Let Food be your Medicine; and Medicine be your Food.
Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine.
Admit it. When you first heard the idea of eating a mostly raw food diet, didn’t it strike you as a bit boring? Perhaps a little tasteless? Well, I’m happy to report that, along with the accounts of many others, this notion couldn’t be farther from the truth. It does, however, require trading in some of our sacred cows (a perfect cliché here)—our lifelong eating habits. That means we’ll probably have to retrain our taste buds for a while.
You might be thinking, Retraining? Preacher, do that mean I have to start a workout with my tongue? No, not exactly. But on the Standard American Diet (SAD), most people have consumed a lifetime of salt, pepper, flavor enhancers, and other additives which have disguised the natural tastes of their food. These enhances are used to liven up the dead foods we’ve been eating. But along the way, they’ve also desensitized our taste buds.
Fortunately, it takes only a short time to get those little buds back in shape. Once you change your diet from the mostly dead, living and processed foods of the SAD to the predominantly living, whole foods of The Hallelujah Diet, you’ll begin to notice a growing appreciation for natural flavors.
Most people are excited to learn that the 100 trillion cells comprising physical bodies are constantly dying and replacing themselves at approximately 300 million cells per minute. In other words, our bodies are continuously rebuilding themselves one cell at a time. The cells comprising various body parts vary the length of time needed to replace all cells in that part. For instance, it takes approximately one year to replace the bone structure of our bodies. But it takes only about two weeks to replace our taste buds!
Keep this in mind as you begin The Hallelujah Diet. You might have a desire to alter the flavor of these living foods with salt, pepper, and other flavor enhancers, just as you’ve done in the past. But resist, my friends! Let your taste buds, which are comprised of living cells, have a little time to rebuild. It won’t be long before you realize how much wonderful flavor God has packed into the fruits, vegetables, and other living foods He created-for our eating pleasure.
Give The Hallelujah Diet a little time and you might find, like many others before you, that you’re falling in love with food all over again! Only now you’ll be eating to live, rather than living to eat! There is a difference, you know. And as our physical bodies rebuild themselves one cell at a time, all kinds of wonderful changes start to take place—exciting and positive changes that affect all the many facets of your life.
My wife, Rhonda, has always loved preparing food and has put in much time over the last 15 years creating and collecting fun, delicious recipes. In this chapter, she’ll share with you her thoughts on The Hallelujah Diet and many recipe favorites from her collection. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!
A MESSAGE FROM RHONDA
Most of us have grown up eating the SAD—Standard American Diet. We’re very comfortable with it. We often cook unhealthy recipes which have been handed down to us, or perhaps we bring home processed food items from the store and pop – them in the oven or microwave. Many just stop for fast food while these techniques may be easy, they’re not necessarily nutritious. And since this is a book about healthy eating, I’m t tell you we have discovered many new and exciting ways to pare healthy and delicious foods! In fact, there are many wonderful taste treats waiting for you within these pages.
Imagine making a frozen dish that looks like ice cream and testes like sorbet with no added sugar or toxic chemicals, right in your own kitchen! The taste treats and possibilities are endless, and you are only limited by your imagination.
Learning to prepare healthier foods isn’t hard, but it’s some times a little different than what you’ve known in the past. The tools may be new and may seem a little intimidating in the beginning. They were to me, too. But it won’t be long before you’ll be zipping through your food prep with ease. Take pleasure in the learning process and the fact that there are no greasy dishes to clean!
As you begin The Hallelujah Diet and Lifestyle, may you find strength in knowing that you are not alone. Hundreds of thousands have traveled the road before you and experienced astounding, life-changing results. Now you, too, have the opportunity to make choices that can impact your health and that of your entire family for generations to come.
Imagine living in a healthy body without pain or disease, being able to play ball with your children and grandchildren, or taking them hiking in the woods, fishing, or golfing. For these reasons and more, it is worth investing in your own health to be there for their future!
Included on the next several pages are some of my favorite recipes. I suggest picking one or two that appeal to you and giving them a try. My prayer is for you to eat your way to perfect health, and that it won’t be long before you’ll be falling in love with food all over again.
Here is a great selection of mouthwatering recipes for you to try as you get yourself started on this delicious new way of life. For more information on the books these sample recipes came from, see the list at the end of this section. They’ve been sorted here by category to help you find what you need.
FANTASTIC SALADS AND SLAWS
Raw Apple, Pear, and Pecan Salad
Recipe courtesy of Hallelujah Holiday Recipes… from God’s Garden
By Rhonda Malkmus
Serves 2
Salad
3 celery ribs (stalks) 1 lemon
2 Red Delicious apples 1 orange
1 Golden Delicious apple + cup dates, chopped
1 Pear + cup raw pecans, chopped
Chop celery fine and put into bowl. Peel and chop apples and pears into small pieces. Juice lemon and oranges and pour over apples and pear to keep them from turning brown. Stir to coat all fruit and marinate for 10 minutes. Drain, saving juice.
While the fruit is soaking, chop pecans and dates. Add half the chopped pecans along with the dates and celery to the drained fruit.
Dressing.
Make dressing by combining the other half of pecans in a blender or food processor with the reserved juice, and puree into a nut butter sauce. Add puree to the salad and stir to blend all flavors. Serve on a bed of leaf lettuce.
Sprout Saw
Recipe courtesy of Thank God Jar Raw by Julie Wandling
Salad:
1—2 heads cabbage; shredded, not grated
2 cups sprouts (alfalfa, clover, radish)
1 onion, ringed thin
I tsp, poppy seeds
Dressing:
+ cup raw honey
+ cup raw apple cider vinegar
+ cup walnut or olive oil