Snack Ideas!

  • February 25th, 2010

    People kept asking me if I was going to starve on this fast. My answer, nope! I am actually eating the same (if not more) calories than usual. A sure fire way to fail on this fast is to be unprepared! Success is totally possible with a sheet of paper and a pen…plan your snacks and meals! Here are some ideas that I have enjoyed for snacks:

    Matzah or Unsweetened Rice Cakes with Natural PB: Spread some PB on pretty much anything and you have a great snack! I like this as a little snack in the morning before lunch to hold me over a bit longer until lunch time! Just make sure your peanut butter is free of sugar and any ingredients you can’t pronounce. You can also make your own PB by throwing about 1/2 cup of peanuts and 1/2 tsp of oil (your preference) into the food processor! Let it spin until it’s smooth and you have your own PB…pretty delicious actually!

    Fruit: this doesn’t really require a description…just fruit! If you are feeling like you need some extra calories or fat, grab a tablespoon of PB for your banana or apple…deeeeelish!

    Homemade Salsa  or Guacamole and Baked Corn Chips: Guiltless Gourmet makes a great organic, baked corn chip! To make the salsa:
    -3 large tomatoes or 5-6 plum tomatoes, diced small (or 2 cans of drained, diced tomatoes)
    -1 medium white onion
    -juice of 2 limes
    -1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
    -salt to taste
    Throw it all in the food processor and enjoy…one of my faves!!

    Homemade Hummus with Veggies, Matzah, or “legal” crackers (just check the labels!)

    Hummus Recipe:
    -1 can drained chick peas (save the juice!)
    -1 1/2 tablespoons tahini paste (you can get this at Whole Foods, etc)
    -2 gloves garlic
    -1/2 tsp salt
    -2 tablespoons olive oil

    Combine chick peas, tahini, garlic and salt into food processor with 1/4 cup of liquid drained from chick peas. Run food processor for 3-5 minutes or until smooth, mine took about 3. When smooth, empty into serving bowl and add olive oil, mix in thoroughly.

    You can always make your hummus with whatever flavors you like…onion, lemon or lime, sundried tomato…whatever!! Just throw it in the food processor and mix it up!

    Nuts of Any Kind: make up a bunch of baggies of 1 serving size of nuts (3 tablespoons…don’t cheat! )and keep them in your car, snack drawer purse…wherever! I also like to throw in a serving size of raisins (1/4 cup) for some extra calories…just make sure you look for raisins (or any dried fruit) with no sugar added.

Breakfast Ideas on The Daniel Fast

  • February 24th, 2010

    Here are some great breakfast finds for anyone curious about the Daniel Fast!

    Idea 1:

    Brown Rice Crispie Cereal, unsweetened Rice Milk, banana or strawberries (you MUST check the labels on the cereal and milk to be sure it fits! I found a great Brown Rice cereal at whole foods and the ONLY ingredient is puffed brown rice)

    Idea 2:

    Same as above but shredded mini wheats, obviously not frosted :)

    Idea 3:

    Oatmeal prepared with rice milk or water and a dash of salt. Throw in some strawberries, raisins or natural PB at the end to add some umph!

    Idea 4:

    Ezekial 4:9 Cereal with rice milk and raisins: you gotta check the labels on this cereal, and it is not the tastiest cereal but once I added Rice Milk and raisins it was actually pretty good! This cereal is super high in fiber and will definitely keep you full a lot longer than typical cereals!

Pasta with Tabouli and Red Sauce

  • February 23rd, 2010

    Tonight we had a super easy meal…great for those giving the Daniel Fast a shot or…for anyone!

    Whole Wheat Pasta with Red Sauce and Tabouli. The trick is finding a sauce without sugar! You’d be surprised how many things you buy have sugar (and preservatives) in them, it’s actually quite ridiculous. We found an awesome product at Kroger, it’s a Private Selection sauce that is all natural ingredients…perfect. Takes a little more time at the grocery store, but I highly encourage you to check out the labels of the things you are buying, there is absolutely no need for sugar in red sauce.

    We also added in some crumbled tabouli for some more calories and extra protein. Tabouli has a nutty texture and really takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. You’ll probably have to head over to your Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s to find this product, but it adds a nice texture to this meal…kind of like ground meat! So throw it in a pan, cook it up and then toss it into your pasta, sauce and some green peppers….delish and easy!