Nutrition has become increasingly confusing, hasn’t it? Information that once was “nutrition gospel” becomes outdated and the newest information contradicts the old.
“Fat is bad…wait, fat is good. Eggs are bad… – scratch that, eat more! Eat several small meals throughout the day… actually, fasting often is better!”
With so much information, and the ability to google whatever “diet truth” you’d like to find, what’s a Jesus-loving soul to do? How do we lose weight?
I’d like to propose 1 solution that I truly believe will help everyone, whether keto loving, paleo preaching, or weight watching. Are you ready?
The Solution – Cut out heavily processed foods and bonus, start MAKING YOUR OWN.
Why? Because Processed foods are mastering you!!
Highly processed foods are typically the most convenient foods usually coming in a box or bag and generally ready or nearly ready for you to consume. According to Harvard “Highly processed foods go beyond the incorporation of salt, sweeteners, or fat to include artificial colors and flavors and preservatives that promote shelf stability, preserve texture, and increase palatability.”
Typically, any diet worth its weight (loss), would start steering you clear from these foods straight away and it’s no wonder. Fake food ingredients, sugar alcohols, PUFA’s (polyunsaturated fatty acids), and foreign dyes and chemicals are literally destroying our bodies at a cellular level.
Studies have shown that oils like soybean, Sunflower, Safflower, Corn, canola, cottonseed, and palm oil are hijacking our mitochondria and inhibiting our body’s God-given abilities. We are no longer able to burn fat for fuel making us more prone to inflammation AND convincing our brains we need more of the delicious processed foods (Dr. Cate- List of Good Fats). Our Mitochondria are built to be powerhouses, but our convenient lifestyles have them confused and unable to perform their original design which is quite literally making us sick.
Despite the actual science behind what the ingredients in many processed foods like bread, muffins, cereals, crackers, salad dressings, ready-to-eat meals is physically doing to our brains, arteries, heart, I believe the bigger problem is that we have forgotten how to find delight in our kitchens and the heart of our home.
We have unlearned how to delight in the work of our hands and believe the lies that we can’t cook, we don’t have time, and it’s not worth it. We have bought into convenience and the faster ways of this world, and we are missing out on an opportunity to slow down and enjoy discipline in the creation and consumption of our food.
Genesis 1:29 God said, “I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will be your food.
Genesis 2:15 – The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
We have forgotten how to find delight in our kitchens and the heart of our home.
I don’t know about you, but when I take the time to create a beautiful meal, there is such delight while consuming it. The converse has become true as well. If I can easily throw food on a plate (or eat straight from a bag) I tend to not take my time to enjoy and appreciate the meal.
I joke with my Wellness Revelation classes when I eat chips or crackers “I can’t hear the Holy Spirit over the crunch!”
Not only has convenience taught us to eat quickly, but we also have access to foods our great-great-grandparents only had or consumed once in a while (or never). What once was a “special occasion” food is now available on grocery store shelves almost year-round. Instead of operating discernment about what we eat, we’ve become accustomed to indulging our flesh on a daily basis at our every whim.
This topic is incredibly overwhelming for so many. Women especially are filled with deep-seated shame because the enemy has twisted their convictions from “I should DO better” to “It’s not even worth trying” and “I can’t do this.”
The idea of cooking meals AND snacks is daunting and even conjures tears for my clients. To me, this is indicative of a stronghold and an area Jesus simply wants to bring freedom.
So where do we begin?
1. Start Small
Read packages to eliminate as many junky ingredients as you can. Be informed about seed oils, unknown ingredients, preservatives, and what eating processed foods does to your body. Pick one item at a time you’d like to practice making on your own and be patient. Find reputable, less processed brands and local stores and bakeries.
In our home, I started with granola bars and protein bars. These are both items I and my kids loved. I found out how simple it was to make these items and how much cheaper it was too. Now, we keep them in our freezer ready to go when needed. Slowly, over time, we started craving our homemade foods more and after tweaking and trying recipes, we eventually stopped wanting the “old stuff” at all and enjoy them occasionally at parties, etc. I see this as the kindness of God showing up in our delight to be disciplined.
2. Shop with discipline
Simply stop buying the things you feel convicted that your family should not be consuming. This takes a bit of time, but I’ve found that “out of sight – out of mind” is a real thing. To help our brains and bodies heal from the addiction we may have to eliminate certain foods, patterns, and habits, so it’s best to completely break up with the culprits for a time, or possibly for good.
Finding delight in our kitchens also means finding discipline. Hebrews 12:11 tells us “for the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. “
Over time, in our home, we’ve come up with certain disciplines and practices that have yielded such wonderful fruits. For instance, we no longer order pizza from a restaurant. Instead, we have a homemade pizza night. We make dough together in the kitchen aid mixer, roll it out and create our own pizzas. These homemade pizzas are delicious because they are made with ingredients I trust and my kids adore.
The goal of finding delight in your kitchens should not be to adhere to strict and rigid rules but to simply slow down and find joy in the creation of food. Connecting with the process truly shows respect to God’s gifts and helps us discern our true want for food. I know I appreciate a loaf of homemade bread or confectionery treat when I put in the patience to create it from start to finish and the respect I have in consuming it is vastly different than buying any product from the store.
Remember, “Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
Friends we cannot serve God well while we are mastered with any idols. I challenge my brothers and sisters to take back territory that may have been stolen in the hearts of our homes. Get in your kitchen and find delight.
In the comments below, share one processed food item you can replace today.
Alicia is a Revelation Wellness Instructor from Platoon 21. She lives in Clearwater Florida with her husband Brian, 6-year-old daughter Hazel, and 2-year-old son Heath. She longs to see women free in their kitchens and works with her company “Finding Delight” coaching women on the basics of nutrition while helping them clean out their kitchens and hearts while creating wonderful food. She can be found on IG where she shares, recipes, tips, and encouragement and can be reached at aFitnessWitness@gmail.com.
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43 Responses
This was so good! Thank you! What we get out of our bodies when we put in the good stuff truly matters to God! I’ve found so much joy in cooking from scratch foods and sharing them with my family. I expanded my garden last season, and love it even more when I’ve been able to cook food I’ve grown myself. And why I haven’t thought of freezing our homemade granola bars before I’ll never know, but will be doing that from now on! Thanks for the tip!
That’s so awesome, Jodi! I’d love to start gardening!
I’m so glad my words blessed you in some way Jodi! I really want to learn how to garden well but in FL it’s hard! I would love to share recipes with each other! Find me on IG @finding_delight or on FB @ Alicia Anita Herron! Blessing sister!
I would love to know how to make protein bars and granola bars especially protein bars because I eat them.
There are some wonderful recipes all over the internet! Maybe we’ll share one on the blog or IG TV soon!
Hi Janice!
These are some of my favorite recipes from Dashing Dish. I would love to connect and share more with you! Find me at @finding_delight on IG or Alicia Anita Herron on FB!
https://dashingdish.com/recipe/no-bake-kid-friendly-protein-bars
Would love to learn to make homemade granola bars!
Yum! Thanks for sharing, Heidi!
https://dashingdish.com/recipe/no-bake-kid-friendly-protein-bars
This is a favorite recipe! I also got gifted an awesome Pampered chef bar mold that I LOVE!
I have replaced most processed food in my kitchen. My husband and I use a plan called emeals. We choose the plan we want that week and shop with a list. I love having home cooked meals made from whole foods. We maintain our weight and our health. I also just learned to can. So I am starting to make and preserve whole foods for us. I truly do delight in preparing food.
That’s so fun, Michelle! Thanks for the ideas!
YES! This is awesome! I’ll have to check out emeals! That sounds so helpful. We basically are in maintenance mode over here too and it’s really enjoyable to save money by cooking at home as well. I would love to learn how to can. I just made jams for the first time for the freezer and was gifted a dehydrator I’m excited to try!
Great article – I love the thought of finding delight in my kitchen! Thank you for sharing
Yes! We’re so glad this blessed you, Cynthia!
While these are amazing thoughts please send help to those of us that work full time and do not have the freedom of time to stay in the
kitchen late at night. We get home just in time to try and prepare a meal, clean the kitchen, prepare lunches for the next day and bathe and
to bed due to REQUIRED early work hours the next day. HELP US TOO!!
We encourage you to start where you are. Those circumstances are real and it is really difficult to juggle a full schedule and cooking at home. Check out the blog for more ideas about healthy eating at home or while you’re out.
I am trying to find Alicia Herron on IG, but there are a few. Which on is you? 🙂
Here she is: https://www.instagram.com/afitnesswitness/
Thanks Gabby for all that you do!
I’m also @finding_delight Leigh! I’d love to connect! 😀 I love our Rev family!!
no more chips only occasionally
That’s a great start, Naomi!
This is my goal after reading this post too. I went into my grocery order and deleted all the chips!
I am good at avoiding the processed foods, my struggle is “the joy of cooking”! LOL! I have not found that joy. It feels like a task, and one more thing I have to do. This was a great article I will be sharing and reading again to see where I can take my first baby step toward more creative food prepping. Thank you!
We’re so glad this was helpful, Maggie! We’re praying you find that joy again!
I get it!! Trying for simplicity myself in the meals. One thing that has helped me is doing 3 meals rather than 5. 5 was too many for me. We have leftovers. AND..always eat tacos..so easy! My husband will even eat wrapped in lettuce now!
Yes, simplicity is a great place to begin! If we make it too complicated, we won’t follow through!
I’m so glad you shared a struggle!! One thing that has truly helped me, is called “Batch Cooking”. We’ll make a big batch of protein and it gets to become a few different meals. For instance, grilled chicken thighs (which aren’t that nutrtionally different and are FULL of flavor) are delicious in salads, taco’s and stir-fry. I also would say, instead of making different and new recipes each day, try to think “what type of FLAVOR/Cuisine does my family like” and go from there. We do a lot of Asian, Greek, Mexican and American style meals often. I hope this encourages you!
Thank you for this message! I wholeheartedly agree that when we put in the work in our own kitchens, we appreciate our food all the more!
Granola bars are a great place to start!
Thanks for sharing, Alissa!
You gotta start small or it’s SOOOO overwhelming!
Hello,
Thank you.
I would like to replace white rice with brown rice, black rice, and/or so on.
His love,
Tine.
That’s a great replacement!
I can replace shells for salad when we make tacos.
That’s a brilliant idea!
I love a good taco salad too!
This is really great. I have been on this journey step by step. Currently I am replacing my granola bars with veggies. I am in the car most days so it started by packing a cooler rather than either eating nothing or French fries. I started to feel so yucky with what I was eating. Learned all if this thru Rev Well. Step by step I am realizing food really is fuel. Especially for my brain and mood! I will be 60 this year and now I just don’t know how I lived on so much sugar!! I am working on the cooking part. Trying to not make it an expedition and being perfect!
Cheering you on, Janet! That is a wonderful strategy!
Keep going Janet! We are never ever above learning something new! It’s so wonderful for our brains too! I am thankful that you shared the tips that have helped you over the years! I think we are learn to crave what we eat and so the more good nutritous foods we consume, the more we want to consume them! I pray you’ll continue to try new things in this area! One recipe I have loved are these delicious Zucchini Fritters! These would be a great car snack even just at room temp in my opinion. I ate leftovers with eggs and love them!
Delish Zucchini Fritters
•1 ½ lbs. zucchini grated (I added 1/4 cup of shredded carrot too for color)
1 tsp. salt
½ cup flour or GF 1-to-1
¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
1 large egg whisked
2 cloves garlic crushed (I used 4 😉 )
¼ tsp. black pepper (I added 1 tsp of Italian seasoning)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grate zucchini using a food processor with a grating attachment or with a boxed grater.
Lay zucchini out in a flat layer and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
Strain excess moisture from zucchini using a cheesecloth or a thin dish towel. You will end up with about 1 cup of grated zucchini and 1 cup of strained liquid.
In a large bowl combine grated zucchini, flour, cheese, egg, garlic, and black pepper. Mix until well combined.
Form 8 equally-sized balls that are each about 2-3 tablespoons each.
In a large cast iron skillet over medium heat add 1 tablespoon oil and 4 balls. Smash zucchini balls with the back of a spatula and spread out to about 2 ½ – 3 inches in diameter and about ½-inch thick.*
Sear zucchini fritters for 2-3 minutes per side or until browned. Remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining four zucchini balls.
Place all zucchini fritters back into the skillet and bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes.
Serve zucchini fritters with sour cream and enjoy!
I like what you stated about trying not to make it an expedition and being perfect. That really resonated with me as I had tried to be perfect in finding the “right” recipes and in turn, my family said nope, they weren’t having it, and now I’m looking forward to finding joy in my kitchen .
Amen! You’re off the hook to make it perfect!
This spoke life into me as I have been studying the fruit of self-control and this helped me realize how I had been sabotaging myself because I would allow certain foods in the house that I had let go of in the past, but it slowly crept back in. I know hot dogs are not good for me, but I saw it as easy and everyone was happy. My family would always get upset if I cooked, but I prayed and asked God to help me find joy in cooking and creating in my kitchen. This reminds me of how my grandma used to cook. Every meal was cooked with love, and I choose to do the same as I get back to the heart of my household. I used to try to remove everything at once, and it backfired in a bad way, but this has convicted me to start small with replacing sugary cereals and making granola bars and protein bars. That sounds pretty good!
What a beautiful testimony! Thanks for sharing, Tabitha!