Tips for cutting food intake during Lent

I wrote these last year when our church was doing a Daniel Fast.

~With money you’re not spending on meat and pop, splurge and buy yourself something really tasty and packed with good health, like blueberries or raspberries. Yummy!

~Baked sweet potatoes are easy, nutritious, full of vitamins, and sweet.

~Leafy greens are some of the healthiest things you can eat. Cook them up in a little water with some seasoning or stir fry with garlic.

~Get in touch with your taste buds. Play with seasonings other than salt and pepper. Look at herbs and seasonings for non-butter, non-bacon, non-salt ways to enhance potatoes and greens. (Don’t expect much, however, from things in your spice rack that have been there for five years. You may need to freshen up.)

~Fresh beets are wonderful. Buy a bunch of beets, cut off the tops one inch up from the beet root, wash and cook up as greens. Rinse the bottoms and toss into boiling water to cover. Leave an inch of stem. Cook until tender, maybe up to an hour depending on size of the beet. Drop into cold water, so you can immediately peel them with your hands under even more cold running water. No knife needed; just press against the outer skin and it slips off. Serve while still warm. So good and sweet and full of vitamins! NOTE: You will probably pee pink after eating beets. It’s all good.

~Expand your definition of smoothies. They don’t have to be just fruit, but are a great way to get more vegetables too. In fact, if you Google “green shakes” you will find information on how to add spinach, kale, and other green things to fruit-based shakes so that you are getting more nutrition for less expense and maintaining the tasty sweetness.

~When you have a food craving, brush your teeth. A fresh, clean mouth is inclined to want to stay that way.

~If you crave sweets, try some raisins—not handfuls at once, but two or three at a time appreciating their sweetness. Or craisins or dried apricots. Carry some in your jacket pocket for emergency attacks.

~If you crave fats, find something—salad, tortilla, etc—to add avocado to. Nuts are also good for this.

~If you’re craving meat, rent and watch the DVD Food, Inc, or Fast Food Nation.

~Instead of store-bought salad dressings with multi-unpronounceable ingredients, make your own. Mix one part lemon or lime juice or vinegar (apple cider’s good) with two to three parts olive oil (or sesame oil) and whatever herbs you like. Here’s a two-minute video lesson: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/How-to-Make-Vinaigrette-Salad-Dressings-Video/Detail.aspx

~Learn to make falafel. Mashed chick peas (garbanzos), with garlic and parsley fried up in little patties in olive oil tastes amazingly better than it sounds. (If you’re in a hurry, hummus powder and parsley flakes might work.) Recipes on line.

~With more nutritious beans and soy in your diet, you’re going to need some Beano. Use as directed. Trust me on this one!

~Whatever your biggest temptation is, get it out of the house, or at least packed away out of sight.

~“If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, you’re not hungry.” I love this from Michael Pollan’s collection of food rules: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/10/11/magazine/20091011-foodrules.html.

How about a John the Baptist fast?

~Luke 7.33-35 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man [Jesus] came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Ah! A tidbit more information than we got before on John the Baptist's eating habits. Matthew 3 and Mark 1 say he ate locusts and honey. Now we learn that he didn't eat bread or wine. The wine I can understand, but not even a bit of bread for the honey? Have you ever tried to eat honey straight up? Quite sweet. Of course, John was in the wilderness, so it would make sense that he just ate what was available naturally. Maybe he put the honey on the locusts. :-]

Sometimes if a person wants to honor God with a fast, but not a full no-food fast, he or she can do a Daniel fast--see Daniel 1. This involves eating mostly vegetables and water, no meat, wine, or "choice foods." But I've never heard of anyone doing a John the Baptist fast. Haha!

The rest of this passage is back to more complaining by religious leaders that Jesus is enjoying his food and wine. How dare he!

What's your fruit?

~Matthew 7.15-20 Watch out for false prophets. . . . . By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Also ~Luke 6.44-45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

That we can discern something about a person by the "fruit" produced in his or her life has become an accepted principle. In John 4.36 Jesus says the fruit of harvesters is "people brought to eternal life." That's good fruit. The fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5--love, joy, peace, etc--is good fruit. Anyone who sows anxiety, strife, and violence would be bearing bad fruit.

Can I say that by my fruit you will know me? What is my fruit? I'm going to have to give that some thought.

As to what I should be eating though, good fruit is definitely on the priority list.

Fish: a good gift

~Matthew 7.9-11 Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

~Luke 11.9-13 What father among you, if his son asks for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!

Here's bread again. Jesus sees bread and fish and eggs as good gifts, advantageous food to give kids. Fish sticks is the only "seafood" Steve or I remember getting as we grew up. I baked actual fish for our kids but they didn't care much for it until they became adults. Now two of the four live on the coasts and love fish. Obviously fresh fish, like Peter and John would have caught maybe the same day, is tastier than the frozen-then-thawed varieties we customarily get here in the Midwest. Just about any health recommendation nowadays will say to eat more fish and less red meat.

Footnote: We were amused that the daughter of some Korean friends loved to munch on very fishy tasting and smelling seaweed wafers. She was two or three and loved them like cookies.

Most Important Entry: Bone Density & Food Fixation

~Matthew 6.25-33 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink . . . . Is not life more than food . . .? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? . ... So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ . . ..’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

~Matthew 6:31-34 Peterson's Message Bible What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Jesus says not to worry about what we will eat, but I give thought to this constantly. You can evaluate my reason for doing so. Some years ago, although I felt fine and had no symptoms, I flunked a bone density test. The doc started me on some high powered drug and instructed me to take multiple calcium pills daily and to drink lots of milk. I did this for five years with little improvement in my score. Then I started studying the issue. I learned some bad things about the prescription and the mega-doses of calcium and dairy, so I stopped the drug and the supplements; I cut back on the milk. I read more about nutrition and started eating a lot more fresh vegetables and fish and way less red meat, white flour, and packaged stuff with mysterious ingredients. I feel good about all this, but scientists have conflicting opinions on what to eat to best help bones (and for health in general), so I'm still always studying food.

Jesus seems to be talking about worrying over whether one has enough to eat. No credit to faith, but because of my current situation of abundance, I don't do that. BUT I do worry about whether I'm getting enough of this or that mineral or nutrient or fiber which is probably the same thing. I think that if I can just get this figured out, make myself some reasonable food guidelines to live by, then I can stop thinking about it and just do it. But I'm not at that point yet. And in fact, that's why I'm doing this study of what the Bible says about food. I figure God should know what makes a body work well. (No locusts tho, thanks!)

Father God, if I'm going over the top with this, please show me. If I'm on the right track, please encourage me. And if the things I learn are of value to anyone else, kindly make that connection.

Lent

~Matthew 6.16-18 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Last year our church congregation was called to a "Daniel fast" (mostly vegetables) for the season of Lent. I loved the group effort. The fast was a big topic of conversation among the people trying it. As we shared various experiences (and recipes!) this verse came to mind. I thought that probably we were not violating the spirit of the verse, because we weren't showing off our piety, but were encouraging each other in the endeavor. My other thought was that I wasn't doing the fast for reward anyway, but as a God-honoring discipline.

Being Baptists, the family of my youth gave no special attention to Lent. In my adult experience, the Vineyard movement hasn't emphasized it either, last year being an exception. So, this year I haven't really settled on anything solid to sacrifice. It's still five weeks until Easter, and I'm open to hearing from God about it.

Bread

~Matthew 6.11 Give us this day our daily bread. OR Give us today the bread we need.

Judging from the model here, one of our basic consistent daily prayers should be asking for what we require, be it bread, another kind of food, or any other need. We look to God as our provider.

It's interesting that Jesus says bread, not vegetables or meat, as in the wilderness he was tempted with bread, not meat or honey. Bread was and is the staple. Food pyramids of our day put grains as the foundational layer. Although the outer hull, the chaff, was removed, I assume first century bread would have included the bran and the germ from grain plants. It was nutrition rich and high fiber, not the bleached, processed, synthetically-enriched fluffy stuff that comes in a Wonder bag today. (Can you tell how I feel about white bread?)

My refrigerator and the scary verse

~Luke 6.25a New International Version
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
~Luke 6.25a The Message
And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.
~Luke 6.25a Amplified Bible
Woe to (alas for) you who are full now (completely filled, luxuriously gorged and satiated), for you shall hunger and suffer want!
~Luke 6.25a New Living Bible
What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
~Luke 6.25a Young's Literal Translation
Wo to you who have been filled -- because ye shall hunger.
~Luke 6.25a Contemporary English Version
You well-fed people are in for trouble. You will go hungry!

Let's take a peek in my refrigerator. Dairy items include unsalted butter; Swartzendrubers' beautiful eggs; skim milk; unsweetened chocolate soy milk; kefir (made with a start from Helen Lee*); tofu, and five kinds of cheese. How about produce? Of course I have the typical potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms, but there's also beets, sweet potatoes, parsley, swiss chard, kale, green beans, broccoli, fennel, grape tomatoes, avocado and, as a preview of spring, some asparagus and strawberries. I won't list condiments on the frig door and items in the freezer, nor does this include food from our pantry, cabinets, and counter. Would you say I'm well fed? Definitely!

So what do I do with this verse? Does it mean Jesus wants me to be hungry?

Perhaps, as Peterson suggests in the Message Bible, it's another analogy and Christ is speaking of spiritual hunger. He certainly does use metaphors a lot, so that would be a reasonable interpretation, especially given that we just read about some people around Jesus complaining that he himself ate too much and was not doing enough fasting.

+Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so we are to take good care of them and fuel them the best we can.
+We are also to have times of fasting and restraint.
+We are to feed the hungry.

How do I relate these principles to my refrigerator?

Steve and I host quite a bit, but I don't think our guests are seriously hungry although it may have been hours since they ate.

If we were giving regularly and sacrificially to agencies that fight world hunger, perhaps I'd have less income for my fresh veggies and dark chocolate.

Please don't hesitate to share if you have thoughts on this. *(Also, let me know if you want a kefir start. I don't know much about it yet, but it's a fermented milk, and I'm using it like fat-free plain yogurt or sour cream--a good staple to have.)

Salt 1

~Matthew 5.13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

With this metaphor Jesus has his followers seeing themselves as the flavoring in a bland world. Lots of good sermon material here. Keep what makes you distinctly his own or your value is lost.

Jesus really likes communicating with word pictures, but we can't take this one too far. The Western diet is generally so over-salted that nowadays people risk their health with eating too much of this tasty flavoring. Perhaps hypertension was not the problem in the first century that it is today.

Healthy greens, Part 2

I was making the greens as per two posts ago and had another idea. After stir frying everything, I cleared a spot in the middle of the pan and broke a couple of eggs into it. Cooked the eggs and mixed them in with the greens etc. Then I put it all in a whole wheat tortilla with toppings of choice. Very good if I do say so myself!

Are you hungry?

~Luke 6.21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
~Matthew 5.6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness*,
for they will be filled.

Obviously these two writers have different takes on what Jesus is saying. Is he referring to physically hungry people or to the spiritually hungry who long for righteousness? For my purpose with this investigation, this distinction is not what matters. Physically hungry, spiritually hungry--in due time both will have all they want. Hunger is something humans experience here on the earth. It's not part of God's Kingdom when it comes in its fullness.

The fact that we can long for righteousness for ourselves or long for justice for others as much as we desire food is another powerful analogy.

*Some manuscripts say justice for righteousness in the Matthew verse.

Yummy, healthy greens for my Buddy Brenda

I eat greens a few times a week. They're easy to cook; it's the washing that can be tedious. Took a dish to the CHS soccer team pot luck tonight and they all disappeared. Brenda, if you were my neighbor, I'd make this for you!

1 or 2 tablespoons of oil, olive or canola preferred
1 or 2 bunches of kale or collard greens, washed, stemmed, and cut up some (They cook down quite a bit.)
minced garlic to taste (It's really easy to use from the jars in the produce section, but garlic powder should work ok too)

Optional adds:
sliced mushrooms
chopped fennel bulb (This yummy green plant tastes like licorice. Google how to chop it.)
chopped onion
sesame seeds
slivered almonds
bacon bits

Stir fry the garlic in the oil until it starts to get golden--just a few minutes. (Can you tell I"m not a very precise cook?) If you're adding mushroom, fennel, onion, seeds, or nuts, add those next and cook for another maybe three minutes or so. Add the kale and continue to stir fry, coating it with the garlic and oil as it "cooks down." A few minutes later, when the volume has gone down and the color is really bright, you're done.

This is really healthy stuff. And I think maybe Jesus could have had access to a dish like this, except for the bacon.

Score one for the Master

~Mark 2.23-28 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”
Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

The disciples were probably law-abiding Jews, so I doubt they seriously considered picking the tasty grain on their own. Everyone knew grain couldn't be picked on the Sabbath even if you were starving. It was considered work, and this was a day of mandated rest. Perhaps the disciples hopefully mentioned their hunger to Jesus. Sometimes a kid will complain to me about something the resolution to which seems completely obvious. And I will say, "Hmmm. What could you do about that?" So I can imagine the disciples mentioning to Jesus that it was past lunch time and him looking around at all the grain and saying, "Hmmm. What could you do about that?"

So, what do they do? They smile at each other and they eat.

But the tattle-tale Pharisees see it and are on that transgression like a robin on a June bug. "Jesus! Did you see what your unruly band is doing now? They are harvesting on a Sunday!"

Jesus' first reply to the Pharisee, pulls from the scriptures an example of King David breaking the same rule. This is a fairly safe answer because Pharisees do respect the scriptures. But Jesus just can't make it easy for these steroidal law enforcers, so he throws in the annoying reminder that God's rules are made for the benefit of man, not man for the benefit of the rules. He then adds an incendiary remark implying that he (the Son of Man) is above the Sabbath rules anyway. I can hear the Pharisees gritting their teeth, while the disciples munch on thinking "Score one for the Master!"

I don't get it

~Luke 5.33-39 One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” . . . . “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

Point one is the same as noted before: When there is something to be celebrated, Jesus is into eating and drinking. Yes! Love it.

But I don't exactly get the wineskins reference, though it's a popular teaching topic. Jesus is like new wine, bringing a new way into the Kingdom of God through his sacrificial death. And it's hard for people to fit this radical new idea into the old rule-based systems they have grown (miserably) comfortable with. Is that the gist of it? Please chime in if you have thoughts. I think I'm missing something.

How do we celebrate? Serve a banquet!

~Luke 5.27-32 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Turncoat tax collector Matthew must have been amazed and happy to have the most popular man in town include him, disliked as he was, in the inner circle. How does he show his appreciation? How does he celebrate? Throw a party, serve a dinner, host a banquet. And Jesus honors this by accepting the invitation. To the annoyance of his critics, he shows up and eats with the "disreputable sinners." Sharing a meal with someone shows acceptance.