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.