From October 12th to October 23rd I was lucky enough to participate in an amazing adventure offered to young Jewish people from the age of 18-26 known as Birth Right. There is much debate about the purpose of providing 18-26 year olds with a free 10 day trip across the globe to Israel. My tour guide jokingly referred to it as “birth rate”, referencing the fact that part of the purpose is to try to get young Jews to fall in love with and marry other young Jews.
Whatever your perspective, everyone has to agree that it is an amazing opportunity. It was one of the best experiences my 26 year long life has offered to me. And, of course, there was AMAZING food there – which is what I’d like to share J
One of the coolest thing was the variety of fresh fruit ready-for-the-picking along our many hikes:
Fresh Pomegranate from the tree – better than anything I’ve bought in the stores here. You can taste the sweetness by just looking at this picture! (Note: this particular pomegranate was bought but the ones we picked were just as juicy & tasty!)
Carob – a super food that helps with many things including improving digestion, lowering cholesterol and it’s an antioxidant. You can read more at http://healthmad.com/nutrition/12-great-benefits-of-carob
Orange with green skin – I’m not sure exactly what this was called – they’re the size of a tangerine actually. They’re SO good – I’d say better than any orange or tangerine I’ve had in the states.
Bamba - one of the favorite snacks of Israeli youth. They have the consistency of cheese puffs but they're peanut butter flavored!
Fresh made pita bread – one of the nights while in Israel we stayed in a Bedouin Tent. The food there was incredible. By far my favorite thing was the fresh made pita. The woman making it had a sphere shaped hot metal cooking device – she stretched the dough out in a manner similar to pizza dough, cooked one side on the sphere & then flipped it. AMAZING!
I also had a ridiculous amount of Falafel…see picture of me and some of my group members eating – I’m not sure I’ll be able to have this again for a while :)
And finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share with you a picture from the market in Jerusalem – a foodies dream place! Fresh, delicious looking & smelling fruits, veggies, spices, candies, pastries, breads, meats & fish! (And I’m sure I’m missing some food groups represented…)
