Since it wasn't included in the program, I tried to make a "Isrealite Camp" snack rotation for Wilderness VBS that would reflect the things they actually had in the Sinai wilderness (or had brought with them from Egypt). After the Egyptian foods ran out, that would have been things God miraculously provided (manna, quail), along with sparse plants available seasonally in the Sinai (in amounts that wouldn't have been large enough to feed the whole population without God's provision), and meat and dairy from their herds.
This is not the type of snack to "tide kids over" but a "taste and experience" type of snack, to help them bring meaning and understanding and context to the Bible story. Its important not to just serve these foods, but to talk about why they are eating these foods. Many of the foods stretch kids "comfort zone" for taste, so you may want to provide another snack kids are more likely to eat outside of the marketplace if you are worried about kids getting hungry.
Thanks to Go Tell It On the Mountain, Wandering Through the Wadis, and Bedouin History Desert Saffari for most of the information I found about edible plants in the Sinai, as well as some Bedouin recipes which are possibly the closest things we have to an idea of what the Isrealites would have eaten in the dessert (other than manna), though they do come from another cultural tradition.
DAY 1: Crossing the Red Sea
Exodus 12
"So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing...With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves."
Exodus 12:34 and 12:39
On the first night the Isrealites have just crossed the red sea with their unleavened bread on their shoulders. They would have baked it by now. They also may have brought other food, some of the produce of Egypt which they would later complain about missing (Numbers 11: 5-6): cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic and fish (fishsticks could work). Grapes, figs, raisins, were other items they might have brought with them. A full list of food Egyptians ate can be found here.
Yogurt mixed with honey could also be served. Goats milk is something else the Isrealites would certainly have had, as they brought their flocks with them. Tiger nut sweets seem like a portable food they could have brought with them (see earlier link to Egyptian food).
There is a red berry that grows in the Sinai near the ocean called Salt Tree Fruit. They make a drink from it sort of like a flavored water, so you could have cool-aid or a flavored water for a drink that first day that was "discovered" by the snack tent volunteer. They could also "discover" that some of the plants (listed toward the bottom of this page) make a good hot drink (I would start with one and "discover" a few other teas during the week). There's a list at the bottom with these herbal teas.
If you start your week with some sort of special event/celebration that includes food, I found a very unique Bedoin meal that uses some things that Egyptian had (though granted watermelon in ancient Egypt was a very different fruit). Melon Feta uses watermelon charred in an open camp-fire, combined with various other ingredients. It's NOT a dessert. I'm very intrigued by it, and it would be something fun to try making as a group.
DAY 2: Manna and Quail
Exodus 16
"That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor....
When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'What is it?' For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, 'It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.' The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ... The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled."
Exodus 16:13-15, 35-
Have the bowls in the snack tent practically empty the 2nd day, as the Isrealites battle hunger. There should be no fresh food and just maybe a scant handful of raisins or nuts (though be careful with allergies), maybe a couple tiny shrivled onions, or a little tea you could say was made from plants that have now dried out (but no milk or honey for it, as any herds that hadn't been eaten would be near starving and not able to make milk). The snack tent host could complain about lack of food the first rotation, and praise God for the manna when it comes during the second rotation (or has come during Moses tent).
Whatever you use for manna, it would reinforce that God is still providing to include it as an option with other items in the snack tent the rest of the week.
Here are some suggestions for things to use:
QUAIL IDEAS: Chicken, peeps, chicken nuggets, bread shaped like birds (see below), cookies shaped like quail, or actual quail if not cost prohibitive...maybe to let the kids taste in small sample size quantities.
Bread Bird 1
Bread Bird 2
MANNA IDEAS: Frosted flakes, rice crispies (or rice crispy treats), popcorn (or popcorn balls), nilla wafers, coconut, frosted donut holes, sun chips, any strange chips or crackers or...
Manna Recipe with Oyster Crackers:
Coconut Balls
White Energy Balls:
Puppy Chow/Muddy Buddies - Various
Nutella Puppy Chow
Skinny Puppy Chow
DAY 3: Defeating the Amalekites
Exodus 17
"The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”
So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword."
Exodus 17: 8-13
Though
the Bible doesn't specifically mention them taking any spoils when the
Isrealites defeated the Amalikites, we know they took spoils in other
cases, and it's likely they may have here too. This could be an excuse
to have something other than manna. A trail
mix of some sort might work, since if they got this from the Amalekites
camp it's not out of the question that they would have found easy to carry food like dried fruit and nuts. You could
use dried cranberries in the mix
and say that they were Zahroor Berries (a sinai fruit that tastes good dried). If you use any seeds you can
say they are Desert Melon seeds (a melon that is inedible except for the
seeds, which Senai Bedouins grind into a flour, so flatbread could be
re-introduced as well). Be careful of seed and nut allergies.
There are a few other things that grow
in the Sinai dessert (though not all year round), some of which you can
actually find in US stores, and others you you can approximate. I've
included a list at the bottom of this page and these can be incorporated during the rest of the week. Granted, none of these
would be in large enough supply enough to feed the whole Isrealite camp
but might be fun to have kids taste all the same.
Dairy products
like
goats milk and yogurt might be able to be reintroduced now and
served throughout the rest of the week. We know that they had flocks
and herds by Day 4 because God told Moses that "not even the flocks and
herds may graze in front of the mountain" when Moses went up to mount
Sinai (Exodus 34:3). It could either be that some of the original
animals they took with them out of Egypt survived the period without
much food (in which case, they might not be using meat yet from these
herd, but might use dairy). Or they could have taken animals from the
Amalekites. Another possibility is that Jethro (Moses Midianite
father in law) had provided animals to the Isrealites from his own herds
when he came and visited them in the wilderness (Exodus 18...which
would have been slightly after this). Even if you wait till Day 4,
dairy products could also be served throughout the rest of the week.
You can find an interesting article about how butter, yogurt, and cheese is made in the desert here. It's worth looking at just for the pictures. In your or right outside your food tent, you can use three sticks to make a tripod like is pictured there, and then put yogurt and some salt into cheesecloth and hang it from the tripod over a bowl to make Labneh, a type of cream cheese.
DAY 4: Remembering the Passover
Exodus 12/Numbers 9
"Thus the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai... saying, “Now, let the sons of Israel observe the Passover at its appointed time."Numbers 9:1
" It is a night to be observed for the Lord for having brought them out from the land of Egypt; this night is for the Lord, to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their generations."Exodus 12:42
On Passover they were instructed to eat unleavened bread and lamb, with bitter herbs...so this would be something to consider for snack this day. With the unleavened bread you could have the kids eat just small bites of real lamb to cut on cost, or have some sort of lamb shaped snack. Sinai Bedouins make a bread using ground seeds of the desert melon (inedible except seeds) so this is not unfeasonable that they would have had a little flatbread still. As for bitter herbs--they would have had various bitter herbs in the desert (many of which we don't have access to). Traditional bitter herbs served at passover are lettuce, chicory, horseradish, dandelion greens, which are described as growing in the Sinai Peninsula or in Egypt, but the site doesn't specify which, and my other sources don't include these as wild plants of the sinai desert. They did have a type of mint, something similar in taste to lemon balm, both of which would be a safe, bitter plant for the kids to try. Parsley grew in Egypt and is also a traditional "bitter herb" alternative which would be cheep and easy, and a little easier for kids to swallow (while still somewhat bitter, I actually liked it as a child). But in this case, kids liking it isn't the point. The bitter herbs are meant to the bitterness of slavery, so it's not meant to be pleasant.
DAY 5: 10 Commandments
Exodus 19-20
I think it would be good to bring back manna and quail again, to show how God was still providing for the Israelites. Labneh, other cheeses, goats milk and yogurt could be served too, since they still had their herds. Any of the Recipes below under the "Sinai Edibles" listed below would work too, and any of the teas listed under the herbs.
SINAI DESERT EDIBLES
Vegetables
- Wild Onions - probably smaller and less plentiful than what they had in Egypt. Could use any small onion or shallot.
- Capers - Capers grow in
the Senai on cliffs and rocky wall. You can find pickled capers in most grocery stores....something a little adventurous for the kids to try. I thought capers were a seed but they are actually a flower bud. The fruits and leaves can also be pickled (I have not seen these in stores, but you can find pickled Caperberries online). (Pictures of Bush/Fruit/More about How they Are Used)
- Hambizan - An
edible tuber which tastes and looks like carrot, only it's white. I know you can grow white carrots and I've seen them sometimes in grocery stores and farmers markets, but they can be hard to find--if you did find this you could call the white
carrots Hambizan and serve with the yogurt dip mentioned in the recipes at the bottom.
- Jahag/Wild Mustard - A plant with edible, juicy, peppery leaves. It grows on the desert plains right after seasonal rains. You
can buy mustard greens in most stores, which are similar in flavor.
- Dandelion (?) - One source I found said that dandelion may have been on of the bitter herbs eaten in the dessert, though it was not listed as a native Sinai plant. Still, it would probably be closer to wild herbs that might have been used for lettuce than some other things. All the parts of a dandelion can be eaten. I've personally boiled dandelion buds which taste similar asparagus, and had dandelion leaves and flower petals in salad (which are peppery). Again, avoid collecting where it may have been sprayed for pesticides. While there are dandelion look-alikes, they tend to also be edible so it's less of a risky plant to collect.
- Purslane - a common edible weed which grows in the United States too. Can be
gathered, but stay away from roadsides (because of contamination from cars) and any lawns that might be
treated with pesticides/herbicides. There are look alikes that are not edible though, so make sure you only use this if someone familiar with it collects it and tries it first. (Break the stem...if there's white sap it's spurge, not purslane. Don't eat it!)
- Tummayr/Storksbill - While this can be found in the US, I do not suggest trying to gather and use this because it is easily confused with POISON HEMLOCK. But in the Sinai, where I don't believe Hemlock grew, this was one of the plants they could have eaten. There are several types that grow in the Sinai, and one type has a potato-like edible tuber that is sweet and crunchy.
- ALSO SEE HERBS - Also see the herb section below as several of these can be included in salads and such.
- Hamaat (Wild Fig) - Yeah, something we can get at the store! (OK, not the spacific Senai variety, but figs in general, which is close enough). These are a rare plant in the desert.
- Dates - From the date palm. Another rare plant sometimes found in the Sinai.
- Zahroor Berries (Hawthorn) - a type of Hawthorn with edible berries. You can find edible dried hawthorn berries online (not all hawthorn berries are edible
though, so don't just get some from someone's hawthorn shrub, and be
careful with buying them that you get ones that are meant for eating,
not just medicinal use).
- Nabug - A red cherry sized fruit that grows in springtime off a tree from the mountain wadis (valleys or dry riverbeds). Can be eaten fresh but the hard, dry fruit that’s fallen to the ground is tastier (so you might be able to substitute dried cranberries or cherries and just cal them "Nabug"
- Salt Tree Fruit - This is one of those "fruits you won't be able to find but might be able to use something to substitute." It's a wild edible fruit that grows in the Sinai along the ocean. About the size of a cranberry, but less round, it is bright red and eaten fresh. It's also is mashed, strained, and mixed with sugar and water, used more like a flavoring for water than a thick juice. You might make some flavored water as a drink and say that it is "Salt Tree Juice." (Flavor with honey for a more realistic "ancient" sweetener).
- Desert Thumb - A rare, really strange-looking parasitic plant that has a small, black-coated, nut-like white, juicy fruit with a flavor and texture similar to apples.
Herbs for Teas and Seasonings
NOTES ON HERBAL TEAS: In the middle east and among the
Bedouins tea is popular, and usually served with milk or cream. Teas can be flavored with honey and cream or milk as those are things that could be gathered in the desert or are products of the animals they herded (when the herds weren't starving...ie, day 2. On day 2 you could still provide the tea but just have it plain, without honey or cream.). I like the idea of introducing some of these teas one day and have them talk about how they discovered that they can use them ("I've found several wild herbs that make good tea...would you like to try some?).
- Habag (Horsemint) - You could substitute any type of mint to make a mint tea or to use as a flavoring. But wild horsemint grows throughout the US, is edible as a tea or in small quantities as a fresh herb, and might be closer in flavor. Though, looking at the picture of Habag here I think it looks more similar to regular mint than horsemint. (Hanging a bunch of either in your "snack tent" would make a nice smell and add to the decor)
- Stagshorn Lavender - The leaves are tasty and can be used in salad (not sure how English lavender that people might have in their gardens in the US compares, but you could certainly include some hanging just for the smell, and use dried lavender flowers as an herb or tea or in crafts, as it seems likely they could have been used the same way and the smell and taste should be similar.) To learn more about Stagshorn Lavender in the Sinai read this article, and you can learn about culinary uses of various forms of lavender here.
- Rubayaan (Wild Chamomile) - Just like regular camomile this is used in tea (so grab some camomile tea bags), and it looks really similar to European camomile, so if someone from your church has some growing at home, it would be fun to hang some to dry in your snack tent.
- Bardagoosh (Sage) – This is the same plant we use for sage in English.
- Shamaar (Fennel) - Found mostly in rocky mountain areas.
- Homath - This is a plant with pink flowers in the spring, and edible green leaves
with a
lemony flavor (could substitute lemon balm or lemon basil).
- Salt and Other Seasonings - The mountains of the Sinai contained salt, so them getting salt in the desert is reasonable. Any dried seasoning they had in Egypt it's feasibile they would still have since spices can last for years and don't take much time to carry.
- Honey - While scarce, can be found in the Sinai desert.
Meat and Dairy
Since they brought their "flocks and herds" into the desert, these would have provided meat, dairy products, and also wool to make clothing and repair their tents. These would have probably been mostly sheep and goats. And of course there was the quail which God sent along with the manna. A few other edible wild animals can be found in the desert, but not in large enough numbers to feed a large amount of people.
- Lamb
- Goat
- Quail (through God's provision)
- Locusts/grasshoppers
- Nubian Ibex (in mountainous regions, rare)
- Goat's milk
- Yogurt
- Butter
- Cheese
RECIPE/ DISH SUGGESTIONS
Using just things they had available...
Labneh
A very easy to make cheese similar to cream cheese (in fact, if you were short on time, you could use cream cheese...BUT, it does look different when you make it yourself. And, showing the kids how to make this, and/or hanging some up in cheese cloth draining on a tripod of sticks over a bowl, would bring something very special to your food tent.
A very easy to make cheese similar to cream cheese (in fact, if you were short on time, you could use cream cheese...BUT, it does look different when you make it yourself. And, showing the kids how to make this, and/or hanging some up in cheese cloth draining on a tripod of sticks over a bowl, would bring something very special to your food tent.
Labneh can be rolled in seasoning to make little colorful tasty cheese balls (scroll all the way down on that site link and you'll see those on the bottom). Kids can roll them themselves. In the wilderness, as mentioned, they had something similar mint, lemon balm, fennel, and wild onions that could be used for this, and it's feasible that they had brought cumin, dill, garlic, and fenugreek in Egypt (dry herbs are easy to carry and last a long time).
Quail or Lamb
Seasoned with sage, mint, salt, honey and or Egyptian spices, fried in butter (which they would have had in some form), or grilled. Not really a recipe, but you can search for recipes and just leave out ingredients they wouldn't have had.
Yogurt
Sweeten yogurt with honey, and flavor with mint or lemon balm (or Egyptian spices).
Yogurt Dip
Have kids try mixing various of the spices which would have been available in yogurt to make a dip for peta chips, flatbread, or carrots.
Butter
Kids can make their own butter in plastic baggies, and even season it with desert herbs. This takes 15 minutes of shaking, which isn't a particularly interesting activity though. However, if you do it while doing something else (like listening to a story, or going on a hike, it can work (did this once for girl scouts). You could also play some sort of a passing game (where you pass and shake the butter to a fun song) could work also.
