Fish

Read Isaiah 19-21

Isaiah 19:8 "The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish."

Fish and poultry. For those who are not vegetarians, those are listed as alternatives to red meat.

So we add fish to our menus, as many times a week as we can. Some take fish oil supplements—also supposed to be good for us.

Then we read about the many dangers fish and their relatives (shrimp, etc.) pose for us, causing us to doubt that we’re really eating in a healthy way. But if we allowed ourselves to be scared over everything we eat, we’d never eat again. So we take the warnings into consideration and use our common sense, eating the fish we believe are safe and healthy to eat.

Shouting for Summer Fruits

Read Isaiah 16-18

Isaiah 16:9 "Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen."

Since frozen fruits are available year round, it’s easy to lose track of what fruits are in season when. Some fresh fruits seem to always be in season, like bananas.

Other fruits, like cantaloupe, seem to have a very limited season. The trick is to find out what times of the year are best for each fruit we enjoy.

Most fruits seem to be in season sometime during the summer. Some exceptions are apples that are in season in the fall and oranges that are in season during winter.

Falling from Heaven

Read Isaiah 13-15

Isaiah 14:12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"

We started dieting and exercising and the weight began to drop off. People were noticing our weight loss and commenting on it.

Then we slacked off. We skipped a day of exercising that quickly turned into a week.

We started eating more of the things we were once restricting. We don’t have to let this fall from heaven be yet another diet failure—we can begin again right now.

Refusing Guilt

Read Isaiah 10-12

Isaiah 12:1 "And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me."

Forgiving is an easy word to say. It’s easy advice to give someone, “You need to forgive.”

But it’s not easy to do. We have a hard time forgiving others, including ourselves.

So we believe others have a hard time forgiving us—especially God. But we can bask in His forgiveness and refuse to let guilt rule our lives.

Newborn Nourishment

Read Isaiah 7-9

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

The debate of breast milk vs. formula rages on. And what if someone decides to breastfeed only to discover a problem?

The problem could be with the amount available to the newborn, especially for twins or other multiples. Or it could be that baby is allergic and can only get the nourishment he needs with a formula.

As the baby grows, more decisions have to be made. When the baby graduates to solid foods, what kinds are best—not just which have the best advertising.

The Right Tools

Read Isaiah 4-6

Isaiah 5:28 "Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:"

When we’re camping, we often have to make do with what we have in order to cook. But it’s such a pleasure to get back home to our culinary tools!

Some recipes give us options about which tools to use. We can bake a cake batter in one 9 by 13 inch pan, two 8 or 9 inch round or square pans, or in a dozen-cupcake pan.

Sometimes we can make do, like we did when we camped or when we were just discovering cooking. Other times, nothing but the right tool will make the recipe come out correctly, like using a spring-form pan to make cheesecake.

When Kids Cook

Read Isaiah 1-3

Isaiah 1:2 "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me."

Teaching kids to cook is a messy business. Cooking is messy enough, but when we add little ones trying to learn, it can seem like it’s not worth the effort.

But when kids learn to cook, it helps to empower them. They’re learning survival skills and we’re passing our experience and the wisdom we learned from those who taught us on to them.

It also teaches them math and science: if we want to double a recipe, how much sugar do we need to double the three-quarter cup on the original recipe, or what happens when we add two tablespoons of vinegar to the two teaspoons of baking soda we already added to the bowl? That way, kids get to eat their math and science lessons and makes learning practical as well as fun.

Food Combos

Read Song of Solomon 5-8

 

Song of Solomon 5:1 "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved."

 

In college, lots of the students added milk to their cola drinks. In pizza restaurants, we can order anchovies with pineapple and anything else we might want on our pizza.

 

Strange taste combinations have been around ever since Solomon wrote about drinking wine with his milk. Sometimes we might be reluctant to try something we have never had before or some combination we have never tried before when we are ordering at a restaurant.

 

We don’t want to waste money on the chance we might not like it. But unless we are willing to try different food combos, we will never know if we might be missing something delicious.

Comfort Food

Read Song of Solomon 1-4

Song of Solomon 2:5 "Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love."

When looking for comfort food, most of us don’t reach for an apple. Apple pie, apple cake—yes, and a plain apple sounds healthy, but not very comforting.

Sweets, especially chocolate, are more likely to comfort us when we’ve had a rough time. Salty snacks, mashed potatoes with gravy, even macaroni and cheese are other foods we are likely to reach for.

Unfortunately these foods also sabotage our diets. We feel bad enough with our emotional turmoil—we won’t want to add gaining weight to our problems. So we might want to stick with that plain apple, after all.

Diet With All Thy Might

Read Ecclesiastes 9-12

Ecclesiastes 9:10 "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."

It’s not easy to keep up enthusiasm for dieting and exercising. When we’ve been at it for a long time, we’re bound to get weary of the well doing.

One solution to diet burn out is to rediscover our enthusiasm about it. Conjure up that initial rush of fervor that got us started trying to change our lives in the first place.

Make a game out of it—one that we are determined to win. We want to diet with all our might and be victorious.

Rash With Thy Mouth

Read Ecclesiastes 5-8

Ecclesiastes 5:2 "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few."

The verse talks about speaking rash words, but eating on impulse is also to be avoided. Sometimes our hunger drives us to eat anything we can find to eat.

Other times our cravings become irresistible and we can hardly keep ourselves from eating things we will be sorry for. There are any number of reasons why we might be tempted to eat rashly.

But if we can get into the habit of setting the timer before acting on temptation, we may be able to resist. Sometimes waiting our impulse out means the difference between victory and doing something we regret.

Too Much Effort

Read Ecclesiastes 1-4

Ecclesiastes 2:22 "For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?"

When I am reading the newspaper of a magazine, I often come across great recipes. The food looks delicious and sounds tempting.

But before I copy the recipe down, I read through it. If it has ingredients I have never heard of before, or rarely keep in stock, and if it looks like too much effort to prepare, I pass on it.

But some foods are too delicious not to put forth the extra effort for. Some complicated recipes are family favorites and making loved ones happy is always worth the effort.

Churning Milk for Butter

Read Proverbs 28-31

Proverbs 30:33 "Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife."

Few of us want to go back to the days when the only way to get butter was to churn it ourselves. However, there are times when knowing how to do things the hard way can come in handy.

For instance, when the electricity goes off, it’s good to know how to prepare a meal without a stove, oven, or microwave. And if we’ve ever had our area devastated by a natural disaster, we know how important survival skills can be.

So visiting historical places like Colonial Williamsburg or visiting an Amish community can be enlightening and educational for those of us unfamiliar with the pre-technology way of doing things. At the very least, we will leave those places with renewed gratefulness for our modern conveniences.

Keeper of the Fig Tree

Proverbs 25-27

Proverbs 27:18 "Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured."

Different fruit trees and bushes have different needs. Oranges need warmer climates, for instance.

Bugs, birds, and other animals can be a threat to our harvesting our fruit. It’s very frustrating to wait until the fruit is ripe enough to pick, only to discover it’s nearly all gone.

There are ways to protect our fruit—everything from sprays to netting. We can find the best ways to ensure our fruit will be there to reap and bless our meals with sweetness and freshness by looking the information up in gardening books, magazines, and the internet.

Deceitful Meat

Read Proverbs 22-24

Proverbs 23:3 "Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat."

When we began our weight-loss program, we might have kept it to ourselves. But once we lost enough weight to make a difference, people noticed and we told them what we were doing.

We did this, hoping our friends and family would support us and our efforts. We wanted them to rejoice with us when we had something to rejoice about and commiserate with us when things weren’t going well and maybe even give us a pep talk when we got discouraged and were ready to quit.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy for our success. We have to be wary of those who might say they are rooting for us while serving the deceitful meat of high calorie, high fat, high carbohydrate foods disguised as diet-friendly dishes.

Bread of Deceit

Read Proverbs 19-21

Proverbs 20:17 "Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel."

We trust labels to be truthful. We depend on them to tell us the amount of calories, fats, carbohydrates, and nutrients in a portion so we can figure the data into our diets.

Once we’ve read and factored the information into our diets, we stop reading that particular label. But food companies are always working on making their products better and sometimes those changes mean differences in the calories, fats, carbohydrates, and nutrients.

We don’t have to keep checking every single time we buy a favorite product. However, it wouldn’t hurt to spot check every so often, just to make sure there haven’t been any alterations.

Just Weights

Read Proverbs 16-18

Proverbs 16:11 "A just weight and balance are the Lord's: all the weights of the bag are his work."

If we are measuring our portions carefully and still not losing weight, something may be wrong with our tools. If the portions we allow ourselves should be reducing our calories, fats, and carbohydrates, we should be losing weight.

We can check the accuracy of our food scales by pouring a small prepackaged food on the scale and checking if the scale says the same thing the package label says. If it doesn’t we know we need to adjust by however much it is off or get a new scale.

The other tool that could be off is the scale we weigh ourselves on. We can check for accuracy, but if our clothes are getting looser, it might be that we are exchanging heavier muscle for the lighter fat our bodies once carried.

Food Storage

Read Proverbs 13-15

Proverbs 13:23 "Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment."

My mother once accidentally put ice cream in the refrigerator instead of in the freezer. Needless to say, it didn’t work and the ice cream melted.

Most foods have obvious storage needs. Ice cream goes in the freezer, eggs in the refrigerator, uncooked rice in the cupboard.

Reading labels will help us sort out where a particular food should be stored and for how long. Sometimes though, we end up learning by trial and error.

Vinegar

Read Proverbs 10-12

Proverbs 10:26 "As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him."

Some folks love the taste of vinegar. They love foods like pickled beets.

Most people like a more moderate dose of vinegar in their foods, like in dressings for salads. We don’t even notice the taste of vinegar in foods like Crazy Cake.

Vinegar is versatile. It is not only used for cooking and baking, but can also be used for cleaning and unclogging drains.

Witty Inventions

Read Proverbs 7-9

Proverbs 8:12 "I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions."

Coffee pots have gone from filtered percolators to drip coffee and now to individually prepared gourmet coffee. When the electric mixer was invented, cooks rejoiced and now there are food processors that do the work of more than one appliance.

The refrigerator no longer only comes with a freezer compartment, now it dispenses ice. Defrosting the freezer is no longer a weekly chore on our to-do lists.

Ovens and stoves aren’t limited to the choices between electric and gas—we can get an electric stove that is all flat on the top. And what a blessing to have self-cleaning ovens!

Thine Own Cistern and Well

Read Proverbs 4-6

Proverbs 5:15 "Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well."

Convenience food saves time and effort. It’s nice to be able to cut our meal preparation time.

The problem is, we don’t always know what is in those packaged foods. Reading the ingredients is not always helpful since too often they’re listed by their chemical name rather than in plain English.

But if we’re sensitive to chemicals, we might want to dial down the use of convenience foods. When we fix something ourselves from scratch, we know exactly what we put in.

Barns Filled With Plenty

Read Proverbs 1-3

Proverbs 3:10 "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

When we have plenty of food in the house, it should make sticking to our food plan easier. So many choices should give us variety and keep us from getting hungry.

But it can sometimes backfire. If we have bought fresh fruits and vegetables and other perishables, we might feel a drive to overeat so nothing goes bad.

We don’t want to waste money—most of us can’t afford it. So we can figure out ways to preserve our perishables for the longest time to keep both our diets and wallets happy.

Finest of the Wheat

Read Psalms 146-150

Psalms 147:14 "He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat."

When we’re eating for our health, we want to cram the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals we can into our diets. We will want to read packages and labels to find out which choice is the healthiest.

For instance, bread varies widely in what nutrients are added. Wheat is considered to be healthier than white.

But even the wheat choices vary. Some are multiple grains and some only have one, but our budgets may have to cast the deciding vote.

Setting a Watch

Read Psalms 141-145

Psalms 141:3 "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

We can’t help wanting what we want. We miss some of our favorite foods and miss the days when we ate whatever we wanted and as much as we wanted.

Commercials and advertisements are supposed to make us want the foods they feature and they really work. We can almost smell the delicious looking food.

Even watching people eat on television shows and movies can set off our cravings. That’s when we need to set a watch on our mouths and not give in to the almost overwhelming temptation.

Giving Food to All Flesh

Read Psalms 136-140

Psalms 136:25 "Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever."

Food drives take all shapes. Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons are the most popular food drive times when the spirit of giving is strongest.

Some churches have pantries where the congregation members bring food for distribution year round. Sometimes the church encourages members to bring a can of food or some other nonperishable to each service and set it up in the front for collection later.

They might set a basket for monetary contributions near the cans for those who didn’t bring anything or who want to contribute to nonperishables like milk or meat. Some distribution centers are earmarked for congregation members and others are open for anyone.

Children's Eating Habits

Read Psalms 131-135

Psalms 132:12 "If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore."

We know all the bad eating and exercise habits we have fallen into. So how do we keep from passing them along to our children?

When they’re not eating the healthy foods they should at meal times, it’s tempting to fall back into the Clean Plate Club or withhold dessert until they eat what they should. How else will they be motivated to eat what's good for them?

So we will want to show them by example of what healthy eating is. We will use every other trick we can think of to make healthy eating attractive, from letting them help us grocery shop to letting them help us prepare the meals.

Labor of Thine Hands

Read Psalms 126-130

Psalms 128:2 "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee."

When I was a kid the rule in our house was that no baked goods or other dish destined for a potluck or other shared celebration left the house without leaving its twin behind. That way we didn’t have to smell all the great smells in vain.

We knew that we would be able to eat the labor of our hands whether we were going to the gathering or not. When we’re dieting, we might be in the situation where we are making something we think we shouldn’t eat.

But if we control our portions, we should be able to eat a tiny piece. No one should be barred from eating the labor of their own hands.

Prey to Their Teeth

Read Psalms 123-125

Psalms 124:6 "Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth."

When we’re sick or recovering from surgery or dental work, we might have to restrict our food to soft foods or liquids. As kids we might have been able to eat ice cream and Popsicles, but if we are also dieting, we won’t want to sabotage our diets.

When we’re not feeling well, it’s not easy to remember a diet. We want to eat comfort foods, hoping they will make us feel better.

But if we can power through the recovery period, keeping our diets in mind, once we’re back to normal, we’ll be glad we did. We’ll be able to resume all our allowable foods, the real prey to our teeth.

Deceitful Tongue

Read Psalms 120-122

Psalms 120:2 "Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue."

Honesty should be a lot easier. But too often we find ourselves using a deceitful tongue.

We might not want to admit how we have been cheating on our diets when someone asks us how we’re doing. We might want to say we’ve lost more weight than we really have or that we weigh less than we actually do.

The worst deceit is when we lie to ourselves. We may not want to face our reality but we must, whether it’s how well we are sticking to our diet and exercise plan or how many calories are in something we really crave to eat.

Testimony of the Mouth

Read Psalms 119

Psalms 119:88 "Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth."

When we know someone has lost a lot of weight, we want to know how they did it. What food plan did they use?

Did they exercise more than we do? How did they keep motivated?

What worked for them might work for us. We can also be encouraged to know that we are on the same track they used and we will get there just like they did.

Staying Hydrated

Read Psalms 116-118

Psalms 116:13 "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord."

Drinking water will keep us hydrated, but we can get tired of nothing but water all the time. There are other things we can drink that will supplement our water drinking.

Diet sodas are tasty and low in calories. The variety available can satisfy us when we want something different.

Fruit juices are good for us, but tend to be high in calories, so we will want to restrict them for our diet’s sake. But there are plenty of other diet drink substances we can choose from when water no longer inspires us to stay hydrated.