More on Eating Choices

The pictures above are taken just a few days apart. It is amazing how the glads open up. I am really enjoying them.

I said that I might give an answer today on making choices on what you eat. I want to preface it with this... What I share is how we do it in our family. We don't hold our standards to anyone else. =) I really liked Sharon's answers yesterday. I did not hear the attitude that I was sharing about.

One of the first things I like to do when I hear the latest and greatest eating plan, or some new finding on what is good for you and what is not, is to think about what God's Word says. There is a diet out there that they don't want you to eat any meat or dairy. They say the diet is based on verses in Genesis in the Bible. There are verses that talk about eating only the plants and herbs. However, you would have to ignore large portions of the Bible to think that is the only right way. When it tells the Hebrews to bring their sacrifices in, portions of the meat are given to the priests and their families. They were instructed to eat a Passover lamb. Jesus was cooking fish over a fire by the sea of Galilee. So, for our family, we would rule that one out as a way of eating on a regular basis. Someone else told me that you should never eat a carbohydrate with a protein. Yet, what did Jesus bless and serve the multitude? Loaves and fish... carbohydrate and a protein. So, we rule that out for us. Those are just a couple of examples.

Then we like to look at 3 premises or rules to live by that we read in the book, "What The Bible Says About Healthy Living" I don't agree with everything in the book, but we liked the 3 rules he shared. 1. Eat only what God intended for food. I always use the example of blue jello at this point. =) 2. Eat it as close to the way that God created it as you possibly can... Don't over process it. 3. Don't make what or how you eat your god. Don't think you control your health, as it is in God's hands.

We also look at prices. If organic bananas are 20 cents more per pound, we would probably get them for our family since there is only 3 of us. Even if we buy 5 lbs., we are only talking a dollar. There is a list of 25 (I think it is 25) things that if you buy them, then organic is a much better choice. I have that filed away somewhere if anyone is interested. If the price is too high then is there something else similar you can substitute or can you put it in a casserole and stretch a smaller amount of that food. Sometimes paying a little bit more now, saves doctor bills later on.

Cook from scratch as much as possible. I know when we lived in Florida, I had figured out how much it cost me at that time to make a loaf of bread from my freshly ground wheat. It was around 39 cents. Even then, that was a way better price than a loaf of store bought bread. To buy rice in bulk is much cheaper than to keep buying boxes of minute rice. Find a co-op and see what price breaks you can get there. I can often buy organic dried beans as cheap as regular in the store. Raise as much of your own food as you can. Get your children out there helping you in the garden. You are a family and families work together to provide for the needs of the family.

Lastly, but certainly not least, pray. Ask God to show you what you should be eating. Do what you can and then leave your health in God's hands. If some new finding comes along take it before the Lord and see if it is for your family or not. Wives talk to your husbands. Make sure that you are doing what they would have you do. Don't decide that you are going to make changes even if he does not like them. God will not honor that.

We are not purists in this family. We try to make the bulk of how we eat to be healthy. Since we have our milk cow, we purchased one of those on the counter top ice cream makers. We can make ice cream that is much closer to being good for us. One of the things that Sharon mentioned yesterday in her comments was that the old timers ate the butter, etc. I believe that they ate the "whole" food. We believe in butter and whole milk, etc. I also think that our food is much more toxic than it was for them. The ground and water is polluted. They have messed with the DNA of the plants, and now things that used to be good for you have a potential of being harmful.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.