Guide to Free activities on Pesach

I just HAD to take a break from Pesach cleaning to share this:

Here's the list of Bank Hapoalim's free attractions for Pesach 2024. I have linked to websites in English, whenever possible. I hope you find this list helpful, and that you get to have some super-frugal fun over Pesach!

*Please note that I put a lot of effort into this post, tracking down websites in English for your convenience. I know the Bank Hapoalim info and other info is available to the public in Hebrew, but this blog post has added benefits for the English-speaking community. Because it was so much work, I request that you link back to this post if you share this information. Thank you!*

Please leave a comment with your favorite place to visit!

If you haven't already, go ahead and like my Facebook page so you don't miss out on deals and great info all year round!

The following are free to the public (April 24-28) courtesy of Bank HaPoalim. Pre-registration is required, and will open on Sunday, April 21. Click here to register

North:

The Wilfrid Museum 

The National Maritime Museum

Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein Harod

The Haifa Museum of Art

The Janco-Dada Museum 

The Ghetto Fighters' House Museum

Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art

The Golan Archaeological Museum

The Haifa City Museum

The Treasures in The Walls Museum

Yigal Allon Center

Hermann Struck Museum

Central Israel:

The Etzel 1948 Museum

The Yemenite Jewry Heritage Museum

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art

The Lechi Museum

Bialik House

The Etzel Museum

The Umm-El-Fahm Art Gallery

Beit HaGalgalim - House of Wheels

Planetanya

The Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art

Anu Museum of the Jewish People

The Rabin Center Israeli Museum

Design Museum Holon

The Nachum Gutman Museum of Art

The Israeli Cartoon Museum

Palmach House Museum

The Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art

The Rubin Museum

The Haganah Museum

4 Jerusalem: 

The Farm in the Valley

Israel Museum

Jerusalem Walls Tour

The Bible Lands Museum

The Hasmonean Heritage Museum (Modiin)

Museum of Islamic Art

South:

Ba'Ofen (Bike Rides)

Meshek 77 (Strawberry picking and more)

Kibbutz Chatzerim Visitors Center

The Tzon Barzel Heritage Museum

Lunada Children's Museum

Park Timna

Ben Gurion's Hut

Beta Israel Village

The Joe Alon Center for Bedouin Culture

The Legends of Yamit Visitors' Center

The Corinne Mamane Museum of Philistine Culture

The Salad Trail

Chavat HaDekalim Petting Zoo

Ron Art Judaica Studio

The Sderot Founders' Museum

The Negev Pioneers Site at Ruchama

The Sea Museum

Other venues that are also FREE:

The Gush Katif Museum, Nitzan - free to the public on April 24-25, 10am - 4pm. *8947

Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem has special programming for Pesach. Free for kids under 18, Miluimnikim and their families, and evacuees from the North and South. April 24-25, 10am - 6pm

Namal Tel Aviv has several free activities over Pesach. Different activities are available on different dates, check the schedule for more info

Tiyul around the Kinneret, Thursday, April 25. Registration is required. Click here to register for the short one at 9 am or the long on at 11am.

Ramat Hanadiv, Zichron Yaakov. April 24-25, from 10am - 2pm. Outdoor fun - Click here for details. The event is free but the parking lot is not.

First Aliyah Museum, Zichron Yaakov. April 24-25, 9am - 4pm, April 26, 9am - 2pm

Spring Festival at JNF (Keren Kayemet LaYisrael) parks. Specific locations - details and registration links HERE 

Mapah U'Matzah events at National Heritage Sites:
April 24: Golani Memorial Site, Kfar Sava Museum, Mikve Israel Visitors Center

April 25: ICA Museum Farmers Courtyards Kfar Tavor, The Emek Train Site in Kfar Yehoshua, the Khan Museum Hadera, 

April 24 & 25: Atlit Detention Camp, Herzl Center at Har Herzl, Gush Katif Museum, The Future of the Desert in Yerucham, My City Eilat Museum

Israel Parks and Nature: free guided tours at various sites. Register HERE 

Eco-Park Hadera, Spring Festival April 25, 10am - 4pm

More coming soon, as I find them!

5 ​ 6
Have a great time!

Please share this with your friends, so everyone can plan a fun and frugal Pesach!

Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

this post contains afflilate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you!

My go-to cake lately is chocolate cake. And it's a super simple recipe. (And more often than not, one of my kids makes it.) And it always gets compliments. AND it's vegan!

So since several people asked about it, I'm posting it here. 

The thing about this recipe is it's deep chocolate flavor. REAL dutched cocoa is the secret. If possible, don't use any other kind. And certainly don't substitute with that weird powder Israelis call chocolate for baking. It will be all wrong, so just don't, ok? Thanks!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

This recipe makes 2 cakes - 9 inch round or 8 inch square both work. Actually, this week I made it in my 8.5 inch bread pans and it was extra moist and delicious!

3 cups flour (I used 80% whole spelt, but really any flour should work)
2/3 cups dutched cocoa powder (I get it in the shuk in Teverya, I'm sure you can find it other places too. If you live near me, you can join our group orders from the store that carries them! Be in touch!)
2 cups sugar
0.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp baking soda

MIX all the above together in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center.

Add:
1/3 cup oil (I use sunflower oil, but use whatever you prefer)
1 cup cold coffee (plain, unsweetened, no milk, nothing whatsover added!)
1 cup cold water
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

MIX everything together until well combined. Pour batter into lined or greased and floured pans.

Optional, but highly recommended: 1/2 bag or more of chocolate chips - sprinkled on top!

Bake at 190C for about 35 minutes (test with a toothpick before declaring them done). Cool before cutting.

Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

 

Shopping Finds of the Week

This post contains affiliate links. 
If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission (never at any additional cost to you)

Today I am here to admit that Aliexpress is still my friend, and here's why:

We've been having trouble finding leotards for our athletes with the sleeve length we prefer. So we ended up buying long sleeve leos, promising to alter them. But paying a seamstress to do the alteration just jacked up the cost too high. It was time to break out our own needle and thread.

The problem was - STRETCH. It's hard to sew in a way that still leaves stretch if you don't really know what you're doing, so we decided to take a different approach. We chose to do the hems with elastic thread. The only elastic I had in the house, though, were too thick for this! And the sewing store is in a different city and I didn't feel like trekking there without knowing if they'd have what I wanted. So - online shopping to the rescue!

After searching a LOT, we found this elastic sewing thread that is priced really low, arrived really quickly, and did the job well! Kudos to my daughter for sewing it herself!

Another super find was these packing organizers! They make it so much easier to stay organized while traveling. I got them for one of my kids and they have gotten so much use! And they are SUPER discounted right now, so you might want to grab them. (I definitely paid at least double!)

And lately, Aliexpress offers to combine your order into one package and ship FAST. And it WORKS!!

So those were my finds that I had to share this week! Hope you found this helpful!

What you REALLY need for Pesach

 Pesach's almost here! And the stores are getting full of special foods for Pesach. And isn't that so exciting?!
But then, you start to pile them into your shopping cart, and you suddenly realize that the cost really ADDS UP FAST. Uh oh. What about that little thing called "a budget"?

Here's the thing. Pesach is ONE week. So if you can make it one week without buying premade cakes and cookies and crackers and who knows what else, you'll save a lot of money.

There are some things you really do need for Pesach:

Matzah

Grape Juice or Wine

Maror (this can be lettuce! But I also bought a small piece of horseradish for about 6 NIS at Yesh)

Karpas (Potatoes or Celery)

Charoset (I always have to improvise this one because of my nut allergy and other family members' uncooked apple allergies. (So much fun!) Last year I made a stewed fruit charoset - chopped apples stewed with cinnamon, raisins, dates, and grape juice. I might have put some dried apricots in there but that's no longer an option for me due to another allergy popping up. It worked out well, though, so I'll probably do something similar again.)

Salt

Other basics for things you like to eat.

I make sure we have these foods available:

Chicken (whatever's on sale leading up to the holiday)

Beef if there's a good sale or if I stocked up another time and there's some in my freezer labeled Kosher for Pesach

Fish fillets if there's a good sale or if I stocked up another time and there's some in my freezer labeled Kosher for Pesach

Eggs

Oil

Butter

Jelly

Cream Cheese

Basic fruits and vegetables (including potatoes and onions because we MUST have potato kugel)

Ingredients for brownies not already listed above: potato starch, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips

If we buy tomato paste and cheese, we can make matzah pizza or matzah lasagna, so we try to make sure there's some of that around.

I like to make a HUGE vegetable soup at the beginning of the chag and use it for the chag and also several days of Chol Hamoed - this way there's food around.

I am committed to avoiding making anything that takes too much time or energy so that also will keep my expenses down.

Everything else is extra. My family really likes eating kneidlach and pesach rolls so having a couple packages of matzah meal on hand is good - but I don't personally make these anymore because my wheat allergy gets activated when I touch wheat-based products and any matzah meal dust in the air is hazardous to me...

I personally stock up at Pesach on things that are not going to contain traces of wheat at this time, but you don't need to if you don't have a reason to! So don't go crazy. 

If it's been a tough year for you financially, you can do this simply. Just make sure you have brownies on hand to keep everyone happy - make the recipe I posted and you can't go wrong! Warning: You may have to make a batch every day😀.

Do you have other "must-haves" for Pesach? Let me know!

5-minute supper!

 

Tonight, I wanted soup. But I didn't want to spend time in the kitchen, obviously. (That's what extreme burnout does to me...)

So I took stock of what I had on hand and it hit me: with just 5 minutes of work, we can have tomato soup with rice and croutons!

Here's what I did:

Tomato Soup with Rice

1-1.5 cups leftover cooked brown rice
1 large can crushed tomatoes

Water - the amount that fits in the empty can
1/2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1/2 tsp. dried garlic flakes
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of hot pepper flakes
a couple dashes of coarsely ground black pepper

Mix it all together in a pot and heat on the stove until heated all the way through.
Serve with croutons.

Quick croutons

Several pieces of leftover challah/bread
spray oil
granulated garlic
dash of salt
dash of pepper

Cut the challah/bread into small pieces. Sprinkle salt, garlic, and pepper over the pieces of bread. Spray with oil.
Bake at 220C until golden brown.
Serve with soup or salad.

Enjoy!!

Find more quick meal ideas HERE

Great deals for you!

this post contains affiliate links, so if you click on a link and then make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you. 

Here are some great deals I just found:

If you need a food processor, check out this awesome sale:

3.9 L 1250W Bosch food processor, regular price 849 NIS, on sale now for 579 NIS!

Need a laptop for under 1000 NIS? Check out this Asus laptop deal 

Here's a drip-filter 12-cup coffee maker (for those of us who think capsules are pods produce too much waste!) for under 100 NIS 

Here's a set of 2 fridge odor absorbers for 28 NIS instead of 34!

Thermoses in all sizes are on sale right now, too! Some of them are really large - 8 liters! These are great!

Things to keep in mind when you shop at KSP: Shipping will be free if you meet the minimum order amount. If you don't, you can choose a store near you for pickup to avoid shipping fees. These items ship from within Israel, so you'll never be hit with a surprise tax or import fee!

Feel free to comment below or in my public shopping group on FB and let me know what you're looking for!

Save on your Expat tax preparation!

If you're an American ex-pat like me, you know all about the yearly headache of filing your overseas tax return. Currently, this is something most of us MUST do, even if we don't like it. There's just no getting around it for now - no matter how much we complain (maybe one day it will change!). And because of the complexity of navigating tax documents issued to comply with Israeli tax law (as opposed to US tax law), it is usually NOT recommended to use automated software for filing your overseas tax return.

Or so we thought. But as of last year, there's SimpleTax – the first ever U.S. tax software for Americans living in Israel. I've had a long chat with the founder of the company, and they've worked so hard to make this service available (it's designed to work in a way that standard tax software doesn't) and I'm super excited about this development. 

SimpleTax will walk you through a friendly and intuitive interface to prepare your U.S. taxes on your own, find your highest possible refund and save money on fees - starting as low as 299₪ for a tax return + FBAR.

If your taxes are more complicated, you will most likely pay a higher rate, but still MUCH lower than the quotes I've gotten from accountants recently.

This is going to change our lives. Mostly because staying tax compliant will now be so much simpler and cheaper!

I invite you to find more details at SimpleTax. If you use my referral link (the links to SimpleTax on this site are referral links), you'll get 10% off your first tax return! If for some reason you can't open the link, simply copy-paste this link to go to their site: https://simpletax.co.il/register?referral=KOFRU. Or go to their site on your own and be sure to enter my referral code (KOFRU)

SimpleTax is also on Facebook and has plans to help US citizens in Israel navigate financial issues better. You can be sure I'll be following them and waiting for more helpful developments.

So spread the word that in 2024 we'll be doing our taxes smarter and cheaper! Use my referral code to get a great 10% discount: 

MY-CODE: KOFRU

OR CLICK HERE

מידע חשוב עבור אזרחים אמריקאים שגרים בארץ: הגיע פתרון שיחסוך לנו הרבה כסך!

החל מהשנה, אפשר למלא דו"ח מס אמריקני עם חברת סימפלטקס - ותראו חסכון אמיתי!

אפשר לחסוך עוד יותר עם מכניסים את הקוד שלי בעת ההרשמה. ההרשמה ללא עלות - רק תצטרכו לשלם עם משתמשים במערכת לדווח. השתמשו בקוד KOFRU ותקבלו 10% הנחה.

או הקליקו כאן: https://simpletax.co.il/register?referral=KOFRU

Price Controlled Foods (Updated)

I realize it's been a while since I posted an update about price-controlled food items. As you may know, the Ministry of the Economy regulates some food prices in Israel. This means that certain consumer goods cannot be sold for a price higher than the price set by the government. A few prices have even changed since my last post about this, so here's the latest update. Maximum prices on this list were verified on February 14, 2024.

Make sure you're not overpaying for anything on this list:

1. BREADS

Note: The breads on this list are very specific types of breads, and the challah is a very specific kind of challah. 

2. SALT



 3. DAIRY PRODUCTS

    Note: I've also seen packages of sliced 28% yellow cheese that are pre-packaged, 400g, labeled "price controlled 13.20 ILS"

4. EGGS




There's always talk of adding items to the list (like fresh vegetables) or making changes (like swapping whole wheat bread for the white bread), but for now, this is the list of price-regulated foods.

If your store is overcharging for any of these items (check to be sure they are in fact the price-regulated item and not a premium version) - you can report the store to the proper authority using this online form.

Hope this helps you save more money, and don't forget to follow me on Facebook and join my Kosher Frugal group for more tips!