Portabello Spaghetti with Spaghetti Squash. Make sure you drain the squash; it can water down the sauce! The Black Bean Broth and Kumatos make for a rich, red-brown sauce.
Lately I have posted a lot more faith articles than food, so it is good to get back to sharing some of my culinary exploits! One of the most important parts of a Daniel Fast is to do meal planning in advance. Here is our weekly Daniel Fast menu with links to some of the recipes:
PRE-FAST (the week before): Make sprouted black beans, sprouted lentils, sprouted wheat berries, and sprouted rice. The cooking water from the black beans is “Bean Broth” and can be used in stead of chicken stock. Store sprouted grains/legumes and cooked beans in 2-cup portions in the freezer. Make Summer Squash Broth to supplement bean broth (if needed) and Green Soup to eat when you don’t have much time to prepare anything. Buy lots of fruits and vegetables; to see which produce items should be bought as organic (Dirty Dozen), and which are safe to buy conventionally (Clean Fifteen), check out the Environmental Work Group’s Executive Summary for Produce.
Breakfast: Pineapple Oatmeal. Since we have to avoid dairy, I use pineapple juice instead of whey to soak the grains overnight. We have the same breakfast each morning to keep things simple!
AM Snack: Nuts, Organic Raisins & Fresh Fruit. Nuts help me to avoid headaches from having too little protein, and raisins help curb sugar-cravings (grapes are notorious for having dangerous pesticides on them; only buy organic grapes and raisins). Apples and Bananas are great options; apples have many healing and detoxing benefits and bananas supply carbs missed from leavened goods (like bread) and potassium lost through loose stools (although sweet potatoes, tomatoes, beet greens, and raisins have more potassium than bananas). Again, only buy organic apples because they top the list of pesticide-ridden produce.
Lunch: Meal leftovers, Fruit & Veggies. This is a great time to have a salad, or “finger snacks” like celery, carrots and tomatoes. If it’s cold outside, Green Soup can help warm you up and relieve stress symptoms.
PM Snack: Salted Popcorn, Nuts & Raisins. Use an air-popper if you are abstaining from oils; otherwise, to hold to the spirit of the fast, use only as much oil as necessary to pop the corn kernels in a covered pot on the stove; I use Palm Kernel Oil (in non-hydrogenated organic shortening form, Spectrum brand) since it has a high smoke point.
Dinner:
- Monday: Portabello Spaghetti.
- Tuesday: Savory Stuffed Peppers. (Add Bean or Summer Squash Broth to leftover stuffing to make a tasty soup for lunch!)
- Wednesday: Lion’s Den Stew.
- Thursday: Greek Summer Squash Stew and Sprouted Wheat Berry Soup Biscuits.
- Friday: Mushroom Pesto Pizza (Cheese-free; recipe coming soon)
- Saturday: Bean Curry and Sprouted Rice (recipe coming soon)
- Sunday: Roasted Root Vegetables and Steamed Broccoli. (recipe coming soon) This is a perfect day to take the organic potato peelings and use them to make Potato Peel Broth (recipe coming soon), another great source of potassium.
As far as drinks go, a true Daniel Fast uses only water. However, what you drink on your fast is between you and God. Some churches advise that fruit juices and herbal teas are fine; make sure to ask God what is right for you. I drink water throughout the day, but I have a hot cup of green-tea infused Potato Peel Broth in the morning to help me wake up and replenish lost nutrients.
I hope this resource gives you a hearty helping of hope for your fast (it is achievable!); even if you aren’t fasting (if you’re vegetarian or vegan, for example), these recipes are still pretty tasty and economical. Bon Appetit!
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