Food

Food – Memories — What Veggies?

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The majority of the time, my family just did not seem to get enough vegetables into our diets. Growing up in a meat and potato environment, we really did not think about anything green. My mom was a really good cook but since dad liked his meat and potatoes, which was what comprised the majority of our meals, that is what we ate. Mom used to make “grease gravy” and it really tasted good on our meat and potatoes. The only time we really had any vegetables that I can remember was when the corn-on-the-cob showed up on our plates. YUM! But that was often swamped with butter!

Now, as an adult, I enjoy the variety of flavors that I find in different foods. In fact, I was really surprised to find how many different vegetables and grains were out there. I am very thankful for God’s abundant variety of foods.

I remember when I first decided to become a vegan and saw pictures on vegan food cans and packets showing meat just like mom used to make and it looked so good. My first thought was that it would be easy being vegan replacing the meat with all the products available. Though it may be a good replacement initially for some when changing their diet, unfortunately it was not agreeable to my family’s taste buds and many meals were discarded. Soon I learned about seasoning foods and to make most of my meals from scratch. No one has the same taste buds; so I learned to take a recipe and trim it to the taste of my family. Praise the Lord for the skill to do that! Yes, it took practice and is still a work in progress.

God has provided so many varieties of vegetables to choose from and innumerable ways they can be prepared. There are many different seasonings available to add to our enjoyment of different foods. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

 

Veggie Gravy

Ingredients

2 cups tomatoes, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

¼ cup flour

½-1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup water

Process

Simmer tomatoes with onion and celery 5-10 minutes. Mix flour and water and add slowly to tomato mixture, stirring constantly over low heat until thickened and add seasonings—remember to season it to your taste buds! This is great over hot baked potatoes, toast, or anything else requiring gravy.

 

Recipe – Garlic Penne Noodles

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3 cups uncooked penne pasta

½ large bulb garlic

1 medium onion

1 12.3 oz. Mori-nu extra firm tofu

Cashew milk

Salt to taste

Cook noodles according to directions on box. Chop ¾ of onion and sauté. Add to drained cooked noodles. Blend remaining onion, garlic, salt and tofu together. Add cashew milk to create thin to medium sauce. Garlic, onion, and salt should be strong in the sauce. Pour sauce over the noodles and allow to set overnight to best absorb flavor. Add cashew milk if needed to moisten noodles, and bake at 350 degrees until thoroughly heated.

Food – Biblical Nutrition

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The Bible tells us in I Corinthians 6:19, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” When we use something that does not belong to us, we tend to be extra careful with what is lent to us. One way we can take care of the bodies in our care is to nurture them properly.

God addresses how we can best do this in the Bible. He gave Adam and Eve a diet to follow to maintain the perfect health with which they were created. Man was given fruit and every “herb bearing seed.” [Genesis 1:29.] After man sinned, God added the “herb of the field” to our diet. (See Genesis 3:18.) Our diet was changed once more following the flood when flesh was added to the diet. Not all flesh was permitted though. God gave very strict guidelines to adhere to. Clean meats only were acceptable and without the blood or fat. (See Genesis 9:3,4; Leviticus 3:17; 11:47.)

During the Jews captivity in Egypt, the diet was polluted by the Egyptians. “The perverted appetite was to be brought into a more healthy state, that they might enjoy the food originally provided for man—the fruits of the earth, which God gave to Adam, and Eve in Eden.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 118. (See also Exodus 16:1–4, 35.) During their deliverance from the land, God once again changed the diet of His people and provided manna.

Many people believe that Peter’s vision was yet another modification in God’s prescribed diet, giving man permission to eat all flesh, but this is not the case. In reading Acts:10:9–17, 28, it is seen that the vision did not pertain to diet at all.

We will have yet another change in our diet in heaven. It is clear that all living species will be returned once again to a vegetarian diet. Isaiah 11:6–9 and 21–25 says, “The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.”

“The education of the Israelites included all their habits of life. Everything that concerns their well-being was the subject of divine solicitude and came within the province of divine law. Even in providing their food, God sought their highest good. The manna with which He fed them in the wilderness was of a nature to promote physical, mental, and moral strength.” Child Guidance, 378. I Corinthians 10:11 speaks in regard to the purpose God had for His dealing with the Israelites in the wilderness.

God has entrusted to us the bodies he created. It is surely a wonderful thing that He would provide us also with a manual to care for His creation.

Recipe – Corn Potato Leek Chowder

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Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4-5 cups Yukon potatoes, diced

1 tsp. paprika

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable broth, divided

2 cups almond milk, unsweetened

3 cups corn, frozen or fresh

2 tsp. nutritional yeast, or to taste

1 tsp. salt, or to taste

1 cup cashews, soaked in water two hours

1-2 medium leeks, sliced

Process

In medium stockpot sauté onion and celery in small amount of water or oil for seven minutes. Add potatoes and paprika; sauté seven minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook one minute. Add one cup broth, almond milk, corn, nutritional yeast and salt. Simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and blend cashews and one cup broth until creamy; add to potatoes. For a creamier texture, blend half of potato/corn mixture; add back into pot. Stir in leeks; heat 2 minutes. Warm and satisfying!

Food – Leeks

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Leeks are closely related to onions—as the similarity in flavor shows—and are distant cousins of asparagus. All three are members of the lily family.

Although leeks probably originated in warm regions of Asia or the Mediterranean, they are now intensely cultivated in temperate to cool climates, particularly in Northern Europe where they are a favorite. In Wales, where leeks are a national symbol, men parade in the streets with leek-bedecked hats on special holidays.

Leeks are surprisingly nutritious, providing an appreciable amount of minerals and fiber together with plenty of vitamin C. A half cup of chopped, boiled leeks contains only 15 calories but 25mg of vitamin C, as well as 16mg of calcium and a small amount of niacin.

Vegetables in the allium group (leeks, onions, shallots, scallions, chives, garlic) may have a protective effect against cancer, particularly gastric cancer, diabetes and heart disease, and like onions, leeks may help to lower cholesterol. Much of its therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds such as allicin. As allicin digests in the body, it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that neutralizes dangerous free radicals faster than any other known compound.

Leeks are most commonly used to add flavor, particularly to soups and stews. They are delicious in salads, vegetable dishes and quiches. But leeks have a milder, sweeter flavor than onions and a crunchy texture when cooked, which is why they are also delicious served on their own.

Excerpts from Foods that Harm Foods That Heal, The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., ©1997, 212, 213.

Recipe – Parmesan Cheese, Delicious and Simple

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Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds (or cashews)

½ cup nutritional yeast

3/4 Tbsp. Herbamare, (herbed sea salt) more or less or salt-free seasoning if preferred.

 

Process

Combine all in food processor with “S” blade and process until powdery texture (or blender). Yummy! Use on spaghetti, popcorn, steamed veggies, etc.

Recipe – Tangerine Maple Cashew Cream

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Tangerine Maple Cashew Cream

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes in water to cover

1 cup fresh squeezed tangerine juice

2 tsp. pure maple syrup

Process

Drain cashews. Place in blender with tangerine juice and maple syrup. Blend on high until mixture is smooth and creamy. Drizzle over a fresh fruit salad, cooked cereal, waffles or toast.

Food – Tangerines

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Although Americans often use the terms tangerines and mandarins interchangeably, tangerines—along with clementines and satsumas—are actually types of mandarin oranges. These sweet citrus fruits with loose-fitting skins originated in China, but they are now grown in many parts of the world.

Ounce for ounce, oranges have about twice as much vitamin C as tangerines. But even a medium-size tangerine fulfills about 50 percent of the adult Recommended Daily Allowance. In addition, tangerines are richer in vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene) than any other citrus fruit. A medium-size tangerine contains 775 I.U. of vitamin A, as well as 130mg of potassium. It is also high in pectin, a soluble fiber that helps lower blood cholesterol.

This orange fruit is an excellent remedy for depression and the winter blues.

While most varieties are available from November to March, tangerines are an especially popular Christmas fruit. The following are among the most common types sold in the United States:

Clementine. This fruit is seedless, and smaller and sweeter than most other varieties. It is sometimes called an Algerian tangerine, but most clementines sold in the U.S. are actually imported from Spain or Israel.

Honey tangerine. Also known as a murcott, this variety has a greener skin than other tangerines, but the flesh is more orange and the flavor is sweeter.

Satsuma. Any of several varieties of tangerine, satsumas are a little larger than clementines, nearly seedless, and very thin-skinned. Japan is the leading producer of satsumas.

Tangelo. A cross between a tangerine and grapefruit or pomelo, the tangelo looks like an orange, is tangier than a tangerine, and is sweeter than a grapefruit. Its name is a combination of tangerine and pomelo.

Tangor. This hybrid, also known as temple orange or royal mandarin, looks like a tangerine but tastes like an orange; it is juicy and contains many seeds.

Dancy. While it is no longer as widely grown, the Dancy tangerine, whose peak season is December, is commonly known as the Christmas Orange since children would often receive them as gifts.

Foods That Harm Foods That Heal, The Reader’s Digest Association, © 1997, 339.

 

Tangerine Maple Cashew Cream

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes in water to cover

1 cup fresh squeezed tangerine juice

2 tsp. pure maple syrup

Process

Drain cashews. Place in blender with tangerine juice and maple syrup. Blend on high until mixture is smooth and creamy. Drizzle over a fresh fruit salad, cooked cereal, waffles or toast.

Recipe – Granola Crumb Crust

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3 cups ground Granola

2 tsp. Cinnamon Substitute

2 Tbsp. Oil

4 Tbsp. Water

2 Tbsp. Honey

Blend 2 cups of Granola on high until fine. Repeat until there are 3 cups ground. Put granola in a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Add honey if unsweetened granola is used. Shape into a 9-inch pie dish or the bottom of a 9 x 13” glass baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Food – Gatekeepers to the Stomach

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It is impossible to operate a machine to the height of its ability if it is not understood. The most important machine to understand is the human body, since it helps us to carry out every daily task no matter how minute or extravagant. Many mysteries about this incredible creation have unfolded recently which allows us to better care for its needs. The stomach plays a huge role in the body, and its processes are better understood now which helps us to work with our bodies to allow maximum performance.

The stomach has two “gatekeepers” or sphincters which help it to regulate what comes and goes. The upper sphincter is located next to the heart and is innovatively dubbed the cardiac sphincter. The lower gatekeeper, the pyloric sphincter, is located by the small intestine. These two regulators are made of circular fibers which create a doughnut-like opening to and from the stomach.

The cardiac sphincter is responsible for keeping food, liquids, and digestive juices in the stomach once it has been swallowed. It has two helpers: gravity and the diaphragm. Since gravity is a reinforcement, we can help make the job a little easier by remaining upright after eating. If we don’t, the food just ingested puts a tremendous amount of pressure on both the sphincter and the diaphragm. Just like anything else that is put under too much pressure on a regular basis, the sphincter and diaphragm will both weaken. If the sphincter is damaged, the stomach is no longer able to keep its gastric contents to itself, and the esophagus reacts to the abuse by developing what is known as esophageal gastric reflux disease. This is a condition where the stomachs contents move back up into the esophagus, over time causing the lining of the esophagus to deteriorate due to the acidic nature of the regurgitated food. The drug companies love this as they make millions of dollars in sales each year in helping people with heart burn and an ulcerated esophagus due to weakened cardiac sphincters and diaphragmatic hernias.

The pyloric sphincter controls food exiting the stomach. About three times a minute, it allows less than one teaspoon of liquid and small food particles out of the stomach. This is signaled by sensors in the stomach and the duodenum (the first small part of the small intestine following the stomach) which detect the size of the food mass, the temperature, the chemical makeup and the size of particles within the chime (the semi-liquid mass of food in the stomach). If the chime is too hot or cold, the mass must be cooled or warmed. Hence, it is important to not drink hot or cold liquids with meals. The mass must also have a chemical composition that will digest our food. This means that the digestive juices need to be strong enough to bring about digestion. If they are weakened sufficiently with liquids, the liquids must be passed out of the stomach before digestion can occur, or excess gastric juices must be secreted. This is another reason we should not drink liquids with our meals. The size of particles in the food mass must also be small enough to allow final digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Therefore, it is important to chew your food well or empting of the stomach will be delayed.

So lay off the pillow after dinner; don’t confuse your tummy by throwing in a drink with dinner, and chew, chew, chew! Remember: do unto your stomach as you would have your stomach do unto you!