joyfulmotherof5

Enjoying a Daniel Fast

We ate with the Daniel Fast guidelines for two years and loved it but didn’t get much support.  Now that we know more people eating healthy, we are going to try it again, at least for a while.  If you are interested in a Daniel Fast here is some good info I found:

Foods to Enjoy
• All fruits and vegetables- fresh, frozen dried or canned
• All grains, beans, legumes, that have not been bleached stripped and processed. Grains should be whole. Such as whole brown rice, whole wheat flour etc
• All nuts
• All herbs and seasonings and spices -salt is fine. Try and use natural herbs and seasoning
• Baking soda- all natural
• Agave Nectar- this is great! It is all natural and has a consistency similar to honey… just a little thinner. PLUS- the glycemic index of Agave nectar is VERY low.
• Stevia
• Bragg Liquid Aminos® (natural alternative to soy sauce)
• Water, naturally decaffeinated tea, fruit and vegetable juices
• Cold pressed oils such as olive oil, unprocessed coconut, peanut, sesame, walnut, almond, and mustard seed oil
• Soy Milk (read the nutritional label)
• Tofu (whole soy beans and water)
• Pasta (whole-grain flour and water) NO EGGS or WHITE flour
• Honey*
• Maple syrup*
• Natural, raw sugar cane*
*Foods for personal conviction.

Foods to Avoid
• All meat products including sea food, beef and chicken broths etc
• Imitation meat products
• Dairy products such as milk, cheese, sour cream, etc
• All egg products
• Grains that have been bleached and processed such as white flour and all products containing it
• White sugar and all products containing it
• White rice
• Artificial Sweeteners (Splenda® (sucralose), NutraSweet® (aspartame), Sweet’N Low® (saccharine), etc.)
• Carbonated beverages (soda, soft drinks, carbonated flavored water, etc)
• Foods containing additives, chemicals and dyes
• Soy sauce (fermented)
• Artificial anything including flavors and colors
• Hydrogenated oils (margarine, shortening and all products containing it)
• Fried food should be avoided (most fried foods are fried in Hydrogenated oil)
• Corn Syrup (high fructose corn syrup)
• Alcohol – Daniel didn’t drink the king’s wine
• Vinegar – made by a fermentation process like wine
• Black Tea- fully fermented
• Baking powder – it is baking soda (natural) and an acid like cream of tartar mixed together. Cream of tartar is a byproduct of wine making
• Caffeine*
• Yeast*
*Foods for personal conviction.

Foods for Personal Conviction
Yeast
Yeast is not an animal product nor is it a man made chemical. In baking and cooking yeast is used as a leavening agent, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide. This causes the dough to expand or rise as the carbon dioxide forms pockets or bubbles. When the dough is baked it “sets” and the pockets remain, giving the baked product a soft and spongy texture. Because of the fermentation involved, many people will choose to avoid yeast during a Daniel Fast.
Caffeine
Caffeine is an addictive substance. Therefore, it can become a weight in the walk of a Christian. It may be a good idea to detoxify your body by abstaining. However, I am aware of people with medical conditions that fight EXTREME fatigue. In such instances, caffeine is often used for its medicinal purposes to help energize the body. If you choose to use caffeine during a Daniel Fast you should still abstain from cow’s milk, cream, non-dairy creamer, sugar, artificial sweeteners and syrups.
Grapes, Raisins, or Grape juice
Some people interpret “wine” in the Bible as fresh grape juice. But I have a hard time believing Noah got naked on fresh grape juice; I am pretty sure it was fermented. The reason Daniel didn’t want to drink the king’s wine was because it was offered to idols. If we follow this train of thought, we will be defining the Daniel Fast as a Kosher diet (eating all foods that follow Old Testament dietary law). In essence, this is what Daniel was trying to comply with. In contrast, however, this is not the intention of the modified fast. As I mentioned before, this isn’t the exact diet Daniel ate but based on what he requested to eat. Pulse. Food grown from a seed. Daniel didn’t want to eat the king’s meat or drink the king’s wine. Therefore, this fast avoids all animal products, fermented substances, and allows all things grown from the ground. In my opinion, grapes, raisins and unfermented grape juice are fine.
Natural Sweeteners
Honey, maple syrup and unprocessed, unbleached sugar cane
Honey is made by bees out of flower nectar. It is not really considered vegan, because it is a product of a living being. The decision to allow honey on your Daniel fast is between you and God.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup is made from the sap of maple trees. It is then boiled down until enough water has evaporated to make syrup. Maple syrup is all natural, it is not a product of an animal and it has not been tainted by man with chemicals. Therefore, I think using Maple syrup is ok on the Daniel fast. However, some people will avoid all sugar/sweets on the fast.
Raw cane sugar
Sugar cane is grown from a seed. However, it goes through a considerable amount of processing. Refined white sugar is definitely not Daniel Fast friendly. True raw sugar is better than white, refined sugar. If you choose to allow it on your fast, use it sparingly.
Judge for Yourself
Two questions you can use as a general rule of thumb: Did it grow from a seed? Has man polluted it? Has it been fermented If you can answer these questions with any degree of certainty then you can be reasonably assured that your food choices are in line with The Daniel Fast.

The Daniel’s Fast Cookbook
Daniel’s Fast friendly restaurants, stores and products
Fasting while at work can be a challenge. Many people have mandatory lunch meetings or get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to pack a “Daniel fast friendly” lunch. This can be challenging, being in a restaurant that serves all the foods you love will test your resolve! Here are a few suggestions. Make a Daniel fast friendly salad dressing from the recipe section and carry it with you in a small container. Most restaurants serve salad, even McDonalds has a salad to choose from…just ask them to leave off the meat. If you forgot your salad dressing ask for lemons and squeeze fresh lemon juice over your salad, add salt and pepper to taste. Other ideas include ordering a baked potato and steamed vegetables. Make sure you ask them to hold the butter, sour cream etc. Just get the potato.
There are a few chain restaurants with Daniel Fast friendly menus. Chipotle, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Subway, and Cousins Subs. Applebee’s has a steamed vegetable plate and a sizzling vegetable skillet (remember, no butter). P.F. Changs, Wendy’s (Baked Potato) also offer good choices. Taco Bell does not use lard and so their refried and pinto beans are acceptable. Taco Bell’s corn tortillas are ok as well. If you have any questions you can call them at 1-800-TACO-BELL, they seem very helpful.
Products that are Daniel Fast friendly
Stevia
Stevia is a leaf that is naturally sweet. It is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar and has ZERO calories and ZERO carbohydrates. Stevia was first discovered by M.S. Bertoni and introduced to Europe in 1899. However, the Guarani Indians of Paraguay had been using the stevia leaves for over 1500 years. In recent years, it has become the dominate commercial sweetener in Japan. Not only is it a natural means to reduce or replace sugar without all the chemicals, its good for you! Hundreds of scientific studies have been done on Stevia, and scientists are reporting numerous health benefits.
Wisdom Natural Brands www.sweetleaf.com offers a Stevia product that is great! They make Stevia powder in small packets (Sweet Leaf). I have purchased these from Wal-Mart and most health stores. My local grocery store also carries it. Wisdom also produces liquid Stevia. It does not contain any alcohol and is Daniel Fast friendly. It comes clear and in many flavors: Vanilla crème, Cinnamon, Lemon, Valencia Orange, English Toffee, Milk chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Peppermint, Apricot Nectar, Root Beer and Chocolate Raspberry. The liquid Stevia is a little harder to find. I have ordered it from Wisdom’s website and I have found it in Health food stores. Whole foods carried them all.
To Substitute 1 Cup Sugar use one of the following
1/3 to 1/2 Stevia extract powder or 1 teaspoon clear liquid
Bragg Liquid Aminos
Bragg Liquid Aminos is distributed by Bragg Live Good Products www.bragg.com. This is a product made with vegetable protein from soybeans and purified water. It tastes like soy sauce but has not been fermented. Soy sauce is not Daniel Fast friendly because it is made by fermentation.
Cooking tools…. Must Haves!
Food Processor: An inexpensive one will do. Vidalia Chop Wizard: Costs about $20. I have seen them at Target, Wal-Mart and my local grocery store. You can also order it on line at www.chopwizard.com.
Tortilla press: They should cost around $20 I have seen them at World Market. I Purchased mine on the internet at www.drillspot.com. The service was great and shipping was fast.

Reprinted from:
From Grace Bass now found at http://www.christ-web.com/missions/farho/daniel-fast

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

My mom calls these Egyptian eyes.

To make it I used a large cookie cutter, but we used to just cut a hole in the bread with a Tupperware cup.

Butter a med/hot skillet, set the bread in and the “biscuit” you made out of the hole beside it, then crack an egg into the hole and sprinkle it with salt & pepper. Once you can lift the edge without egg running out you flip it over with a spatula and wait until the other side is fried. The longer you wait the more the yolk cooks, so if you want it runny don’t leave it on too long. : ) If you’re trying to make it pretty, I use a fork in the other hand to help balance the toast when I flip it.

For this one I whisked the egg first so I could add green food coloring, but by whisking it, it fluffs it and nearly overflows the bread, so you only need 1 egg for 2 breads.

Because Abigail wanted hers green, but with a runny yolk. I also tried separating the yolk first (instead of scrambling it) and dyeing just the egg white then pouring them both together into the shamrock. This tasted great and worked fine, but again, you get too much liquid by scrambling the white so you only need half the white or so plus the intact yolk.

This one happens to also be a grilled cheese sandwich with a piece of cheese and bread on the back of what you can see.

It’s the memories we build that they’ll remember!

: o )

Recently we went on a nature hike and I read a friend’s post on Nature Studies and how overwhelming teaching all of the nature sciences seemed–Botany, Zoology, Biology– but if you change just one word, Nature into CREATION studies, everything seems magnificent.  Creation points to it’s creator.

The following is a poem in praise of the God of creation by biochemistry Professor Walter Hearn.
SCIENTIST’S PSALM — by Walter Hearn, Ph. D.

Praise the Lord, created thing!
Let all space with praises ring!
Space itself, Hosanna sing
Unto God, Jehovah, King!

I Particles in smallest cracks,
Known but by emulsion tracks:
Let all mesons praise Messiah!
Songs of praise mount ever higher!

Alpha, beta, gamma rays:
Join the chorus of His praise!
Be you ultimate or not,
All created, all begot.

Parity’s been overthrown–
Something He had always known,
Antimatter, fragments odd,
Quantum jumps to praise our God.

II Now from unexplored domains
Up to where the atom reigns;
Forged from state once hyperdense,
Praise your Maker, elements!

Atoms of increasing mass,
Nuclei from solar gas,
Orbital electrons twinning:
Praise the God who set you spinning!

Rare-earth metal, halogen,
Amorphous glass or crystalline,
Solid, liquid, vapor phase:
Join in everlasting praise!

III Molecules from atoms made
According to plans He laid:
Praise the God of Angstrom units!
God of Abraham — and Kunitz!

Carbon compounds by the score,
Hundreds, thousands, millions more;
Helical configuration
Structured into God’s creation.

Proteins now and DNA,
Intertwining overlay;
Prototype of living cell:
Praise the God of Israel!

IV Viruses and protozoa:
Praise the faithful God of Noah!
Coral on the ocean shelf:
Praise the God of life itself!

Mildew, mosses, redwood trees,
Birds in air and fish in seas.
Crawling cockroach, roaring lion!
Praise Jehovah, God of Zion!

Now with man, a new dimension–
Culture, science and invention;
Man who can subdue the earth:
Praise the God who gave you birth!

V Earth we live on, merely one
Planet of a minor sun:
Join this entire galaxy,
Showing forth His majesty!

Beyond our own galactic rim,
Billions more are praising Him.
Ten to some gigantic power
Times the height of Babel’s tower.

Past the range of telescope:
God of Faith and Love and Hope.
Praise Him every tongue and race!
Even those in outer space!
Selah (~Think about that!)

However far space does extend
From beginning unto end,
Praise the God who does transcend!
Every knee before Him bend!

God of whom these words are penned:
Against You only have we sinned.
Almighty Author of creation:
Visit us with Your salvation

Disciplining your children.  Not a fun topic, but a worthwhile pursuit.

I had noticed  a certain 3-year-old girlie of mine terrorizing her siblings.  This wasn’t exactly new, it was just more of the same but worse.  She was really getting out of hand.  How did it get so far? She didn’t throw temper tantrums in the store…not exactly…she just cried and pouted until I gave in.  She didn’t bite other kids…much.  She didn’t run around and hit kids… except for her older brothers & sisters…and only when she was mad….hmm.   Maybe it got so far by my excuses to myself.  The other 4 were behaving well…or were they?

So after cleaning my house the other day, and being so much more content because of it.  I noticed my little one’s behavior.  It was no longer tolerable.  I started out by reminding her of the behavior that was expected, then spanking her for the egregious infractions, but still over looking the little stuff.  Then Daddy came home.  BOY did he ever notice more than I was noticing.

So as was suggested on the Raising Godly Tomatoes website, I kept her right with me for a day, not letting her out of my sight, reminding and/or disciplining her of anything she was doing that went against our rules, and spending extra time with her loving on her and playing with her, and praising her when she did right.

AND…….

Today I have seen more smiles and hugs and obedience than ever.  She is saying “Yes, mam” and obeying quickly.  I tried to help her with her pull-up this morning and I usually get “NO!  I do it! Ngh!”  but this morning I got, “I do it…But thsank you! : )”  Yay!!!

I don’t give the other kids candy hardly ever, but I give it t her quite often, because she asks nicely, but if I don’t she starts a crying fit.  But just now, she asked for some of my candy and when I said no she just smiled, shrugged and walked away.  Wow!

Not fun to discipline, but great are the rewards!

He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.    Proverbs 13:24

We love our friends the Bryants!

Recipe for Smothered Chicken from my Awesome friend Debbie Bryant, who got it from her equally awesome friend Lori.

This dish is the first I have ever cooked by repeatedly reducing it down to concentrate the flavor (besides chili).  I love the process.   It feels like I actually cooked something, but I was able to do other things while it cooks, and not just tend to it constantly.  Yay!

2 lbs. Chicken Breast
1 Onion
1 tsp Garlic-minced
1/2 bottle Worcestershire Sauce
Pepper
Salt
1 tbs Olive Oil
Brown Rice
Tiny thin frozen Green Beans (2 bags)
Butter

*”Brown” Chicken with chopped Onion & minced Garlic in Oil in a large pot.
*Add Worcestershire sauce & enough water to cover.
*Boil, Reduce heat to slow boil
*Keep adding water & reducing 1-1 1/2 hours

*Cook Rice in Rice cooker, Microwave, or however you like it.

*Brown Green beans in Butter & Salt then add water & put lid on to steam.
*Turn down to low; don’t take the lid off until you’re ready to eat.

~You can add pepper when you add the Worcestershire, but I left it out for my kiddos.

SO Yummy!!!!

I got up this morning before the kids. I would love to say it was because I am so great and just floated out of bed to tend to mommy/wifely type things. But no, I was hurried out of bed by Danny needing to know where the duct tape was because the sump-pump was going crazy. After incoherently racing around the house, I finally found it! And hey, now at least I was awake! So I sat down to read my Bible and amazingly enough, no children appeared or needed tended to, so I got to read my devotional book as well with no interruptions. Not how I intended to start my day, but a blessing anyway. Maybe I’ll do it again tomorrow…minus the search for duct tape.