Food

Food for Life – Importance of Health Reform

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In the vision given me [Ellen White] in Rochester, New York, December 25, 1865, I was shown that our Sabbath keeping people have been negligent in acting upon the light which God has given in regard to the health reform; that there is yet a great work before us; and that, as a people, we have been too backward to follow in God’s opening providence, as he has chosen to lead us.

“I was shown that the work of health reform has scarcely been entered upon yet. While some feel deeply, and act out their faith in the work, others remain indifferent, and have scarcely taken the first step in reform. There seems to be in them a heart of unbelief, and as this reform restricts the lustful appetite, many shrink back. . . .

“In order to be fitted for translation, the people of God must know themselves. . . . The body should be servant to the mind, and not the mind to the body.

“Some have sneered at this work of reform, and have said it was all unnecessary; that it was an excitement to divert minds from present truth. They have said that matters were being carried to extremes. Such do not know what they are talking about. While men and women professing godliness are diseased from the crown of their head to the soles of their feet, while their physical, mental, and moral energies are enfeebled through gratification of depraved appetite and excessive labor, how can they weigh the evidences of truth, and comprehend the requirements of God? If their moral and intellectual faculties are beclouded, they cannot appreciate the value of the atonement or the exalted character of the work of God, nor delight in the study of his Word. . . .

“There are but few as yet who are aroused sufficiently to understand how much their habits of diet have to do with their health, their characters, their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny. I saw that it is the duty of those who have received the light from heaven, and have realized the benefit of walking in it, to manifest a greater interest for those who are still suffering for want of knowledge. Sabbath keepers who are looking for the soon appearing of their Saviour should be the last to manifest a lack of interest in this great work of reform. Men and women must be instructed, and ministers and people should feel that the burden of the work rests upon them to agitate the subject, and urge it home upon others.” Review and Herald, April 30, 1914.

Recipe – Delicious Raw Cereal

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Ingredients

1 cup regular oats

1 cup water

½ cup raisins or other dried fruit

1 tasty grated apple (with peelings)

¼ cup raw almonds, slivered

3 Tbsp. honey

Process

Mix all together, adding water last. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir in the morning and eat! Berries, bananas, or other fruit in season can be added for extra flavor before eating. Enjoy!

Food – Peeled Apple?

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I am amazed when I see people peel an apple before eating it. Some just do not like the texture or the taste of the peelings but that is where much of the nourishment is. Just remember that you are not getting all an apple has to offer by peeling off the skin. Here are some very powerful reasons to never remove the skin again.

“The skin packs most of the fiber. A medium apple with the skin contains 4.4 grams of fiber. Without the skin, you’re only getting 2.1 grams, not even enough to qualify it as a “good source of fiber” (the cutoff is 3 grams).

“The skin also packs most of the vitamins. That same medium apple with skin packs 8.4 milligrams of vitamin C and 98 international units (IU) of vitamin A. Ditch the skin and that falls to 6.4 milligrams of vitamin C and 61 IU of vitamin A.

“Apples can ease breathing problems — but only if you eat the skin. The compound responsible is called quercetin, and it’s found mostly in the peel. One study found that people who eat five or more apples each week have better lung function thanks to quercetin’s effects, Health.com reported.

“Quercetin also protects your memory. The antioxidant seems to fight off tissue damage in the brain linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative problems — at least in rats, according to a 2004 study.

“A skin-on apple a day keeps spare pounds away. The peel is also home to ursolic acid, an important compound in the obesity-fighting ability of apples. Ursolic acid seems to increase muscle and brown fat, which increases calorie burn, thereby lowering obesity risk, at least in mice, according to a 2012 study.” www.huffpost.com/entry/never-peel-apple_n_4791328

 

Delicious Raw Cereal

Ingredients

1 cup regular oats

1 cup water

½ cup raisins or other dried fruit

1 tasty grated apple (with peelings)

¼ cup raw almonds, slivered

3 Tbsp. honey

 

Process

Mix all together, adding water last. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Stir in the morning and eat! Berries, bananas, or other fruit in season can be added for extra flavor before eating. Enjoy!

Recipe – Mixed Fruit Smoothie

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1/2 large orange

1/2 Cup frozen strawberries

1 frozen banana

1/4 Cup frozen peaches

2 Tablespoons powdered soy milk (optional)

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth. Sweeten with honey, pineapple, or white grape juice as desired.

Food for Life – Caffeine Drinks

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Seventy percent of the world’s coffee supply is consumed in the United States. Coffee, tea, and soda are the three greatest contributors of caffeine in the American diet. Within 30 minutes of consumption, caffeine reaches its peak levels in the blood.

Caffeine can have negative effects on our bones. The more regularly a woman drinks coffee, the more calcium is excreted in her urine. The loss adds up to about 65 mg of calcium for every six ounces of coffee or two cans of cola. Caffeine consumption is therefore a contributing factor for osteoporosis.

Caffeine also has detrimental effects on the brain. It undermines the functioning of the frontal lobe by affecting the levels of three important chemicals: acetylcholine, adenosine, and dopamine. Caffeine increases the levels of acetylcholine and dopamine and interferes with the transmission of adenosine. Adenosine slows down many aspects of brain nerve transmission. This function is weakened by caffeine, thus allowing the artificial stimulation that is known to occur with caffeinated beverages. Some psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are due in part to elevated levels of dopamine. There also seems to be a link to decreased frontal lobe function and blood flow that is characteristic of depression.

In order to compensate for the changes that occur with chronic caffeine consumption, the brain actually alters its chemistry and structure. In so doing, the brain chemistry becomes unbalanced and is therefore dependent, or addicted to, the regular consumption of caffeine. Withdrawal symptoms often begin within 19 hours after the last consumption of caffeine and may include headaches, fatigue, sleepiness, laziness, decreased alertness, and decreased activity.

Some effects of caffeine include impaired physical and mental performance, interrupted sleep, and impacted spiritual and social dimensions of our character. It can cause toxicity and even death; it may be a co-carcinogen; it increases risk of low birth weight in infants; it elevates blood pressure and may elevate cholesterol; it can cause palpitations and other dangerous heart rhythms; it stimulates excess stomach acid and heartburn; and it may increase symptoms of PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome).

“When these tea and coffee users meet together for social entertainment, the effects of their pernicious habit are manifest. All partake freely of the favorite beverages, and as the stimulating influence is felt, their tongues are loosened, and they begin the wicked work of talking against others. Their words are not few or well chosen. The tidbits of gossip are passed around, too often the poison of scandal as well. These thoughtless gossipers forget that they have a witness. An unseen Watcher is writing their words in the books of heaven.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 36.

Recipe – Spiced Potato and Lentil Curry

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1 Tablespoon oil

1 Spanish onion, diced

1 red chili, deseeded and diced

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1 Tablespoon ground turmeric

2 cloves garlic, crushed

6 medium potatoes, sliced thickly

3 to 4 cups cooked lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

Place a medium-sized, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add onion, chili (optional), garlic, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add ground spices and potatoes and fry for 5 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and vegetable stock, then simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked and stock has evaporated. Serve with a green salad.

Food for Life – The Art of Cooking

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We can have a variety of good, wholesome food, cooked in a healthful manner, so that it will be palatable to all. It is of vital importance to know how to cook. Poor cooking produces disease and bad tempers; the system becomes deranged, and heavenly things cannot be discerned. There is more religion in good cooking than you have any idea of.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 157, 158.

“It is a religious duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food in different ways, so that it may be eaten with enjoyment. Mothers should teach their children how to cook. What branch of the education of a young lady can be so important as this? The eating has to do with the life. Scanty, impoverished, ill-cooked food is constantly depraving the blood, by weakening the blood-making organs. It is highly essential that the art of cookery be considered one of the most important branches of education. There are but few good cooks. Young ladies consider that it is stooping to a menial office to become a cook. This is not the case. They do not view the subject from a right stand-point.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 260.

“Food should be thoroughly cooked, nicely prepared, and appetizing. . . . It is much easier to create an unnatural appetite than to correct and reform the taste after it has become second nature.” Spalding and Magan Collection, 46.

“Cooking is no mean science and it is one of the most essential in practical life. It is a science that all women should learn, and it should be taught in a way to benefit the poorer classes. To make food appetizing and at the same time simple and nourishing, requires skill; but it can be done. Cooks should know how to prepare simple food in a simple and healthful manner, and so that it will be found more palatable, as well as more wholesome, because of its simplicity.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 257.

“We need a genuine education in the art of cooking. . . . Form classes where you may teach the people how to make good bread and how to put together ingredients to make healthful food combinations from the grains and the vegetables. Such an education will assist in creating a desire among our people to move out of the cities, to secure land in the country, where they can raise their own fruit and vegetables.” Medical Ministry, 267.

Recipe – Oatmeal Dinner Rolls

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From the kitchen of Teresa Grosboll

2 cups water

1 Tablespoon fructose

1 cup quick oats

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons trans-fat free margarine

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 slightly rounded Tablespoon active dry yeast

1−2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed

1/3 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons gluten flour

1/4 cup fructose and 1 Tablespoon molasses

Unbleached flour to knead

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add oatmeal and margarine; cook and stir for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; cool to lukewarm. In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 Tablespoon fructose. Add the oat mixture, sugars, salt, flax meal, gluten flour, whole wheat flour, and enough unbleached flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down; allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Shape into 18 balls. Place into greased 9-inch round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to wire racks.

Food for Life – Importance of Quality Bread

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“It is a sacred duty for those who cook to learn how to prepare healthful food. Many souls are lost as the result of poor cookery. It takes thought and care to make good bread; but there is more religion in a loaf of good bread than many think.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 257.

“It is a religious duty for every Christian girl and woman to learn at once to make good, sweet, light bread from unbolted wheat flour. Mothers should take their daughters into the kitchen with them when very young, and teach them the art of cooking.” Ibid., 316.

“Bread is the real staff of life, and therefore every cook should excel in making it.” Ibid., 315.

“Zwieback, or twice-baked bread, is one of the most easily digested and most palatable of foods.” Ibid., 317.

“The loaves should be small, and so thoroughly baked that, as far as possible, the yeast germs shall be destroyed. When hot, or new, raised bread of any kind is difficult of digestion. It should never appear on the table.” Ibid., 316.

“Bread which is two or three days old is more healthful than new bread. Bread dried in the oven is one of the most wholesome articles of diet.” Ibid., 317.

“For use in breadmaking, the superfine white flour is not the best. Its use is neither healthful nor economical. Fine-flour bread is lacking in nutritive elements to be found in bread made from the whole wheat. It is a frequent cause of constipation and other unhealthful conditions.” Ibid., 320.

“All wheat flour is not best for a continuous diet. A mixture of wheat, oatmeal, and rye would be more nutritious than the wheat with the nutrifying properties separated from it.” Ibid., 321.

Recipe – Mexican Beans

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5 cups pinto or black beans

15 cups water

2 large onions, chopped

1 Tablespoon onion powder

2 Tablespoons chili powder substitute

2 Tablespoons salt or to taste

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 bay leaves

1/4 teaspoon cumin

Soak beans in water for 24 hours, changing the water several times. Place in a slow cooker with enough fresh water to cover the beans. Cook on low with all of the ingredients except the salt for 24 hours or until very tender. Add salt in the last 2 to 3 hours of cooking.