The Jesus Diet: Week 4

Well, I'd made it to the start of what was supposed to be my last week. But, I had no plan after that. Where was I going from here? Would I just stay on "The Jesus Diet" forever? I didn't even know how I would do a "cheat day",  or if I was supposed to even have one. But then again, I realized, this was my diet. I could make up my own rules and do whatever I wanted. If I wanted to have one cheat day a week I could do that. If I wanted to have 1 cheat day a year I could do that too. But the likelihood that I could survive an entire year (mentally) without something decadent (e.g. chocolate, cheeseburgers, burritos...) seemed minor.

I also didn't think it was a good idea to have an entire cheat day, let alone doing that once a week. Especially if I wasn't exercising that much - which I really hadn't been. I'd only been to the gym twice, and after catching a cold there and feeling sick for several days, my body was screaming in pain for half of week 3 and I just didn't want to do that to myself again.

So the beginning of week 4 was when I decided I needed to find a solution to my problem.   The problem being, where was I going after the 30 day mark was up? And so, this was when I came up with the idea to do a different diet for the next seven months, each month something new. With a lot of research, I found the seven respective places in the world where I would create my diets and (hopefully) creative and delicious new recipes. 

But I would need time to do that research and to come up with recipes, and figure out when to start/stop each respective diet. So, because of that, I decided to keep going on "The Jesus Diet" for the next couple of weeks, until I begin my next journey.

I also made the decision to only have one cheat meal - a month! Although I may make an exception and do it twice a month. But even still, it's not going to be a lot. It's important to me to treat myself only once in a blue moon (or once a month in this case, which is essentially the same thing), to keep my taste buds happy, my mind from going crazy, but my body also a lot healthier.

During week 4 I did have my very first cheat meal, and while it was delicious, it absolutely felt like a chore getting it in me. My body didn't enjoy the food as much as my initial senses did, which is a huge red flag to me that the processed crap we eat on the daily is just that - crap.

The companies, restaurants and other industries that produce so much of our food put chemicals and addictive additives - and tons of sugar, don't forget sugar - in our "foods" in order to keep our brains happy and their wallets full. Even though I've known this for years, I have still been suckered into it.

Remember how a few entries back I mentioned Oreos? Oh, how I do love them. Last year, it got to be a problem for me. I was treating Oreos like crack cocaine and eating them all the time. And when I say all the time, I also mean like not stopping at one at a time. I mean, eating 3-4 at a time...multiple times a day. Now, in my defense, I wasn't eating them every day, but I was eating them at least once a week. And while that may not seem like very much, over time that definitely adds up. And most especially on your waistline.

They did a study some time back on lab rats and Oreos. They compared how the rats reacted to cocaine versus Oreos. Apparently the Oreos were more enticing to the rats than the cocaine was. That's frightening. And, humorously enough, the rats would eat the icing-filled center first before the actual cookie, just like we as humans tend to do.

Therefore, after reading this article, I began referring to myself as a rat. Because basically, that's what Nibisco's scientific team had turned me into. A lab rat whose brain had been turned on to the chemical reaction of high-fat combined with high-sugar levels. The night before New Year's Eve was the last time I ate Oreos...and I have no plans to ever touch them again. I had a small memorial service the next day. Everything's fine now. They will be missed. Kind of.

I went cold turkey many, many years ago on pop too. For years, I'd been addicted to coca-cola. No surprise, as much of the American public is.  In 2012, I made a decision to drop it entirely and I haven't looked back since. Prior to that I was in such a bad state, I had to have at least 1 of coke's 1.25 liter bottles every single day. Again, might not seem like a lot when you're doing it...but it is. 

And given that that was at the very least, it means I would sometimes drink upwards of 3 bottles a day. Though it was hard in the beginning to quit, I'm so grateful to myself that I did. Obviously weight loss came with cutting it out of my regular diet, but the health benefits to quitting are immeasurable. Just throw some of it down your toilet and watch what it does to the caked up grime around the rims. You'll wonder during sleepless nights what it is doing to your intestines.

But even though I have not had a Coke, or a Pepsi or a Dr. Pepper in ten years, I still get cravings for it from time to time. That should tell  you everything you need to know about the addictive chemicals that are found in these types of "foods".

I get it though. Who wouldn't rather have a Doughnut instead of a Brussels Sprout? Or maybe a Frosty rather than a carrot stick? There's a reason we love these pleasurable foods - because they are pleasurable. There's nothing intrinsically pleasurable about a piece of lettuce, or a celery stick. But over time it is much more pleasurable having a healthy body and less flesh weighing you down and keeping you from doing even basic things (like clasping your shoes, walking up a flight of stairs, or taking out your garbage) than it is to keep that box of Oreos by your bedside. Hypothetically by your bedside... 

But let's get to Week 4.

I will skip the first few days, because again, standard stuff. Fruit for breakfast, salads for lunch.

Three days in though, I made a fantastic dish which could potentially be likened to a pot roast - but somewhat different. Mashed potatoes would have been perfect to go with it of course, but naturally, there were no potatoes in Jesus' day. At least not where he lived. Therefore, I got creative once again and made mashed fava beans. Oh my gosh. There is no other way to prepare or to eat these beans. Do this, every single time you make fava beans - which probably won't be too often as they are very hard to find and darned expensive to boot.

Recipe for Week 4:

 

Beef Red Wine Stew with Mashed Fava Beans

 

 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. 100% grass-fed cubed beef

1 yellow onion, diced

olive oil 

1 1/2 cups red wine (as you prefer, but I would recommend a good Cabernet)

2 medium carrots, washed, outer layer peeled off, and then diced 

salt to taste

1 tsp caraway seed 

2 cups peeled, split and pre-soaked/cooked fava beans 

1/4 cup half & half 

1 tbsp salted butter (yes, apparently they had butter in Jesus' day - though I may have taken liberties using cow's butter, instead of sheep or goat)


Instructions:

1. Heat a large pot and add olive oil and onion 

2. Once onion has sauteed and is transparent in color, add beef 

3. Cook evenly on both sides of each piece, and then turn heat down

4. Add red wine, followed by the carrots. Add caraway seed and salt to taste

5. Simmer on med-low heat, for approximately 40 minutes, but be careful not to let the meat get to dry.

6. In a separate pot take your cooked fava beans, so soft to the point they are naturally mushy

7. Add half & half and butter and salt to taste; using a potato masher mash the beans

8. Once beef is cooked place atop fava beans. * I also added some cooked chickpeas to the fava beans later to give it a little more density. It tasted good, but without the chickpeas the flavor was better.