It’s been a long long week and after a round of gin and tonics (okay maybe more than 1 round), all I could think of to ease the “pain” was something sweet, chocolately and oooey gooey.  It’s hard for someone like me to just stroll on into a corner store and pick up a bar for a buck … almost 100% of the commercial brands of chocolate bars have soy lecithin in them so it’s a no go for me.  For me then, it’s always turn on oven, whip up a storm, bake, be patient, and hours later enjoy!.  With that … I give you one of the easiest craving satisfyers I know and love … the chocoholics brownie.  Hi, my name is Healthyhag and I am an addict.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into bits

150g rams (about 1/2 cup) dark chocolate, broken into bits

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1) Heat the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over LOW heat until completely melted.

2) Let chocolate/butter mixture cool for 10 minutes, and then preheat oven to 350F.

3) Mix sugar, eggs and vanilla together until fluffy.

4) Add in flour and salt to bowl and combine then mix in cooled chocolate/butter mix and blend well.

5) Pour into 11 x 8 greased baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes (do NOT over bake!!!).

6) Cool brownies for at least 30 minutes, then cut into squares and enjoy!

Today was a lazy day.

AM

7:00 Woke up, took meds, stretched, went back to bed.

8:00 Breakfast. 5 egg whites, 1/4c (uncooked) grits, 1T butter. I was so excited to have grits and butter! Ridiculous!

10:30 Snack. 1c plain nonfat yogurt, 1 small banana.

PM

2:30 Lunch. 2c jambalaya (turkey sausage, chicken breast, shrimp, brown rice, onions, celery, garlic, tomatoes, hot stuff), 2c salad.

8:00 Dinner. 2c jambalaya, 1 yogurt, 1 s’more. I know. At least I didn’t eat 2 s’mores!

When I started studying about healthy fats about six years ago, I realized that I was using very unhealthy fats.  I was buying butter (went through a very short phase on margarine because it’s so cheap, glad that didn’t last long), but I was using canola for cooking.  I read Dr. Mary Enig’s very in-depth book, Know Your Fats and my eyes were opened!  At the same time, my suspicions about butter were confirmed.  Yeah!  Butter really was better for you.  I learned how bad canola is and why.  I learned that of all the vegetable oils, peanut oil is the most stable.  It contains omega-6 fatty acids, whereas the other vegetable oils contain a combination of omega-6 and omega-3.  I know, I know, we hear a lot about omega-3 and how good they are for us.  BUT, omega-3 oils are damaged when heated.  All the vegetable oils in the general grocery store are very refined and have been heated to high temperatures.  Omega-6 oils are not damaged as bad with heat.

So, I switched to peanut oil for most of my cooking.  It has a high smoke point and thus makes nice crispy french fries and is great for stir fry, which is done at a high temperature.

But that was six years ago and I have since learned that while peanut oil is better than canola and soybean oil, it isn’t the best.  In fact, consuming too many omega-6 fatty acids is detrimental to our health, one example is inflammation.  We hear a lot about this lately, how inflammation is at the heart of a lot of diseases, click here for a great article on that topic.  Then I read this article in Prevention magazine that said omega-6 oils are responsible for a slower metabolism and fat storage.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t need a slower metabolism!  So I started looking for alternatives.

I have used tallow for our french fries quite a few times now and I’m happy with it.  Best of all, my picky family is happy with it.  :)  I decided to try making my homemade croutons with coconut oil instead of peanut oil and they turn out great.  Next up was hash browns.  These are the shredded potato variety, not those pre-formed patties–those are loaded with trans fat.  Last Sunday I tried using half coconut oil and half butter (because I needed them to brown, coconut oil alone doesn’t brown very well) and they, too, turned out great.

On Monday night I tried making fried rice with coconut oil.  I have always used peanut oil.  There were pros and cons.  On the positive side, I was happy that the oil didn’t smoke at all.  I drizzled the oil in the pan immediately before adding the eggs to scramble and the rice to fry.  If I had left it very long, it would have smoked (coconut oil has a lower smoke point than peanut oil).  Another positive was that this seemed to be a good fat for keeping the rice from sticking to the pan.  But we lose points in the taste category.  The coconut flavor was too predominate.  My family wasn’t thrilled.  My son hates coconut oil (but I do require he take a dose everyday for eczema, he just holds his nose).  My husband is a picky eater and didn’t care for the taste, although we did eat the entire batch of rice.  I am going to buy a refined coconut oil for this recipe, it won’t have a coconut flavor.  This will still be healthier than peanut oil, so I am happy.  :)

Remember, we all need to be taking our babysteps, don’t get stuck in a rut.  None of us has “arrived.”  Keep changing, keep learning, keep growing.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving this year, we of course made classics, like pumpkin pie, but we decided to change it up a little, too. Instead of mashed potatoes, we made Frankenmuth-style buttered noodles, and in addition to homemade rolls we made homemade Arabian pocket bread – like pita bread, but better. It’s a staple in our house, and I found a recipe for it in my school library on a fluke! The bread usually needs a special oven, but the recipe we used works with normal ovens!

Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie:

Grandma’s Cherry Pie!

Yum!  The only way to make a cherry pie is to use true cherry juice, not from concentrate. It’s worth it! =)

Who knew that fancy pie crust was so hard to make? Snow White always made it look so easy…..

A little tip: Cherry juice is great for people with arthritis, because it relieves the pain.

Frankenmuth-Style Cranberry Relish!

For those of you not lucky enough to stop by Frankenmuth’s Zehnder’s restaurant to try the real deal relish, try this recipe here on their website!

Beautiful table, by mom:

Puff Pita Bread!

You can find the recipe for this in Middle Eastern Cooking by Rose Dosti, but there are plenty of recipes like it you can easily find online!

Homemade Overnight Dinner Rolls

My parents LOVED these!

You can find this recipe here on this blog!

Frankenmuth Butter Noodles

My parents go crazy for Frankenmuth’s Bavarian Inn restaurant noodles!  These were pretty close, but they need a little tweaking. The recipe can be found here!

How did you all celebrate Thanksgiving? Comment and tell me about your favorite foods that you made, I’d love to hear about them!

Stuffing has got to be my favorite Thanksgiving food.  I remember Thanksgivings past where my dad & I would fight over the stuffing bowl like it was filled with gold, diamonds, and (for me) guitars.  The stuff is perfect.  Alone, with turkey, with gravy… the decadent amount of carbs is ridiculously awesome.

Last year was my first ever attempt at making stuffing… and my grandma told me that it tasted just like hers.  Is there a compliment better than that?  I had used as a guide an old recipe that my grandfather & grandmother had both used when making holiday meals.  My mom lent me the old cook book with my grandfather’s notes last year, I collected some others, and I made scans for myself.

I say “guide” because it’s not always an exact science when doubling/tripling recipes… and there really aren’t any cooking directions… it’s just a guide to make the stuff.  Also, I tend to do a lot of “oh, that looks about right” and a little bit of “hey, let’s add a little of this” in the kitchen, as most people comfortable there usually do.

A lot of times I see stuffing recipes online, on TV, or in the little books by the cash register at the grocery store… and they include sausage, apples, raisins, (yuck!) nuts, or even peppers, carrots, or mushrooms (all of the latter of which I’ like to try some time).  The philosophy behind this recipe seems to be a K.I.S.S. one.  I like that.  It’s a very simple accompaniment, and the taste that my mind goes to every time I think “stuffing”.

This year, it was definitely a two person effort.  I don’t know how I would have done it without Bethany and all four of our hands.  We made a lot of stuffing.  Sadly, I didn’t think to chronicle the thing with photos like I sometimes do with new recipes… but I did want to make a guide with my own notes, so when I do this next year, I remember what I did differently this year.  I know I altered things slightly last year, but the details were a little fuzzy.  I figured that if I’m going to do it for myself, I might as well share, right?  Plus, we got compliments from two moms, two grandmas, and an aunt… all excellent in the kitchen themselves!

I did take a photo today, because really, what’s a food blog post without a photo?  Perhaps I’ll see if my mom got any with her camera and amend the post later.

This year's effort was delicious, if I do say so myself.

This is my first time really writing out a recipe… so pardon me if it’s a little convoluted or long winded.  I don’t want to miss anything, and I hope to get it all in the right order as well as make it an entertaining read.

Here’s what you’ll need to do it the same way I did…

Food:

• 5 loaves of bread (equaled 56 cups once cubed)
• 1 bundle of celery (3 cups, chopped – the rest can cook w/ the turkey or be a snack)
• 2 Spanish or Sweet onions
• The giblets & neck out of your turkey.
• 1 can (14½ oz.) vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoons of salt
• ½ tablesppon Season All Seasoned Salt
• 1 heaping teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1 heaping teaspoon sage
• 1 heaping teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 10 eggs
• 4 sticks (2 cups) butter
• some water
• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1 bottle of Yuengling

Stuff:

• 2 cookie sheets
• cutting boards
• small pot
• electric skillet
• Magic Bullet^®
• electric roaster
• large crock pot
• knives
• a few large bowls
• whisk
• spatula
• several large spoons
• paper towels

OK, on to the directions…

1. Monday night, get your loaves of bread, open the bags, and put the loaves on cookie sheets before dinner.  Leave ‘em out on a table or counter while you do your thing.
2. Right before your favorite prime time TV shows come on, set up a station on the coffee table in front of the couch with the cookie trays of bread, some cutting boards with knives, and the pans out of your electric roaster.  Cube the bread and fill the roasting pan.  When I say fill it, I mean fill it.  It will be ridiculously full.
3. Cover it with paper towels, and set it on the kitchen table that you only use when company comes over anyway.  Over the next few days, stir it a few times a day, whenever you think of it.  This will get it nicely & slightly stale.  If you’re going to be doing anything that smells, like using cleaning chemicals, put it in the oven… but don’t turn it on.  It’s nice & warm & dry & not stinky in there.  The bread will absorb that stuff and the stuffing will taste like Mr. Clean made it.
4. Wednesday night, get out your turkey… and pull the disgusting papery bag of giblets out of the neck cavity, and the neck out of its butt.  (Why exactly do they put the neck in the butt, anyway?  Who’s idea was that?) Boil the giblets in your can of vegetable broth, or just use plain water… or even turkey or chicken broth.  I thought the vegetable broth would add a nice flavor.  I boiled them for a nice long time, and let it cook down quite a bunch.
5. Finely chop up your celery & onions… or use the Magic Bullet, like I did.  I’m not real big on chunks of slimy or crunchy stuff in bread-like consistency foods.  I probably had half of each chopped finely, the other half rendered to near-paste by the genius little piece of equipment that list the Magic Bullet.  I’m sure any food processor would work.. but this one is easy to pot pout of storage, use, and clean when you’re done.
6. Then I popped out the electric skillet to sauteé the onion & celery mixture… probably in some Country Crock & a bit of extra virgin olive oil… adding some of the spices mentioned above, and maybe even some paprika… although, they don’t come the totals listed above.  These are the aforementioned “oh, that looks about right” and  “hey, let’s add a little of this”.  You’ve sauteed stuff, you know how it works.  I love this step because it turns the onions from gross into awesome… especially the Spanish onions.  The sweet onions are oddly enough not as sweet to me when cooked.
7. Next time, I’m totally getting a pair of swimming goggles or those glasses that I’ve seen at Bed, Bath & Beyond for when I chop & pulverize the onions.  I was crying like a little girl who just watched a car run over a kitten.
8. I popped the onions and celery into separate containers for the ‘fridge to save for Thursday morning.
9. Next, I pulled out the giblets and chopped them into tiny pieces, & put them with the reduced broth from cooking into a 3rd refrigerator bound container to be used on Thursday morning.
10. Go to bed.  You have to get up early.
11. Thursday get up about an hour before your turkey needs to go in the roaster oven, and start to mix all this crap together.
12. Add the dry spice ingredients to the now stale-ish cubed bread.  Good luck not getting any on the floor.
13. Chop the fresh parsley.
14. Nuke your butter in a microwave safe bowl, add it to a large mixing bowl, crack open the 10 eggs, and whisk away.
15. Add the fresh parsley to the buttery gooey egg mixture.
16. Add 2-3 cups of the broth from the giblets, and the finely chopped giblets to the now even gooier butterier egg mixture.
17. This is where I got the bright idea to dump in some Yuengling.  It wasn’t a whole bottle… but I had it out & only needed about ½ cup for my butter/garlic/beer turkey injection/baste,  so I dumped some into the gooey buttery gibletey mixture, and drank the rest… all before 8:00 am.
18. Dump the celery & onion concoction on to the bread, mix around, and then dump on the gooey buttery gibletey Yuenglingey mixture.  This is where it was imperative that there were two of us.  Bethany opted to use her hands to mix while I poured.  The mixing gets easier when it’s wet, as it goes down a little.  You should probably wash your hands before you do this.  Not that I think you’re stupid or anything… but there are signs out there all over the place… so someone somewhere must need reminded.  Use soap, and hot water.
19. Now, this needs to come out of the roaster so the turkey can go into it… and you should be doing this around the same time as turkey prep… so stuff what you can into the turkey carcass’ various cavities, and put the rest in the crock pot.  I had Bethany scoop it into a bowl small amounts at a time as I stuffed it into the bird, so I wasn’t touching raw poultry and the stuffing that wasn’t going into the bird.  She made it clear that she wasn’t touching the raw dead bird, or sticking her hands into it.
20. I sewed up the turkey and popped it into the roaster to cook, and then put the stuffing in the crock pot on low to cook for the same amount of time.
21. Everyone told me last year that stuffing + crock pot = bad idea.  This is where I say that you could not be more wrong.  It was perfectly moist and heated well throughout.  I did break the cardinal cock pot rule by removing the lid every hour or so and stirring a little so it didn’t stick to the sides or burn.  This worked well, except that I didn’t get the bottom well enough.  You could add more liquid throughout if t looked necessary… or not stir if you like the crusty part as much as the other part.  If you use the crock pot enough, you get to know what works for yours.  Pop it on to warm or off a while before you eat.
22. When the turkey’s ready, the stuffing’s ready.  Stuff yourself silly, send people home with leftovers, and eat for breakfast, lunch, & dinner the next day.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the process, and I’m sorry for jumping tenses.  I think I did anyway.  All over the place.  Maybe Dave and Kristin can give me some pointers on that.

I’d love to know what you think of this recipe, and how you do your stuffing.  I’m always up for trying things new ways… and I’m always up for eating stuffing.  In fact, even better — make some, and invite me over for dinner!

]]> http://soysaucequeen.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/chestnut-pound-cake/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:19:07 +0000 soysaucequeen http://soysaucequeen.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/chestnut-pound-cake/

Ingredients for pound cake

200g flour

180g sugar

4 eggs

200g butter

1/3 lb chestnuts

To prepare chestnuts

You will need : more than 50g of sugar, yellow food colour

soak chestnuts in hot water for an hour

remove shell and dark skin (with knife)

boil chestnuts in pan with just enough water to cover the nuts for 10 minutes

drain water and put water again, and then boil with sugar and 4-5 drops of yellow food colouring

cook it for 20 minutes

To make pound cake :

separate the yolks from the eggs and save both

beat the whites until firm and add 1/3 of sugar

continue to beat until the sugar is well mixed

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until the mix becomes white

fold in half of the egg whites

add half of the flour by cutting it in

fold in the remaining egg whites

add the rest of the flour by cutting

melt butter and add to the mix, cutting it in

add chestnuts, pour into loaf pan about half full

bake in the oven at 365 degrees for 25-30 minutes

I hope you enjoy!

”

the little man(by NBA standards) with the biggest heart.

there’s too many memories to really go through one by one, but obviously the playoff series with the Raptors with the back to back Vince and AI 50 point games and this video are the first things that come to mind for me.

So, I wrote the other day that I felt like Julia Child and that was because I was making a simple fish dish.   I had seen the Barefoot Contessa making Sole Meuniere as she talked about her visit to Paris.  She spoke of how simple and delicious the preparation was.  I then read about how Julia Child had Sole Meuniere and that this meal was what made her fall in love with French Cooking.  Here is what she said about that experience in My Life in France.

It arrived whole: a large, flat Dover sole that was perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley on top. The waiter carefully placed the platter in front of us, stepped back, and said: “Bon appètit!

I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising perfume. Then I lifted a forkful of fish to my mouth, took a bite, and chewed slowly. The flesh of the sole was delicate, with a light but distinct taste of the ocean that blended marvelously with the browned butter. I chewed slowly and swallowed. It was a morsel of perfection.

I however can not find sole but figured that tilapia was pretty close and probably cheaper too.  This is of course my untrained, American opinion.  A trained French chef might disagree.  I had some fillets so off I went to try a simple preparation.  This dish is French and is a bit heavy in the butter department but is luxurious.  I can honestly picture myself sitting in Paris or Disneyworld (thats the closest I’ve been so far) eating this dish and being happy to pay for it.  Hope you will try this dish.

• 8 pieces of tilapia fillet, patted dry with a paper towel this will make the coating stick better.  (I made extra for a leftover meal)
• 6 TBSP butter, divided
• 1 cup of flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 tsp lime or lemon juice

1. Using large skillet, melt 3 TBSP butter over medium heat.
2. Season flour with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
3. Place each fish fillet in the flour making sure to press the fish to get a good coat on both sides.
4. Place fish fillets in melted butter and cook for 2 minutes on first side then flip. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on second side depending on thickness.  I cooked 2 fillets at a time.
5. Remove fish to plate and add two more fillets and cook to above directions.
6. Remove second set of fillets and add a tsp of lime juice to the pan.  Using your spatula scrape the bits that have stuck to the bottom and pour the brown butter sauce over the fillets.
7. Repeat process with the next 4 fillets.  Enjoy the decadence.  You can also sprinkle some parsley over the fish for a more traditional flavor.

I served mine with cauliflower in cheese sauce and steamed mussels.

I can understand that if I were served this dish in Paris that I might feel the same as Julia.  In complete awe.

Tilapia Meuniere

Kid Approved

Hello Everybody! We want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. This year, unlike previous years, we are celebrating this holiday a day earlier together with friends, and with family on Thanksgiving day. Our menu consists of the following:

• 1. Turkey in Apple Cider brine with stuffing and gravy
• 2. Mac and Cheese
• 3. Green Bean Casserole
• 4. Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• 5. Yams with marshmallow
• 6. Creamed Corn
• 7. Stuffed Mushrooms
• 8. Sweet Potato Pie
• 9. cranberry sauce

Do you like our menu? Most everything is done…turkey is in the oven….and now, we have some downtime to share one of our favorite side dish recipes: Garlic Mashed Potatoes! This is K’s recipe and it never gets old. So flavorful and creamy smooth. We made this the other day for a potluck we attended, and it was a hit as usual. Enjoy, guys!

What You Need:

• 6-8 peeled Russet Potatoes
• Garlic bulb
• 1 stick of unsalted butter/margerine
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

What to Do:

1. First, preheat the oven to 350. Then halve the bulb of garlic. Place a piece of foil in an oven proof bowl and place the garlic bulb in it. If you want your mashed potato with a lot of garlic, use both bulb halves. If not, stick with just one. Drizzle some olive oil onto the garlic and sprinkle a pinch of black pepper and salt. Then tightly wrap the foil.

The oven safe bowl serves as a safety measure just in case any olive oil leak out of the foil. Place the bowl in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime, place the potatoes in a large pot with salted water. Make sure all of the potato is enclosed in water. Boil for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft. Test by sticking in a fork or chopstick into the potato. If it goes easily in, it is ready. Once the potatoes are ready, drain most of the water out (we like to keep about 1/2 cup of water in the pot) and mash!

Once it is throughly mashed, put in the stick of butter (we know, it is a lot, but it tastes so good!) in the mixture and let the butter just melt. Stir with a spoon to incorporate the mixture.

While the butter is melting, in a shallow pan, pour in the cream and heat to simmer. The purpose of heating the cream before putting it in the potatoes is to prevent the potato from becoming gummy/gooey.

Once the cream is simmering, pour the cream into the potato mixture and stir. Stir well!

Once that is mixed, the garlic should be ready! Carefully remove the garlic with a tiny spoon/chopstick. It should easily pop out.

Add in the garlic to the mashed potatoes and mix. You might have some left over olive oil in the foil. Pour that in as well. Garnish with parsley if you want. Enjoy!

Tonight we had enchiladas for dinner.  I was all prepped and organised, I’d made the sauce and done all of my prep as I had to go out and would only get back in time to eat.  Then I got the tortilla wraps out.  Disaster!  They’d gone off.  I knew that mum had made flour tortillas once before so it had to be doable and set off to google a quick recipe for tortillas.  I found two that looked good (love recipes with pictures!) and since they were both the same recipe with very different ratios I sort of took a stab at somewhere in the middle and made it up as I went a long.  With hindsight I’d use double the fat if I make these again and cook them for no more than 20 seconds each side.  As it was these tortillas were very stiff, when I tried to make an enchilada with one it cracked into six pieces.  No worries though, dinner became Layered Enchiladas!  But first here is the basic recipe for tortillas.

Makes 6 dinner plate sized ones, probably 8 smaller

250g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1tsp baking powder
50g lard or butter(I used 25g lard*)
100ml warm water plus extra as needed

- Mix together the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium sized bowl. 
- Rub in the lard or butter using your fingers. 
- Add the water and mix well.  Add water 1 tbsp at a time mixing between additions until a soft dough has formed. 
- Turn out onto a lightly floured worksurface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth. 
- Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to rest for 15-20 minutes. 
- Turn out and lightly knead for a minute. 
- Divide into equal portions. 
- Cover any balls of dough you are not working with. 
- Heat a dry frying pan on the hob. 
- Roll out the ball of dough until paper thin.  Aim for a circle but tidy up the shape by stretching the dough out into shape with your hands.  This requires elbow grease.  When I say paper I mean it!
- Pick up and carefully place flat in the very hot frying pan. 
- Cook for 20-30 seconds each side.  Just scare it with the frying pan, don’t leave it or it will dry out too much. 
- Place the cooked tortillas under a tea towel in a warm place. 
- Repeat for each ball.

*Lard has a bad reputation but can actually be better for you than than butter.  I think it has less saturated fat and less cholesterol but I’m not certain just how much better it is.  Either way it doesn’t deserve the bad rep. it has.

Make this holiday season healthier with these tips.

-Use butter wherever margarine or shortening are called for.

-Use raw cream in place of evaporated canned milk in pumpkin pie.

-Top those pies with homemade whipped cream, skip the Cool Whip.

-Make homemade egg nog.

-Use homemade broth instead of canned.

What tips do you have?

See also:

Thanksgiving Menu - includes recipes for Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Stockroom2, originally uploaded by sizzled.

chicago trips with mg and nik t, i don’t know if it’ll ever feel like that again to go buy some sneakers.

Baked potatoes with a few pats of unsalted butter are one of my favorite comfort foods. Last night I had dinner in a steak house and forgot to ask them to leave off the sour cream so I could wallow in my butter and potato. I scraped most of the sour cream out, so my potato was still able to offer a satisfying carbohydrate calm.

A woman dined alone in the next booth. I never saw her face, just her wavy, shoulder-length gray hair. Along with her baked potato and steak, she ordered a glass of Cabernet. Mmmm. Just like me. She also ordered a glass of milk. I know people who have eaten mayonnaise and peanut butter sandwiches, pineapple and peanut butter sandwiches, but milk and Cabernet are right up there with foods that should never be joined. I can’t imagine either one of them tasting very good – dulled taste buds from a glass of cold milk followed by wine? Savoring the blackberry and earthen aromas of a Cab then drowning them in milk? I sipped my own wine and tried not to think about it.

One of my dinner companions ordered a frothy, fruity, icy drink topped with a few tablespoons of whipped cream. I can do without the fruit blend, but I adore whipped cream. A few dollops on a piece of pumpkin pie, swiping my finger through the bowl after whipping the real stuff, or un-whipped cream poured over apple crisp. Yum.

Across the aisle were two women finishing their dinner. One of them leaned across the aisle and asked what the drink was called. Then she attempted to sell us on her favorite food combination of all time – whipped cream with steak.

I said I’d hold off on blogging about food for awhile, but I couldn’t let this pass. You can’t make this stuff up. Surely one of these will be appearing soon in a piece of flash fiction.

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking (not instant) oats
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups eggnog
• 1/3 cup oil (or melted butter, cooled)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 12 regular muffin cups or 6 jumbo.
2. Place flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggnog, oil, egg, vanilla extract, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix or your muffins won’t rise properly. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups and sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over each. Bake in preheated over at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 1 (14 ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut at the curve and then halved lengthwise
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large, heavy bottom skillet ( I prefer cast iron), heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Once butter has melted, add onions and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Place the kielbasa in the pan, flesh side down. Cook until browned, about 6 minutes.
3. Transfer sausage to to a serving platter, spoon peppers and onions over the top. Serve.

Recipe

The Spiritual Side of Healthy Eating

Today in America we face one of the greatest dangers to mankind’s well-being: the obesity and chronic disease epidemic overwhelming our country like a tsunami of despair and destruction.  Over 70% of adult Americans are obese or overweight, and the accompanying maladies associated with being overweight are also at astronomical numbers. The Liberation Diet program developed over many years has helped a small growing number of people get their health and weight challenges under control, yet we need to reach out to many more people with our message. One of the greatest hurdles we’ve faced has been the inability to get the message out in the mainstream. Since our message of real food for real people is contrary to the advertisers who help subsidize mainstream media, we will probably never have a fair shot in that arena. Yet in the world of Christian media, there is not the allegiance to corporate food and pharmaceuticals normally needed to pay the bills allowing these organizations to have a more open platform for sharing the truth about accurate health information. With this in mind, I have endeavored to look at what the Bible says about healthy eating, and compare our Liberation Diet protocols with the Word of God. I would preface by saying I am not a Bible scholar, yet I believe the Bible is God’s word for all mankind, to be obeyed. I also consulted with a faithful bible teacher before writing this article. Additionally, we used the King James Bible for our references and checked the original Hebrew and Greek for accuracy.

Many Strange Diet Teachings from the Bible

I have read many articles and books making claims about what the Bible teaches about healthy eating. Since I have discovered many of these conclusions not actually correct diet protocol (in my opinion), I went to the source to see for myself what the Bible really said. One of the principles in Bible study I have learned is that any conclusion we come to must be in harmony with the rest of the Bible, so picking and choosing passages we like to make our theory sound plausible and not synthesizing everything God has to say will often lead us in wrong conclusions. Satan also uses isolated Bible verses to teach false ideas, and yet still deceives many who only hear that since it came from the Bible, so it must be true. (Sort of like “Splenda, tastes like Sugar, because it’s made from Sugar!”) Keeping this principle in mind, I would like to put forth a somewhat comprehensive timeline of the Bible and its message about diet.

God has a lot to say about Food

In Genesis, we read God has a lot to say about food, and has instructions and modifications over time about what, where, and why we eat. First of all, God is deeply interested in what we eat, because He is the one feeding us. As we read in Acts 14:17, “Nevertheless, he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Furthermore, the great test of the entire human race in the Garden of Eden was designed around obeying what God says about food. We read in Gen 2:16, 17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God did not say the fruit of the tree of good and evil was unhealthy. He said not to eat of it, for spiritual reasons He did not make known to Adam and Eve. The false message from Satan about eating restricted food was and remains; A.    Eating it won’t kill you,  B.    Eating it will make you like God C.    Eating it makes one wise, (sort of like the “Smart-Food or Wise-Choice” names manufacturers ascribe to their artificial “foods”).   It was also good for food and pleasant to the eyes (nice packaging). This is summarized by God in 1 John 2:16, “For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are not of the Father, but are of the world.” The devastating result of not taking God’s word about food seriously has had cataclysmic consequences affecting mankind. The real sin occurring in the event is that Adam and Eve did not seek God for clarification, but made an exact opposite decision to God’s command. Having now seen the disaster of not asking God for clarification with regard to food commands, one would think we would be very clear on what His Word has to say on the matter…But are we?

God Orders a Change in Diet

After Adam and Eve fell into Sin, God punished them, and also instructed them what to eat. Very clearly, we see food commands attached to the punishment of both Adam and Satan. This I believe is the Spiritual Side of Food. God is always teaching something about his Salvation Plan, through our relationship to food. In the curse of Satan we read: Gen 3:14, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:” And in the cursing of Adam God says, Gen 3:17-19,  “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.” God’s message about food is tied to the unfolding of His salvation plan Gods’ message about food and our relationship to it changes as God develops His Salvation Program throughout history. At the time Adam fell into Sin, God makes no mention of eating animals at the first, because there was no Sin. However we can see that the food commands changed from fruit (sweet to the taste, in parallel to our former sweet relationship with Him) to herbs (sometimes bitter, in parallel to our present relationship with Him) and bread (needing to be baked in the fire, pointing to the work Christ did on our behalf, having gone through the fires of hell) These are pictures of our now bitter relationship with God, and a foreshadow of Christ, Who is the Bread of Life. God also kills an animal and makes coats for Adam and Eve. This is teaching we are spiritually naked and need a covering, which is why we still wear clothes today. This is also teaching the death of an animal is something God himself does; thereby we know it is approved to wear animal skins if necessary. This is a spiritual representation of the death of Christ and His covering which removes our shame. As our relationship to God has changed, so has God’s commandment about food and clothing.

Animal Fat Approved

The next biblical food event involves Cain and Abel, where we read Gen 4:3-5, “And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:  But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” This encounter seems to imply the fruit (sweet relationship with God, as in all is well as it was in the Garden of Eden) was not correct way to approach God, and the burnt offering with the fat (Christ as the burnt offering, death and fire) was the correct way to approach God, seeing we are now under His judgment, and in need of redemption. This is not saying correct protocol is all that’s needed for salvation. It is a parable; an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, about our relationship with our Maker. But for sure, fat and meat are quite acceptable to God.

Eating Animals Commanded

The next major food adjustment comes just after the flood of Noah’s day when Noah and his family were essentially starting the human race over again, but this time there were new food commands to reflect the now very different situation – Gen 9:2-3, “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” God is now commanding all animals shall be food for man, (everything that moves on earth; animals, insects, birds, fish) and Noah, who is a righteous man, will not make the same mistake Adam and Cain made; not to listen carefully to Gods commands about food. In this new command, unlike the Garden of Eden, God does not say we should only eat fruit, but again modifies the commands about food. Clearly at this point in history, God is no longer commanding a vegetarian diet. The death and roasting of an animal should always remind us of the judgment of God, and our need of a Savior. Every time we eat meat therefore, it should remind us of our need of Christ.

God is on the High-Fat Diet

As we saw with Abel and his sacrifice, God made mention of fat as an important part of His Program. Later in the Bible it’s explained the fat is for God, as it is the best and highest value of the food. It represents Christ and His sacrifice for Sin, and is in no way to be avoided. God himself appears on earth to Abraham as three men to talk with him about the coming judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Notice these verses: Gen 18:1 “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground.” We then continue in verse 7 and 8, “And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave [it] unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.”

Milk, Meat and Butter

Notice carefully that God gives us a menu of what He eats personally so there is no mistaking it. He is eating butter (saturated animal fat), milk (raw, full animal fat, not refrigerated), and the calf. (Red meat, which is saturated animal fat). No doubt He may have eaten some bread and possibly other things, but in this situation, He shows us what He wants us to know. Saturated animal fat is on God’s menu and it certainly is not unhealthy to eat these foods. On the contrary, they are the best of foods! After all, would God eat less than the best, would Abraham, a very wealthy man, bring out for Jehovah God less than the very best? We also read about the Lord Jesus in Isa 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” We need have no doubt. God the Father and God the Son, both eat butter! (Spiritually Speaking, the Good)

Too Much Water!

There is a great misunderstanding today about drinking water. We have been taught for about 20 years now to drink enormous amounts of water to help us lose weight, keep hydrated, and flush toxins from our bodies. I am quite convinced that none of these things are true and in fact it is very detrimental to drink too much water. I explain a lot of the detail of this in my book, The Liberation Diet. but I wondered if the Bible had anything to say about it. We read again about God appearing unto Abraham in Gen 18,   “and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:    Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree” Then when Abraham prepares Gods’ food, notice the menu   “And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.” Please notice that God washed his feet with the water, but drank the milk!

Milk is a Picture of God’s Word!

The true believer who has the word of God in her mouth is spoken about in Song of Solomon 4:11,   “Thy lips, O [my] spouse, drop [as] the honeycomb: honey and milk [are] under thy tongue;”
Honey and Milk are pictures of the word of God, and as they are wonderfully healthy physically, they are also wonderfully healthy spiritually, if you are a lover of God.
Milk is synonymous with the blessing of God
We read in Leviticus 20:24,   “Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey:”
Milk is also called the Bread of Life in Proverbs 27:27,   “And a sufficiency of goats’ milk [is] for thy bread, for bread to thy house, and life to thy damsels!”
The Word of God (Milk) destroys the Enemy (Satan)
We read of Sisera, a picture of Satan, asking for water, but instead getting Milk. This is God’s word which brings Life to some and Death to others. We read in Judges 5:24-27,   “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. He (Sisera) asked water, [and] she gave [him] milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.  At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.”
Milk and Butter are used interchangeably here by God and spiritually they represent the pure gospel which is the enemy of Satan. It is not so farfetched in today’s perverse society to see the physical Milk being made illegal and Butter all but made to be the cause of disease and sorrow. Water is promoted as healthy, and yet this is not the case scientifically or biblically.

Don’t Pasteurize Milk

Three times in the Bible we read of Gods command not to boil an animal in its mother’s milk. We read in Deuteronomy 14:21, “Thou shalt not seethe (boil) a kid in his mother’s milk” I am not sure of the spiritual meaning of this, but the Bible brings a lot of attention to it. We do know that boiling or heating milk damages greatly the properties of milk changing it from a super healthy food, to a food that is deleterious to the body. This is also called Pasteurization. It changes milk from a living to a dead food.We can safely infer this from the mouth of God…God personally drank Raw Milk, calls it the blessing of God, and warns against boiling Milk (pasteurization). Exactly what the Liberation Diet recommends. There sure seems to be a lot of amazing coincidences with the Bible and the Liberation Diet!

Organ Meats

God also recommends the eating of Organ meats in the Bible. Organ meats would be the Liver, Kidneys, and other internal organs that are actually super healthy to eat. These are foods that traditionally have been eaten by mankind for centuries and renowned for their health properties. The work of the great nutrition researcher Dr. Weston Price showed that the healthiest people in the world all ate organ meats on a regular basis. Likewise the Liberation Diet promotes eating these super healthy foods. We do not find it to surprising then that the creator of people and organ meats points out their importance. We read in Exodus 29:13 and following, “And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards (organ meats), and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.  But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards (organ meats) of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.  And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.” The offering is a picture of Jesus, who is the offering, and the most important parts are the Fat and the Organ Meats, they represent the best of the offering, which is Christ. This is why God says it is a sweet savour to him. It now makes sense that the fat and the organ meats are by far the healthiest of all foods, as God teaches us through things in the creation, about His plan of salvation. What an amazing creator we have! How sad it is that today we don’t realize these organ meats have a sacred spiritual picture, and are not to be discarded and disdained, but appreciated for the life giving properties they hold. The Liberation Diet, with its emphasis on organ meats and cod liver oil supplementation is very much in sync with this biblical teaching. I did not know previous to writing this article that so much of our Liberation Diet was in tune to God’s Word. But I feel so assured of the program now, that I know it is in step with the real healthy eating authority, God.

Don’t Drink the Water!

God instructs Timothy against drinking water in the New Testament in 1Timothy 5:23, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” God is teaching that a fermented drink with small alcohol content (history says ancient wine was very watered down), would be healthier and appropriate to drink for health reasons. We can safely infer that fermented beverages of other varieties are also healthier than plain water. So once again God promotes milk and fermented beverage and says (paraphrase) “Don’t drink the water!” Correct me if I’m wrong, but I have not found any instance in the Bible where God or Jesus drank water or ate fruit. This is not to say that one shouldn’t ever eat fruit or drink water, but they are not emphasized by God in the Bible, but are heavily promoted by the modern day Health Authorities!

God Teaches Us through the High-Fat Diet

The message of God in regards to food is found in Gen 3:17-19,  “Cursed [is] the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground” One important point to note is that much of life in this present world is bitter. We are in a Sin cursed earth, under the rule of Sinful people. God, however does bring some blessings in our lives, and helps us from falling into despair. However, there is a balance of bitterness to sweetness in this world that is parallel to our diet. Much of our food should be bitter or in the case of eating meat, reminding us of death and our constant problem of Sin. If we think that this world is heaven, and all things can be made right, then we will look to have an all-fruit diet (high-carbohydrate). We eat desserts constantly and Love the sugars in our diet! This means we think that this present earth is the Garden of Eden, and all is pleasant with our relationship with God. A high animal fat, moderate protein, little carbohydrate ratio, is more correct in maintaining good health, and reflecting Gods salvation program.  This is also seen in the Cain and Able episode where the one brings fruit and the other a roasted dead animal! God had respect to the animal sacrifice, teaching that we are now in need of a blood sacrifice, not just fruit. We are currently designed by our Creator to eat fat and meat and some carbohydrates, and we don’t do well on an all fruit (high-Sugar) diet. Although this was the case in the Garden of Eden, there is now a definite change. If we continue to insist our own way, and if we make up our own program, it becomes deleterious to our health. We read in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death” It is amazing that today in America the official medical, government and almost anyone with any so called “health authority” is teaching to avoid saturated fats, and eat plenty of fruits!

Don’t Love Food…Love God

Quite often I hear clients express “love” for certain foods. This is truly inordinate affection, for when we love food, we are bordering on disaster. If the love of money is the root of all evil then is it such a leap of faith, or simply a pet peeve of mine that the “love” of food is the root of all unhealthy weight gain? We are to love God most of all and our wives, our husbands, our children, our neighbor. Food is not worthy of love, even as a figure of speech. The One who provides the food, (God) is. In one of the most defining moments of His Ministry, Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest. He answered in Matthew 22:37-39, “Master, which [is] the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Jesus also adds in John 4:34 “Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me”. Love is paramount but it is the love for The Creator and not His Creation of food that is primary….and certainly NOT the love of man-made phony “food products”. Did not Adam love food, more than God? Do not worship the Cow; worship Him who has provided the Cow – the same who has faithfully fed us all our lives.

Red Lentil Soup- Chosen over Christ

The next major event about food in the Bible involves Jacob and Esau, with Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of soup. The Bible records this in Gen 25:32-34, “And Esau said, Behold; I [am] at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he swore unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised [his] birthright.” Esau is a picture of Adam (all mankind), and as Adam gave up his relationship with God over food, so Esau gives up his birthright, which is Christ, over food. He now hates his birthright, who is Christ, and we read also God in turn, hates Esau. Rom 9:13 says, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” O that we would love God more than a bowl of soup!

Clean and Unclean

The children of Israel under the leadership of Moses were given many laws to teach the spiritual truths of the Bible. Among them were certain dietary laws known as the ceremonial law. These laws were not like the moral law in as much as there was no spiritual benefit to observing them. They were however intricate and deeply spiritual in nature and were intended to illustrate some aspect of Gods Salvation Program. As we read in the New Testament, Gal 3:24, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The laws of the unclean and clean animals, which said you could eat certain types of animals and not others, were teaching there are two kinds of people in the world; the saved and the unsaved. These ceremonial laws however, like many others in the Old Testament, have been fulfilled in Christ, and are no longer applicable today. By way of illustration, God goes out of His way in the New Testament to make it abundantly clear concerning these clean and unclean ceremonial laws, this is the case. As we read in Acts 10:11-14, “And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth… Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air, and there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice [spake] unto him again the second time, what God hath cleansed, [that] call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.” God repeats His message in the New Testament, telling Peter three times so there can be no mistake. Then God records it twice in the Bible. We have been therefore, divinely assured it is in accordance with God’s will to eat beef or pork, tuna or shark, insects or reptiles, birds of the air. It is up to us to choose what we want to eat and when, yet it is all clean. This is representative of a big change in the development of God’s Salvation Plan. The new food protocol is reflective of that change. It’s a picture of how the Gospel is now to go out into “all” the world, Jew and Gentile: not to be held only in the nation of Israel.  God again brings out the importance in Gal 2:11-16, “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled (acted hypocritically) likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation (hypocrisy). But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before [them] all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We [who are] Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” In this illustration Peter and other early Christians, were eating food with the Gentiles, which then was called clean by God. Shortly thereafter, when some of the circumcision were present, and as not to offend, he and his team began to go back to the clean-unclean law already disannulled by God and separate themselves from the gentiles. The Bible point out vividly this act is sinful, and it doesn’t match the gospel of the faith of Christ, which would exclude any good works on our part. Eating under the clean-unclean Old Testament law would bring us back under the judgment of God.

Daniel and the Pulse

We read about one of the most famous yet misunderstood passages in the Bible about Daniel and his pulse (plant food). Daniel was of the children of Israel and captured by the Babylonians. He was chosen to be of the elite of the King and was commanded to eat the King’s food, for it would no doubt be the healthiest available. After all, Babylon was a great kingdom at this time in history. However, Daniel was still living during the clean-unclean era and it would be a sin for him to eat the king’s meat no matter how healthy it would be. So we read in Dan 1:8, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, or with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel asked to eat vegetables instead because there was no clean-unclean laws concerning plant foods, and he could safely eat of whatever variety they offered. Now of course the best meat and fat from the king would be healthier for Daniel, but he proved obedience to God was more important than all. The Prince of the Eunuchs however knew what was commonly understood by all humans until our recent national brainwashing, that eating meat is much healthier than some vegetables! And furthermore so obvious was this to him that he feared for his life! We read in Dan chapter 1:10, “And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which [are] of your sort? then shall ye make [me] endanger my head to the king”. God brought Daniel into tender favor with the Eunuch, and he allowed David to test his obedience to God with clearly inferior food, at the risk of his own head! God preformed a miracle in that Daniel looked healthier than the other children in spite of eating the lowest of foods, not because of them. Just like the Lion’s Den episode was a miracle, eating meat is and has been known to be healthier than plant food, and God set aside the laws of nature to perform a bone-fide miracle. The passage is of course misused by many to say vegetarianism is the better way. That conclusion would not be in harmony however with everything else the Bible teaches about food. It also doesn’t mean Daniel didn’t eat meat back in Israel where he could be assured of its clean status. After all, the children of Israel were commanded to eat meat on the Passover. The spiritual message is the least of God’s food is better than the best of Satan’s. Also obedience to God’s commands is better for you, even if they don’t seem to make sense! The king of Babylon represents Satan in the Bible, and the foods in this account represent the Gospel of Truth, or the gospel of Satan. As we read in Pro 15:17, “Better [is] a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.” God is Love, so although it is obviously better to have a stalled ox; without God it is not better. It’s similar to having earthly riches, as opposed to spiritual riches. We sometimes think of Gods promises as small compared to the glory of this world, but in the end they are the greater. However, we are so confused about diet today; we don’t even know the first point, which is that the stalled Ox is better than the herbs!

Ye are the Salt of the World

The Bible has a lot to say about salt starting with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as Lot’s wife turned back and was turned into a pillar of Salt. Salt in its spiritual dimension is a picture of judgment. The Wrath of God in judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah is symbolized by Salt. We also see this in regards to the Sacrifices and offerings commanded by God. We read in Leviticus 2:3, “Every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.” God states that salt shall not be lacking in the sacrifice. The burnt offering sacrifice is a picture of Christ, as he is our atonement. The Christ we worship must die, and go through the fires of hell (salt). Salt you see is very necessary in our health physically and very necessary spiritually to make sure we don’t have a Salt-Free Jesus! Gods’ message about our need of a savior is bitter, (bitter herbs), it requires death and fire, (roasted meat), and salt, (God’s judgment). The diet of the False Jesus is the high-carb sugary (God Loves Everybody), low-fat (no death needed, “Thou shalt not surely die”), low-salt (no judgment) Jesus. This parallels the fake-food modern-day American Diet. The same one that brings sickness, death and despair, is also spiritually what will bring spiritual sickness, death and despair. In the New Testament God says in Mark 9:50, “Salt is Good, but if the Salt has lost its saltiness, it is good for nothing, but to be trampled under-foot of men.” The spiritual message is that true believers have the saltiness of the judgment of God seasoning the gospel, and without it, it is good for nothing, because, it is now become a man-made gospel (Spiritual Processed Food). The man-made gospel is sweet and smooth and easy to eat, but the end of the salt-free gospel is to be trampled under-foot. That is, to be under Gods judgment. The physical counter part is that physical Salt is Good. We can be assured of this as the creator of food and mankind has declared it so. The same word Jesus uses to describe him-self when he said “I am the Good Sheppard”. Salt is Good, and healthy in many ways and truly essential physically as well as spiritually.

Ezekiel Bread

We read in the book of Ezekiel about the prophet being commanded to eat certain grains cooked with dung to be a sign to the children on Israel. We read starting in Ezekiel 4:9, “Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, [according] to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.  And thy meat which thou shalt eat [shall be] by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.  Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of a hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou shalt eat it [as] barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.  And the LORD said, even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.”

Spiritual Processed Food

This is a spiritual picture of processed food, starting with Gods’ work (the grains), and add mans’ work to it (the dung). Similarly, much processed food is started with natural substances, but the more man puts himself in it, the more defiled it becomes. This is spiritually a picture of the gospel of the Lord Jesus, as it is tainted by man’s works, which make it a toxic gospel. As we read in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” Also, like toxic processed food, when you eat them you don’t die immediately, they taste pretty good and are smooth in the mouth. But in the end they destroy the body, just as the false gospel of good works sounds good (flattering) and feel good for a season, but in the end it is not the Lords’ way, but is our own way. Certainly grains and bread are eaten in the Bible, and are a spiritual picture of Christ also, who is the bread of life. But the problem in modern society today is not a lack of eating grains. The government recommends eating an inordinate amount of grain products. The first problem is that it is almost impossible to acquire truly healthy grain products in the U.S., unless you are making it carefully at home. The second and even bigger problem is that these grains are promoted as the formula for health, but the butter, and the meat and the milk are called unhealthy, yet these are the foods God himself eats.

Abstaining from Meat

Furthermore God gives us additional assurance we are on the right path in I Tim 4:1-4, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” God states, in no uncertain terms, those who preach the abstaining of meats are preaching the doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy. They identify with Christ in some way, even claiming to be born-again Christians, yet are really agents of evil. God is very much not happy with those who preach a quasi-vegetarian diet, or a clean-unclean animal diet in the name of Christ. One may become popular using this wrong message, yet then they fall under the judgment of God rather than the mercy of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Bible also states, however there is no spiritual benefit to eating the recommended foods. As we read in Rom 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Also we must be mindful those who choose not to eat meat are not necessarily unsaved. As we also read in Rom 14:1-2, “For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eatest herbs. Let not him that eatest despise him that eatest not; and let not him which eatest not judge him that eatest: for God hath received him.”

How often should we eat?

One of the strange diet teachings over the last twenty or so years is the idea we need to eat more often. This sounds plausible to people who are overweight and hear this message: Eat 5, 6, 7 times a day and you will raise your metabolism and burn fat. “Sounds” great yet, it’s just the opposite of the truth. Eating more often is what bodybuilders do to build muscle, and get big and bulky, because they can’t get enough calories at three meals a day. High level athletes with extreme exercise protocols also sometimes use this program, but for the average person it’s simply another mind-game deception to the end of misguided “weight-loss acceptable snacking”. It can be likened to an “Eating Stimulus Package”, wherein one eats their way to a thin and healthy body. Give thanks more often, snack less often! The Bible actually does weigh-in on meal frequency. The first is in regard to Manna, the supernatural food God sent from heaven. God sent it fresh every morning. And if it wasn’t eaten fresh it would go bad. Also, God states everyone should eat as much as he or she likes (no calorie counting). We read in Exodus 16:21, “And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.” This says clearly, God is using fresh food, once a day, for his people. It is not stated here directly how often they ate, but I suspect they didn’t spend the day snacking because it was the only food they had. The next event concerning meal frequency involves Elijah who was hiding by the brook Cherith at the command of God, and God personally takes over the food supply. We read in I Kings 17:4-6, “And it shall be [that] thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that [is] before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” God shows us his pattern of meal frequency, which is two meals a day. We’re confident one meal a day was also common back in olden days, yet we’re absolutely sure two times a day is a good idea, because it Gods’ idea!  Also, giving thanks to God for our food is so much easier to do if we are not haphazardly ingesting snack food every few hours! Eating less frequently is not commanded by God. In my opinion however, God’s two meals a day frequency works magnificently. Proponents of the “snack-all-day-like-a-cow program” are simply paid or duped emissaries for the snack food manufacturers.

Recapping Our Understanding

· God initially used a vegetarian diet of fruit and herbs in the Garden of Eden

· Once Adam sinned, eating meat became the new standard, as the death of animals’ points to our need of Christ

· God uses Butter, Raw Milk, and Red Meat in the Bible and eats them personally to teach us that they are good, acceptable and healthy

· Clean and Unclean dietary laws know as the ceremonial laws were given to the Children of Israel only for spiritual teaching

· The New Testament ushered in a new era of the gospel and the unclean laws were done away by God most definitely

· God makes clear a person may choose to be a vegetarian or not, and it has no spiritual benefit

· All food is to be made clean by thanksgiving to God, each time we eat, we remember Him who faithfully feeds us

· The removal of some of the key foods in the Bible, Butter, Raw Milk, Salt, Red Meat etc. is causing physical damage to humanity, and its spiritual parallel is the altered gospel of a low-fat Jesus is likewise causing spiritual damage

The Diet Perversion

The problem in today’s society however is we’re taught eating saturated fat (meat, butter) is unhealthy and borderline unholy. After all, if eating butter is actually causing heart disease, should it not be against the law? Should it not be sin? In fact, selling real (raw) milk is illegal in some states, and pronounced unwise in all others. (God would be arrested!) These ideas are so wrong against mankind and so opposite of what the Bible teaches it is really Diet Perversion! Only in today’s society are the moral values established by Scripture so destabilized that we don’t know right from wrong.  We now also see the same thing with regard to diet. By eliminating animal fats from the diet, all kinds of deleterious physical effects are occurring at an alarming rate, such as an out of control obesity epidemic, tied directly to our refusal once again ask God for counsel about food.

Kevin Brown is president of Visionary Trainers, an In-Home Personal Fitness Company, and Co-Author of the Liberation Diet, a Real-Food traditional diet program that is helping many attain excellent health and normal weight. Kevin serves as a fellow on the National Board of Fitness Examiners, and is the principle force behind the online fitness website LiberationFitness.com Kevin and his wife Tracy are Chapter leaders for the Weston A Price foundation, a non-profit organization that is helping restore real food to its rightful place in the American diet.

This is a quickie but a goodie. Have you ever eaten at Outback Steakhouse? I haven’t been in a while but used to go with my dad a lot as a teenager. He was good like that- always taking me out for really great meals! When you sit down they bring you a warm loaf of Honey Wheat Bread, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve also asked them to bring the bread with a side of honey butter. The first time I had the honey butter I freaked out- it was so good. And back then I hated honey. Crazy right? (Don’t get me started on all the things I hated way back when that I love now… mustard… honey… chilies… eggplant…)

Anyway, honey butter is perfect spread on warm freshly baked bread but can also be used in tons of other ways. One of my favorite is in baked sweet potatoes. The flavors all mesh together to create a simple masterpiece.

Honey Butter

1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp honey
1 tspn brown sugar
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch of salt

1. Mix all ingredients well in a food processor or in a bowl with a fork. Make sure to mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

2. Chill and serve when needed.

]]> http://thesouthinmymouth.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/pies-for-the-thankgiving-table/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:41:00 +0000 the south in my mouth http://thesouthinmymouth.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/pies-for-the-thankgiving-table/

I am on a pie high right now, and I just thought I’d share the two recipes for pie that I’ve fallen in love with. Neither of them are mine, but I’ve made them both and I love them more than color TV.

The first one is Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Pumpkin Pie with Crunchy Cranberry Topping. Of course, I can’t follow anyone’s recipe to the letter. I use the Crisco pie dough recipe. And I leave off the cranberry topping. The pumpkin filling is creamy and just yummy. And it’s a one-crust pie, so easy peesy. This is the actual pie I baked. And I’ll admit this to you – it was my first pie ever! So you should take courage from that.

The second is a cherry pie. I am not a sweet filling person so I looked for a way not to use the canned cherry pie filling you see in the supermarket. Instead, I found a brand of tart cherries from Oregon (that’s the company’s name). On the label, it claims to have a recipe for the best cherry pie you’ll ever eat. I am buying stock in this company. This is also the actual pie I baked. I know I’m making much of this, but I suffered for years from pie-phobia.

I am shocked to tell you that when I went to the Oregon website to link to the recipe, they’ve changed it from the one on the can. The one on the website has way more sugar in it. So, if you like really sweet, here it is. If not, here’s the recipe on the inside of the Oregon label.

Cherry Pie

1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cans Oregon Red Tart Cherries

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1 tablespoon butter

2 crusts for a 9-inch pie

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the cherries and reserve the juice from only one can. In a saucepan, stir the cherry juice into the combined mixture of the cornstarch and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from heat. Gently stir in the cherries and extract. Pour filling into pastry lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust, seal and vent. Bake 30-40 minutes or until crust browns and filling begins to bubble. If necessary, cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning. Cool pie several hours to allow filling to thicken before slicing.

Whatever your Thanksgiving traditions are, I hope you all have a safe and comforting Thanksgiving Day and celebrate your loved ones with good food and warm hearts.