Super Summer Breakfast, Pineapple & Watermelon

One of our Shabbat guests brought us a perfectly ripe pineapple. I served most of it at the meal, and it was enjoyed by all.  This morning I cut off a bit to have as part of my breakfast.

As proof of its ripeness it was very easy to cut, and I enjoyed eating the "inside" of the peel. I added some watermelon and then sesame paste for protein. 

To be honest, I was very curious about the relative calorie counts and nutritional benefits of those two summer fruits. I knew already that watermelon is surprisingly low in calories, but I knew nothing about pineapples. 

Pineapple, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	209 kJ (50 kcal)
Carbohydrates	13.12 g
Sugars	9.85 g
Dietary fiber	1.4 g
Fat	0.12 g
Protein	0.54 g
Vitamins	Quantity%DV†
Thiamine (B1)	7% 0.079 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	3% 0.032 mg
Niacin (B3)	3% 0.5 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	4% 0.213 mg
Vitamin B6	9% 0.112 mg
Folate (B9)	5% 18 μg
Choline	1% 5.5 mg
Vitamin C	58% 47.8 mg
Minerals	Quantity%DV†
Calcium	1% 13 mg
Iron	2% 0.29 mg
Magnesium	3% 12 mg
Manganese	44% 0.927 mg
Phosphorus	1% 8 mg
Potassium	2% 109 mg
Sodium	0% 1 mg
Zinc	1% 0.12 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	86.00 g

Watermelon flesh, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	127 kJ (30 kcal)
Carbohydrates	7.55 g
Sugars	6.2 g
Dietary fiber	0.4 g
Fat	0.15 g
Protein	0.61 g
Vitamins	Quantity%DV†
Vitamin A equiv. beta-Carotene	4% 28 μg 3% 303 μg
Thiamine (B1)	3% 0.033 mg
Riboflavin (B2)	2% 0.021 mg
Niacin (B3)	1% 0.178 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	4% 0.221 mg
Vitamin B6	3% 0.045 mg
Choline	1% 4.1 mg
Vitamin C	10% 8.1 mg
Minerals	Quantity%DV†
Calcium	1% 7 mg
Iron	2% 0.24 mg
Magnesium	3% 10 mg
Manganese	2% 0.038 mg
Phosphorus	2% 11 mg
Potassium	2% 112 mg
Sodium	0% 1 mg
Zinc	1% 0.1 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	91.45 g
Lycopene	4532 μg

While I'm at it I'll add the nutritional information about sesame paste:

Sesame Paste (Sesame Butter Made From Whole Seeds)

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 tbsp Amount Per Serving Calories 95   % Daily Values* Total Fat 8.6g 11% Saturated Fat 1.205g 6% Trans Fat - Polyunsaturated Fat 3.77g Monounsaturated Fat 3.248g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 18mg 1% Total Carbohydrate 3.39g 1% Dietary Fiber 1.5g 5% Sugars 0.08g Protein 2.72g Vitamin D - Calcium 68mg 5% Iron 1.43mg 8% Potassium 66mg 1% Vitamin A 0mcg 0% Vitamin C 0mg 0% * The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Surprised Moi, Birthday Fun

I haven't been all that shy about telling friends and family that this year's birthday is to be celebrated. Hard to believe I'm seventy 70 and not seventeen 17. But somehow a bunch of my buddies, the ones in my Walking Anyone👍🏼 whatsapp group, totally surprised me yesterday morning. I really thought we were getting together for a nice morning walk.

All the "Where are we going to meet?" and "Which neighborhood will we walk in?" questions/answers made sense, were perfectly normal. Even when some of us were standing and waiting in front of Merlot, the lovely dairy restaurant across from the supermarket and mailboxes, and I saw two friends approaching, I didn't  think it more than just coincidence.

I really was surprised when they said that we were going to a surprise party for breakfast, rather than take a walk!

We all had Merlot Breakfasts, eggs, salads, spreads, whole wheat rolls and coffee. Totally delicious. Then we shared their special dessert, waffle with ice cream, whipped cream the works! All of this was flavored with friendship, the most heavenly flavoring in the world. Thank Gd, I am truly blessed.

Mother's Day? No Breakfast in Bed for Me

I have no memories of celebrating "Mother's Day" for my mother when I was a kid. She got gypped, because her birthday was May 14, and there were no "double celebrations" by us. We weren't much of a party family.

My mother and I, a gazillion years ago, in Bell Park Gardens, Bayside, NY

Actually, I have a vague memory of a disastrous attempt to serve my mother "breakfast in bed," never again attempted.

Maybe that's why the idea of breakfast in bed sort of turns my stomach. I don't understand the attraction. All I can think of is the dirt, the food getting all over the sheet and blanket, which could bring bugs. And then all the extra laundry to clean it up.

Besides the mess that breakfast in bed can easily make, today, as a religious Jew, who makes a point to pray the Shacharit, Morning Prayer, properly dressed each day before eating breakfast, I can't quite figure out the logistics. Am I supposed to change back into pyjamas, and then climb into bed before eating? Trust me. I'm more comfortable sitting at the table.

I have no objection to eating breakfast "out," whether a hotel breakfast, a restaurant or special breakfast with friends. But first I try to at least drink my water plus some coffee, and pray of course.
After that you can serve me.

There wasn't an American style "Mother's Day" here in Israel when my kids lived at home. Now that they're all grown and out of the house, I try to get a bit of quality time with each whenever possible, a lot more frequently than one day a year.

It's strange to think that I'm the matriarch with grown children and grandchildren. My cousins and I are the "older generation." Most of us are older than our grandparents were as we remember them. Actually, I've already lived longer than three of my grandparents. That thought/fact makes me treasure every day Gd gives me, even though my parents lived much longer.

I enjoy the blessing of health and being able to get out of bed each morning and starting the day admiring the sunrise, drinking lemon water, then coffee.



Breakfast is for later and never in bed.

Bagel Café Breakfast, Also Lunch

I have some good friends I meet regularly for all sorts of enjoyable activities. Yesterday's plan was a festive breakfast "out."

We decided that the most convenient location would be the Hadar Mall in Talpiyot. The big problem was to choose which of the many restaurants there. Until just a few months ago, there wasn't much choice, but now they've opened what could be called a third "food court" by the main entrance of the building on Pierre Koenig Street.

Choosing where to eat wasn't easy with so many restaurants. I checked out some via the internet, and we ended up at the Bagel Café, which has a nice large section by the front door.

There's a rather daunting, large selection of food to choose from, special breakfasts and the regular menu. At first glance, it's not cheap, but then I realized that I could "kill two birds with one stone." Since many of the breakfast choices contain too much food, which is why my friends weren't interested, I ordered the Israeli Breakfast.

The above photo doesn't even show all the food served to me. There was also a cookie, which I should have trashed. In the right hand upper corner of the above picture you can see a bit of a bagel. The first thing I did was to make myself a sandwich, tuna, salad and some cream cheese. That was put aside, later packed for my lunch. The remaining food was delicious, filling and kept me going until I got home after 3pm. All I ate, just before a 12 noon class in Matan, was an apple and cup of water. So, even though I spent more than I had hoped for breakfast, I really got two filling meals from it.

The wait staff was polite, but not all that professional. First of all, they should have asked me if I wanted to start or end with my coffee. They started by bringing me coffee and the cookie. The cookie wasn't worth the calories, and I'm sorry I ate it. And my carrot juice wasn't brought with the rest of the food, besides the fact that it should have had been served, or offered, first. I had to remind the staff that it was part of the breakfast. One of my friends had very clearly requested that she get a salad without any tomatoes. But the salad had tomatoes, so she sent it back.

The food was much better than a recent lunch I had at the Emek Refaim branch. Maybe it was the processed fish, we had eaten that had an awful salty aftertaste. This time I ate none of that.

We were all happy with our breakfasts. It was a nice treat.

Bagel Café
Hadar Talpiot Mall, Jerusalem
Sun-Thu 6:30- 23:00
Friday 6:30 -14:00
One Hour After Shabbat Till 23:00
1-700-500-751

Perfect "Breakfast for Two" in Bagel Cafe

Very early yesterday morning, one of my learning partners and I discovered that it would only be the two of us, instead of 3-6 (it varies from week to week) in Matan for our 7:45 breakfast plus chevruta Al Haperek Tanach Bible session. Whenever that happens, we end up just talking, so we decided to really "play hookey" and have breakfast "out."

I did a quick "google search" to find what would be open on nearby Emek Refaim, Jerusalem. Bagel Cafe, 54 Emek Refaim, fit our requirements. By 7:30am we were already seated and hungrily poring over the menu.

We decided on sharing a Breakfast for Two. The waiter took our order and accurately served us exactly what we had asked for, even though he didn't write it down. Salads and omelets were prepared separately, according to our individual requests.

All the food was delicious and exactly the quantity we needed. Our only complaint was that the coffee tasted rather ordinary. I had asked for "American or filter" and thought it tasted more like my Elite Turkish when perked. As you may know, most mornings I have real American coffee, Kirkland brought by a good friend, made in a French Press. So when I order American, I have a certain taste in mind.

We polished off pretty much everything served to us and agreed that we'd return there for breakfast whenever we have a good excuse.

That very filling breakfast really did the trick and kept me satisfied for hours afterwards. Usually I need an early lunch at 11:30 before going into my 12 noon class with Yael Leibowitz at Matan. But besides eating a few cashews in the middle of the class, I needed no food until I got home a few hours later.

The Bagel Cafe seems to be very popular, and people were lined up for takeout, besides those of us sitting at tables. It probably is the best breakfast on Emek Refaim. Give it a try. Bagelcafe.co.il/mobile, 1-700-500-751.

Mangos, Yum

Early yesterday morning, when I was in a Jerusalem supermarket looking for fruit to have with my goat yogurt for breakfast in Matan I noticed these mangos. I felt them, and they were soft, ripe, edible. To be perfectly honest there was something a bit suspicious about them. They seemed a bit too ripe, a bit too soft in some places and colorful to be fruit of the new season.

My guess is that they had been in cold storage over the winter, but I bought one anyway.  It tasted great!

"Merlot" Great Shiloh Dairy Restaurant

I'd been hearing amazing reports about "Merlot," the dairy restaurant in the heart of Shiloh. There's a pizza place in the same building, which I still haven't sampled. They're near the bus stops and just across from the supermarket, Kupat Cholim Leumit clinic and the Dvrarim Yafim clothing/toy/misc store.

A couple of weeks ago my friend invited me there for brunch. You must know that I'd never refuse such an offer, and I gladly accepted. To be honest, I wasn't even sure that it was open in the morning. I thought it opened only at noon, but I was wrong. It's the pizza place that opens later.

Merlot has a breakfast menu, just like the nice dairy restaurants in Israeli cities. The prices are pretty standard, though not in the high end. It's nicely decorated and very comfortable.

We had the "Breakfast for Two." Our eggs were custom cooked, and we ordered different types. We shared the salad, spreads and rolls. My only complaint was that the "whole wheat" wasn't really whole wheat. The flour was too fine, and it didn't have the crunch and texture I expected in a good bread. The advantage of that was that I ate less bread than I would have.

Our coffee was included in the price of the breakfast meal.  The waitress brought us that "white milky coffee," which I don't like. When I told her that she hadn't asked what type of coffee we had wanted, she quickly took my coffee order and brought the other one back to the kitchen. She was very polite about it. Merlot's coffee was fine, as one would expect with such an impressive coffeemaker.

Next time I must go there for a real meal. I'm looking forward to it.

Kosher, of course. Open Sunday- Thursday from 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM, Fridays from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM and Saturday nights from one hour after the Sabbath until 11:00 PM. Telephone: 02-6284601. Call to verify, of course. They also handle groups. There's a parking lot behind it for cars and buses. Egged Taavura lines 461 and 463 have nearby stops.

Just Peachy

The other day I was pleasantly surprised to find nice looking peaches at a decent price in Machane Yehuda, so I bought a few. Once I got home, I saw that they weren't 100% perfect, but they are exactly what I need for my breakfast.

Ginger "scrapings," apples, goat yogurt* and peaches are a great breakfast combination.

I guess summer really has arrived!

*In addition to the peaches, I found a nice supply of my favorite goat yogurt, the one from Susiya, in a grocery store on the same shuq street as the peaches.

Diet Update, Weight Loss

Like too many people, I've been struggling trying to banish unwanted, unneeded, unattractive and unhealthy kilos/pounds. And in addition, I've had an occasional though chronic cough* that annoys more than anything else.

About a decade ago I managed to lose about 15 kilo, 30+ pounds, by reducing carbohydrates and getting out of the classroom. The rationale behind the low carb diet was based on the Blood Type Diet which prescribes this sort of eating plan for those with Type O blood. And when I was teaching in the yeshiva high school in Beit El, my schedule made it difficult to eat well. But the real reason I was pushed/encouraged into trying to diet was a chance to join the StartFresh kosher diet program for free in exchange for blogging about it.

The vast majority of that weight stayed off until about a year or more ago when I noticed that three kilo, six or more pounds, had suddenly reappeared. I tried all sorts of painless maneuvers to remove them, but somehow instead of reducing I found that two more had joined them. That meant that I was well over five kilo or eleven pounds more than what had become my weight. Even at the reduced weight I was technically overweight, though not obese.

Of course, I blamed my return to the classroom for the additional two kilo. Then at the end of June I really retired. The pool opened, and I exercised in the water a few times a week. And, although I began to look better, the extra weight didn't budge.

I needed to "recalibrate."

I listened to my body, which had been sending hints. For a few months I had begun to crave fruit after breakfast. And you must understand that I was eating nice breakfasts of vegetable omelets, which were large and theoretically filling enough to be proper meals. But somehow they didn't satisfy me. I was craving something sweet afterwards, and I had been drinking lots of coffee with sugar earlier in the morning.

Hint! Hint! Suddenly I decided to listen. If my body was asking for fruit in the morning, maybe it needed a fruit breakfast. So, I began having fruit, oats and goat yogurt. And afterwards I even left out the oats. The biggest surprise was that a small bowl with cut up fruit and under a cup of yogurt was enough for me. I felt satiated and had no sugar cravings.

My next challenge was when the pool closed on the first of September. I needed to exercise and really missed the water. Friends suggested I join the sports center in Ariel, even though the swimming pool has very few "women only" hours. Many of my friends go dressed in modest swimwear, which I do have. I went to take a look, but it didn't appeal. It's part of the view from a restaurant, and there are men who just sit by the pool watching...

I decided on the low cost walking, both with a friend and alone. My walking partner and I even exercise together at her house on occasion, and I've even forced myself to exercise to the music in good musicals. 

goat milk

almond milk

An additional change has been in the milk I put in my morning coffee. Instead of regular cow milk and sugar, I've been experimenting with all sorts of other fattier milks* and leaving out the sugar.

Now for the results. In less than two months, plus the summer vacation, over three of the five kilo are off, bli eyin haraa. And during that time I've eaten out, had some desserts etc. I haven't put myself on a super strict eating regime. In addition, there have been days when I've hardly had any exercise. One of my long time "diet principles" is to find an eating routine you can live with. Don't focus on a "weight goal," since maintaining it may well be impossible.

So far, bli eyin haraa (not to tempt the evil eye,) every few days I do see that my weight is slowly going down. I don't know how long that will continue, but I feel that I'm on the right track.

For me this has been a reminder that we must keep on changing and adapting to the new realities of our bodies and life situations. Do you have similar stories? Don't be shy. Comment, please.

*I will blog about my milk and lactose changes and how they have affected my cough in a future post, Gd willing.

I'm a Morning Person, Sunrise, Coffee and Breakfast

My facebook friends know that pretty much every morning except for Shabbat, Jewish Holidays and fast days, even when not home, I manage to post a #morningcoffeehaiku. My computer photo gallery is full of pictures of sunrise, coffee and breakfast.

When I was growing up, a gazillion years ago, in America, parents were instructed that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. It worked for me, and I've always made a point of making sure that my kids had a good breakfast before leaving home for school, play etc. To this day I can't imagine not having breakfast. I don't function without it.

Until recently when American style breakfast cereals succeeded in marketing themselves here in Israel, most Israelis had nothing at all for breakfast. They relied on "aruchat esser," the "ten o'clock meal." Parents packed a sandwich, sometimes with nothing more than chocolate spread on the bread, and a fruit. That was the standard in the 1970's when my older children were growing up. Of course I gave my kids cheese or peanut butter in their sandwiches, never chocolate spread. And they always ate a proper breakfast before leaving the house, even when it meant that they just got some fruit for "aruchat esser." One nursery school teacher was furious with me; she insisted that "aruchat esser" was more important than breakfast.

As I've blogged, my breakfasts have varied over the years, but one thing I must have is a protein, even if it's nuts on the run. For some reason, my vegetable omelets just aren't doing the trick of late, because I immediately crave fruit or something sweet. So, I now have fruit as part of my breakfast. Sometimes, when I know that I'll be eating again soon, I just have a fruit with a bit of yogurt. And then I can have a vegetable omelet for lunch or even dinner.

When I was seriously dieting and managed to lose about 15 kilo, over thirty pounds, I sometimes had vegetables and fish for breakfast. Eating a large nutritious meal in the morning made it much easier to resist temptation during the long day.

And don't forget that I actually don't start the day with coffee. I drink close to a liter of water, sometimes with freshly squeezed lemon juice and ice. I drink the same before going to bed. My morning coffee adds another liter or more of liquid to my body, which is why I must have a couple of hours at home before going any place. Only when my body "empties of old food" do I have breakfast. I firmly believe that this promotes good health! And, yes, it's a reason I must get up early in the morning or I'd never get out before noon.

What's your morning food and liquid routine?

Latest Breakfast, No Cravings

Last week I wrote that I've been trying a new breakfast, and it seems to help stop the morning fruit cravings.

I just had to change my standard breakfast. Besides having such a difficult time getting weight off, immediately after eating my vegetable omelet, I'd crave fruit. That meant that something was wrong. There were certainly enough calories and nutrients in the omelet.

So recently I began making myself a "muesli," oats, goat yogurt and fruit. There are two advantages to that. One is that it's a healthy breakfast and includes a fruit. And the second is that I can eat eggs at a different meal. If I'm going to eat an early lunch, or have brunch with friends, then I just have the yogurt and fruit, sans oats.

Muesli Breakfast and Busy Day

I've been thinking of changing my breakfast a bit, since I always end up hungry and craving fruit afterwards. For the past few years I've made myself a nice two-egg omelet for breakfast. It did the trick for quite awhile, especially if I have to rush out afterwards. It's a real meal. But recently a few unwanted pounds and kilos have stuck to me, and I'm just not happy with my food routine. It's not working.

I'm also not working now and must find a way to spread my food and calories over the day better, eat less, exercise more and get the weight off.

Thank Gd, bli eyin haraa, I have no health issues. Blood pressure and blood tests are fine. That does make it easier in theory. But as I've gotten older, I'm less tolerant of heat and cold. That forces me to be indoors more. And indoors means less walking.

Since muesli is made raw, not cooked, you must prepare a bit in advance so the oats can absorb the yogurt.

Yesterday I had a busy day planned. Instead of making an omelet, I prepared a quick and simple muesli of raw oats, cut-up peach and some goat yogurt. It was delicious.

Yarkon Junction
Instagram shilohbatya

First I went down to Tel Shiloh for Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers, road half way down. That included a bit of a walk, but less than you'd think. That's what the pedometer says. From there I got a ride to the Eli Junction. After a few minutes' wait I got a ride to the Yarkon Junction where my cousin picked me up, and we went to the Sharonim Mall. We walked around the mall, which is always pleasant, and then we had lunch. I probably shouldn't have had the quiche...

Then, again, I was at the Yarkon Junction, but at the bus stop to Ariel. Two minutes later I was on a bus to Ariel, which included a "tour" of the lovely vibrant city. Then I waited awhile and finally got a ride to the Shiloh Junction. From there a ride to the Shiloh-Shvut Rachel Junction, then another to where most of our stores and clinic are. And then a neighbor took me home.

Once home I kept drinking lots of water with freshly squeezed lemon juice and lots of ice. I had to rehydrate. Later on I made myself a low carbohydrate salmon dinner. I was so exhausted that I went to bed much earlier than usual.

B"H I slept well and got up before my alarm. Now I'm bored. This is the only day this week I have no plans, and since the pool is closed for the "nine days," there's nothing to do.

Fresh Ginger in a "Spanish Omelet"

Way back when, in the days when I was a student in Stern College, my parents gave me a relatively generous food budget to buy all of my meals in the cafeteria with instructions not to skimp. The truth is that I'm one of those people who must eat or I don't function.

I had a breakfast routine. On an ordinary day, I would order two eggs sunnyside up. But if I was having a test that day/morning, I'd have a special breakfast, a Spanish Omelet. Recently I've been making a rather eccentric version of it. Besides the standard, onion, tomato, garlic and eggs, I add some fresh ginger.

cut and cooked in a bit of oil, covered pan

I add the eggs after the vegetables begin to cook.

I season with some coarse salt, coarse pepper and some tumeric.

Morning Eggs with "Trimmings"

My usual morning eggs are/is a simple oniony "sunnyside up." I don't break and beat the eggs before adding them to the sauteeing onions, which are no more than an opinion unevenly cut and placed in a frying pan with some oil and then cooked covered for a bit. When I can smell it cooking, I add the two eggs, cover again, turn off when the yolk is solid and then that's it. I sometimes (in the summer) add a tiny bit of coarse salt, coarse ground pepper and some turmeric. But the other day, I was in the mood for "adventure," so I added some green cabbage to the onion, and then when I served it, in addition to the pepper and turmeric, I added some pesto* and horseradish**.

It tasted fantastic.

*I had prepared some "instant pesto" for Shabbat, and some was leftover. 
** The horseradish had been made/prepared for Passover. My husband "grinds" the horseradish root in the coffee bean attachment to our old Passover Moulinex Blender and then adds vinegar to it. It stays fresh and potent for months stored in a glass jar in the fridge. 

Eating Out in Ramat Eshkol

A couple of weeks ago I met a friend in the Ramat Eshkol Shopping Center for lunch.  Since I got there early, I was assigned the task of finding a good place to eat at.

I wandered up and down the shopping center, which is a long street of stores, banks and a full variety of food places.  As it was the tail end of summer, I found the idea of purchasing a grill, but that wasn't my assignment.  I needed a reasonably priced dairy restaurant.

Jerusalem Kosher News

So I settled on Sam's which offered me a meal, the breakfast, at about ns10 less than most places.  I quickly bagged the bagel to take home to freeze, and I found the rest of the meal perfectly satisfying.

Sam Bagel's Bakery

15 Paran

Ramat Eshkol Shopping Center

Dairy

02-581-3388

Badatz Mehadrin  Rav Rubin

The above information is from Mehadrin Restaurant site, since I couldn't find a site run by "Sam."

The photos are all mine, Copyright(C)BatyaMedad, unless indicated otherwise.  Please give proper credit if you use them, thanks.

Finish That Matzah!

Matzah is one of those products that lasts forever; yes, in two ways.

1. It never spoils.  Properly sealed, it stays edible for years.
2. If you overbuy the amount of matzah you really need for Passover, something we frequently do, it's easy to forget to eat/cook/serve it. So you end up suddenly discovering that very expensive simple food when preparing  (cleaning) for the next Pesach.

I've discovered that I can give my husband perfectly good matzah brei during the year as his "lunch sandwich."  He generally gets two peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, plus a couple of fruit and yogurt for breakfast when he goes to work.  With this eating regime, he has lost, and kept off, even more weight than I've banished.

Last night, since I realized that we were out of bread, making him matzah brei was the perfect solution.

I wrap it in foil and keep a piece of matzah dry for him to use to make the bracha blessing on bread.

The recipe is very simple.
Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of matzah
• 2 eggs
• water (milk or both) to moisten the matzah
• oil for frying
• honey or jam optional to sweeten it

Instructions:

• break matzah in pieces and put in bowl
• add water or milk or combination, about 1/4 cup
• add the eggs
• mix and then leave for at least 10 minutes
• heat the oil in the frying pan
• add the mixture and cover
• start on high and quickly turn to low flame
• when you can see that the matzah brei is solid, turn over and cook another couple of minutes
• leave covered on flame for a bit
• then serve or pack, with optional honey or jam

This is very easy and wonderful for traveling.