July 30, 2011 at 8:47 am (Foods and Menus, Health & Healing, Uncategorized)
Tags: Daniel diet, Daniels diet
Daniel Diet or Daniel Fast?
I’ve been teaching and writing about the Daniel Fast since 2007. And you can see by this blog and my website at http://daniel-fast.com that literally millions of men and women from all over the world are learning about this method of spiritual fasting. Many have asked about the Daniel Diet as they see health gurus turn to the prophets way of eating as a good alternative for healthy weight loss.
So here is my take on the Daniel Diet.
First, let me say that biblical fasting is always about restricting food for a spiritual purpose. That’s how the word is defined in both the Hebrew and the Greek. There is always a spiritual component – in fact, it’s the most important element of a fast. However, many people find that the eating plan on the Daniel Fast is very healthy and helpful to their bodies.
If you want to follow an eating plan (without the spiritual life) that is the same as the Daniel Fast program, then that would be a Daniel Diet. There is nothing wrong with that, but be clear that you would not be on a spiritual fast.
I often counsel people who are preparing for the Daniel Fast to be sure to not let their spiritual life be overshadowed by the food restrictions. Fasting is a spiritual discipline. We are entering into a time of prayer and fasting – both linked together in definition.
So if you want to use the Daniel Fast eating plan for health benefits, then technically you would be on The Daniel Diet. You would be following the practices of the prophet by eating in the way that he and his companions did and if you follow the plan as I’ve outlined in on this blog and in my books, you will experience the great benefits of a healthy way of eating.
8 Comments
July 30, 2011 at 7:33 am (Daniel Fast, daniel fast recipes, Foods and Menus)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Food List, Daniel Fast menus
Daniel Fast Breakfast Ideas
I receive a lot of questions about the Daniel Fast and breakfast ideas! When we’re not fasting we’re so used to having dairy products (not allowed on the Daniel Fast), eggs and other animal proteins. So this is a good time to be creative!
Here are some of my favorites . . . you can find many recipes in the Daniel Fast books and cookbooks available at http://daniel-fast.com/store.html
Also, if you have Daniel Fast breakfast ideas . . . please post them here!
- Muesli with unsweetened soy milk
- Rice cakes (made with brown rice) with peanut butter and raisins
- Fruit smoothies with unsweetened soy milk
- Sautéed apples in coconut oil with brown rice
- Oatmeal with dried fruit and unsweetened soy milk
- Homemade tortillas with stir-fried veggies
These are just a few of my Daniel Fast Breakfast Ideas! Please add your favorites and be blessed on your fast!
110 Comments
January 9, 2011 at 10:26 am (* Thoughts from Susan, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Guidelines, daniel fast recipes, Foods and Menus, Health & Healing, Spiritual Fasting)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Food List, daniel fast recipes
I am concerned about a trend that seems to be happening in the Daniel Fast genre. And it has to do with so much attention being put on recipes and cookbooks and what we can eat and what we can’t! The Daniel Fast is so much more than food! And when we keep our focus on the food, it seems it’s just another way to feed the flesh rather than denying it!
Don’t get me wrong, I know we need to have good recipes for the Daniel Fast. After all, this is a partial fast where some foods are restricted and other foods are allowed. But the Daniel Fast is not a plan to merely replace all the foods we enjoy eating all the time with a vegan variety!
With that said, I do believe God is using the Daniel Fast to bring more of His people into a healthy way of feeding the Temple of the Holy Spirit – a temple He has entrusted to our care. And with the health crisis in the United States and other countries in the world, it’s critical that we start eating good foods designed by the Creator for the bodies He created!
But I encourage all those who use the Daniel Fast as their method of fasting to examine your heart as you try to figure out ways to satisfy the flesh by going to great lengths to serve up some alternative.
Again, please don’t misunderstand me. I know we need good recipes. I know it’s okay for us to enjoy the food the Lord created for us. But I also know that we need to keep things in balance and not get our eyes so much on the food that we miss the purpose of fasting. It’s a spiritual experience where we put our whole beings under the submission of the Lord. And I do believe there is a danger in going too far in satisfying the flesh by focusing too much on food and missing out on the vital element of submission that a period of prayer and fasting employs.
79 Comments
January 9, 2011 at 10:10 am (* Thoughts from Susan, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast, daniel fast recipes, Foods and Menus)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Food List, daniel fast recipes, Spiritual Fasting
I am eager to hear from men and women about the cost of the Daniel Fast eating plan. I read posts from men and women saying they can’t afford to go on the Daniel Fast because it’s too expensive.
Please leave your thoughts about this so I can address if from a place of more specific information. What is too expensive? And what are the comparisons?
My food bill goes down during the Daniel Fast. So that’s why I am curious about this claim that, “the Daniel Fast is too expensive and so I can’t fast.”
Thanks for your help! I am eager to hear from people who will give specific information and not just generalities, which have already been supplied.
Thanks in advance for your help!
139 Comments
January 9, 2010 at 1:25 pm (* Thoughts from Susan, 2010 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Bible Teachings, Corporate Fasting, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Guidelines, daniel fast recipes, Foods and Menus, Preparation, Spiritual Fasting)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, biblical fasting, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Food List, Daniel Fast menus, daniel fast recipes, Daniels Fast, fasting, Spiritual Fasting
Click on the book! Available at your online or local bookstore.
I am so pleased to announce the release of my brand new paperback book titled The Daniel Fast: Feed Your Soul, Strengthen Your Spirit, and Renew Your Body and published by Tyndale Publishing House. It’s available at all local and online bookstores throughout North America.
I have been able to go into great depths about the powerful discipline of prayer and fasting and really give you everything you need for a successful Daniel Fast in the 288 pages of this book.
As you can see from this blog and my Daniel Fast site, there is a lot to learn about the Daniel Fast. Thankfully, over the years as I’ve researched the hundreds of questions being asked, I’ve been able to gain a level of expertise about the Daniel Fast and it’s biblical truths and foundations.
I do hope you will support this lay ministry by purchasing this new paperback book from your favorite bookseller. I also want you to get it so that you can become an ambassador for the Daniel Fast and help get the truth out about the guidelines and what it really is all about. I have been shocked by what some are teaching about this fast . . . and that’s why you and others are needed to inform those who may be misled.
The book includes everything someone needs for a successful fast including what fasting is, the biblical background of prayer and fasting, how to prepare for a Daniel Fast, the Daniel Fast Guidelines, plenty of nutritious and tasty recipes for your Daniel Fast (it’s almost like a cookbook within a book), a 21-day Daniel Fast Daily Devotional, and a FAQ section!
So, please join me to get the word out about The Daniel Fast as more and more Christians enter into this discipline. The fasting movement is spreading throughout the world! And I praise God for all He is doing to motivate His children to draw closer to Him through prayer and fasting.
Be blessed and thanks in advance for your support!
21 Comments
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!
19 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
10 Comments
August 11, 2008 at 10:07 am (daniel fast recipes, Foods and Menus, Salads & Dressings)
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.
15 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.
4 Comments
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.
24 Comments
« Older entries
