This year for Lent, I did two things. At the end of January, I took a blood test which showed food sensitivities such as peanuts, almonds, soy, dairy, and more. I began an elimination diet at that point in time. Several of my cousins suggested that I try to do the Whole30 diet. I researched the diet, and it was not much more than what I was already doing. The main difference between my diet and the Whole30 diet was that the diet said no gluten and no sugar. I thought I could try it for Lent. One of my sweet cousins sent me her Whole30 book AND her Whole30 cookbook.
I did not follow the guide perfectly. The author says no smoothies because drinking your food sends a wrong message to your brain. Sorry, I did drink smoothies about once a week or so. They were only fruit, flax seeds, and Whole30-approved protein powder. I ate a lot of nuts (mostly walnuts and pecans) with raisins for snacks. They do allow nuts but try to restrict eating too many, as well as dried fruit, mostly because it usually contains added sugar. I did chew some gum, but not until after 20 days or so... a lot of gum contains soy. The author does not recommend replacing sugar with other additives, but just to go without. She says, "You will survive 30 days without cream or sugar in your coffee." I haven't put sugar in my coffee for years, and I've used alternative kinds of milk for several years. Right now I really like oat milk!
A yummy dinner with greens, pork chops, applesauce, and cauliflower rice... we loved it!
I did like the diet, there were so many great recipes that we enjoyed for dinner. I found eating eggs every breakfast to be getting boring, which is why I had a smoothie sometimes and varied the eggs and meat. For lunch, I ate canned chicken, cashew butter, and apple/ banana/ celery, or grapes, kiwi, olives, or leftover dinners. I felt like I missed gluten the most. I hadn't been eating a lot of bread or sugar anyway, but I do like a piece of toast, a tortilla, or an English muffin with breakfast. I was glad that I could still eat white potatoes. I missed legumes a little bit. In all, it was a good challenge for me. I do not know if I lost any weight, because we don't own a scale! That was not important to me, it was just that I wanted to eat healthier meals.
Another thing that I did was I read a devotional book each day in addition to my other daily devotions. I found this book at Goodwill. It was a really nice book to read. It had some great challenges and different things to "fast," such as pride, appearances, spending for a day, apathy, revisionism, stinginess, and much more. It had a reading, a reflection, something to fast, a reading about the history of Lent, and a Bible reading each day. It was very well written, and I learned things that I did not know. I learned about the woman who broke an alabaster vial of nard, but that it was spikenard, an essential oil that I own! I was fascinated to think that Jesus may have smelled like spikenard for several days after that anointing, and probably even while He was on the cross! It has a woody, musky smell to it. My husband really likes the scent.
What did you do for Lent this year? Did you learn anything new? I'd love to hear about it!
John 12:3Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
John 16:32-33
“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.
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