A: Actually, no. Though the Torah should be sweet, we want our children to be
healthy, too. Accordingly, most of the Shabbos Stash snacks contain less than 15 grams of sugar. You can also reduce the amount of sugar in a snack by having each child (especially if there are multiple children) make only a part of a project or use undecorated cookies and crackers to act out the parsha rather than decorate them. Some tiny person crackers and gingerbread men are so detailed that very little decorating, if any, is needed. Here are the grams of sugar in the brands I use (yours may vary):
- Pretzels: less than 1 gram, any size
- Graham crackers: 4 grams per sheet, or 1 gram per individual graham cracker
- Animal crackers: approx. 0.5 grams per animal cracker
- Jelly beans: less than 1 gram per bean
- Sour straws: approx. grams 2.5 per straw
- Marshmallows:
- Regular: approx. 3.25
- Mini: 1 gram per 3 marshmallows
- Fruit leather: depends on size, and often several children share a single piece.
A: Absolutely! This book serves as an easy guide, but can also be a jumping-off
point. If you don’t have the gingerbread men stand up they can be decorated with things that are not sticky. Use your imagination; use cut-up grapes for green, red, or purple colors, grated carrots or tangerine segments for orange, lettuce or cheese for clothing; whatever you and your kids prefer.
A: No. While they look elaborate, most of the snacks can be made with little assistance by even small children in 10 minutes or less.
A: If the snack does not look filling enough, serve with cheese cubes, pretzel or crackers, hummus, refried beans (from a can, kids love it), or nuts. Suggestions are included., but use whatever will taste good with the main ingredients of the snack.