, fish, chicken
25 % of the plate as carbohydrates, e.g. savoury kugel or potatoes
50 % of the plate from a variety of vegetable side dishes such as roasted vegetables/Hanukkah haystacks or sauteed greens
There will likely also be several sweet foods, such as sweet kugel, Sufganiyot or Bunuelos, apple doughnuts, and Gelt.
We recommend building a framework enabling you to enjoy these occasional traditional foods as part of your daily healthy eating.
This might include selecting one occasional food each day of Hanukkah and enjoying it or selecting one or two days of the week where you will enjoy a dessert of your choice.
Here are some Second Nature recipes and other recipes to support your health goals as you participate in Hanukkah:
Breakfast ideas:
Dinner ideas:
Desserts:
Managing family pressures:
Keeping to your healthier habits can be particularly challenging during a festival or holiday when we spend time with family and friends, and several nostalgic and tasty foods are presented to us.
Here are our top tips to keep you on track:
Make sure you’re well-hydrated before the meal
Consider speaking to your family members ahead of time and asking for their support - this might involve explaining your newly formed eating habits and explaining that you are limiting carbohydrates and sugar
If you are the host, consider how you can add some additional vegetable side dishes to the table so that you can balance your plate more easily
Also, consider how you might set the table so that any of the foods that may tempt you are not within your reach
If you are a guest, ask if you can bring some vegetable side dishes and place these close to your place setting so that you have easy access to these
Choose your occasional foods wisely - what do you enjoy? Make your selection and take the time to enjoy this food slowly and mindfully.
We wish all of our Jewish members ‘Hanukkah Sameach’. We hope you enjoy this wonderful celebration with your friends and family.
Reach out to your health coach if you have any concerns at all. They are here to support you!
Written by our health coaches Kirstie Lawton and Simi Ryatt