Brazilian Sweet Potato Salad

This gluten-free, low fat Brazilian style sweet potato salad is sure to tantalize your taste buds. Plus each cup of sweet potato provides 76 mg of calcium and 950 mg. of potassium.  

• 2 lb. sweet potatoes
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, rinsed
• 1 tsp gluten-free tamari soy sauce
• 1 tbl vinegar
• 1/2 med red onion, diced
• fresh ground black pepper (optional)
• 2 tbl mango jam
• 1 tbl dijon mustard
• 1 15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Directions:

Dry ingredients:

Cut ends off of sweet potatoes. Peel and place in pot. Cover, boil until soft and tender, about 30 min. Drain, set aside and let cool. 

Once cooled, cube and put in big bowl. Add one 15 oz. can of red kidney beans, half a red onion, diced. Set aside.

Dressing:

In a separate bowl, add 1 tbl dijon mustard, 2 tbl mango jam, 1 tbl gluten-free tamari soy sauce, and 2 tsp vinegar. Mix well.

Combine: 

Add dressing to dry ingredients and stir again, until potatoes, beans, cilantro and onion are coated. 

Finish:

Add freshly ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Refrigerate for at least an hour, allowing flavors to blend.

An Daniel Fast Twist to a Traditional Navy Bean Pudding Recipe

Navy Bean Pudding

This recipe has been adapted from a traditional navy bean pie recipe. I’ve omitted the eggs, butter and milk and substituted coconut milk in lieu of the cow’s milk and agave nectar instead of sugar. The coconut milk will create a smooth texture and creamy consistency.

This recipe can also be used to make navy bean pie, just place the pudding in a pre-made pie shell and chill for about 2 hours.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• one 15 ounce can of navy beans, drained and rinsed or 2 cups of navy beans soaked overnight and cooked until tender
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon clove
• 1/2 teaspoon alcohol free vanilla extract
• a pinch of pink salt

Directions:

In a food processor or blender, place navy beans in first. Blend until smooth, adding the coconut milk a little bit at a time and then adding the vanilla extract and agave nectar. Blend until it has a creamy, smooth consistency. (If you are using a regular blender, it may take up to 3 minutes to reach the desired consistency.) Add cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, ginger and cloves and pulse until fully incorporated into the mixture. Place in individual bowls and chill until for at least an hour.

Tips:

• If you have some pumpkin pie spice handy, you can use that instead of adding the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove separately.

• As far as coconut milk is concerned, you can use it straight from the can or buy the carton in the refrigerated section of your local health food store. Just make sure that it doesn't contain carrageenan, as carrageenan has been liked to serious gastrointestinal issues.

A word about agave:

• Agave is a succulent. Normally, they are not grown from seeds. New planting are generally taken from cuttings. However, it is a seed bearing plant and can be grown from seeds, but modern manufacturing processes typically omit this step.

• Agave is a sweetener. During your Daniel Fast, you may feel convicted not to consume any sweeteners. If this is the case, then you will want to omit the agave nectar and serve with fresh vegetables instead.

Summer Fresh Sunflower Seed Pâté

Organic raw sunflower seeds can be found in the bulk

section of most health food stores for a very reasonable

price, which makes this a frugal alternative to more costly nut recipes.

Three and a half ounces of this pâté provides over 100 mg. 

of calcium, 654 mg. of potassium and, don’t forget, each 

ounce of coconut water bumps the potassium content up 

by an additional 70 mg.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds (soak for 8 hours)
• the juice of one fresh lime
• 1 medium clove of garlic
• 5 - 6 ounces of peach flavored coconut water
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• preservative free hot sauce (optional)
• salt, to taste (optional)

Directions:

Soak sunflower raw seeds on the counter for about 8 hours. 

If time permits, leave them in a bowl on the kitchen counter 

for 3-4 hours. This will start the sprouting process, even 

though you won't be able to see their tails at this stage.

Rinse the sunflower seeds with purified water, allowing the 

husks to float to the top. Place the garlic in the food processor, 

pulse until finely chopped. Then add the sunflower seeds, and 

lime juice. Pulse until it becomes a paste (you'll still see some 

bits.) Then add the hot sauce. Taste, add salt and pepper

Tips:

• If you can’t find the peach flavored coconut water, just buy 

the plain coconut water and and half a peach, either fresh 

or frozen (please let thaw first).

• Allow the flavors in the pâté to come together a bit for a 

few hours in the refrigerator before serving. 

• Plan ahead, don’t skip the soaking and pre-sprouting 

stages.

• Don't soak the sunflower seeds longer than 12 hours or 

they may become bitter.

• After you have rinsed the sunflower seeds, you can leave 

them in the refrigerator for a few hours until you are ready 

to make the pâté, but remember, you still need to allow 

time in the fridge for a bit before serving. 

• A food processor is recommended for this recipe, but if 

you don't have on, a blender will do the trick as well. 

Just stop and scrape the sides down often.

A Seed Bearing Plant Based Diet

In Daniel Chapter 1:12 the King James Version says, “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.”

Now, I wasn’t there to see what Daniel and his companions ate during that time in history, but when I looked up the meaning of the word pulse, I found that pulse means “grain, bean or seed.” Although, some of the new bible versions translate it to mean vegetable, but that's not exactly accurate. I like to refer to the The Daniel Fast as a seed based plant diet. Therefore in my opinion, only those plants which may be grown from seeds are acceptable.

Here’s the short list of food items that come from seed bearing plants:

• Grains, beans, and legumes
• Nuts and Seeds
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Herbs and Spices

So basically, anything that can be grown from a seed would be acceptable, except of course wine, which is made from a seed bearing plant, but contains alcohol.

Four Top Picks for Calcium Rich Herbal Tea Infusions

Background Story

Originally, I put this list together when I still lived in China. By that time, I had already moved to Chengdu. Chengdu is famous for their quaint little tea houses, but all over China you will discover that the Chinese people have a love affair with loose leaf tea. And that love affair translates to a very strong tea drinking culture. In just about every grocery store, you will find thermoses, mugs and jugs that contain a screen topper that serves to prevent the loose tea from slipping out when you take a sip.

Here in the states, we have to settle for tea balls and occasionally you might find a tea pot with a fine mesh screen insert, which in my opinion, is preferable to tea balls, but tea balls will do in a pinch.

Nutritional Data & Practical Advice

The nutritional data I used was calculated on a per ounce basis, unless otherwise noted. In order to get the most out of your tea, only reuse it twice. Refilling your cup more than three times, is bound to undermine the nutritional integrity of the tea. By the third time around, the nutritional benefit will be considerably weakened.

My List of the Top 4 Calcium Rich Herbal Teas

Below are my 4 top picks for calcium rich tea, remember that calcium blocks the uptake of strontium-90 and is essential to strong bones and teeth. An additional bonus is that all these teas are rich in other minerals, to some degree or another.

1) Comfrey leaf - has traditionally been used to “knit bones” when used in the form of a poultice applied over the injury. Comfrey leaves are high in calcium and contain 600 mg per oz. 60 mcg. of chromium, trace amounts of iron (0.4 mg) and 23 mg. of magnesium.

2) Oatstraw - has been used to treat everything from minor skin irritations to anxiety. Oatstraw contains 476 mg. of calcium, 140 mcg. of chromium, and 400 mg. of magnesium.

3) Peppermint leaves - are mostly known for their ability to freshen breath and help calm upset tummies, but peppermint leaves also contain (for every 100 grams) 234 mg. of calcium, 5 mg. of iron, 80 mg. of magnesium, and 569 mg. of potassium.

4) Red raspberry leaf - is traditionally recommended during pregnancy, but you can receive its nourishing benefits no matter who you are because raspberry leaf tea contains 403 mg. of calcium, and 40 mcg. of chromium.

Helpful Links: Coe's Comfrey PDF, Peppermint, Comfrey

List of Minerals that Block Radioactive Isotopes

The Daniel fast is the best diet to protect yourself from the harmful effects of Fukushima fallout. Eating low on the food chain (just like Daniel and his Hebrew companions ate while in Babylonian captivity) is critical because all those anti-oxidant rich foods, high in essential minerals are necessary in order to block your body from absorbing radioactive contamination. 

Below is a partial list of the radioactive isotopes and the corresponding minerals and one vitamin. As you can see, these are all essential minerals and nutrients that we need in order to survive.

Radioactive Isotopes Mimic Real Minerals

Calcium	Strontium-90
Iodine	Iodine-131
Iron	Plutonium-238, Plutonium-239
Potassium	Cesium-137
Sulfur	Sulfur-35
Zinc	Zinc-65
B12	Cobalt-60

Blocking the abortion of radioactive isotopes is the goal, the prize is your health.