Can you believe that Rosh Hashana is almost here? Even though it’s starting late this year I still don’t feel ready.  So much to do, so little time!

Every year we start off our evening Rosh Hashana meals by eating dishes made with simanim – foods we eat to symbolize our wishes for a sweet new year (you can read more about this custom here).

There are so many creative dishes that can be made for each of the foods- here are some that my husband has made for us in the past:

• Carrots:  tzimmes
• Leek or cabbage: leek patties
• Beets:  beet chips or roasted beets
• Gourd:  mini pumpkin pies
• Head of a sheep:  slow-cooked beef cheek meat

When we sit down for the meal we pass around a laminated print-out of the special brachos and yehi ratzons that are said for each food.  (I printed them from here).  Laminating them was a must- with all the honey being passed around there was no way they would survive with such stickiness all around us!

Menu Planners

With so many meals to plan, I made two menu planner for Rosh Hashana this year – an Evernote template for those digital readers and a printable version for the old-fashioned readers 😉

1. Evernote Template Menu Planner

If you haven’t used my Evernote templates before, you have been missing out!  I finally found an easy way to digitally menu plan- and it’s free too!

5 reasons why Evernote menu planning is great:

1. You can access it from anywhere- phone, computer, home, work, etc…
2. Easy to share, email and collaborate with others
3. One place to view menu, shopping list, to do list
4. Printable
5. Easy to mark items complete with check boxes
6. Link to recipes already saved in your Evernote account within your menu plan

This planner includes the Shabbos before Rosh Hashana as well as Rosh Hashana itself.  The to-do list and shopping list are at the end, since I’ve found it helpful to have the menu plan, to-do list and shopping list all in one place.

To use the Evernote template, click on this link, then click “View in Evernote” in the top right corner and you’re ready to use the template and customize it for your own needs.  A copy will be saved to your Evernote account, so don’t worry about anyone else seeing it – unless you share it with them.  The boxes will expand as you type in them.  It’s really that easy!

2. Printable Menu Planner

I know some people still prefer the always reliable pen and paper method of menu planning, so I also created a pretty printable for you to use if the digital template is not for you.

Although Rosh Hashana isn’t for another 2 weeks, I want to wish you all a k’siva v’chasima tova and a happy and healthy new year!

Stay tuned: Next week I’ll be sharing a guest post about the importance of “me” time- an especially important message we all need to hear when we are going to be spending so much time devoted to our families.

Until next time,
Shaindy