Fast Prep

I found a few free minutes this morning and thought I’d use it to prepare for the Daniel Fast next week. If you’re planning on participating with Northway Church in this three week fast, I hope this info and the recipes I have will be helpful.

Brian and I have done the Daniel fast in the past, and as this one came up, if I’m being completely honest, I found myself dreading it, but not for the obvious reasons of limiting certain foods. I was not as concerned about the eating limitations as I was about the extra time, thought and energy it would take to feed our family on it. Realizing that the true purpose of the fast is to direct focus away from food and towards God, I’m hoping that an extra dose of preparation will help me to do just that rather than getting caught up in the minutae of shopping and cooking.

So here it is, this week’s menu for our family, complete with recipes. Keep in mind that some substitutions can be made consistently. For example, if a recipe calls for chicken stock you can use vegetable stock. If it calls for sugar, try honey instead, etc.

Monday we’ll conclude the 24 hour juice fast with a couple of my all time favorite recipes that just happen to be Daniel Fast friendly: Sweet Potato Fries, Mediterranean Succotash and Brown Rice Pilaf (no recipe for this one, just brown rice prepared with a little veg stock with veggies added in…carrots, peas, mushrooms, corn…whatever you want).

Tuesday I’m trying out a new recipe, Spicy Bean Soup. Probably with a salad.

Wednesday we’ll have Channa Masala, an Indian dish with curried chick peas, potatoes and peas in a tomato sauce. I’ll serve it over basmati brown rice. If you don’t like Indian food, then – well first off if you don’t like Indian food, I kinda feel sorry for you because you’re MISSING OUT! But truth is, this would be a great recipe for you to try out Indian food with because you can control the spice level yourself by adding less of the curry paste. Just try it ok?!

Thursday nights Brian and I aren’t home, which brings me to another point. These recipes are all very leftover friendly, with the exception of the sweet potato fries (do not eat them leftover ever…finish the whole pan). Which means you’re all set for lunches, and that busy weeknight you don’t have time to cook.

Friday night we’ll visit another delicious foreign dish, Thai Curry with Basil, which I’ll serve over brown rice.

Figure in lots of leftovers and that’s week one in a nutshell. Not so bad, huh?

Let me conclude with this. I know the point of the fast really isn’t to see how deliciously you can eat while still following the restrictions of the fast (although with these recipes you may feel that way), but no matter how you view the food, the restrictions, the routine – all of it – the real point is the spirit in which you participate. If you’re approaching it as a burden and plan to complain your way through it, why even bother? If you approach it as an adventure through which you intend to focus more energy and attention on the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for you (hmmm, food for thought there, kinda makes giving up sugar, meat and dairy pale in comparison huh), you can’t lose. Whether you eat plain beans and rice leftover every night or take a vegan culinary journey around the globe every week, the spirit you do it with will determine the outcome.

So whether it’s making my menu, writing out the list, spending extra time shopping or a few extra minutes cooking every night, I’m hoping that this entire change of pace will be an opportunity to harness my thoughts and draw closer to God. Because even if I follow each and every guideline of the fast to a T, if I miss out on the true purpose, I’ve really just wasted three weeks of delicious greasy food haven’t I.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting some tips and tricks for breakfast and snacks throughout the day, not just dinner recipes. Also, I’ll be posting my recipes for the following two weeks as well, and concluding with the meatiest, cheesiest Superbowl menu you could ever imagine for the Sunday we break the fast!