Food

Food for Life – Nature’s Penicillin

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During February 2006, Dr. Thomas Jackson, from Missionary Education and Evangelistic Training (M.E.E.T.) Ministry in Huntingdon, Tennessee, led in a health and nutrition community outreach in Wichita, Kansas.

Thirty plus years ago, Dr. Jackson discovered the secret of health through his study of the Bible. He confirmed his findings scientifically as well as through his own personal experience. For ten years, beginning at the age of 17 years, he waged a seemingly hopeless battle against the number one crippling disease—arthritis. He was told that medically there was no cure for his condition and that he would just have to live with it for the rest of his life. However, he began to apply the Bible’s secret of health to his own life, and, by God’s grace, he was freed from the devastating effects of arthritis. Although his condition kept him from pursuing his career as a professional basketball player, God had something better for him to do!

Dr. Jackson is the Director of M.E.E.T. Ministry and has a Ph.D. in Naturopathy (Natural Medicine). He is a Christian Hygienic Practitioner, a Gospel-Health Evangelist, Christian Health Educator, Lecturer, and Lifestyle Consultant. His wife, Dr. LaVerne Jackson, is the Associate Director of M.E.E.T. Ministry and has a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science. They have been involved with Christian health education for over 25 years. From a small beginning in their home, M.E.E.T., a full time health ministry, has grown until it is now located on 30 acres of land and is staffed by committed men and women.

This month’s featured recipe, Nature’s Penicillin, is a recipe from Dr. Jackson’s book, God’s Farmacy. Nature’s Penicillin can be used as a general immune system strengthener as well as to effectively combat colds, flu, sore throat, infections, and respiratory problems. It is simple and inexpensive to make.

If you are interested in hosting a community outreach in your area, would like any of the material Dr. Jackson has available, or are interested in medical missionary training, you may contact M.E.E.T. Ministry by telephone at: 731-986-3518, or via e-mail at: godsplan@meetministry.org.

Nature’s Penicillin

1 grapefruit

1 orange

2 lemons

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 large onion

3 drops peppermint oil

Cut fruit and onion into pieces. Place in a blender with enough water so the mixture turns in the blender. You may need to add more water, but do so just a little at a time. Mix well. Add peppermint oil at the last. For an adult, drink a total of 1 cup a day. For a child, drink a total of 1/2 cup a day. This amount should not be consumed all at once, but taken a spoonful at a time periodically throughout the day. Pour remaining mixture into a glass jar, cover with a lid, and keep refrigerated. When ready to use, warm to room temperature in a saucepan or in hot water before serving. This is not recommended for children under 5 years of age.

Do you have a favorite vegan recipe you are willing to share with LandMarks’ readers? Send it to us with a photo of you, if available, and a two or three line bio. We will consider all submissions. Send to the address below or by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

LandMarks Recipes
Steps to Life Ministry
PO. Box 782828
Wichita, KS 67278

Recipe – Toasted Millet Breakfast Slices

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1 cup hulled millet

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

1/2 cup macaroon coconut

1/2 cup chopped dates

In a slow cooker, place millet, flax seed, salt, and water. Cook until water is gone. Add coconut and dates to taste. Place in a square container and cool. Cut in 1/2 inch slices and toast on both sides under broiler. Serve with fresh fruit and thickened coconut cream or fruit sauce.

Food for Life – Grains

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I am not sure who actually originated the saying, “the rest of the story,” but it is interesting that we search, dig, and go to many extremes to find “the rest of the story.” It is equally interesting that when “the rest of the story” is known in regard to nutrition, we often ignore it.

Many western countries, America included, have adopted the practice of refining many of the grains. It is a well-known nutritional fact that we need to eat whole-grain foods to receive the maximum benefits from our food. With the refining of grains, much of the fiber, vitamins, and minerals are lost. Often this refined food is then fortified or enriched by putting vitamins and minerals back into it. The principle that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” applies here. Clearly our Creator has the knowledge and ability to give us whole foods that will meet our needs, if we will just follow His plan.

If we really want optimum health, we must eat whole grains, not processed and refined grains. “In the study of hygiene, students should be taught the nutrient value of different foods. . . . Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, in proper combination, contain all the elements of nutrition; and when properly prepared, they constitute the diet that best promotes both physical and mental strength.” Education, 204, 205.

The recipe this month features whole grains.

Recipe – Carrot Rice Loaf

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1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup soy milk

1 small onion, grated

3 Tablespoons oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon sage

1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup cooked brown rice

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake in a lightly oiled pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. May serve alone or with gravy or marinara sauce.

Do you have a favorite vegan recipe you are willing to share with LandMarks’ readers? Send it to us with a photo of you, if available, and a two or three line bio. We will consider all submissions. Send to the address below or by e-mail at: landmarks@stepstolife.org.

LandMarks Recipes
Steps to Life Ministry
PO Box 782828
Wichita, KS 67278

Food for Life – Grains

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This month we continue our look at grains, a primary source of carbohydrates in the diet. Unrefined and complex carbohydrates are the best and should make up 55 to 70 percent of our dietary consumption. Grains, legumes, and nuts provide the richest dietary source of magnesium.

To be the most healthful and beneficial, grains should have a long, slow cooking period, preferably one to three hours. The phytic acid found in grains ties up certain minerals necessary for health, and this acid is destroyed by long cook-ing. Long cooking also softens the physical units of the grain and prepares them for better digestion. It is likely that much of the food sensitivity manifested in adults to grains could be avoided by attention to cooking time.

The Joslin Diabetes Center’s textbook states: “The most common and important cause of insulin resistance is obesity.” Neil Nedley, M.D., Proof Positive, Nedley Publishing, Ardmore, Oklahoma, 1998, 186.

So not only is exercise important for overweight individuals, but weight loss seems to be even more important, at least in preventing many health problems. Complex, unrefined carbohydrates should be a part of a weight reduction program.

Grains are also a good source of fiber. There are many benefits to a high fiber diet, including: reduced levels of serum cholesterol and triglycerides, reduced blood pressure in those with hypertension, discontinuation of insulin therapy for non-insulin dependent diabetics is promoted, reduced risk of death from heart disease, improved gastrointestinal function, reduced body weight in the obese, reduced risk of kidney damage, reduced insulin requirements, and improvement in the glycemic control.

If we were to subsist wholly on fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, legumes, and whole, unrefined grains, we could prevent a whole host of diseases, improve both our quality and quantity of life, and make a huge difference in the health of the entire Western World.

Recipe – Tomato Salad

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Tomatoes

Olive Oil

Bell Pepper

Salt

Onion

Choose nice ripe tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes, bell pepper, and onion, then add salt to taste and a small amount of olive oil. This should be eaten right after preparing. Other spices can be added to suit your taste such as fresh parsley, dill, or basil, or you can use your favorite salad dressing instead of the olive oil and salt. Experiment and enjoy. Basic recipe was submitted by S. Andrei who lives in Romania.

Food for Life – Lowering your Blood Pressure

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This month we will review lifestyle changes or treatment remedies that will be helpful in lowering your blood pressure:

  1. Low salt diet: Be aware that salt added to prepared food is only a part of the problem. The greater problem is foods that are high in sodium, especially processed foods.
  2. Decrease your weight to that recommended for your height by eliminating all snacks, drinking only water between meals, eating a good breakfast and a moderate lunch, and eliminating the evening meal or only having whole fruit. Eliminate or greatly reduce refined sugar and free fats or fatty foods in the diet. Eliminate all animal products from your diet. Increase foods high in fiber.
  3. Abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine. All three of these raise blood pressure and should be totally avoided.
  4. Beginning moderate, daily, aerobic exercise—exercise that calls into play the heart and lungs—can significantly lower blood pressure. Healthful exercise usually occurs when you are exercising such that you can talk and exercise at the same time. If you are over 35 years of age and have not been exercising, be sure to consult your physician before beginning an exercise program.
  5. Life stresses can raise blood pressure. External pressures that confront us and our internal reactions to those stresses are both important. Good stress coping mechanisms should be adopted for improved blood pressure.
  6. Diet is also important in lowering blood pressure. When our food intake is high in natural foods as grown from the earth and prepared with as few additives as possible, blood pressure can be lowered. A diet high in fiber is also very helpful in binding the absorption of cholesterol and calories.

Treatments other than lifestyle changes and drugs that have been associated with lowering blood pressure include:

  1. Consumption of foods that are high in calcium: leafy green vegetables, grains such as oatmeal, quinoa, and amaranth, lentils, dried figs, sesame seeds, and filberts.
  2. Consumption of a bowl of oatmeal each day.
  3. Consumption of garlic. A clove of garlic or two may be taken one to four times daily. To help reduce “garlic breath,” the garlic can be marinated in olive oil for a week and then taken out of the oil and consumed. Onions, because of the chemical similarities, may also help with these conditions.
  4. Consumption of grapes.
  5. Consumption of plant foods high in Omega-3 fats: flax seed, walnuts, wheat germ, green soybeans, spinach, and almonds.
  6. Consumption of lecithin: one tablespoon of lecithin granules one to three times daily.
  7. Gradual daily exposure to bright daylight sun, making sure not to get a sunburn. This “sunbath” can last up to 30 minutes on each side of your body with as much skin exposed as possible.
  8. Daily consumption of foods high in L-arginine, such as black walnuts, lima beans, red kidney beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, soybeans, and roasted pumpkin kernels.

It is our prayer that through lifestyle modification and natural treatments you will be able to lower your blood pressure and not only extend your life but improve your health and ability to work for the Lord.

Recipe – Cooked Quinoa Cereal

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1 cup quinoa

2 cups water substitute soy, cashew, or almond milk

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

sweetener of choice

1/2 cup apples, thinly sliced

1/3 cup raisins

Rinse quinoa and add to water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Add apples, raisins, and cinnamon substitute; simmer until water is absorbed. Serve with milk and sweeten to taste.

Food for Life – Healthful Lifestyle

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As Seventh-day Adventists, we have been given special counsel from the Lord that a healthful lifestyle would improve and lengthen our lives.

“If we neglect to heed the simple laws by which we may preserve health, and fail to cultivate right habits, the Lord will not work a miracle to heal our disorders, while we continue to transgress his laws. Men are sleeping in their graves that the Lord would have had live. They destroyed themselves through lack of knowledge. On many points they were instructed, and yet failed to carry out the instruction given them; but let us become enlightened Christians, walking in the light, and overcoming every defect that we may reap reward in this life, and gain the life eternal hereafter.” Christian Education, 133.

“Is it not time for us to understand that nature will not long suffer abuse without protesting? Our heavenly Father does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. He is not the author of sickness and death. He is the source of life; He would have men live, and He desires them to be obedient to the laws of life and health, that they may live.” Counsels on Health, 563.

Nearly 7,000 people were studied by Drs. Nedra Belloc and Lester Breslow in regard to lifestyle and longevity. Their conclusive scientific study documents what we have been told for over 100 years. (Neil Ned-ley, M.D., Proof Positive, Nedley Publishing, Ardmore, Oklahoma, 1998, 3.) It was found that seven factors impact increased longevity. These factors are: (1) sleep seven to eight hours, (2) no eating between meals, (3) eat breakfast regularly, (4) maintain proper weight, (5) regular exercise, (6) no use of alcohol, and (7) no smoking.

In this study, it was found that there was a direct relationship between the number of health habits practiced and longevity of life. Note the study results in the box below.

I hope that you are presently practicing or will begin to practice the eight laws of health, improving your health and longevity.

The predominant ingredient in the following recipe is quinoa. Compared to other grains and vegetables, it is high in protein, calcium, and iron. It is also a relatively good source of phosphorous, calcium, iron, vitamin E, and several of the B vitamins. So, start your day with this delicious cooked cereal, which was a recipe used at the 2006 Steps to Life Camp Meeting.

Recipe – Raw Macadamia Cheesecake

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Ingredients

2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked 4 hours

1½ cups cashews, soaked 4 hours

½ cup pitted medjool dates

¼ cup dried, shredded coconut

6 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup raw agave nectar, maple syrup or sweetener of choice

dash salt

1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups mixed berries, e. g., blueberries, raspberries, blackberries

 

Process

  • Place macadamia nuts in large bowl; cover with cold water. Place cashews in separate bowl; cover with cold water. After 4 hours rinse and drain soaked nuts; set aside.
  • Pulse macadamia nuts and dates in food processor to a sticky crumb-like consistency. Sprinkle coconut on bottom of 8-inch pie pan. Press nut/date mixture onto coconut to make crust.
  • Place cashews, coconut oil, lime juice, agave nectar, salt and 6 Tbsp. water in bowl of food processor. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into food processor bowl and puree until fluffy smooth. Pour mixture onto crust; freeze 2 hours, or until firm. Remove from freezer. Slice and transfer to serving platter. Defrost in refrigerator 1 hour, or on countertop 30 minutes.
  • Top with berries and serve.