Adapted to the Capacity of the Weak

A word of wisdom, for the benefit of the saints of Zion, sent by revelation, showing the will of God for the temporal salvation of all saints in the lasts days. Given for a principle with promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints.
Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation.
All wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man. Every herb, every fruit, to be used with prudence and thanksgiving.
Flesh of beast and of the fowls of the air, are to be used sparingly. And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used. Only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine. These hath God made for the use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger.
All grain is to be the staff of life.
All who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones, and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge. And shall run and not be weary and shall walk and not faint.
And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

Adapted to the capacity of the weak... the footnote attached to "weak" leads us to 2 Cor 12:10, D&C 1:19, and TG Humility.
Respectively, each reference teaches:
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (Weak is once more attached to a footnote TG Humility.)
The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh. (Weak footnote = TG meek.)

I have many times denounced the verses that teach us that it is pleasing to the Lord that we spare his creatures except for when in dire need. I was not humble, submissive, or teachable by the Spirit. I didn't want to listen, it was hard, it would take work to learn a new way, and that was more important than making a choice that was pleasing to my Savior. I justified and rationalized that since it wasn't a commandment, it had no part in my life. Until I opened my heart to truly understand how this principle could bless my life, I had ears that would not hear and eyes that would not see.
This principle was adapted to the capacity of the humble. Of the meek. Of those prepared to open their hearts and be blessed. I know this, because I could not follow this principle until I humbled myself. Only the meek strive to please their Lord.
I also feel that I am at times 'the weakest of the saints.' Overweight and unhealthy, weak to appetites and indulgences, and this promise is adapted so that even I can follow it. It may take work, but it is absolutely possible for someone like me.

Wisdom to Heal Thy Life

Can I just say that I love the url I came up with for this blog? I remember seeing 'heal thy life' in the words 'healthy life' and the implications really had an impact on me. Since my goal to be healthy led me to the word of wisdom, it seemed fitting that this blog be named 'Wisdom to Heal Thy Life.' I just figured I should have an explanation in here somewhere.

Bountiful Baskets...and bountiful blessings

Okay, so I went a little over board when I first decided this is the road we were taking and my first shopping trip was EXPENSIVE! I spent $350 on mostly perishable food in one day. I think I was trying to replace everything in my house to organic and vegan in one day. Bad planning on my part, but we also had been scavenging for food for about a week while I tried to find recipes I thought my family would eat, so that I could take a complete list to the store. (So that means we were HUNGRY!)
Well, I've been doing some research on local farmer's markets and I've found a better way. One of the things I found is Bountiful Baskets. It's a produce co-op, and I spent about half of what I would have at the store, and I placed my order online and picked it up early this morning in under 20 minutes, including drive time. It's as local as possible and 100% organic. I am very excited to have found this.
I also found a cool little downtown street market on Friday mornings. I haven't physically checked it out yet, but online it seems very promising. It's for local crops and also small specialty suppliers for natural products.

I had another food victory, though different than the previous one. I didn't have a specific recipe in mind last night for dinner and I was afraid we were going to splurge again on eating out. (It's really expensive when you want to eat out, but still want to have a semblance of nutrition, or find anything vegetarian that's not just a dumb side salad that's not made with quality ingredients.) So I just started cutting up vegetables - I sauted some garlic and then added a little water and softened some onions in it, and then started grabbing vegetable after vegetable, washing and slicing and throwing them in the pot. Potatoes, carrots, bok choy, celery, to name a few. Then I filled the pot with water til it covered everything, threw in a vegetable bouillon cube, and some lentils and Voila! A very simple, but delicious, dinner that my children gobbled up, had seconds, and asked for thirds. It's not the easiest thing in the world to train children that are used to eating processed foods, to eat their vegetables. It's equally difficult with husbands too! ;)  But he is on board with better health and he added the veggies to the mac and cheese he made for the girls yesterday. So as much as I tease, and sometimes vent, he really is a good support, and has not complained once about some of the concoctions I've put in front of him, even though I've thought some were really terrible. 

I feel so blessed. :)

Victorious!

So, I know I announced a vegan diet in my first post, but I want to just state that this is all a learning experience for me, and very experimental as I try to figure out how to follow the word of wisdom. One thing I've learned is that the word of wisdom is not strictly a vegetarian or vegan diet, but the closer you stick to those, the better health you will have. My goal is to be able to form our meals around healthy grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruit. Organic produce is a priority. I learned that milk and eggs have a season, mostly spring and fall where it is produced abundantly without artificially interfering with natural cycles. I think the key might be now to seek out the organic, local suppliers.
So I guess what this disclaimer is really about, is that I'm not going back on my first post if I eat dairy. I'm committed to living the word of wisdom, and as I learn more and experiment more, what I thought I knew may become irrelevant to living this lifestyle. Going from strict vegan in post 1 to circumstantial vegetarian in post 2 was a direct result of further reading on how to really live this principle of promise.

So now onto my little victory. The girls wanted macaroni and cheese. We have a few boxes left, and we are still in a bit of transition because it requires a completely different pantry than the one we kept previously. Cailin made a request for tuna fish in it, which Jenna echoed, and Mike seemed to encourage.
I was SO frustrated. I know the girls don't understand the changes and they've been such troopers trying to choke down some of the less than successful dinners I've tried. But Mike, well, he knows where I stand, and I really don't appreciate his lack of support because I'm trying to nourish my family and follow the Lord's commandments and it's hard when not a single one of them stands with me. He's the only one who knows enough to choose to do so.
So I was boiling water for the already infamous box of processed food, seeing the can of tuna he so helpfully aided the girls in getting out of the cupboard, and I was fuming... so much so that I issued a warning to the little vultures gathered around my feet that it was not a good time to be in the kitchen with me. Mike quickly ushered them out of my way. My brain was going on overtime. Tuna fish? Am I really going to go along with this? And then I wondered if I could somehow do something to improve the nutrition of this meal, and I quickly set to work, steaming some veggies and chopping them up so that there was as much vegetables as noodles. I used a little butter and the fake cheese powder, but next time I'll have a better solution, but what I created tasted wonderful and was like a cheesy broccoli pasta dish.
The girls ate it, my husband loved it, and I'll enjoy it when it's whole grain and all natural products - which I am now on a mission to create the perfect recipe so that my kids will still ask for macaroni and cheese, but it can nourish them, not just fill their stomachs.

Veggies in mac and cheese may not seem so monumental to many of you, but I have never cooked or ate to nourish myself. It's always been to satisfy gluttony, as shaming as that is to say, but flavor, content, and quantity were what I cooked and ate for a majority of my life. Vegetables don't satisfy any of that, so why eat them? They take work and it requires that you even buy any. Everything I am doing right now is new to me. So if it seems basic and elementary, it is. It should be common sense, but application is the key to 'knowing' stuff. You can know vegetables are good for you and easily rarely eat them.

A New Endeavor

I was about to start this sentence, "At church last week," but I didn't want everyone to turn tail and run. Yes, what I am about to unveil is in regards to what I believe, but at most, I'm just sharing my own experience, not preaching, not trying to set the example, not trying to sway anyone to my opinion, not trying to, well, do anything other than write about myself and the reasons behind my choices because I like sharing information and feeling understood.

To make a long story as short as possible, I was inspired by Matthew 13 - the parable of the sower. I have all intentions of being like the 4th type of soil, that hears and receives the word, understands it, and does it/gets results. But I think with all the good intentions in this world, it's easy to forget to actually set things in motion, to go and do. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that the heavens are still open and that God calls prophets today, just as in the Bible, and that we still receive present day revelation. The Word of Wisdom was originally given as revelation in the early 1800s. For it's entirety: http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng

It is the reason we believe we shouldn't drink coffee, tea, or alcohol, or smoke/chew tobacco. But so much attention is paid to the don'ts that the do's have all been overlooked. Just to level the field, and be little more relatable, this is very much the same as Daniel 1, particularly after verse 8. http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/dan/1?lang=eng *pulse is foods made of seeds, grains, etc.

So on Sunday, my first meeting a lot was said, but the only part that stuck with me was on listening to God's prophets. Sunday School focused on the parable of the sower and scripture about experimenting on the word, likening the word to a seed. http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/32.28%20-%2034?lang=eng#27 And my last class was on the word of wisdom. These three principals really clicked together for me and I felt impressed to 'experiment on the word,' and see what happened if I 'ate meat sparingly,' particularly in 'cold and famine,' when there are no crops. (reference link above - the 1st one) I live in the desert, and crops are shipped in from all over the world, so I don't think cold or famine describe my situation. I did some scientific research on vegetarian diets and learned some things about animal by products as well, and as far as health is concerned, have grouped them with meat to suit my purposes.

I have always always always struggled with weight. I only lose weight if I starve myself or eradicate carbs from my diet. So if I'm not starving myself or dangerously restricting healthy foods, I am gaining weight. That has naturally made me feel like carbohydrates are to blame. And to be honest, I love WHOLE grains and am very picky to not let processed/white products in. But WHAT IF "in consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days," no carb diets that really do take weight off are a decoy, distracting us from truth, that to heal our bodies we need to nourish them the way God intended? All the success I've had over and over and over again from losing weight by restricting carbs has surely blinded me. The key phrase is 'over and over and over again.' Maybe instead of looking at carbs being at fault for making me gain weight back, I should be looking at the method I lost the weight and figure out a way to lose it for good. Our bodies need plants: grains, vegetables, legumes, fruit. We can only restrict for so long, and at what cost? Trading fiber, antioxidants, nutrients for saturated fats and animal protein. Except, it's not a trade because I always have the latter in my diet. The first two weeks when restricting carbs, I lose almost a pound a day. After two weeks, it slows to half that, and by four weeks I very rarely continue to lose and have never made it to six weeks. And I shudder to think what my blood chemistry looks like at that point. I can't keep up the restriction because the 'high' of losing weight is gone, since it doesn't last more than a month. Plus our bodies are designed for healthy grains and fruits.

On my carb-less diets, I rarely feel hungry because my blood sugar is constantly neutralized and don't have the natural dips and peaks. But I still FEEL restricted. I still LONG for fruits, or some fresh baked multi-grain bread. I get to tame this craving with an artificially sweetened fudgsicle.

Today, I made some whole grain pitas. I made enough dough for 8, and between me and the girls, I thought we'd polish them off. Well, the first two were a learning experience and in the garbage can, the girls split one, while I stuffed some brown rice and veggies into another. I was SO full. And it wasn't very big. I cooked up two more because half each for the girls wasn't enough, but another whole one was almost too much. (These things are seriously only five or six inches in diameter.) I put a very thin spread of jam (like if you dipped a knife in juice and wiped it on your bread) on the last little bit and we each had a bite or two and were done. There are still two balls of dough I had to put in the fridge.

So it seems to me that this new regime makes it so I don't feel hungry, and not just by stifling changes in blood sugar. I don't feel restricted that there was no meat or no sour cream or no butter. I wanted just a tad of sweet at the end and I got it, completely remorse (and artificial ingredient) free.

So here is my experiment. I am going to focus what I eat around grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruit. I will not eat meat, eggs, or dairy for at least two weeks, though I endeavor for a complete lifestyle change longterm and hopefully my children will learn correctly how to nourish their bodies so they don't have the struggles I have had. I'm also going to limit vegetable oils as much as possible and essentially eat a fat free vegan diet, eating only the fats that occur naturally in plants (olives, avocados, etc.) complete with the fiber and nutriets the plant offers (as opposed to just oil that's been squeezed from a plant, sitting fiberless and nutrient-less in a bottle on the shelf.) I don't know if I will cut out the sweeter side, I want to learn how to make desserts out of natural ingredients, but won't do it daily - maybe once a week, and definitely no white sugar or processed sweets.

I'm very excited for this change and to be able to focus more on taking care of my body, listening to what it needs rather than continuing the cycle of having an obsessive need to lose weight and recovering from the restriction with an emotional binge.