Fasting

Water, fasting, self-control, and discipline

Fasting History of Lent Do you celebrate Lent? The first record of early Christians started observing Lent probably in about 325AD following the Council of Nicea. (The Council of Nicea also developed the Nicean creed. This creed has become foundational in many reformed theology churches even today. Search for it yourself to read it.) However, Christians were likely practicing lent as early as the second century. The genesis of lent comes from the desire to engage in some type of fasting in an effort to honor and remember Jesus’ 40…

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Simple Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Simple Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette ½ cup Balsamic Vinegar ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 Tbsp brown sugar 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1/8 tsp pepper 1/8 tsp salt Combine all Ingredients.  Shake well before serving. Tips: Use a good quality balsamic vinegar, don’t buy the least expensive one at the store.  Use fresh minced garlic, the refrigerated kind doesn’t have as much flavor.  Freshly ground pepper and salt are also worth the extra flavor! Nutrition Information: 59 Calories, 5.6 g Total Fat, 2.4 g Total Carbohydrate, 0 g Dietary…

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Indian Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken

Indian Butter Chicken This butter chicken is so full of fabulous flavors!  I love trying new foods often, especially ethnic foods!  My husband is a big fan of Indian foods and so I have been trying to incorporate them a little more into our meal plans.  Not only is this meal delicious, but it is also full of foods and spices shown to reduce inflammation.  Garlic, ginger, and cayenne pepper are all shown to have anti-inflammatory effects! Perhaps my favorite part of this meal are the smells that fill my…

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Broccoli Slaw

Broccoli Slaw

Broccoli Slaw Serves: 6 Cook Time: 0 Prep Time: 15 minutes This week I was trying to make my fresh vegetables last to reduce my number of trips to the grocery store.  I had bought some fresh broccoli including the stems and I was steaming the heads for dinner.  As I was about to throw away the stems, I started thinking about the waste!  Here I was in need of more fresh veggies and I was throwing away a perfectly good part of this broccoli.  I started brainstorming and came…

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Roasted Parmesan Broccoli

Roasted Parmesan Broccoli

Roasted Parmesan Broccoli I absolutely LOVE roasting vegetables!  It is one of my favorite ways to prepare and eat fresh produce.  Roasting brings out some wonderful flavors and with broccoli, it reduces the bitterness.  Lastly, roasting vegetables helps to break down the cell walls of the veggies to make more nutrients available to your body! Broccoli is full of vitamins C, fiber, potassium, and iron.  It is also one of our vegetables with the highest amounts of protein.  Broccoli has been shown to help increase our immune systems and reduce…

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Easy Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad

Easy Caprese Salad This caprese salad is so easy and delicious!  I love making different kinds of salads in the summer using the fresh vegetables right out of my garden.  There is nothing like the fresh taste of home grown tomatoes and basil. This salad is full of flavor and is a good sources of protein when using fresh mozzarella cheese.  My mozzarella this month came from this cheese maker, and was absolutely amazing! Makes 4 Servings Ingredients 4 Small chopped tomatoes, or about 40 cherry or snacking tomatoes, quartered…

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Vegetable Lasagna

Vegetable Lasagna

Delicious Vegetable Lasagna! Wow!  This vegetable lasagna turned out so much better than I could have hoped for!!!  It was amazing! It started with an idea from a recipe in Diabetic Living. I like getting these magazines because often they have fun recipes to try!  The recipe caught my eye since I had a Nutrition Genetic Profile done in a couple of years ago through Nutrigenomix.  The test showed that my body (especially my metabolism and my heart) do better eating less saturated fat (animal fats).  This made me really consider…

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Mediterranean Chicken Bowls

Mediterranean Chicken Bowls This recipe was inspired by an impromptu dinner gathering this weekend with some friends.  I actually hadn’t planned what I was going to make for dinner, but I knew I wanted something with hummus and feta.  I don’t know, I guess I was craving all things Mediterranean!  I searched for some recipes, but didn’t really find one I liked, so I made this up, and it was delicious!!!  I hope you enjoy it too! These chicken bowls are so delicious they will please the whole family.  They…

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Home Made Crispy Chicken Salad with Dijon Honey Mustard Dressing

Crispy Chicken Salad

I just love a good salad! I don’t know about you but I truly love a good salad.  This Crispy Chicken Salad is delicious!  Summer is ending now and there is an amazing harvest of tomatoes, so I wanted to find a new way to use my tomatoes.  This salad definitely hit the spot. I love the fresh flavor of cilantro and the creaminess of avocado!  Avocados have so many amazing benefits!  They are loaded with fiber and tons of healthy monounsaturated fats!  I also love the flavors of Parmesan…

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Cinnamon Honey Roasted Almonds

Update: I first posted this recipe about 4 years ago when we had just moved to Ireland!  We are back in the United States now and I still make this recipe quite often as my whole family just loves them.  I hope you enjoy them also! I have been trying to find a suitable snack for our family when we go out for our Irish outings.  Since Adam is deathly allergic to peanuts, and Joshua is allergic to most of the other nuts, almonds are the only nut our family…

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