What can I do with these veggies?

Early Summer Seasonal Recipes using Kale

Kale is one of the most nutritious vegetables.  2 1/2 cups of Kale have over 1000 mg of calcium, 1 cup of milk has around 400.  It is also high in many other important vitamins and minerals.

These recipes were a hit at our Whole Foods Market cooking class tonight.  Hope you enjoy them, let us know if you made any of them better!

Kale Puttanesca Fresca

Celeste Davis (serves 6)

This is a pasta salad with a raw tomato sauce, think Italian salsa.  We used cilantro by mistake instead of flat leaf parsley and it was great!

1 box Quinoa penne pasta

2 pounds fresh tomatoes (or canned San Marzano)

1 box cherry tomatoes (or grape)

1 medium zucchini squash

1 head lacinto kale (big dark flat leaves)

3 cloves fresh garlic

¼ cup fresh basil leaves

¼ cup fresh parsley leaves

2 sprigs fresh oregano

1 teaspoon – 1 Tablespoon chili pepper flakes

3-4 Tablespoons olive oil  (first cold press, Mediterranean)

20 seeded kalamata olives

3 Tablespoons capers

2 ounces Coarse grated or shaved parmesan reggiano (raw parmesan)

Celtic Sea Salt & Ground White Pepper to taste

Instructions:

Rub serving bowl with one clove of garlic, set aside.

Prepare penne pasta according to package directions, cool.

Grate or shave parmesan reggiano (raw parmesan)

Make Sauce: Chop tomatoes in bite sized pieces

Thin slice onion & kale in food processor with slicing blade

Shred zucchini in food processor with shredding blade

Fine Chop garlic cloves, basil, oregano and parsley in food processor with S blade.

Combine vegetables, olives and capers.  Put in a colander over a large bowl and allow to drain for 10 minutes or more, save the juice to add to the olive oil.

Combine 2 Tablespoons of the juice from the veggies with the olive oil and whisk.

Combine pasta and veggies with your hands, gently tossing until well mixed.  Add olive oil/juice combination and stir again.  If you feel like you want it juicer, stir in more juice a little at a time until desired consistency.  Serve with grated or curled parmesan reggiano cheese at room temperature.

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Kale Bacon & Tomato Salad/Sandwich

Celeste Davis  (serves 4)

Awesome taste and beautiful to serve, make it and take it to parties, barbeques and keep it on hand at home!

Salad Ingredients

1 head lacinto kale

2 handfuls baby spinach

1 pint cherry tomatoes

2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil

1 package turkey bacon

Salad Instructions

Cook turkey bacon in small amount of grape seed oil until crispy, set aside on paper towel in separate container.

Remove Kale stem and thin slice kale with slicing blade of food processor.

Using S blade, chop spinach to coarse chop, pulse 2 times.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half.

Combine all veggies, reserving turkey bacon for later, refrigerate.

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 cup grape seed veganaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon cetlic sea salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons raw local honey

Fresh ground white pepper or red pepper flakes

Dressing Instructions

Combine all in magic bullet and blend well.

Make the salad:

Pour dressing over salad, toss in bacon bits

Make a sandwich:

Stuff the veggies and bacon bits in a pita pocket and drizzle with dressing.

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Krispy Kale Chip

Healthy potato chip replacement

1 head dark green Kale

Spray grape seed oil

Parchment baking paper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Wash Kale, remove stems and spin dry, allow to air dry if necessary, the Kale needs to be dry!  Tear into pieces about ¼ the size of your palm.

Spray grape seed oil over the leaves and toss with your hands to make sure all leaves are well coated.

Put Kale on parchment paper.

Do not salt before baking as Kale will wilt not be crispy.

Bake about 10-12 minutes until Kale is crispy.

Remove from oven allow to cool and then sprinkle with salt or a seasoned salt like a Mrs. Dash flavor or Herbamare.

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Summertime Punch

Celeste Davis (makes 2 quarts)

¼ small watermelon, use rind and seeds if organic

1 pint strawberries

1 pound white grapes

1 cup pineapple

Wash fruit, cut watermelon to go through juicer.

Leave stems on strawberries.

Pull grapes off stem

Run all through juicer, serve over ice

Celebration Food To-Go!

Packaged cookies and pastas can be packed full of harmful, toxic additives and preservatives and way too much sugar!  A national chain grocery store chicken salad recipe revealed 88 ingredients most of which are additives, preservatives, food dyes, etc.  Get this, there is NO CHICKEN in those ingredients!  A homemade chicken salad uses 12 ingredients, most of which are spices and herbs.

These recipes are low in refined sugar and high in nutrition, as a bonus they are quick and easy to make.  Your family and friends will love them, just don’t tell them “it’s healthy”.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

(makes 24 two inch cookies)

These are my favorite cookies, they are chewy with just the right sweetness, low sugar and some protein!  This recipe is my version of one from the Clean Eating magazine (www.cleaneatingmag.com).

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain nut butter (almond, cashew or macadamia nut)

¼ to¾ cup sucanat or Rapadura unrefined sugar

1 large cage free egg

½ teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill aluminum free baking soda

1/3 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips or organic dark chocolate chunks

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• SUGAR:  If you use ¼ cup the cookies will have a soft crunch on the outside but be chewy on the inside.  If you use more sugar they will have a chewy texture all the way through.  I prefer to reduce the sugar to ¼ cup.
• In a bowl, blend nut butter, unrefined sugar, egg and baking soda with an electric mixer until well blended.
• Stir in chocolate
• Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and drop dough by the tablespoon on the parchment paper.
• Bake 10 minutes until lightly browned.
• Allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet (cookies will firm up)
• Remove cookies from baking sheet and finish cooling on a wire rack

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Grandma Davis’ Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grandma Mary Lou Davis, adapted by Celeste Davis makes about 4 dozen

We loved these cookies Grandma made for many years with not-so-healthy ingredients.  This recipe keeps the great taste and texture very little refined sugar and spelt flour rather than wheat flour.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup melted coconut oil

1 cup melted organic butter or earth balance (can also use part nut butter)

¾  cup raw local honey

½ cup organic brown sugar or sucanat

4 eggs

1 teaspoon organic vanilla

2 cups white spelt flour

2 cups whole grain spelt flour

2-teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

2 cups organic rolled oats

1 package Enjoy Life! Chocolate Chips

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• Cream together in Food processor with S blade or in mixer
• Melted coconut oil, softened butter, honey, and eggs, sugar vanilla.  Mixture should be fluffy and well blended.  It will be somewhat liquid because of the melted coconut oil and butter.
• Add dry ingredients:  white and whole grain spelt flour, baking soda, and sea salt and mix by hand or with an electric mixer until well blended.
• Stir in oats and chocolate chips

Bake at 325 degrees F for about 8 minutes until soft and puffy.  Should be soft in the middle and almost look like they are still doughy.

Remove from oven and let sit on the baking pan for a few minutes, put on rack to completely cool.

Bake some now, freeze the dough for later

Dough can be made into balls and frozen.  To bake frozen cookies, put on baking pan and allow to sit for 10 minutes, bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes.

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Janice’s Asian Pasta Salad

Janice Gietzen, adapted by Celeste Davis  (serves 4 as a main dish, more as a side dish)

This is an adaptation of a favorite salad made by my good friend Janice Gietzen.  A Whole Foods cooking class favorite this is a great salad to take to a party or serve to guests; however, it is also very good to make just for you! Amounts of salad ingredients depend on how many you are serving, adjust accordingly.  Cook pasta and marinate veggies the day before, toss together just before serving.

INGREDIENTS

1 package small penne pasta (Quinoa or Rice Pasta is best, gluten free)

1 bunch asparagus

2 large carrots

¼ lb. Snow peas or Snap Peas

1 lb. broccoli florets

1 small Vidalia onion

2 cups garbanzo beans or fresh green peas

¼ cup Veri Teriyaki Sauce, available at most grocery stores

¼ cup fresh squeezed or bottled orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

**Steam veggies very lightly (just to warm to touch)

Mix Teriyaki sauce and orange juice together, stirring well.

Toss veggies in the Orange-Teriyaki sauce mixture and set aside

Cook pasta according to package directions

Toss all ingredients together, add more sauce as needed to taste

** Make it raw by putting veggies in marinade a minimum of one hour and up to one day in advance, they will soften as if they were steamed.

**Non-vegan version: Sauté sliced free range chicken or turkey in a little Grape seed oil, add teriyaki sauce, simmer.  Remove from stove and allow to cool.  Add veggies and pasta, serve warm or cold.

Are You Thinking Like A Four-Year-Old?

Things a Four-Year-Old may think or say:

Are You Thinking Like A Four Year Old

• It’s MY ball! (even though it belongs to someone else)
• I don’t need a coat (even though there is snow on the ground)
• I’m not tired (as they yawn)
• I don’t like that (although they have never tried it)
• I’m allergic to that food (because it looks different)

In her book Father Hunger, Margo Maine talks about being stuck in childish forms of reason, an all-or-nothing mentality.  I have seen this with clients and often marveled at a 30, 50 or even 70 year old telling me they can’t or won’t eat a certain food or do a certain action because of something that happened in the first grade, fifth grade, jr. high, etc.

Then I catch myself doing the same thing. Acting upon something in my life based on a decision or observation I made as a child.   “Black and White”, “Good/Bad”, “If only” or a “cause and effect” type of thinking.   These ways of thinking are important for children to learn principles, however, for an adult they equal powerlessness, victimization, entitlement.

My good friend, Ken Cope, an amazing life coach in Franklin, TN drew it out for me like this:

From ages 0-12 maturity life is experienced in concrete thinking; black and white, yes or no, good or bad.

Ages 13-21 life is experienced through actual hands on EXPERIENCE and MENTORING.  This is why your teenager wants to try things that may not be such good choices or become a part of a group you may not approve of.  They want to experience life and they want people to look up to and copy.  (Which is why you need to be a big part of CHOOSING the mentors your child has).

Ages 22 and older life is experienced through KNOWLEDGE and SKILL.  As adults, we learn concepts and gain skills then we practice them in every day living and become successful at them.

Almost a year later, I am still processing this truth, I have worked it out in my own thinking this way:

Everyone has at least one area they consider themselves a success.  In this area they have grown from an “all or nothing” way of thinking, they have gained experience and some level of mentoring.  The have knowledge and developed skill in their area of success and they practice that knowledge and skill to remain successful.

For instance, if you are successful in business, you have gained knowledge, you learn skill and you practice those skills and become proficient at them.  Along the way, you gain more knowledge and skills and become more successful.  Likely, you also developed some good black and white concepts about business as a child, you had experience and a mentor so you have everything you need to be successful in business.

Everyone operates in the Knowledge and Skill, mature view of life in some area of their life and conversely, everyone has areas where they are immature in their life view.

People who struggle with body issues and food issues tend to be stuck in the 0-12 age of black and white good and bad or in the teen age of trying different things and looking for someone to “make it happen” for them.  The right diet, the right trainer, the right motivation.  But life is not black and white or just good or bad and No One, now matter how skilled, rich or strong can “make life happen” for anyone else.  Success is dependent on you gaining Knowledge and Skill and then practicing what you have learned.

What does that look like in real life? A person stuck in the childish view of their body and food is either healthy or unhealthy at any given moment.  They are going to be all or nothing.  They are gun-ho for days, weeks, months, possibly even years exercising, eating salads, drinking water.  Then one day they suddenly fall off the wagon and can’t even remember what the wagon looked like!  Back to junk food and couch potato.  They just can’t seem to make their way to a life change and they beat themselves up over it feeling they are hopeless and helpless, doomed to failure.

Growing to the next stage; Experience and Mentoring. If you judge yourself for being an “all or nothing” person you will be stuck in that childish way of thinking.  You probably have areas you feel stuck in right now.

Why are you stuck? For some people, being stuck in the childish view of life is a result of abuse or trauma.  When we have a traumatic event we aren’t helped to grow through we continue to view life at the age level the event occurred.  Phil recognized that he was always waiting for something bad to happen; as a mature adult he has identified this as a result of coming home from the hospital after an auto accident injury.  He was so excited to see his mother and then quickly devastated after finding out she had died in the accident.  For many years of his life he waited for the “shoe to drop” in almost every area of life; Black and white/good bad thinking.

Some people are stuck in their teen-age years, after a traumatic event or abuse.  As adults they are continually looking for an experience to change their lives or a mentor to “fix” everything.  They go from person to person, plan to plan but never find the answer they so long for.

How to stop thinking like a four year old and start thinking like an adult?

• Agree that there are some black and white rules to a healthy life.  You must DO some things and NOT Do others. (wiping your butt is a good example of this.  As an adult you would NEVER let your job, your spouse, your money keep you from wiping your butt).
• Look for someone to mentor you who is currently experiencing a healthy life.  You may want to pay a coach or a trainer.  You may have a friend or family member who would gladly share their journey with you.
• Recognize there are more than one aspect to healthy living; it’s not just about diet and exercise.  For some it may start with food, for others it may start with exercise, still others may need to work on heart issues like negative thinking first.  Negative thoughts, bitterness and resentment are more dangerous to your health than hot fudge sundaes.
• Follow the plan your mentor followed but do it for yourself, not for anyone else.  If you are doing it to “please” your mentor or “pass the program” you won’t stick with it, in fact, you will run and hide when you fail.  Getting your driver’s license is a good example of this.  Even if you failed the test more than once, you were determined to get that license for YOU, so you kept trying until you were successful.
• Understand that your success in reaching your goal will come from the Knowledge you gain and the Skill you acquire as you Practice from day to day.
• Practice, Practice, Practice.  When you get one skill down, add another.  In our book, Wonderfully Well, we recommend our life change plan be done one simple step at a time.  Start with drinking water every day and move on from there.

If you have been stuck in the childish, black and white way of thinking, it is time to move into experience and mentoring.  Look for someone who can show you how to do it and walk you through the process.  This is the basis of Alcoholics Anonymous.  They call it Sponsors and Programs.   AA has very specific steps for recovery.  First it is up to you to admit you need help, ask God to change your heart.  Next find a sponsor and start to work the program.  Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t “Fix” anyone, they move into maturity and gain Knowledge and Skill and every day they practice a life of sobriety.

PRACTICE is the part most of us balk at.  How many of us quit piano lessons because we would rather play than practice?  A mentor helps you to remain accountable with the practice.  Just like your piano teacher, a mentor can spot when you have not been practicing, which is why we often resist even finding a mentor.  The truth is, you have to decide on priorities and then practice them daily.  John C. Maxwell, in his book Today Matters, states that there are really only 12 areas of life we have to decide on.  Once we make a decision in a certain area, all we have to do is manage that decision TODAY, in success the only day that matters is TODAY.    Maxwell points out that failure happens when we

• “Over-Exaggerate yesterday, allowing our past successes and failures to look bigger to us in hindsight than they really were”.
• We “Over-Estimate tomorrow” giving it more power than it deserves “hoping for a good future without investing in today is like a farmer waiting for a crop without ever planting any seed”.
• We “Under-Estimate Today”.  The truth is Today is the most important day of my life.  This moment is my only “for sure”.

As Healthy Life Coaches, we provide you with the experience of eating healthy foods and cleansing your body and mentor you through the process.  We teach what we have learned and continue to learn.  You gain Knowledge and Skill and then the rest of your life you PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE what you’ve learned to become successful and reach your goals.

A great way to practice is to begin to teach others what you know.  You see children doing this with other children.  A five year old learns to tie their shoe and then proudly teaches anyone who has a shoe lace.

When I was training to be a medical assistant in a family practice clinic.  My teacher’s philosophy was “Watch One, Be One, Do One, Teach One”.  This is how we learned all our medical skills and techniques.  Watch a blood draw, Be the guinea pig for a blood draw, Do a blood draw, Teach someone else how to do it.

Unfortunately, many adults want to become perfect at a healthy lifestyle before they share their experience.  They are stuck in the “All or Nothing” cycle, falsely believing that they must live it out perfectly before they can share with others.  The truth is the more you share, the more you practice, the more you help and watch others, the better skill you develop.

In my medical assistant training I learned a valuable lesson in the “Watch One” stage as I watched another student draw blood.  It was picture perfect except she neglected to remove the needle before removing the tourniquet.  The pressure of the tourniquet sent blood shooting strait up into the air, an extremely alarming sight.  As a result of watching that person try and make a mistake, I never made the mistake myself, thank the Lord!

Other things that have helped me:

• Become more realistic
• Work with what I have
• Look for resources
• Ask questions, take and act on advice, even if “I don’t need it”, “I’m not tired” or “I don’t like it”
• Invite others into my thought processes
• Really listen to what my mentors have to say rather than just shooting off my mouth has also proved very helpful (Dr. Pamela Peeke, in her book Body for Life for Women calls this the “bitch, moan and whine syndrome).

For me the greatest temptation is the “not enough” of something; whether resources, skill or time. “Not Enough sends me right into the  “If Only” pit. When I get tired of being there, I start listening again, thinking like an adult and things start to move forward.

How about you, do you find yourself thinking like a four year old on some level? How do you get out?  If you decide you are ready for some mentoring and experience look for a class or a coach or just open your eyes to those around you, you may find what you need right in your own back yard.

Easter Brunch Recipes

Enjoy a quick, economical, fabulous and healthy Easter Brunch or a simple Celebration Brunch with family and friends.  The batter for the apple pie muffins can be made ahead (it keeps for up to 3 weeks) and baked fresh the day of your brunch.  The veggies for the frittata can be made up to 3 days ahead, making the prep for your frittata about 10 minutes.  The frittata and muffins can be baked together as long as the muffins go in first!  Make the salad dressing the day before, add the mint and the veggies while the muffins and frittata are baking.  OR pass the recipes out and invite your guests to each make one and bring it with them, easier yet!

Menu

Appetizers

• Berry Good Cocktail*
• Veggie tray with homemade ranch dressing or Green Goddess dressing
• Fruit tray

Entre

• Spring Veggie Frittata*
• Oven baked yukon gold potatoes
• Springtime Salad*

Dessert

• Warm Apple Pie Muffins* with a small scoop of So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream, drizzled with local raw honey
• Small celebration cup of organic coffee or Chai Tea

Enjoy!

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Berry Good Cocktail

Phil Davis makes ½ gallon

Ingredients

5 juicy organic oranges

2 quarts fresh strawberries

¼ lemon with rind

3-4 fresh limes (no rind)

2 mangos, peeled

1 fresh pineapple, peeled

Gerolstiener Mineral Water (naturally carbonated, most grocery stores carry it)

Instructions

Peel oranges, limes and pineapple

Run all through juicer

Add Gerolstiener Mineral water to taste (it will bubble up so use a large pitcher)

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Muffin Cup Frittata

Makes 8 large muffin cups or 20 minis.

Adapted from Wild Oats Magazine Recipe

This is another recipe that looks daunting because the ingredients and instructions are so long. It makes up quickly with your food processor and keeps for one week in the fridge. Makes 8 large muffin cups or about 20 mini muffin cups.  These are great for on-the-run breakfast or for brunch.  Tasty hot or cold.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Ingredients

8 Free Range Organic Eggs

2 oz. Raw Cheddar Cheese Or 2 oz. Raw Goat Feta cheese crumbled

½ cup Veggies (broccoli, zucchini, asparagus stems, spinach, etc.)

1 teaspoon Garlic

1 teaspoon dry basil or ¼ cup fresh basil

1 Tablespoon Yellow sweet onion

10 cherry tomatoes (can use 1 Roma tomato seeded)

Celtic Sea Salt

Dash red pepper flakes

Grape seed oil

Instructions

Prep Muffin Cups

Grease well with Grape seed oil or Grape seed oil spray

Prep for Frittata

Much of the prep is done in your food processor with the S blade

1.  Use your S blade to fine chop ½ cup combination of your favorite veggie:

Broccoli, Spinach, Zucchini, Sweet Yellow Onion, asparagus stems

Saute chopped veggies in 1 Tablespoon grape seed oil or organic butter until veggies are tender (about 2 minutes)

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half or in fourths.

2.  Prep Cheese (if you are using feta you don’t need to run it through the food processor)

Use grater blade.  Grate 2 oz. of your favorite RAW cheese, set aside.

3.  Prep Eggs

In Food Processor, use your S blade and blend well on Hi for about 1 minute

4 whole eggs, 4 egg whites, ¼ teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt, and 1 teaspoon dried basil.

Add Veggies, Tomatoes and Cheese to Egg Mixture pulse with S blade to blend well.

Ladle the mixture into greased muffin cups. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes until you can stick a knife in middle of egg and it comes out clean.  Frittatas will expand during cooking but will collapse when they cool.  When cool, remove from muffin pan, refrigerate in airtight container for up to one week.

To Make A Skillet Frittata

Grease an oven proof skillet or a cast iron skillet, including the sides.  Double the recipe and prepare as above.  Bake at 375 degrees 25 to 40 minutes depending on the size of your skillet.  Check at about 25 minutes, you’ll know it is done when it looks firm and lightly browned.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.  You can serve it from the skillet or slide it onto a pretty plate to put on the table.

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Spring Time Salad

Celeste Davis

A beautiful, light salad using the first veggies of spring!  Add some fresh mint for an even fresher flavor.

Salad Ingredients

2 heads Boston or Bibb lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

2 cups thin sliced asparagus (about 1 bunch)

2 cups fresh shelled peas (about 3 pounds)

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes

2 Tablespoons minced green onion (white and green parts)

Dressing Ingredients

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup expeller pressed extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon local raw honey

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or ground white pepper

Optional:  1 teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped mint, add according to taste.

Instructions

Dressing

Zest lemon, make lemon juice

Put all ingredients in magic bullet and whir until well blended

Make Salad

Tear lettuce into bite sized pieces.

Remove 1 inch from the bottom of the asparagus stem and discard, this is the woody part.  Cut the tips off the asparagus by bunching together with the tips even and cut.  Run the stems of the asparagus through your food processor using the slicing blade, gather the stems all together and run them through all at once if they will fit in the food processor shoot.

Shell peas or buy peas already shelled.  If you can’t find fresh peas (so sad) you can use frozen organic baby peas, throw them into the salad frozen, they will thaw quickly.

I would also add some thin sliced green onion or red onion.

You could top with a sliced or chopped hard boiled egg for a pretty presentation.

To Toss Salad

Pour salad dressing into large bowl.

Add veggies and toss until all are well coated.

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Refrigerator Apple Oat Bran Muffins

By Celeste Davis  (20 medium sized muffins) serving is one muffin. One muffin has approximately 120 calories.  The giant grocery store muffins have approximately 920 calories and more than 10 teaspoons of sugar PER MUFFIN!  This recipe has no refined sugar, sweetness comes from apple juice concentrate and a little raw honey.  Plus it is high in fiber and low in gluten!

Forget stopping for a dangerously unhealthy Mc-sandwich or gas station biscuit.  Make your muffin ahead of time and freeze or allow an extra 30 minutes in the morning to make your muffins fresh.  While the muffins are baking, drink your fresh juice (and finish fixing your hair).

Bring some RAW soaked almonds or a trail mix with RAW almonds, sunflower, pumpkin seeds and organic raisins along for late morning protein.

Mix up a batch and keep batter in covered container up to 3 weeks in the fridge.  Take out what you need each day for a fresh baked muffin.  Healthy and delicious!

Note: If you are not baking all the muffins right away, add your fruits, nuts, juice pulp, etc, just before baking.  Put the muffin batter into the cup and drop approximately 1 tablespoon of whatever you decide to add.  Gently mix it into the muffin with a fork or knife.  Don’t EVER stir down the batter after the initial mixing or you won’t get the nice muffin top we all love!

Ingredients

1 cup boiling filtered water

1 cup Eden’s Organics Spelt Flakes (or organic oatmeal)

1 cup organic oat bran

18 oz. (3/6 oz. cans) organic frozen organic apple juice concentrate, thawed

½ cup coconut oil, melted (extra if you are not using paper muffin cups, so you can grease your muffin tins).

2 eggs

1 ½ cups white spelt flour

1-cup whole grain spelt flour

2 ½ teaspoons aluminum free Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda

½ teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

½ cup (4 oz). Organic dried blueberries, cranberries or raisins (sweetened with apple juice, not sugar)

Instructions

Follow these instructions exactly and your muffins will be perfect!

Mix ½ cup spelt flakes and ½ cup oat bran together in a small bowl

Pour boiling filtered water over 1 cup of the oat bran, let stand and cool.

Beat eggs, beat in coconut oil and apple juice concentrate

Add the cooled bran/spelt

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, Bob’s Red Mill Aluminum Free Baking Soda and Celtic Sea Salt.

Combine wet & dry ingredients.

Fold in remaining 2 cups of oat bran.

Fold in carrot pulp, apple pulp, raisins, dried fruit or nuts, blueberries, as desired.

The batter will be somewhat thick but not really thick, it will thicken and get puffy as it rises in the refrigerator.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour “to rise” before baking.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Without stirring batter, fill greased (use coconut oil) muffin cups ¾ full. (you don’t have to grease pans or papers if you are using muffin papers.)

Bake 10 minutes until risen (don’t open door, look through window, if you don’t have a window, just trust the time).

Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees F until muffins are browned, about another 15 minutes.

*If you use mini muffin cups, reduce baking time by about half.

Variations:  Mix 1 Tablespoon of the carrot or apple pulp from your juice (or 1 Tablespoon grated apple or carrot), per muffin, in your muffin today!  I just fill the muffin cup with the batter, drop a tablespoon of carrot or apple into the muffin batter, stir it with my finger, then bake, don’t forget to lick your finger!

Note: Core apple to remove seeds if using juice pulp for baking.

To change flavors:

**Apple Pie Muffins: Add 1-2 teaspoons (to taste) apple pie spice or ground cinnamon to the batter before you mix it.

Coarse chop 2 apples and ¼ cup raw pecans in food processor with S blade.  Toss apples and nuts in 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1-2 Tablespoons honey.  Stir to coat pieces well.  Add 1 Tablespoon of apple mixture to the center of each muffin or fold in apple and pecans into muffin batter.  Bake as above.

**Lemon Poppy seed Muffins:  Replace 2 ounces of the apple juice concentrate with 2 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice.  Add the zest of 1-2 lemons to the entire batter and 4 Tablespoons Poppy seeds.  Bake as above.

Be creative!  Add anything you like!

These and many other recipes are in our new cook book

Give Your Body A Break 4 Life!

Available in April 2010

www.thewellnessworkshop.org

Raw Spring Cleaning Recipes

Please try them! You won’t be sorry.  Each one takes about 10 minutes to prepare.  Leave a comment at the bottom of the post and let us know how you LOVED them, we know you will!

It was great to be back in class with everyone last night, we had many new people and missed some of our favorite familiar faces!  The recipes from our classes are always posted the day after the class if you happen to miss one or sadly live too far away.  Subscribe to our post and you will get them automatically!

These recipes are amazing, everyone, even the kids loved them.  The juice sounds a little “hard core” and it isn’t necessarily an entry level juice, however even the non-juicers liked it. The green color did make them a little afraid :0) initially.  There is a hint of  lemon, you could add more lemon.  This juice is SO GOOD FOR YOU!  Look on the blog, Spring Cleaning nutrition information to learn how all this wonderful raw food can help your body heal.

Spring Cleaning Juice

Phil Davis, makes approximately 1 quart

The juices in this combo are known to help the body cleanse the kidneys, gallbladder, joints and digestive tract.  They are also alkalizing which reduces your chances of degenerative disease.

Soak your veggies for 30 minutes in a sink full of cold water and ¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar or hydrogen peroxide.  Rinse well and use or dry and store in refrigerator.

Only use organic veggies and fruits for juicing.

Run through the juicer:

2 pounds carrots

1 long cucumber

½  beet with beet greens

4 stalks celery

1 softball size bunch of baby spinach

1 small handful watercress

1/3 turnip

6 stalks asparagus

1 lemon

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Coconut Macaroons

This is a WONDERFUL raw treat.  Keep it in the fridge or the freezer, eat it instead of ice cream, serve it to your friends and family, just don’t tell them it’s healthy and they will love it.  One of our clients makes it up and keeps it in the freezer and serves it in squares like you would a dessert, puts a fresh strawberry on the side and it is beautiful and yummy!

Adapted from Ani Phyo, check out her website, she has some amazing free recipes, books you can purchase and many videos.

www.aniphyo.com

1 serving = 2 walnut sized balls

Ingredients

1/3 cup dates

1 ½ cups fresh strawberries

1/3 cup raw cashews

¼ c Raw agave nectar or Raw local honey

1 Tbs organic vanilla

2 cups shredded or flaked unsweetened coconut (I prefer the bigger flakes)

Instructions – Use S blade of food processor

• Nuts: pulse food processor to coarse chop, put in bowl
• Coconut: If using the big flakes, pulse to lightly chop but not fine chop
• Strawberries:  pulse in food processor to coarse chop
• Dates & Raw Agave or Raw Honey: blend to puree in food processor

To assemble:  You can roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and roll in coconut and put in the fridge or freezer OR

Lightly oil an 8×8 pan with grapeseed oil and sprinkle a little flaked coconut on the bottom.  Spread the strawberry mixture on top and pat it into the coconut so it is evenly distributed in the pan.  Top with a little more coconut.

Refrigerate or freeze to firm up, enjoy!  (It needs to be in the freezer about 30 minutes but can keep in the freezer, sealed for up to 1 month.

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Garlicky Kale Salad

Celeste Davis

This is a FABULOUS salad if I do say so myself, my new fav.  You should eat Kale in some form every day, it is one of the most nutritious veggies God made.

Alternate your Kale salads between this one and Apple Annies for great variety.  You don’t need a food processor for this one!

1 bunch Kale

Braggs Amino Acids (no MSG soy sauce)

1 red pepper

1/2 bunch fresh asparagus

1 head roasted garlic (more if you love garlic)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

4 Tablespoons Grape seed Veganaise

1 Tablespoon fresh dill

Grated White Pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons Raw pumpkin seeds

Wash Kale, remove stem, tear into big-bite sized pieces and put in a large bowl..  Add 1-2 teaspoons Braggs Amino Acids to Kale.  Using your hands, mix, stir, and squeeze kale, kind of like a light massage, so the Braggs Amino Acids are on the Kale leaves.  Just enough so they are not so hard and grass-like.

Chop the red pepper in your food processor, using the S blade, pulse for a few times to a coarse chop (it took me about 5 pulses).

Cut the asparagus into small chunks until you reach the woody part of the stem.  Save the rest of the stem for juicing.

Put the garlic, lemon juice, Grape seed veganaise, dill and white pepper into your magic bullet or food processor and blend until smooth.

Keep refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Notes:

• You can add any other veggies you like or eliminate the red pepper and the asparagus and just use the kale.

• Don’t add all the dressing at once, just until lightly covered and don’t over mix the salad, the dressing should be kind of thick on some pieces and not so much on others.

• Make extra of this dressing for veggie dip or for sandwich spread, it is the bomb!  If you love garlic, add another head of roasted garlic.

• Don’t just roast one head of garlic at a time, do as many as you will use in a month and store in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for 1 month.

**If you are allergic to soy or need to completely eliminate all sodium you will need to modify this recipe.

Replace soy sauce with lemon juice or celtic sea salt and replace the veganaise with an organic canola mayo that is soy-free.

To eliminate the sodium is a little more difficult.  I would replace the soy sauce with lemon juice and try to find an organic low sodium mayo.

Why Is It Good For Me? Nutritional Notes from Raw Spring Cleaning Class

Below is the nutritional info for the recipes we made in our Spring Cleaning class on March 11 at Whole Foods Market, Cool Springs.  These recipes are really tasty and so good for you, check out the recipes on the blog post Raw Spring Cleaning Recipes.

You can get all our class recipes the day after our class by subscribing to our blog.

Spring Cleaning Juice

Use for 6 weeks to 6 months for best results

Carrot: Closest in molecular structure to human blood.  Highest source of provitamin A beta-carotene.  2 carrots provide 4 times the RDA of vitamin A.  Also excellent levels of vitamin K, biotin, C, B6 and potassium.  Known to protect against cardiovascular disease and cancer.  Many people use large amounts of carrot juice combined with specific vegetable juices and an all-raw diet to heal cancer naturally.  Also promote good night vision.  Studies shown as little as 1 carrot per day reduce risk of lung cancer by 50%.  Also provides protection against macular degeneration and cataracts.

Beets & Beet Leaf: Most valuable for rebuilding the red blood cells and tone up the blood.  Limit to ½ beet per recipe due to strong cleansing effects.  Found to help women with postmenopausal symptoms at 3-8 ounces per day and for periods at 3-4 ounces 3 times per day.  Most nutrition is in the greens so don’t throw them out.  High in fiber, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, iron and B6.  Cancer fighting and cleansing for the bowels.  Inhibit cancer-forming cells.

Turnip and Turnip Leaf: Leaf has massive amounts of useable calcium, more than any other food.  High in potassium, Iron and Sodium.  Alkalizing, known to harden teeth and bones.  Turnip root is 1/3 calories of potatoes, excellent source of fiber, vitamin C and folic acid, manganese and copper.  Also rich in thiamine, niacin, potassium and magnesium.  Vitamins A, C, E, B6.  Same health benefits as Kale.

Watercress: High in sulfur, Powerful intestinal cleanser, helps to dissolve hemorrhoids, tumors and heal emphysema.  Never use alone.

Spinach: High in calcium and iron.  Vital for digestive tract health.  Known to cleanse, reconstruct intestinal tract, regenerate weakened tissue, muscle, and nerve endings.  Also known to prevent degeneration of teeth and gums.

Cucumber: 40% natural potassium.  Known to promote healthy growth of hair, nails and skin, regulate blood pressure and is an excellent natural diuretic.

Asparagus: Highest Alkaloid vegetable (living properties in the juice).  Known to be a great diuretic and break up kidney and gallstones, heal arthritis and neuritis.

Celery: High in sodium.  4 times as much sodium as calcium.  Good during hot weather to stabilize body temperature.  Excellent to replace sodium, which emulsifies cholesterol, and is depleted by refined concentrated starch from breads, pastas, etc.  Also known to restore nerve endings and repair damaged myelin sheath in spinal cord and nerves.

Strawberry Macaroons

Strawberries: Excellent source of vitamin C & K, fiber and flavanoids.  Also good sources of minerals, and folic acid, biotin that are good for healthy hair growth.  Flavanoids provide anti-inflammatory properties, valuable protection against cancer, heart disease and inflammation.  Known to protect against cancer.

Coconut: 50% of fat is health promoting fat called Lauric Acid, whose only other abundant source in nature is mother’s milk.  Lauric acid is antiviral, antibacterial, anti parasitic and destroys a variety of disease causing organisms.  Capric acid is known to have antiviral effects against sexually transmitted disease.  Many viruses, bacteria and protozoa are enveloped in a fatty covering that is destroyed by the Lauric and Capric acids.  Sugars are burned more rapidly rather than being converted to fat and stored.

Dates: Easily digested carbohydrate that is burned up rather than stored as fat.  Among the most alkaline foods.  Beta D Glucan fiber absorbs cholesterol, like oats and also slows or delays absorption of glucose, keeping blood sugars stable.  Increases feelings of satiety.  Rich in antioxidant and anticancer compounds.

Garlicky Kale Salad

Kale: Among the most highly nutritious vegetables.  Excellent source of Vitamin C, B6 and Manganese.  One-cup kale more than 70% of RDI for vitamin C.  Excellent to reduce or prevent osteoporosis due to the high content of calcium and low phosphorus, preventing the excretion of calcium from the body. 2 ½ cups Kale contains 100 calories and 455 mg calcium; 100 calories of milk contains 194 mg calcium.  RDA for calcium is 1000 to 1300 mg for adults, depending on age, 500-1300 mg for children, depending on age.  The calcium in Kale is 100% useable in the body.  Raw Kale neutralizes acid in the body and the calcium is able to be absorbed and used. The calcium in milk is less effective because it raises the acid level in the body causing calcium to be excreted to reduce acidity.

Red Pepper: High in Vitamin C and beta-carotene.  Powerful phytochemicals including capsaicin, and flavanoids known to prevent blood clot formation, heart disease and stroke.  Also shown through an Italian study to reduce risk for cataract surgery due to high vitamin C and beta-carotene.

Garlic: Excellent source of vitamin B6, manganese, selenium and vitamin C.  Also rich in minerals phosphorous, calcium, potassium, iron and copper.  Known to lower LDL blood cholesterol and increase HDL (good cholesterol).  Also known to be a good antibacterial and protection against some cancer and known to stop the growth of cancers.  Should be encouraged for high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, yeast infections, asthma, respiratory infections and gastrointestinal problems.

Pumpkin Seeds:  Minerals, vitamin A, B vitamins, protein, good fats and phyosterols.  Known to treat prostate conditions and may reduce prostate enlargement.  Also known to be an antiviral and ant parasitic.

Lemon: Excellent source of Vitamin C, B6, potassium, folic acid, flavanoids and limonene.  Limonene has been used in studies to dissolve gallstones and is showing extremely promising anticancer activities.

Sources:

The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, Michael Murray, N.D. Atria Books, ISBN-13:  978-0-7434-7402-3

Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices, N.W. Walker, D.Sc., Norwalk Press, ISBN:  0-89019-06704

Sad News About Agave Nectar

Important News About Sweeteners!

Recent Changes in Labeling could be hazardous to your health.
I first read this on Dr. Joseph Mercola’s website, however, it is true, the makers of the neurotoxic sweetener, Aspartame, AKA: NutraSweet is changing their name to trick the public into thinking it is a “new” healthy sweetener.

The new name is “AminoSweet”.  They want You and I to think it is healthy because it contains amino acids.  Don’t be fooled and stop using all the colored packets.  They are neurotoxins and excitotoxins that destroy your brain cells.  They are known to cause many diseases and poor health conditions!  Read the entire article from Dr. Mercola. It will answer important questions like, what is wrong with Aspartame, why does our government allow this terrible chemical in our food?
What to use instead:  Stevia or Raw Local Honey

Is Agave Nectar Healthy?
This article may be disturbing to many of you.  We have recommended Raw Agave Nectar for many years and used a combination of Raw Agave Nectar, Raw local honey and Stevia ourselves.  There are many articles floating around the internet and magazines with conflicting information about agave nectar, an advertised low-glycemic sweetener.

Dr. Joseph Mercola is a D.O. who focuses his practicing years pursuing truth about natural health.  He has a stellar reputation for truth, not hype.  His website has an article backed by a university study suggesting that Agave Nectar has the same effect on the body as high fructose corn syrup.  The article contains compelling evidence that even Raw Agave Nectar is not as harmless as we once believed.  Quality control is in question, stating that most agave comes from Mexico and may be “diluted” with high fructose corn syrup.  Other issues are also addressed.

What is our opinion?
We do trust Dr. Mercola’s information and agree that you should use wisdom with any kind of sweetener.  Stevia has been used for many years and does not spike blood sugar.  All sweeteners used in excess are bad for you.  Refined sugar is especially bad for everyone.  The best way to get your sweets is with raw fresh fruit.  The second best way would be Stevia or Raw local honey, third would be Raw Agave Nectar from a known brand like Blue Agave and fourth would be the least refined forms of cane sugar, Sucanat or Rapadura.

We do our best to keep you informed of truth, not fads.  We once had a working relationship with the Madhava Agave owners and trusted their information.  They no longer produce Raw Agave Nectar.  When we use it, we use the Blue Raw Agave or the Whole Foods Raw Agave.

How often should you use a sweetener?
All “sugar-type” sweeteners, honey, sugar, raw agave, maple syrup are high in sugar and carbohydrate, you should not use more than a teaspoon per day.  If you want a “Starbucks” sweet (they typically use 9 teaspoons of sugar in a small drink), use 1 teaspoon of Raw Local Honey and 2-3 drops of liquid Sweet Leaf Stevia.

Are you pulling your hair out shouting ARRGGGGHHH!  Who and What do we believe?
If in question, always go back to traditional foods.
Fresh Raw Fruit is an amazing way to get sugar with many health benefits when eaten in moderate amounts.
Raw Local Honey: People have used Raw Local Honey for thousands of years with no side effects.  Do not use honey in any form for infants and children under 2 years old as they are susceptible to bacterial poisoning from the honey.
Stevia: is an herb, it is known to heal the pancreas, not destroy it.  It has been used by South American cultures for many years.

Change Happens Best In Community

If you listen to the TV, radio or read books you are being inundated with information about health and food right now, it’s every where, FINALLY!

But if you are like most people, the more you listen, the more confused you can become.  Where do you start, who do you follow, what is truth and what is just good marketing?  You can spend a lot of money and time and finally give up and go back through the drive through…..Don’t Quit!  It’s really not that hard, we are here to help!

We’ve developed quite a few group classes to help you and your friends and family learn together and give you the ability to surround yourself with a community of health!

Last month we had a fun class with a group of 5 friends who wanted to learn to shop for healthy foods.

We started the class with a quick and healthy breakfast idea (which they got to try) and some teaching on the Alkaline Diet and why it matters.  Then we went downstairs on the floor at Whole Foods in Cool Springs and spent about 10 minutes in each department talking about the foods in each section that were healthy, what to avoid and how to save money when changing to a healthier diet.  We ended the class back upstairs with a “debriefing” and some quick and healthy lunch options.  It was  fun class and everyone loved it.  Here are a few of their comments:

“Celeste, I wanted you to know how much I loved meeting with you yesterday.  What an eye opening experience.  I am very motivated and excited about my better health journey.  I wish I could magically change all of my eating habits at once but I know I have to change one thing at a time.  Patience is not my best virtue.  I would love to see some of your cooking demonstrations.  Do you have classes at Whole Foods?  Can I buy a few of your Affordable Healthy Eating booklets?  I would like to send one to my sister and mother if possible.  Anyway thanks again and I’m sure I will see you again soon!” MT

and another

“Thanks so much Celeste for the other day. It was SO helpful for me personally to get back to the basics again.  Reading this is one thing but hearing it and having you show me is entirely different.

Based on what I saw you do in the store and see a couple of people looking at products but with you advising them against their choice…..to make a “better” choice….I thought was very telling.

There is a need for what you did for us that day.  I bet every single person who walks into that store is intimidated.  You can do so much for people just talking about product.” JH

Healthy Shopping Trip must have a minimum of 5 people, $55 per person, maximum of 10.

Create a community of health by learning with your friends and family.

Friends and Family Spring Special

Our normal in-home class rate for those who are not our clients is $350 for an evening, day time or weekend class.  The classes last from 2 to 4 hours and food for the class is additional.

Family Healthy Eating

Dogs Eat Dog Food, People Eat People Food  $350 through March 31, $250

An in-home lesson for kids and parents about healthy eating.  We raid the pantry, read labels and teach about living and dead food.

Living Menu: Apple Lemonade, Real Ranch Dressing and Raw Veggies and healthy pizza.

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Movie Night: $350 through March 31 $200

In your home I prepare homemade organic popcorn and a delicious sports drink we call Wallyade for the group with a brief lesson/demo.  Group watches Food Inc. and discussion follows.  Host keeps the video (included in cost).  Appropriate for ages 13 and above if both parents are attending.

Yummy and Quick Chicken Jalfrezi

Yummy and Quick, about 15 minutes to make: Chicken Jalfrezi, a spicy Indian style curry, add coconut milk and it becomes a creamy Thai style curry.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked brown rice per person

1 organic roasted chicken (Whole Foods Market)

1 jar Seeds of Change Jalfrezi

Asian Fish Sauce

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 zucchini, sliced in about 1/4 inch slices

1/2 red pepper, cut in bite sized chunks

2 Tblsp grapeseed oil

1.  Buy an organic roasted chicken and take the meat off, slice it or chunk it up.

2.  Put all but 1 cup of the chicken in the freezer in zip loc brand baggies.

3.  Next, slice your favorite veggies, I used onion, garlic, zucchini and red pepper.  You could also use green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, etc.

4.  Saute veggies in some grapeseed oil (about 1 Tblsp) for about 2 minutes.

5.   Add the chicken to the veggies and stir again.

6.  Add 1 jar of Seeds of Change organic Jalfrezi sauce (buy it at your grocery store in the health food section or Whole Foods Market), warm through.

7.  Add 1/2 can organic whole coconut milk and 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce, (find it in the Asian section at your grocery or at Whole Foods Market) simmer for another 2 minutes.

8.  Serve over brown rice or Quinoa, top with some fresh chopped basil, or eat it as a soup like I did!  Serve with a Thai Cabbage Slaw (takes 5 minutes to make).

Thai Cabbage Slaw

1 bag of angel hair cabbage or 1/4 head  finely sliced green cabbage (slice with the slicing blade in your food processor)

Juice of one lime

2 Tblsp grape seed oil

1/4 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

1/3 Raw cashew pieces

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (more if you love cilantro)

Combine lime juice, grape seed oil, chili pepper flakes and pour over angel hair cabbage.  Stir in raw cashews and cilantro.

Psalm 19:13

Psalm 19:13 “keep thy servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me”.

Some of the commentary is from a sermon by Spurgeon for full sermon go to http://www.spurgeon.org;sermons/0135.htm

Psalm 19 is my “scripture of the year”.  I thank God for the way I can feast on the same scripture many times and get something new out of it.  The first thing that jumped out at me as I read this Psalm for the first time was “presumptuous sin”.  I wondered what that meant.

• The Dictionary definition said:  Unduly bold, audacious, arrogant.
• The Strong’s Concordance said: Arrogant, proud, insolent.  The word is used 13 times in the Bible.

In OT Jewish law there was no atonement for presumptuous sin.  There was only the punishment of excommunication or more often death.  Numbers 15:28-30 states that atonement can be made for unintentional sin but for sins of presumption, because that type of sin brings reproach on the Lord, they are to be cut off and there are some examples of them being killed.  “his guilt shall be upon him.”  Thank the Lord we are not living under that law today.

What are presumptuous sins?  I heartily recommend reading Spurgeons sermon first given on June 7, 1857 on Psalm 19:13; you can read it on the internet at http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0135.htm, be ready to be thoroughly convicted and drawn to the foot of the cross.  As I read this sermon I could almost hear his voice; it was extremely convicting.

Spurgeon pointed out that refusing to seek God through His word and not using the tools we have available is presumptuous in itself.  Even more so for us today with the internet, TV, videos, CD’s and radio full of opportunities to read, listen to and understand the Word of God.

In addition he lists 4 things:

1. Sin against the revealed knowledge of God and the light we personally walk in.
   1. Going against your conscience “God has written His law on the hearts of men”.
   2. Going against the admonition of friends and family.
   3. Going against special warnings from the voice of God against sin.

“You have sinned against reproofs, but what is worse still, you have sinned against your own solemn oaths and covenants, and against the promises that you made to God. He who plays with fire must be condemned as careless; but he who has been burned out once, and afterward plays with the destroying element, is worse, than careless; and he who has himself been scorched in the flame, and has had his locks all hot and crisp with the burning, if he again should rush headlong into fire, I say he is worse than careless, he is worse than presumptuous, he is mad. But I have some such here. They have had warnings so terrible that they might have known better; they have gone into lusts which have brought their bodies into sickness, and perhaps this day they have crept up to this house, and they dare not tell to their neighbor who stands by their side what is the loathsomeness that even now doth breed upon their frame. And yet they will go back to the same lusts; the fool will go again to the stocks, the sheep will lick the knife that is to slay him. You will go on in your lust and in your sins, despite warnings, despite advice, until you perish in your guilt. How worse than children are grown-up men! The child who goes for a merry slide upon a pond, if he be told that the ice will not bear him, starteth back affrighted, or if he daringly creepeth upon it how soon he leaves it, if he hears but a crack upon the slender covering of the water! But you men have conscience, which tells you that your sins are vile, and that they will be your ruin; you bear the crack of sin, as its thin sheet of pleasure gives way beneath your feet; ay, and some of you have seen your comrades sink in the flood, and lost; and yet you go sliding on, worse than childish, worse than mad are you, thus presumptuously to play with your own everlasting state. O my God, how terrible is the presumption of some! How fearful is presumption in any! O! that we might be enabled to cry, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.”  Spurgeon, June 7, 1857 www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0135.htm

2. Deliberate Sin. This is sin that you know is wrong, it may be a weakness but it is one that you refuse to overcome and in fact feed and nurture in secret.  I can’t say it any better than Spurgeon, he lists 2 versions of this:

a.  Sin that is a weakness that you refuse to overcome.

1. A man, again, who is suddenly tempted and surprised into a sin which is not his habit, but which he commits through the force of some strong temptation, is guilty, but not guilty of presumption, because he was taken unawares in the net and caught in the snare. But there are other men who sin deliberately; there are some who can think of a lust for weeks beforehand and dote upon their darling crime with pleasure. They do, as it were, water the young seedling of lust until it grows to the maturity of desire, and then they go and commit the crime. There are some to whom lust is not a passer-by, but a lodger at home. They receive it, they house it, they feast it; and when they sin they sin deliberately, walk coolly to their lusts, and in cold blood commit the act which another might haply do in hot and furious haste. Now, such a sin has in it a great extent of sinfulness, it is a sin of high presumption. To be carried away, as by a whirlwind of passion, in a moment is wrong; but to sit down and deliberately resolve upon revenge is cursed and diabolical. To sit down and deliberately fashion schemes of wickedness is heinous, and I can find no other word fitly to express it. To deliberate carefully how the crime is to be done, and, Haman-like, to build the gallows, and to set to work to destroy one’s neighbor, to get the pit digged that the friend may fall into it and be destroyed, to lay snares in secret, to plot wickedness upon one’s bed—this is a high pitch of presumptuous sin. May God forgive any of us, if we have been so far guilty!

b.   Sin that is happening over a long period of time when you have time to reflect on your actions, decide to change and you choose not to.

“Again, when a man continues long in sin, and has time to deliberate about it, that also is a proof that it is a presumptuous sin. He that sins once, being overtaken in a fault, and then abhors the sin, has not sinned presumptuously; but he who transgresses to-day, to-morrow, and the next day, week after week, and year after year, until he has piled up a heap of sins that are high as a mountain, such a man, I say, sins presumptuously, because in a continued habit of sin there must be a deliberation to sin; there must be at least such a force and strength of mind as could not have come upon any man if his sin were but the hasty effect of sudden passion:.

3.  Sin that is a product of design, in other words, planned sin against God to show rebellion specifically against God.  The example of presumptuous sin in the book of Numbers where a man went out and picked up sticks on the Sabbath, in plain view of everyone, as a public statement of breaking God’s command.  His punishment was death, he did not fear the Lord.  Today we can be forgiven for this sin, however, over and over the Word cautions us, “do not harden your heart”.  A heart hardened by disobedience becomes calloused to both the voice and discipline of God himself.

4.  Feeling we are above temptation and sin ourselves, feeling we can go so far to the edge of sin but no further.

“There is suicide in men risking themselves in that way; and if there be suicide in the risk of the body, how much more in the case of a man who puts his own soul in jeopardy just because he thinks he has strength of mind enough to prevent its being ruined and destroyed. Sir, your sin is a sin of presumption; it is a great and grievous one; it is one of the masterpieces of iniquity.”

Another commentary I read talked about presumptuous sin as trying to “manage sin”. This made me think of the medical model of “managing disease”.  Disease, like sin, cannot be managed, it morphs and changes paths to other parts of the body.  Sin cannot be managed either.  God told Cain in Genesis 4:6-7, “sin is crouching at your door and you must master it’.

I personally felt that ‘sin is crouching at your door” in December of 2009.  Personal hardship and family division were working to cause me to harden my heart against love and vulnerability.  On Christmas Eve, as we were coming home from our son’s home, I felt as if my heart was closing up.  I told the Lord, “I don’t want my heart to be closed but I feel I cannot stop it.”  Later that evening we went to a wonderful Christmas Eve service at St. Philips in Franklin, TN.  It was on our “bucket list” to attend a Christmas Eve mass, something we had wanted to do for 34 years of marriage.  The priest was from India and was warm and welcoming, you could sense the presence of the Lord upon him.

In the middle of his message he suddenly shouted, “Do not close your heart, your heart belongs to God!”  I felt as if he was standing in front of me shouting at me, like a good slap across the face.  Phil later shared he had the same feeling.  I began to pray in earnest, that night and for many nights afterward that God would show me how to open my heart.  That miracle happened about 3 weeks later, I’ll have to write about it another day.

Many people say I know I can go this far and no further with regard to sin.  We should  rather say “I cannot do anything that would grieve my Lord” and run, like Joseph, from temptation, and like Jesus, speak the Word of God to temptation, making every effort to walk in the Fear of God.

We are all at risk for these types of sin, even the most devoted believer.  We must walk in humility before God and continually ask Him for His help to walk rightly before Him.  David was a man after God’s own heart however, he fell hard into sin and this Psalm is his prayer:  “Keep me from presumptuous sins” as he acknowledged his own propensity for sin.  Spurgeon reminds us:

Think it not enough to abhor sin, you may yet fall into it. Say not, “I never can be drunken, for I have such an abhorrence of drunkenness;” thou mayest fall where thou art most secure. Say not, “I can never blaspheme God, for I have never done so in my life;” take care; you may yet swear most profanely. Job might have said, “I will never curse the day of my birth;” but he lived to do it. He was a patient man; he might have said, “I will never murmur; though he slay me, yet will I trust in him;” and yet he lived to wish that the day were darkness wherein he was brought forth. Boast not, then, O Christian; by faith thou standest. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

• Paul admonishes us to mortify (kill) the lusts of the flesh that dwell in our hearts.  Paul even then lists them; fornication, uncleanness, idolatry, inordinate affection.
• Hebrews 2:5-9 warns us to not be hardened by sin’s deception.
• Hebrews 10:26-39 tells us if we sin willfully, there is no other sacrifice for sin.  v29, talks about trampling the son of God under foot and insulting the spirit of Grace with intentional sin.

A heavy sense of personal responsibility came over me as I read the scriptures, Spurgeon’s sermon and considered my own life.  He further made it plain that all of us are guilty of presumptuous sin and must continually seek to free ourselves by coming back to the cross.  I don’t remember the last time I heard such a plea from the pulpit but I felt a witness of the Holy Spirit as I read his words.

How can we be free from presumptuous sin?  Only by confession of our guilt to God and laying ourselves at the foot of the cross for mercy.

Spurgeons Altar Call:

If any of you feel, then, that you have presumed against God in sinning, let me just bid you look at your sin, and weep over the blackness of it; let me exhort you to go home and bow your heads with sorrow, and confess your guilt, and weep over it with many tears and sighs. You have greatly sinned, and if God should blast you into perdition now, he would be just; if now his fiery thunderbolt of vengeance should pierce you through, if the arrow that is now upon the string of the Almighty should find a target in your heart, he would be just. Go home and confess that, confess it with cries and sighs. And then what next wilt thou do? Why, I bid thee remember that there was a man who was a God. That man suffered for presumptuous sin. I would bid thee this day, sinner, if thou knowest thy need of a Savior, go up to thy chamber, cast thyself upon thy face, and weep for sin; and when thou hast done that, turn to the Scriptures, and read the story of that man who suffered and died for sin.

This revelation will call me daily to ask the Lord, “keep me from presumptuous sin and let it not have dominion over me”.  Further, “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.”