Daniel Fast Recipes and ideas

 I am on the Daniel Fast as a lot of you probably are, I have really enjoyed it!  The items I have listed below you may already do but I thought I would share what I have been making.

I will be adding more recipes as the weeks go by.  If you have any that you would like to share, PLEASE do!

I have tried a few recipes that I found one being a breakfast cookie.  It didn't look anything like the picture at all!  It tasted pretty good if you could get over the look of the cookie.  It was kinda colorless and rubbery looking. It had bananas, apples, raisins, oats and almond milk.  I might try it again but... so if I do and they turn out different I'll let you know.

I made a Spicy Thai Noodle using wheat pasta.  It was very good, I had made it before but the original recipe has you eat it cold.  I heated it up and liked much better that way.  I will add that recipe later.

Also I know beans are good for you and good for this fast...just so happens I don't like beans :(.  So if you have a bean recipe you would like to share feel free!      

                                                              

                                                 Breakfast

                                                               Oatmeal

I cook the oatmeal like it says on the box then I cut up bananas in place them in a bowl

I then  poured the cooked oatmeal over the bananas and add a tablespoon or two of unsweetened applesauce to help sweeten it.  Then I added strawberries on top!  

                                  Snacks

       My sister Tammy told me about this Salt & Pepper popcorn, it's pretty good!!  Actually it is really good!  No butter but you don't feel like you miss the butter at all!

It comes in a mini bag so it's just the perfect size for 1!

 

I found a new way to make popcorn! In a lunch sack!

Here is the link to my post on this blog for making popcorn in a lunch sack!

Normally I would use butter or vegetable oil but you could use olive oil instead! click on link below

Popcorn in lunch sack 

takes 2 to 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave!

 

 

 

                I like apples but I do not like the skin.  I normally peel them and then cut them up.  The other day I put one in  the food processor and I bet I could have eaten 3 apples like this in one sitting!  So refreshing!

Peel a apple then slice it into chunks then turn on your food processor!

It's so simple but so refreshing in little bites like this this!

Bananas with peanut butter- delicious and filling.  I just cut up a banana and place onto a plate then plop a tablespoon of peanut butter on the plate!  I take my spoon and get some peanut butter then a banana slice for each bite!

Smoothie!  One of my favorites!  Our church is doing juice so I have orange juice in here but if you aren't you can throw in a orange.  I have in here about 8 oz of Orange Juice then  a whole banana, 3 blackberries, 3 strawberries and then after I mix that up,  I add about 10 to 12 ice cubes

Delicious and honestly filling!

I have made these for years and it taste like what I get at Thirsty's

 

I found these juices at HEB in Waxahachie, all juice nothing added and they taste good!!!

 

I will drink sooooo much water if it's nice and cold and has a lot of ice!!  I for the last year will go

to Sonic and get a large water with extra ice.  I then add my water bottles to the ice after I drink the water out of it!  I have found all Sonic's are different in price, some are always .27 some are .52 and some are .76!  If you go at happy hour is 1/2 that!!!!

 

 

Need a gateway to some guacamole or hot sauce??  Use a Triscuit!  

Sometimes you just need that crunch! I also just top these with a slice of avocado!

Guacamole!!!

Ingredients 

Triscuit Thin Crisp and Hummas!

I got this at HEB which owns Central Market.  I never thought I like Hummas until several months ago when I bought it for a dinner I was going to.  It's delicious and I really like this Mediterranean Hummus.

This has Kalamata olives and green olives

Thin Triscut

 

Another thing to dip those Triscuit is this great hot sauce! 

 

it's done on your grill!  Here is the link to the Hot Sauce on this blog!

 

                               These are great Tortilla Chips they have them at Sam's and Costco!

 

 You know these are surprisingly better than I remembered :)  I felt like I was eating something with a good crunch and satisfying! 

I love Pistachios :)

 

  These are quite great together! I had them in my cabinet and thought well they are both on the list!
 

Sam's has this popcorn and the great thing about it is it's already ready!  You can add different seasonings for a kick!

Ingredients for the popcorn

 

 

 

 

Dinner

These are my favorite everyday seasonings!  I actually don't use the seasoned salt a lot but with this fast I have used it more.  The Lawry's Garlic Salt with the green lid has been my fav since I can reminder!  I use it every day and in most everything.  It has sea salt so it doesn't taste to salty (unless you use too much!).

I buy this olive oil often at Sam's Club, I believe it's like $7 or $8 for this good size bottle.  I usually have restaurant style pepper but I am out. 

Roasted potatoes and broccoli!  I cut up potatoes and drizzle olive oil then season it with Lawry's garlic salt with the green lid, season salt and black pepper.  I then put them in the oven at 375 degrees and bake for about 20 minutes.   I toss them with a spatula every 10 minutes so that they don't get to done on the bottom.  After the 20 minutes I add the broccoli and drizzle olive oil and same seasoning and bake for another 20 minutes.  I don't like my broccoli to get to brown so I add it later.

I squeezed some lemon on the broccoli (after it's done) which really enhances the flavor!!  My broccoli did get browner then I like but it was still really good.

Same concept as above but I the last 20 minutes added a wedge of cabbage and drizzled olive oil and same seasonings.  Baked at 375 again.  First potatoes for about 20 minutes then added cabbage.

Delicious!  The Cabbage and Potatoes are so tender and have such a great flavor with the seasoning!

 

 

I piled some veggies on a sheet and cooked them at 350 for about 30 to 40 minutes.  I however made a mistake on the butternut squash, I should have put that with the sweet potatoes and potatoes since they take longer to cook.  I sprinkled olive and Lawry's Garlic salt with the green lid.  This pic is before it went into the oven....jfi

 

Potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes, toss with olive, season with salt and pepper bake for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Picture before cook.

 

 

I made some marinara with whole tomatoes along with garlic and onions then pour it over brown rice!  The rice felt a little bit like meat, maybe I was hoping it was but if did satisfy me like meat.

I have made this soup twice now and I really have enjoyed it!  Only thing is for this time that I took pictures I had opened a can of crushed tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes as I did the first time.  I thought I'll go ahead and use them and it was good but I like it the first time better with whole tomatoes.  The crushed tomatoes had a slight twang to it.  I also used a LARGE can of Rotel and it was pretty hot. I like hot things but my noise was running!  Next time I will probably use a regular size can.  Also I used tomato bouillon and chicken bouillon you can use a veggie bouillon instead if you would like.  I was already making Tortilla soup for a group (first time I made it) and since I add chicken bouillon to that I just took out some of the soup for me before I added the Chicken to the soup.  I then on my part added potatoes and cooked them in the soup until they were tender.

Chop 1/4 or 1/2 of an onion then saute it in a stock pot then add 2 chopped garlic cloves.

Add  5 to 6 cups of water, 1 chicken bouillon cube (or vegetable bouillon cube), 1 tomato bouillon cube (if you have it), 1 can of rotel and 1 can of whole tomatoes.  Sprinkle on some Lawry's Garlic Salt, with green lid and Black Pepper.

add 4 or 5 chopped potatoes and let cook until potatoes are tender about 30 minutes.

I added about a cup of frozen corn and let it cook another 15 minutes  you can add the corn before the potatoes are tender and let it cook while the potatoes are cooking just don't add it in the beginning..  All together it takes about 45 minutes but the good thing is you can just leave the soup alone while it cooks on medium to high heat.  Just stir it here and there!  It's got some great flavor!

Here is a great Balsamic Vinaigrette!  You can omit the sugar during the fast.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup balsamic vinegar 

Fresh lime juice…1/4 of a lime

1 tsp sugar or 1 pkg of equal or sweetener

Salt and pepper 

Mix ingredients with a whisk until well blended.  Store in a glass jar.  When you use it again, it will be separated, so you will have to whisk again or shake the bottle real good. 

Notice that the ratio for olive oil and balsamic vinegar is 2-1.  So to make a larger batch, always have double the oil as the vinegar. It keeps a long time in the fridge. 

In addition to using this on salads, I use it a lot when I make roasted tomatoes, asparagus, etc.

                                                             Baked Squash

This has been a family favorite for years!!!  Normally you add butter in between the layers but for the Daniel Fast I add a little Olive Oil.

Slice squash and place at bottom of a baking dish that has a lid or a small Dutch Oven (like I did)

After you put the layer of squash add some sliced onion and tomatoes then add sprinkle some olive oil and season with Lawry's garlic salt and black pepper then repeat.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees or until squash is tender.

Delicious ;)

I cut up some sweet potatoes and regular potatoes and just put the pan with the squash on the cookie sheet to cook.

Dinner!  I boiled some frozen broccoli to go with.

Green Beans with Sesame Seeds

I just added about 1 tsp of olive oil and a tsp of sesame oil then some frozen green beans in a skillet.  Once the green beans where heated I added some sesame seeds.

Yum!  I love sesame oil and I love sesames.  I seasoned it with some Lawry's garlic salt and black pepper.

The sesames almost taste like garlic after being toasted. 

I got home after 7:30 p.m. then put the potatoes in the oven then took a bath (hot, it's cold).  I then made the green beans and broccoli along with  heating up the squash from yesterday!  Yes, I like potatoes ;)  So much food you just can't eat it all and so filling!

Sweet and Sour Soup!  This morning I was making lunches for the Teachers I cater for and oh did it smell good!  I wasn't tempted while making the chicken wrapped in bacon, seasoned then topped with brown sugar (recipe on this blog) or the baked potato (cause I can have one) with the individual butters or sour cream (I hate sour cream).  Nor the Ranch Dressing I made which I have come to like (homemade only) or the salad so fresh (that I can have) or actually and honestly the homemade chocolate pudding with home made whip cream (my fav).... It wasn't until I left and came back to the smell that I was like OMG (gosh) because it smelled so good.  I had two ladies order late (this morning) so I had told them I could bring theirs after I drop off at all the schools (because I had to put it in the oven).  So I come back and like I said was blown away from the smell and I knew then I couldn't just eat a salad. I delivered the lunches then thought what about hot and sour soup!  My mom had just mentioned they had wanton soup (which I like but not a ton) so I goggled the recipe on my phone for hot and sour and thought well the only thing in here possibly not on the list is cornstarch to thicken it a little...surely that would be ok since I am starving!  I go to order and the soup is only $1.25 so I ordered 2!!  Come home and there is egg in it :(  I had a recipe I make and looked at it to see if it had egg and yep it did.  So I just took out most of the egg and then ate every bite of both bowls!!!  

Tonight I made a spinach salad with strawberries and cucumbers.  I added the Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing from above since the poppy seed dressing that goes with this has sugar in it!  It was pretty good!  the cucumbers and strawberries go well together.

Saute mushrooms are super quick and kinda taste like meat, kinda.  Just heat up 1 tsp or so of olive oil then add mushrooms then season with salt and pepper or I used Lawry's garlic salt with green lid and pepper.  Takes only 6 to 10 minutes!

Brussels Sprouts-I bought frozen Brussels sprouts because they were $1.42 verses $3.48 fresh!   I boiled them first in water for 3 to 4 minutes

Normally I would saute them in butter but I added some olive oil instead.  You just need a teaspoon or of olive oil then season  with salt and pepper, I added Lawry's Garlic Salt.

I sauteed mushrooms since I had some left then I took a short cut!  I cut up some potatoes put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes then took them out and put them in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes until they were tender.  Potatoes have been my staple, I don't usually eat them every day but on this fast they have helped me not feel like I was totally on a fast!

I  forgot to take any pictures of this Smoky Red Pepper Soup but we made it in my cooking class this last Monday.  It's good especially if you like red peppers.  You can use Vegetable Broth instead of chicken and then omit the cream .

Smoky Red Pepper Soup

  3 tablespoons butter

<6 large red bell peppers, chopped  

<3 medium carrots, chopped

 l1 Large sweet onion, diced  

· 2 garlic cloves, minced

<3 tablespoons tomato paste

<1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

<2 teaspoons smoked paprika

<1 teaspoon ground coriander

<5 cups vegetable broth

<2 bay leaves

<1/4 cup whipping cream

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add bell peppers and next 2 ingredients. Saute 12 to 15 minutes or until onion is golden. Stir in garlic and next 4 ingredients. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes.

2. Add broth and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring often, 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaves.

3. Process soup with a handheld blender until smooth. Stir in cream, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. 

Note: If you don't have a handheld blender, let mixture cool slightly after Step 2; process mixture, in batches, in a regular blender until smooth. Return mixture to Dutch oven, and proceed with recipe as directed in Step 3.

I made this soup at lunch today, I put some potatoes on to boil for about 15 minutes then I drained the water, you don't have to but I did.  I then added a can of rotel and about 1 1/2 cups of water along with 1/2 of a tomato bouillon and 1/2 of a veggie bouillon (both knors).  After that I just cut up about a cups or so of cabbage and added it to the soup and waited about 15 to 20  minutes until the potatoes and cabbage  was nice and tender.  I will say it's kinda hot and makes your nose run!  I love hot things and normally I do not feel like rotel is very hot but in this it is a tiny bit.. You can always get mild rotel.

I really like this!!  Very similar to the soup at the top but I add cabbage this time and no corn.