Job-hunting students are being warned by universities against paying for services to help get them internships…. From BBC News. Full story

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Today’s round-up of news about migraine, visual snow, persistent aura and related illnesses:

Company vs cardiologist: MIST lawsuit in limelight as UK justice secretary seeks libel law overhaul. www.theheart.org November 24, 2009. Shelley Wood. London, UK – The case of a British cardiologist embroiled in a libel suit with NMT Medical over comments he made to heartwire about the conduct and reporting of the Migraine Intervention with STARflex Technology (MIST) trial is now making news across the UK, amid growing calls for government to reform libel laws in that country.

Data from St. Antonius Hospital provide new insights into headache and migraine. www.newsrx.com November 23rd, 2009. According to recent research from Netherlands, “Migraine with aura (MA) is associated with cardiac right-to-left shunt. We prospectively studied the association between pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) and MA in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT).”

Trent Consultants News ANXIETY DISORDERS LINKED TO PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. www.24-7pressrelease.com NEW YORK, NY. November 24, 2009. University of Manitoba researchers have found that anxiety disorders appear to be independently associated with several physical conditions, including thyroid disease, respiratory disease, arthritis and migraine headaches. Their findings, published today in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, suggest that this co-occurrence of disorders may significantly increase the risk of disability and negatively affect quality of life.

Cup of mint tea is an effective painkiller. news.bbc.co.uk A cup of Brazilian mint tea has pain relieving qualities to match those of commercially available analgesics, a study suggests.

Daily salt intake allowances ‘were set too high’. news.bbc.co.uk The government’s maximum daily salt intake target has been set too high for people to avoid unnecessary stroke and heart deaths, UK experts are warning.

David Davis

…”Experts said” (of course they are, of course they did.)

…and you did not speak up, for you were not a loaf, a sausage or a corn-flake…

• 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

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.

There is a new threat to our health from synthetic food ingredients. And like Aspartame, the regulatory approval process that is suppose to protect us is failing again. You may have noticed lately a growing number of products that claim in their ads and on their labels that they have “Less Salts”, “Less Sugar”, “Less MSG”. This type of claim should make you think, “What are they putting in to let them take this stuff out”. It should be obvious that they are not just going to remove some of the salt, sugar and MSG. These three ingredients are the key to increasing sales. So they are the geese that lay the golden egg of the processed food industry.

What they are putting in is a new class of food ingredients that are novel molecules, never consumed by humans before. And you may have already eaten them because they don’t have to be on the label. These chemicals turn off bitter receptors on the tongue and enhance the salty, sweet and umami (savory) receptors. Companies like Kraft, Nestle, Coca Cola and Cambell’s Soup are already putting these chemicals in their products. These chemicals are so powerful that the amount of salt and sugar can be cut nearly in half, yet the same level of salty or sweet flavor is maintained.

While some food companies will admit they are contracted with Senomyx, they will not reveal which foods have these chemicals added. The foods most likely to contain these chemicals are soups, vegetable and fruit juices, ice cream and sauces. Senomyx CEO Kent Snyder has said, “We are helping companies clean up their labels”.

The company that developed these new chemicals is called Senomyx. They took data from the human gnome project and used it to analyze human taste buds. This has allowed them to develop multiple chemicals that work in very low concentrations, often less than 1 ppm. By comparison, artificial sweeteners have concentrations of 200-500 ppm. These new chemicals do not have to be separately listed. Instead they are allowed under “artificial flavors”.

The fact that they are used at concentrations of less the 1 ppm means they don’t have to through the rigorous FDA approval process for novel chemicals. Instead they automatically get Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status. It only took Senomyx 18 months to get GRAS status on their MSG replacer and they did this with a single safety study on rats for 3 months. A study like this is not generally considered adequate to determine safety. A minimum of two years on multiple species will produce more realistic results.

This is just another reason to avoid processed foods, especially if they contain salt, sugar or MSG and “artificial ingredients”.

-Paul Ericson, contributor Liberation Wellness

Hace ya varios días les presente un trailer ruso de la proxima pelicula de la sexy Angelina Jolie, hoy les traigo el trailer oficial y completo de lo que sera esta pelicula la cual cada vez más me llama la atención.

La más reciente cinta de Angelina Jolie, el thriller Salt, tiene ya disponible su primer trailer completo. La película está supuestamente basada en un hecho real, aunque las circunstancias están mucho más exageradas de lo que ocurrió en su momento. Sin embargo, se hizo de una forma cre´ble y bien coordinada, de manera que la cinta se torna muy verosimil. La película estará disponible para julio del 2010, y no cabe duda de que será un éxito en taquilla.

We have homemade pizza fairly frequently in our house.  We’ve tried dozens of different recipes and techniques trying to find the best pizza dough recipe, the most frequent problem is that the middles become soup so we got pizza trays with holes in, which helped a bit.  Last Christmas I got mum a pizza stone but it wasn’t as impressive as all that.  Up until tonight mum has always made the dough and done all the work but tonight I was put in charge.  So I turned to google and my usual foodie haunts trying to make the best damned pizza this family has ever had.  Boasting it may be but I may well have succeeded!

The secret would appear to be part cooking the base first.  It gets all big and puffy but when you put the toppings on that goes down and means that the middle doesn’t stay all goopy but still retains a bit of crispness.  We are also guilty of piling on the toppings, in the past I have been known to have up to an inch deep on mine.  I have no will power, you see.  We set up a little area with all the toppings layed out in bowls to build our own to spec. and I just keep piling it all on!  This, of course, means that they take longer to cook so be aware that if you’re spare with the toppings it’ll take less cooking time, if you’re like me they’ll need longer. 

Makes 3 large pizzas, if not from a family of gluttons makes 4 individual ones. 

For the dough:
500g strong bread flour
2 tsp salt
1×7g sachet fast action yeast
1 tsp sugar
300ml warm water
2 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
2×400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp herbes de provence (or basil, oregano or any herb that’s good with tomato)

For the toppings:
Whatever you like!  I always think that cheese on top is the only must, below that anything goes! 

- First, as it’s now winter here in the uk, I would remind you to prepare a warm draft free place for the dough to rise.  By the fire, on top of a radiator or boiler, in a gently warmed oven, wherever works for you.  I usually put the oven on the lowest setting (Slow Cook) while I prepare the dough then turn it off when I put the dough in and leave it.
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, yeast and sugar. 
- Make a well in the centre and add the oil and water. 
- Mix with a wooden spoon until mostly combined, then get in there with your hands to get it together and get any bits stuck to the bowl off by rubbing the dough around.    
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic adding more flour if necessary.
- Wash your bowl if necessary then lightly oil the bowl using your hand to spread it about. 
- Continue to knead the dough for a minute or two with your oily hands. 
- Place the dough in the bowl then turn over so it’s coated with oil. 
- Cover and leave to rise in your warm draft free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

- Meanwhile prepare the sauce and toppings.  Chop up whatever you’re putting on the pizzas and leave them ready for people to put on themselves if you’re doing it that way. 
- For the sauce melt a knob of butter and a small splash of oil in a medium sized pan. 
- Add the garlic and stir on a low heat until just starting to brown. 
- Add the onion and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes until it is very soft and starting to go transparent. 
- Tip in the tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs and stir well. 
- Turn up the heat and simmer for at least half an hour until the sauce is reduced by half, making sure to stir it occasionally so it doesn’t stick. 

- Heat your oven to as high as it will go.  Mine does gas mark 9. 
- Once the dough has risen knock it down and lightly knead it for a minute. 
- Cut into portions and cover the dough you aren’t working with. 
- Roll out the portion of dough into a very rough circle about 5mm thick. 
- Pick it up (you’ll lose the shape here) and place it on the pizza tray then pull and stretch the edges into a circle and neaten it up. 
- Repeat for each portion of dough. 
- Leave to rest for 10 minutes. 
- Put the bases into the oven and cook for 10 minutes.  *
- Remove from the oven and put the sauce on and spread out to the edges then put your toppings on. 
- Put back in the oven and cook for 15-25 minutes until the cheese is melted and the edge of the crust is golden brown. 
- Slide off the trays and onto plates to serve. 

*I had to do some improvisation with the oven shelves as I had 2 shelves and 3 pizzas.  I could have used the top oven as well but I’d rather only use one oven if I can and save energy.  I placed a deep cake tin on the bottom of the oven and put the grill tray on top of that to create an extra shelf.  Then I swapped the pizzas about throughout cooking so they were cooking at about the same rate.  Obviously opening and closing the oven so often meant they took longer to cook but better that than having the top one burnt to a crisp and the bottom one still soft!

By Mark Brownlee

Rock salt. Photo: Chris Ferguson

The City of Ottawa is hoping new technology will help reduce the adverse effects of salt spreading on roads during the winter months.

The new technology, consisting of a black box with antennas that attaches to each snowplow, will tell city officials how much salt has been set down and which roads have been covered by transmitting data from each plow to a central system.

“Salting is our first defence against winter storms,” said Councillor Maria McRae, chair of the transportation committee in a statement issued Tuesday. “With this technology, we can better manage what we spread while maintaining safe roadways for motorists.”

City officials say the global positioning system (GPS) technology could reduce the amount of salt used on city roads by as much as 13,300 tonnes. That could save the city as much as $1 million each year.

There are also environmental benefits. Salt, which is used to make roads safer for drivers by getting rid of snow and ice, can also find its way into water flows, changing the amount of chlorine in area residents’ drinking water.

But, it’s still unclear if the new system will actually result in less salt being put down on city roads, since snowplow drivers decide how much to use.

“They’re the ones that have the information and have an understanding … of how much to spread,” said Owen Moore, president of Grey Island Systems, the company that developed the technology. “All we’re doing is monitoring it and appending it to GPS information so the municipality knows exactly where and when it’s put down.”

It will cost $200,000 to put the new equipment on the city’s salt spreaders.

The calendar is prominently featured in SALT, Asbury Park’s alternative weekly beach and surf culture entertainment guide. There will also be an article by Richard Virgilio in The Coaster, and our press release has been picked up many local media outlets. I’m getting really excited about the opening this Saturday from 7-10 p.m. at the Third Avenue Pavilion on the Asbury Park Boardwalk. Please come, meet the firefighters, and buy a calendar!

(Image courtesy of Billy Mecca.)

I meant to post these last night but I’m sick with the most awful sore throat so I went to bed early last night.  Interestingly in the last 12 hours of ill I’ve gone off these.  Last night I was in love with them, this morning they make me feel a little sick.  They are incredibly sweet and sticky so may be that’s it, my body seems to crave protein when I’m ill. 

I have to say that even if I weren’t sick I probably won’t be making these the same way again.  The dough was brilliant.  Easy to work with and it was very tasty.  I’ve been looking for a sweet dough for doing things like this with and this one is a keeper!  I did have a bit of a problem getting it to rise but that was just one of the joys of trying to cook in the winter.  The kitchen is freezing and nothing ever cooks the same as it does over the summer.  Eventually I moved the dough through by the fire and thankfully it did its thing there. 

My problem with this recipe came from the filling.  Not only are pecans ridiculously expensive (£4 for 250g!) but the filling just wasn’t all that great, and at that price I expect great!  I think that in the future I wouldn’t put the sticky stuff all over the bottom but inside the rolls themselves, which may make this a little tidier.  It was an incredibly messy process in places and the original recipe had the cooking timings totally off so I took it out of the tin, tested it, found it was still dough in the middle then re-tinned it and put it back in the oven!  unfortunately they ended up a little too brown as a result, see the bottom pic.  I hope I’ve fixed that problem with my recipe here but do keep an eye on it. 

Makes 9

450g strong bread flour
50g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
85g butter
7g sachet fast action yeast
2 eggs, beaten
a scant 150ml milk
1 tsp cinnamon (original recipe said 2 tsp, I don’t like cinnamon)
85g light brown sugar
100g pecans
125g melted butter
125g maple syrup
50g light brown sugar
100g pecans, roughly chopped

- Mix together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. 
- Rub in the butter with your fingers. 
- Add the yeast, egg and gradually add the milk, mixing until you have a soft dough. 
- Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and soft. 
- Place in a buttered bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. 
- In a food processor or blender blend together the cinnamon, light brown sugar and pecans to powder. 
- Butter a large springform cake tin or a large square one. 
- Once the dough has risen knock it down and roll it out into a large rectangle. 
- Brush the dough with melted butter. 
- Mix together the rest of the butter, the maple syrup, the brown sugar and the pecans and spread over the bottom of the cake tin. 
- Scatter the powder all over the dough, leaving a 2 cm strip on one of the narrow sides. 
- From the opposite short side roll the dough swiss roll style. 
- Pinch together the seam. 
- Cut the roll into 9. 
- Arrange these slices in the tin. 
- Cover and leave to rise for 30 minutes. 
- Bake at gas mark 6 for 30 minutes. 
- Either turn out or slide onto a plate, whichever you like, and leave to cool for a few minutes before serving. 

While the body does require some salt (sea salt is especially beneficial due to its mineral content), most of us could benefit from decreasing our total salt usage.  Excessive amounts of salt have been linked to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.  To control sodium intake, skip table salt and enjoy fresh black pepper, chopped herbs, flavored vinegars, or lemons and limes to season food.

Enjoy!!!!

I cannot tell you how proud I am of myself. I have learned to make pie dough. After almost 40 years of trying. The Mayhews are at the Harbins’ house in Knoxville a few weeks ago so Noah can visit UT. We are joined for supper by Noah’s friend, Buehler (his first name is Chris but nobody calls him that) and his girlfriend, Sarah, who just happens to be in pastry school. Making polite conversation with Sarah, I ask her about how to make pie dough.

“Are you opposed to shortening?” she asks. “Hell, no,” I answer. This is the secret to a good pie crust. A few days later, I’m listening to an NPR interview with Alton Brown. He admits on national public radio that the secret to a good pie crust isn’t taste (as in using butter, which all of his recipes do) but texture, which is why shortening is the preferred ingredient. This has been my downfall all these years.

About a million famous cooks have posted the directions on how to make pie dough. But my instructions will actually get you there because I’m an idiot and until two weeks ago I couldn’t make pie crust to save my life. But I’ve done it five times now and it’s turned out perfect every time. As Mark says, every blind hog finds an acorn every now and again.

Here’s the first thing. The recipe I use is the official Crisco recipe. Just print it out. The recipe says to put the Crisco in the refrigerator to get really cold, but I put it in the freezer for about half an hour. The next thing, and I learned this from some cooking show somewhere, is not to pack the flour into the measuring cup but to dump it in a bowl and measure it out, using a knife to level it at the top of the measuring cup (dry cup, not wet). I am not buying a kitchen scale to measure flour, as many experts suggest. Mark’s Grannie Belle made pie dough all her life without a measuring scale and I think she had the right idea.

Now, put the flour and salt into a food processor. Give it one pulse to blend it. Cut up the Crisco into half inch pieces (more or less – don’t go insane measuring them) and add them to the bowl. Pulse 3-4 times max for a second each pulse. Have your ice water ready in a bowl (you are going by the recipe so I don’t have to type it out, right?). Add 3 tablespoons of water and pulse once or twice. See if the dough holds together when you pinch off a piece. I always need 4 tablespoons of water. Once that dough holds together, STOP.

Dump the dough out onto a cutting board and gently shape it into a disk. Wrap it in Saran wrap and put it in the icebox for at least an hour. The next trick is rolling out it. This freaked me out, too. But the best way is to put the dough between a sheet of waxed paper, flour the dough just a little and then roll out it.

Once the dough reaches the ends of the waxed paper, it’s ready to put in the pie pan. Just peel back one side of the waxed paper, put your rolling pin at the beginning of the dough disk and carefully roll the dough onto the pin, peeling away the waxed paper as you go. Once you get the dough in the pan, use the thumb and index finger of one and and the index finger of the other hand to make little pleats.

Now, then, I’m going to give you the recipe for mincemeat pie so you have something to fill this thing with. It is Mark’s favorite childhood memory. Grannie Belle would make it for him every Thanksgiving. Mincemeat used to actually have meat in it, but it doesn’t anymore for the most part. It’s basically a spiced fruit filling.  Grannie used None Such jarred filling and it’s still out there to buy. Here’s the recipe for the filling.

When you’re baking the pie, if the outer edges of the crust get too brown, just stick some foil around the pan until the rest of the pie is done. Here’s another thing I learned from national public radio. The pie is done when the filling boils in a thick and syrupy way.

So, here’s the end result. Now doesn’t that look good? I have to tell you that I made this pie yesterday and there is exactly one piece left today. Mark has eaten at least half of it. Noah’s eaten a fourth of it. And I have had just a touch of pie, myself. You know the best thing about pie? It’s not supposed to look perfect. The more homemade it is, the less perfect it looks. I can get behind a concept like that.

So, whilst making some yummy seitan this weekend, my beloved pink polka dotted ceramic salt shaker slipped out of my hand and crashed to the ground. Sadly, the poor thing burst open sending salt and pieces of ceramic flying everywhere so now I am hunting for a cool new shaker set. I came across these treasures below on Etsy. They are a mix of vintage and new and are all fun and unique!

Enjoy!

See Conditions/Disabilities that are often linked to salt sensitivity and fluid retention. These health problems can be prevented or made less severe, or their progress slowed down, by lowering salt/sodium intake.

See Sodium in Foods.

If you’re obese or overweight
SALT is the KILLER on your plate!

Jamie says:  Happy Thanksgiving!  I attended a Thanksgiving potluck dinner this weekend where everyone brought a dish and dressed up as pilgrims and Indians.  It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious.  I had been thinking about making a graham cracker crust for weeks now, so I decided this was the perfect time to try.  I found a recipe for a blueberry pie and used the graham cracker crust recipe as a guide.  I really enjoyed the Publix fat free light key lime pie yogurt I tried recently, so  I was inspired to make a healthier key lime pie by substituting key lime pie filling for this tasty yogurt.  The filling was thinner than a typical key lime pie because I used yogurt, but I think it was worth it.  I received a lot of complements, so I guess my experimental pie turned out quite well!  Here’s the recipe: 

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Toast 1 cup walnuts in oven for about 6 minutes or until lightly toasted.  Coarsely chop walnuts.  Finely crush 10 graham cracker sheets (= 20 squares) in a ziplock bag.  Whisk 2 large egg whites in a medium sized bowl until frothy.  Add chopped walnuts, graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons Smart Balance Omega 3 spread, 2 tablespoons canola oil, and a pinch of salt to egg whites.  Blend until smooth.  Press mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan.  Bake for 18 minutes.   Allow to cool completely.  Pour 3 six ounce containers of fat free light key lime pie yogurt (Publix brand) into the pie crust and spread evenly.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Nutrition note: Simple substitutions can add up.  To reduce the amount of calories and saturated fat in a recipe, try using a heart-healthy spread with no trans fats (like Smart Balance spread) instead of butter.

Salsa comes in many ways, and many forms. Some folks in the midwest like things extra hot, some folks on the east coast like a crisp fresh taste sensation. Whatever it might be that your taste buds enjoy, use those ingredients, and just follow my basic steps. Here’s what I prefer to use, and again you can get this at your local grocery store.

1. (1) Food Processor
2. (1) Small Serving Bowl
3. (1) 1 Green Bell Pepper (Diced)
4. (1) 1/4 Medium White Onion (Diced)
5. (1) 1 Small Can Tomato Puree (8 oz.)
6. (1) 1/4 Cup of Lime Juice (I prefer A Freshly Squeezed Lime)
7. (1) 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
8. (1) 1 tsp Soy Sauce
9. (1) 1/4 tsp Salt

Take All The Ingridients, and in sequential order add then to the Food processor, one by one, approx. 10 seconds after each other. The ingridients should emulsify after about 3-4 minutes forming a traditional salsa. Once finished, pour your Salsa in your serving bowl and accompany with either tortilla or pita chips. Enjoy this fast and easy Salsa recipe. Happy Eating Folks!