Image courtesy of Micah Siva
The High Holiday season often comes with memories of dipping apples into sweet, sticky honey. In my family, that was the main event at our holiday meals, alongside an intricately braided round challah.
Now that I’m a parent, I’m constantly looking for meaningful and fun ways to connect to each holiday with my husband and son. This year I’m focusing my Rosh Hashanah preparations on micro-experiences for my little one, so that when the holiday arrives he is primed and ready to celebrate. I love using foods – beyond the classic apples and honey I grew up with – to inspire conversations and experiences for all three of us. And the simanim, the special symbolic foods eaten during the Jewish New Year, are a perfect way to do that.
Here's a quick and easy guide to putting together your own “simanim snack board.” You’ll see that some foods, like carrots and apples are represented in their whole form, while others, like squash, gourds, or pumpkins, are pureed and added to baked goods.
The simanim represented on our snackboard are:
- Apples and honey: serve a variety of sliced apples
- Pomegranates: pomegranate seeds
- Cabbage/leeks or green beans: we used crunch snap-pea snacks
- Carrots: served raw, cut up, with hummus
- Black-eyed peas: mashed into a special hummus
- Beetroot: add beetroot powder or juice to your hummus or favourite dressing to add a beautiful pink color
- Fish: represented with goldfish crackers
- Squash or gourds: add pumpkin puree to your muffins, snacks, or even hummus
Tip: I’ve found that sometimes the best way for my little one to eat well is to have items readily available, at his eye level, and with a variety of healthier options alongside ones that feel like a treat. This way, he has the autonomy to decide what he’ll snack on. It almost always results in him eating more vegetables, a little treat, and trying something unexpected.
And don’t forget –– the best way to celebrate is your way. If this feels overwhelming, stick to apples and honey! There’s always next year.
About the Author
Micah Siva (@noshwithmicah) is an award-winning cookbook author, trained chef, registered dietitian, and food photographer, specializing in modern Jewish cuisine. After graduating from the Natural Gourmet Institute of Health & Culinary Arts, she pursued a career in nutrition and later worked for global brands, media outlets, and publications in food media. She shares Jewish-inspired, plant-forward recipes through her blog, Nosh with Micah. Micah lives in the Chicago area with her young son, Ari, husband, and dog Buckwheat.
September 4, 2025