July 30, 2009 at 12:54 pm (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Guidelines, Foods and Menus, Health & Healing)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, amazon, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, daniel fast recipes, Daniels Fast, Daniels Fast Cookbook, fasting, Spiritual Fasting, the daniel fast
I just read an article from Johns Hopkins University that cited a new study about MSG. You can find it at MSG STUDY. It’s worth reading, especially when you wonder why you feel so good while on the Daniel Fast.
The article is also very convincing as to why most men and women lose weight while on the Daniel Fast. Here’s an overview:
The study finds that MSG causes the human body to gain weight three times more than those who don’t use the chemical! Here’s an excerpt:
“The study focused on 750 Chinese men and women, ages 40-59, living in 3 rural villages in north and south China. Most of the study subjects prepared their meals at home without commercially processed foods and roughly 82 percent used MSG. Those participants who used the highest amounts of MSG had nearly 3 times the incidence of overweight as those who did not use MSG, even when physical activity, total caloric intake, and other possible explanations for body mass differences were accounted for. The positive correlation between MSG and higher weight confirmed what animal studies have been suggesting for years.”
Most people think MSG (monsodium glutamate) is found only in prepared Chinese food or the food you get in Chinese restaurants. But the truth is that more and more food manufactures are adding MSG to their products because the chemical is a flavor enhancer.
Here is what is really amazing: in 1950 Americans consumed about 1 million pounds of MSG a year. Now that consumption has increased by 300 percent! That’s right, American consume more than 3 million pounds of MSG each year! And we wonder why we have a weight problem!
The best way to avoid MSG is to make you own meals from scratch. When that it’s possible, then - here we go again - READ THE LABEL on the foods you purchase to see what the ingredients include. One problem is that the law only requires ingredients to be listed if they represent a certain percent of all the ingredients. So if what seems like only a small amount of MSG is added, then it will not appear on the list.
I hope that most of those on the Daniel Fast are making most of your meals from fresh products and using packaged products that you can be sure don’t include chemicals. One thing I know is that many men and women continue to eat a more healthy diet with pure foods after they complete the fast because they realize good food is so good for them.
Please take a few minutes and read the article about THE MSG STUDY. You owe it to yourself and to your body!
8 Comments
August 15, 2008 at 12:18 pm (Daniel Fast, Foods and Menus, Health & Healing)
Most of us increase the amount of fresh produce in our diets during the Daniel Fast. That’s good in some respects, but we also want to be wise about the foods we are buying. More and more consumers are buying “organic” produce because of all the pesticides used in large commercial farms. The cost of organic produce is usually higher, although I’ve found some sales on organic foods recently and there were less expensive than the commercial grades.
A useful source for information about food safety is the Environmental Working Group. Its Web site lists 44 fruits and vegetables ranked by the amount of pesticide residue each contains. By knowing which fruits and vegetables usually carry the most pesticides and which are cleanest, you can decide when it would be wisest to buy organic.
The Dirty Dozen
peaches
apples
sweet bell peppers
celery
nectarines
strawberries
cherries
lettuce
grapes (imported)
pears
spinach
potatoes
The Cleanest Dozen
onions
avocados
sweet corn (frozen)
pineapples
mangos
sweet peas (frozen)
asparagus
kiwis
bananas
cabbage
broccoli
eggplants
Leave a Comment
August 11, 2008 at 10:07 am (Foods and Menus, Salads & Dressings, daniel fast recipes)
Tags: Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, daniel fast recipe, daniel fast recipes, daniel's fast cookook, Daniels Fast, homemade dijon mustard
As you probably have discovered, most prepared Dijon mustard includes sugar or another sweetener in its ingredients, deeming it unusable on the Daniel Fast. However, since most of us eat a lot more salads than usual, we want good flavors . . . and adding Dijon mustard to our salad dressing recipes provides a wonderful, full flavor. So here is a recipe for Homemade Dijon Mustard! You can make a batch of it and store it for use during the Daniel Fast. If you want, you can add a little honey to the recipe AFTER the fast, but meanwhile, be blessed with this modified recipe.
Ingredients:
2 cups dry white wine vinegar
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 ounces dry mustard
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
Few drops Tabasco
Directions: Combine vinegar, onion and garlic. Heat to boiling and simmer for five minutes. Pour into medium bowl to cool cool. Add dry mustard to a small sauce pan. Now pour the vinegar mixture through a strainer into the saucepan, whisking until very smooth. Heat slowly, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Allow to cool and then pour into non-metallic covered container. For best results, chill at last two days before using. This mixture will stay fresh in the refrigerator for several weeks.
4 Comments
March 4, 2008 at 4:48 pm (Daniel Fast Guidelines, Foods and Menus)
I just read another question asking if chicken broth is allowed on the Daniel Fast.
The answer is easily, “No.” The bottom line is that no animal products are allowed on the Daniel Fast. This is drawn from both accounts of Daniel’s fasting as described in Chapter 1 and in Chapter 10. On these two “partial fasts,” Daniel ate no meat and only fruits and vegetables.
So as long as any product has an origin from an animal of any type, it is not allowed on the Daniel Fast. This goes for all dairy products, cheese, eggs, etc.
Leave a Comment
January 6, 2008 at 4:39 pm (Foods and Menus)
Tags: Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, daniel fast breakfast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, daniel fast recipe, daniel fast recipes
By now you are probably very good at reading labels. I have a pair of reader glasses at the ready whenever I’m strolling the grocery aisles. That type can be SO small for these “mature” eyes.
A newer ingredient used in a lot of natural foods is “cane juice.” It might be called something a little different, but if you see the word “cane” it’s still sugar. I asked about the ingredient and it was explained to me that cane juice is what comes before sugar is granulated. The content is the same, however, so it’s still sugar!
Sorry! It’s in a lot of prepared foods that would otherwise be perfect for the Daniel Fast. But the reality is, it’s still sugar and we want to be sugar free.
19 Comments
January 5, 2008 at 8:52 am (Beverages & Water, Foods and Menus)
Tags: biblical fasting, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Food List, Daniel Fast menus, daniel fast recipes, Spiritual Fasting
When you “plus” something, you take a “good thing and make it better.” Daniel Fast Blog Friend Renee Hastings shared this great thought about “plussing” drinking water:
Some folks don’t like the “taste” of water, which is critical during the fast. How about suggesting they add cucumber and lemon slices? The flavor combination is very refreshing!! 
Thanks Renee for taking the time to share your great idea!
35 Comments
January 3, 2008 at 4:42 pm (Foods and Menus, daniel fast recipes)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, daniel fast recipes, Spiritual Fasting
You will most likely increase your vegetable intake during the Daniel Fast. Fresh is great for your salads, but for cooking you might want to turn to the frozen food section of the grocery store.
The truth is that frozen foods maintain more of their vitamin and mineral content because they are flash frozen within a much shorter period of time from harvesting than those in the fresh produce section of the grocery store.
There are great vegetable medleys perfect for stir fry plus some mixed vegetables that are great for rice dishes and soup. Plus, when you READ THE INGREDIENTS you will find only the list of frozen vegetables . . . no sugar, no chemicals . . . just food!
The other great benefit is that these vegetables are all ready to go! They’re cleaned, cored, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces. So the frozen vegetables come out on top in most cases when it comes to cooked dishes.
3 Comments
January 1, 2008 at 2:46 pm (Foods and Menus, Meal Planning, daniel fast recipes)
Tags: danial diet, Daniel Fast, stevia
There is a natural herb called Stevia that is a sugar substitute. You can find it in health food stores, in the natural foods sections of larger grocery stores, or on the Internet. It’s an excellent product, safe and you may want to use it all the times!
Now, here is the challenge . . . do you want to use a substitute on a fast that one of the major restrictions is “delicacies.” This truly is one of those things that is between you, your family, and the Lord.
Don’t feel guilty if you decided to use a natural sweetener rather than sugar. But also, make sure you pray about it and see if the Lord wants you to go without sweets or sweetened foods during the fast.
The time when Stevia comes in handy is for breakfast when you’re using whole grain cereals without milk. A little sweetness is nice, especially for children. Raisins can serve as a great addition with a little cinnamon. But this may be a time to use Stevia, also.
So, you need to decide. Remember, there is no power in the foods eaten or not eaten. The power of the fast is that you have consecrated your body, soul and spirit unto the Lord. Keep that in mind. If using Stevia would help you and your family members be more successful on the fast, my opinion is to go for it. But if sense the Lord leading you to stay away from all sweet foods, then forgo the use of this natural herbal product.
12 Comments
January 1, 2008 at 2:35 pm (Foods and Menus, Meal Planning, daniel fast recipes)
Tags: biblical fasting, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Food List, Daniel Fast menus, daniel fast recipes, Spiritual Fasting
God bless you all. I am so blessed and honored to be in this position when I can hear from so many of you as you get ready for the Daniel Fast. Please know that God is doing a mighty work. We can all expect great things from our faithful Father. Prayer and fasting is so powerful and while I can’t explain the “why or how” I do know for sure that it moves heaven’s power!
I receive many questions about prepared foods and so I wanted to write this post. READ THE LABELS of all prepared foods. Remember that the Daniel Fast is sugar-free and chemical-free. So if you use anything like canned fruits and vegetables, packaged foods, or prepared sauces you MUST, before you use them, READ THE LABELS.
Major food companies are “getting it” and now provide many chemical-free products. They’re not as good about sugar additives. So READ THE LABELS and see if the product you are considering meets with the Daniel Fast Guidelines of no sugar and no chemicals.
6 Comments
December 31, 2007 at 7:33 am (Foods and Menus, Health & Healing)
Tags: 21-day fasting, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, fasting, Spiritual Fasting, water and fasting
During his times of fasting, the only liquid Daniel consumed was water. That’s why the Daniel Fast Guidelines restrict us from any other beverages, except pure vegetable and fruit juices since they are merely a combination.
Water is an excellent cleanser for the body and flushing your organs and cells with good and pure water will wash it of many of the impurities.
You want to make sure the water you drink is pure, filtered water free of all chemicals and additives. This is hard to find these days since recently it was uncovered that much of the bottled water is merely municipal water sold in plastic bottles.
In my case, I have the great privilege of pure well water on my little four acre farm in Central Washington. I save hundreds of dollars every year no having to purchase drinking water! You may want to purchase your water from a health food store or make sure your drinking water is acceptable.
One caution about fruit juices! They are very high in calories. An eight ounce glass of apple juice (no sugar added) is 117 calories. Orange juice is about the same. So if drink a lot of juice you will want to be aware of the increased calories.
There is a lot of debate about the amount of water we actually need to drink. Our bodies are made up of 2/3 water, so it needs to be replenished. We get a lot of water when eating fresh foods, but so many diets are deplete of fresh foods that increased water intake is important. The other reason to drink adequate water is that it helps with appetite control and body cleansing.
How much water do you need? The simple formula is to take your body weight, divide it by 2 and that is the number of ounces of water to drink throughout the day. To make this easy for me, I have a favorite glass that holds 16 ounces. So I just make sure I drink four glasses of water from my favorite glass each day.
Increasing your water intake can also help when when you’re eliminating caffeine and suffering from headaches. I like to drink hot water with a slice of lemon at times when I would normally drink coffee.
42 Comments
« Older entries
