In our country, we so often use food to express our love and compassion for someone. When a friend or neighbor is sick, grieving the death of a loved one, or just having a hard time, we are speedy to show up with food. When a new neighbor moves in, the hospitable thing to do is "take them a plate of cookies" or some other sugary treat. As I look back, I can't begin to tell you how many batches of chocolate chip cookies I have baked, how many hundreds of boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes I purchased, or how many pies and cakes I've baked and served with great love.
Through this journey of healing using the foods God planned and provided for my body, He has shown me just how much I really WASN'T expressing my love in a loving way to my family and friends when I prepared and served those sugary treats that were loaded with refined sugar. You've surely heard the many findings about refined sugar and how addictive it is, how little mice in a laboratory go for the sugar before they go for the cocaine, how our society is addicted to these refined sugars and the sugar is put in so many unexpected foods, and how so many other addictions are ultimately linked back to an underlying craving for sugar. Without a doubt, I was "addicted" to cookies or anything that had a cup of granulated sugar in it.
And yet, God is so generous and gracious. He didn't leave me in that place of longing for sweets but instead He opened my eyes to ways that I can use the sweet ingredients that He provides to make nutritious goodies that also satisfy my sweet tooth. Sometimes I humor myself with the thought that Jesus must have had a "sweet tooth" Himself! He talked about the fig tree and figs are a very sweet fruit. There are also a number of references in the Bible about honey which is very sweet AND can be used to bring healing from seasonal allergies. One of the oldest fruits available is the Medjool date which has its origins in the Middle East and Africa. Medjool dates are one of the fruits I use in a number of protein balls that I make and freeze. There are so many tasty dried fruits (for example.....apricots, raisins, and cherries) that can be used to supply the natural sugar that God provided for my sweet tooth. When you grind these fruits in a food processor or blender and mix them with other nutritious ingredients like raw nuts and coconut oil, you have a wonderful sweet combination that will satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time as feed your body real food for energy and healing.
Keeping a variety of tasty snacks ready and at my fingertips has become a part of my daily plan so I don't get caught out somewhere without a nutritious snack. It takes time and a bit of planning. God gives us the time and the food that He created for our good nourishment. He allows each of us free will to choose how we will use the gift of time. Here are a few simple ideas for taking along sweet snacks that don't require a cooler bag:
Fill a number of small snack baggies with a variety of organic raw nuts which are a powerhouse of protein and great oils (walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, pine, macadamia, etc.) along with some organic raisins, unsweetened cherries, or unsweetened cranberries. (Be careful with the cranberries and cherries because most have added sugar so read the labels.) As you're walking out the door, take a baggie with you so you're prepared.
Make energy balls and freeze them. After they are frozen, put 2 or 3 of these in some small snack baggies and put the baggies in the freezer. Again, as you're walking out the door, open the freezer and grab a baggie.
In future blogs, I'll share additional recipes for sweet treats that are now a part of my eating plan. Below you'll find two recipes for energy balls. One uses Medjool dates and the other uses dried cherries as the primary sweetener. Be creative and make these your own recipes. If there's an ingredient that you're not so fond of, remove it, and substitute in another nutritious ingredient that you will enjoy. God has blessed us with such an abundance of beautiful food to choose from. Each food was created for our nourishment and healing. We worship an awesome God who feeds us lovingly from a bounty of healing foods!
