This article appeared in the April 4, 2008 Jewish Advocate.

Pesadiche offerings are swelling the store shelves. In fact, there are so many new products, it seems the only thing left out anymore is crusty bread. So why do we still feel deprived?

Maybe it's the old credo, you crave what you can't have. However, matzah-meal and cottonseed-oil based foods do begin to taste alike by the third day. Let's face it, they're heavy, greasy, and bland, and often saturated to boot. Not only that, they usually involve frying, kneading, mixing and cooking. What we need for these eight days is light, flavorful and easy things to fix and enjoy. You won't necessarily be making these healthier, quicker, more inventive snacks and entrees after April 26, but they may get you through the post-seder crunch (or chew) time.

Let's start with the most important meal of the day. You can now find rye, oat, wheat, spelt, and more wholegrain matzah, many organic. Unheard of in our grandparents' and even parents' day! Melt a slice of lowfat Passover cheese (Kosher.com also has pesadiche Smart Beat fat-free cheeses) on top. Try a square of pesadiche 70 percent dark chocolate (the good stuff, finally out) atop when done (more than one square invariably results in chocolate all over one's face). Or top with jelly (but stick to eggs or cheese for a.m. protein). Bananas or oranges, quality decaf/coffee and you're good to go. Or pack whole-grain matzah and lowfat cottage cheese (look for low-salt, as the dryer curd is more filling and has a nice sour taste).

Snacks? Try nonoiled, unsalted nuts (finally out). A handful of almonds, walnuts or pecans supplies precious omegas (not cashews or macadamias). Unsulphered dried fruit is fun. Freeze banana wheels dipped in melted chocolate. Skip the jelly top, macaroons and other morbidly fatty cookies and stick to meringues and biscotti. Watch for added oils in the chocolate items too.

Sing around the campfire before summer with s’mores. Melt marshmallows on matzah and add chocolate. Robin Blake of the famous Canter's Deli in Los Angeles makes jello with nuts, apple pieces and cranberries during Passover. ("Canter's itself doesn't offer anything special," says 10th grader Alex Canter, great-grandson of the original owner, "because we have matzah brei, matzah and eggs and gefilte fish year-round." And they also have chocolate homentashen - but back to Pesach.). Sherry Alpert dips matzah crackers and baby carrots into mixed-up chive and cilantro yogurt dip.

Sides: Quinoa, technically a fruit, makes a great pilaf. Trader Joe's has it with a U. Add mushrooms, celery, onions and peppers, or sweeten with bits of apple, dried fruit and slivered almonds. Since there are still no low-fat potato chips, cut up and bake potatoes with a little Passover spray and paprika. Jazz up with lowfat cheese or nonfat sour cream and chives. Make a quick tsimmes by eye with cooked sweet potatoes and carrots, raisins, drained pineapple, orange juice, honey and/or cinnamon.

Bake a whole turkey to pick at. Do, however, pour boiling water over it before baking (an Evie Davidson trick that reduces the salt!)

We've all probably had a too-close encounter with frozen Passover pizza (the only pizza a certain unfussy boyfriend ever met and didn't like - even the birds rejected it). Make your own with whole-grain matzah, mixed low-fat Passover cheeses, mushrooms, olives, spices, and pizza sauce. It's not Cafe Eilat on a Saturday night, but is satisfying and light. Dr. Judy Katz of Watertown puts hers in the microwave, but matzah has a pretty high burn-factor in a toaster oven.

Rachel Rappaport's non-daunting recipe for macaroons combines 3 egg whites, 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes, 1T matzah meal and 1/2 tsp. vanilla and bakes them for 12 minutes at 350. "They won't spread, so you can fit a lot on a pan," she says. Drizzle chocolate on them.

Jill Richardson, a vegan, makes M’hamara, a blended Middle Eastern red pepper dip of roasted red peppers, walnuts, and matzoh crumbs. "A salad is a nice way to incorporate some elements of the seder plate into your meal," she says. So she combines mixed baby greens with sprouts, fresh herbs, hard boiled eggs and tomatoes. She also oven-roasts Brussels sprouts and asparagus.

As always, we turn to the doyenne of domesticity. "For 11 pieces of matzah (about one box), you'll need 11 ounces each of white and dark chocolate, 3/4 cup finely chopped toasted nuts, and 1 1/2 cups chopped dried fruit or crystallized ginger," Martha Stewart instructs. "Brush one side of each piece of matzah with melted white or dark chocolate; drizzle dark chocolate over white, and vice versa. Sprinkle with fruit and nuts. For matzah crunch, Martha drizzles melted chocolate and immediately sprinkles on chopped nuts. Refrigerate either for 15. Keep remainder cold.

But it should be long gone by Day 8.