No- Knead Artisan Bread

When I first heard about no-knead bread, I wasn't too impressed. I mean, kneading is not very hard (especially when you have a KitchenAid). The thing that really stood out to me about this recipe and finally convinced me to try it, was that it comes out like artisan bread from the bakery- crusty on the outside with a soft center. This bread is AMAZING!! Jim Lahey came up with the technique, which involves an overnight (or all day) rise. You will need some kind of ovenproof pot to cook it in. I have tried this bread with half wheat and half white flours, but it is equally as good with all wheat flour.

Whole Wheat No-Knead Artisan Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 1/2- 1 3/4 cups cool water

Wheat bran, coarse cornmeal or more flour for dusting

Directions:

1. Stir together flour, salt, yeast in a medium bowl. Add water and mix well using a wooden spoon. The dough should be wet and sticky. Add more water if needed. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
2. On a floured surface, shape dough into a loose round.
3. Generously dust a clean cloth with flour. Place dough on cloth. Dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal or flour. Fold ends of the towel over on the bread.
4. Let rise until almost doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours.
5. After dough has risen for at least 30 minutes, preheat oven to 475. Heat a covered 3 1/2 quart ovenproof pot (I use a Dutch oven) for 30 minutes or until dough is ready. REmove pot from oven. Uncover and add bread. (This is the hardest part. Be careful not to get burnt!) Slide your hand under the towel and flip the bread in. Cover with lid.
6. Bake for 30 minutes; uncover pot. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes more.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays.

Real Food and Religion series: Latter Day Saint

Our post today comes from Kris Godak. She blogs at dietwithkris, all about eating whole foods. She includes lots of recipes and thoughts on food and diet.  

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Most of you probably know us as the Mormons.  We prefer to be called "Latter Day Saints."  Saints in this phrase means that we are followers of Christ.  As such, we follow the teachings of the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New Testament.  We also count as scripture, the Book of Mormon, which was written at about the same time as the New Testament, but its audience was the people on the American Continent.  It is referred to as "another testament of Jesus Christ."  It does not contradict the teachings of the Bible, but gives us another perspective.  In addition, we have a record of modern revelation received through our living prophets, beginning in the early 1800's.  This doctrine is where our code of health is found.  Joseph Smith, through revelation from God, presented to the Saints what we refer to as "The Word of Wisdom."

The Word of Wisdom, in its entirety can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 89.  If you would like to read it, here is the link: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/89/17#17.  I'll paraphrase it for you here.

First, there is a list of things we should not consume.  The Word of Wisdom tells us that drinking wine is not good, and isn't pleasing to God.  It tells us that it would only be appropriate when giving sacraments (communion).  And if we use it for that purpose, this wine should be homemade.  We are told that strong drinks are not to be taken internally but can be used for washing the body.   Tobacco is not to be used for the body nor taken internally, but can be used for bruises or sick cattle.    We are also told not to consume "hot drinks." 

The best part tells us what we should consume.  We are taught that all wholesome herbs are ordained by God for the use of man.  Every herb and fruit should be eaten in its season with prudence and thanksgiving.  Meat of both land animals and birds are also ordained by God to be used but we are to use them sparingly, and only in times of winter, cold, or famine.  All grain is to be used for man and animal and is to be the staff of life.  It is repeated that meat should be used sparingly, and repeated that wheat, particularly, is the grain for man.

In the last part of the Word of Wisdom, we are promised blessings for following this code of health.  We are told that we we'll receive health in our navels and marrow in our bones. We will find wisdom and treasures of knowledge.  We shall run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. 

You can tell this was written a long time ago.  As modern Latter-day Saints, we have to interpret what must have been meant by such doctrine.  For instance, we have adopted the idea that "wine" and "strong drink" refer to alcoholic beverages.  Devout Latter-day Saints do not partake of these at all.  Even our sacrament meetings (communion) no longer include wine or even grape juice.  We use water which has been blessed with a special prayer for this purpose.  As for tobacco, we take the Word of Wisdom to mean that we shouldn't chew or smoke it.  "Hot drinks" have been interpreted to mean coffee and tea.  Science has shown us that these items aren't healthy for various reasons, particularly the addictive stimulant caffeine.  Many Latter-day Saints do consume caffeine, though, in soda or chocolate.  Since the law doesn't use the word "caffeine,"  many choose not to interpret it to mean that.

Mormon culture embraces the Word of Wisdom, for the most part.  We certainly are a wheat-eating people.  Most LDS have a good supply of stored whole wheat berries.  We know that in the event of a disaster, we could live on this wheat for a long time.  We truly believe that it is the "staff of life" and it is the #1 item purchased for emergency preparedness.  Most LDS families are gardeners.  We even have a song in our Children's Songbook called, "The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden."  Here are the lyrics:

The prophet said to plant a garden, so that’s what we’ll do.
For God has given rich brown soil, the rain and sunshine too.
And if we plant the seeds just right and tend them carefully,
Before we know, good things will grow to feed our family.

We’ll plant the seeds to fill our needs, then plant a few to spare,
And show we love our neighbors with the harvest that we share.
Oh, won’t you plant a garden, too, and share the many joys
A garden brings in health and love to happy girls and boys!

From an early age, we teach our children the importance of growing our own produce.  We teach them this so they can be healthy and self-sufficient.  I think the Word of Wisdom and Mormon culture part company, however, when it comes to meat.  Most LDS women, when planning their meals, start with a list of what meat will be served for dinner each night, and then plan an entree around that meat.  I know many LDS women who would like to better follow the council to "eat meat sparingly" but have heard them complain that "my husband would never go for it."  I struggle with this in my own home, too.  American culture puts meat in every meal, and it is hard to break from this.  I serve one vegetarian dinner in my home each week, and try to make my meat go further in my other dinners by using less meat than a recipe calls for and supplementing with extra grain (like 1/2 lb of ground meat and 1/2 lb cooked barley in my tacos).  I think I'm the exception though.  Most Mormon dinners include a large portion of meat.

Though this does not break any rule in the Word of Wisdom per se, I must mention that there are some classic LDS recipes that are just not healthy.  If you stay in an LDS home long enough, you will most likely eat:

a potato casserole using frozen hashbrowns, cream of chicken soup, and velveeta cheese
tater tot casserole with cream of something soup, hamburger, canned corn, and tater tots on top
a salad containing jello, cool whip, and marshmallows
chocolate chip cookies made with butter flavor crisco (the secret ingredient) and white flour
homemade white bread with margarine and sugar sweetened homemade jam
home-canned peaches or pears in sugar syrup
some super-yummy cinnamon rolls with powdered sugar icing
Tang or Kool-aid

It is hard to be LDS and not partake of these things.  These foods mean comfort and love.  Sigh....
 

Real Food and Religion series: Christ Follower

Kris Mays is a Christ Follower, wife of 18 years to David and mother to five children ages 11-1, whom she home schools in rural Oregon.  Beyond that, her passions are writing, raising food, cooking, and nutrition.  You can find her on the web at www.homeschoolblogger.com/misskris

I don't care much for the word "religion."  It's always grated.  To me, the word religion implies living by a set of rules and regulations.  Now I know that is not necessarily the dictionary definition of the word "religion," but I think it's the idea most people get when they hear the word.  I also think it's one reason many don't seek a more "spiritual life."

 

For me, my faith isn't about following a set of rules, it's about pleasing God.  It's a relationship with my Maker.  Matthew 22:37-39 says, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (KJV)  Those two commandments pretty much cover it all.  If I do these things, I am pleasing God.  If I do these things, I am automatically following the Ten Commandments.

 

The book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament is full of the many laws and dietary restrictions God set forth for his people.  I don't pretend to know all God's reasons for these.  But I do believe the dietary restrictions were to help set God's people apart from the world, and to help protect their health for future generations.  Today, I don't live under Old Testament law.  I live under God's grace and my freedom in Christ.  Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."  (KJV)  This means there is nothing I can do to save myself, only God can do that through His son, Jesus.  He did that.

 

According to Romans 14, I have full freedom in Christ to choose what to eat and what to drink.  However, if what I eat or drink offends others, then that is sin, as I would be breaking the Second Commandment to love others more than myself.  So obviously, if I should serve forbidden foods to my Jewish friend, this would cause offense.  If I serve sausage to my family in my home when no one who would be offended was present, to me that is okay.  However, if I am personally convicted to follow an Old Testament diet, then I should do that.

 

We have for several years tried to avoid pork and we seriously limit shellfish (which I personally don't eat at all).  This is because we feel that health is a big reason God gave these restrictions in the Old Testament.  We have also read about the parasites in swine, etc., that we'd really rather not have anything to do with.  That said, we do eat bacon on occasion (from responsibly raised swine), because it's not about rules.  Remember, we live in freedom.  It's about balance and health.  And sometimes we just really feel like eating some bacon!

 

In our church, I think most people eat just about anything.  I don't see many abstaining from items because they are "unclean" and I know there are folks in our church that drink alcohol (we personally don't because of the Second Commandment).  Food is definitely an important part of fellowship in many churches.   Church potlucks, in general, are famous for their good food.  Our church is quite large, so we meet in home groups during the week and those meetings generally include a shared meal.  We are home group leaders, so we can steer the direction of the meals ourselves or decide to forego it.

 

As a mother of five children, I take seriously my job of feeding them nutritious foods and guarding their health.  Just recently, I came to the realization that taking care of our bodies IS loving God.  We should respect and be good stewards of His creation, and our bodies are a part of that creation.  Although food and health has been an interest for years, this was a real light bulb moment for me.  In the past year, we have been making some real changes in our diet and the way we prepare our meals.  As I master one new concept, I move on to another.  Like most who are on this healthy eating journey, I read and learn everyday.  I pray and ask for wisdom.  I talk to my husband, and then we do what we feel God would have us do for our family.

 

Some web sites that have been very helpful to me in my nourishing food journey are:

 

www.heavenlyhomemakers.com

www.thenourishinggourmet.com

www.passionatehomemaking.com

www.azurestandard.com

 

Real Food for Babies

Our six month old started "solids" recently. My husband thought I was crazy when I told him that instead of the mainstream, politically correct rice cereal as his first food... I wanted to feed him butter.
"Butter?" he asked, "Who eats butter?"
"Butter is good for you," I answered.
"Yeah, but we don't eat it by itself."
I perservered and fed our baby butter. Why butter? It's full of fat, which babies need a lot of for their developing brain. We then fed him avocado, full fat yogurt, and banana. He still hasn't had grains which are harder to digest, but he will probably start them soon.

I have a confession to make: sitting there spooning baby food into a baby's mouth is not on my top ten list of things to do. (In fact, I'd rather change diapers!) I could not wait for the day when my babies were old enough for finger foods! The good news is that letting your baby feed himself is actually a good thing. It develops hand mouth coordination and lets the baby choose how much to eat.

Because our baby is still working on the coordination, and because I want to get as much food as I can in his little tummy just in case it will help him sleep through the night(!), we have a two part approach to feeding right now. We let the baby sit with our family at dinner. On his high chair tray, we put small amounts of food (usually part of what we're eating) and let him work on getting it to his mouth. Then, before bedtime, we feed him with a spoon.

If you haven't made your own baby food, it is really easy. I did this with all my kids because it cost less and because you can choose exactly what goes in it.

All you need is a food processor or food mill or even a blender. Any fruit or vegetable will work, but it's best to use organics for your baby so you expose them to as little pesticide residue as possible.

Here's what I do:
Cook the vegetable.
Puree it.
Separate into ice cube trays. When frozen, store in an airtight container in the freezer. Then reheat and serve.

Ideas for baby foods:
Peas- heat in saucepan
Sweet potatoes- bake
Apples-peel, chop, then boil with a little water until soft
Bananas- mush with a fork, serve raw
Avocadoes- mush with a fork, serve raw
Carrots- steam until tender
Berries- no need to cook, puree raw fruit
Green beans- steam until tender

Other baby foods:
Plain yogurt
Butter
Cheese
Eggs, scrambled
Beans (Kidney, black, pinto, etc.)

Check out this resource list by Nina Planck, author of Real Food for Mothers and Baby.

Kate at Modern Alternative Mama posted her thoughts about feeding babies here.
Please add any foods I've missed and any other tips you may have; I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Real Food and Religion series: The Levitical Diet

Today our guest blogger is Hallee who blogs at HalleetheHomemaker. She blogs about family, food, homemaking and her religious beliefs. We'll take a break from the Real Food and Religion series and I'll cover some of your questions over the weekend, and then we have some more great guest bloggers coming up next week. Enjoy!
    
I am a Christian. I am a devout, set-myself-apart, Bible believing Christian who strives to make everything I am and all that I can be for God, to God, or about God. My beliefs are not tied to any specific religion. As a family, we choose to worship God in and work for God through and with the My family and I chose to worship God in a the Church of God (formerly called the "First Church of God of Anderson Indiana") for a few reasons:

• They are a holiness church, and choose to use the Bible as a guideline for what to believe rather than a written doctrine.
• We have a strong family background within the Church of God that goes back several generations.
• They have a strong focus on missions, and this is extremely important to our family.
• The area in which we live and the surrounding areas have many different Church of God churches, providing opportunities for inter-church fellowship and meeting.

This specific article is supposed to talk about our religion and what it teaches about food and abstaining from certain foods. I did some research, because I couldn't find anything readily available to me about foods within the Church of God, and had never heard or seen anything specifically taught about it. It seems that without a written doctrine, and using the Bible as a guideline for belief, that there would be something taught about food or abstaining from foods, but there is not. They do believe in abstaining from all alcohol. Other than that, and since there is no written doctrine, the abstaining from alcohol is simply an understood and traditional practice, there is nothing else other than a regular observance of the Communion that is done with bread or crackers and grape juice.
Apart from having any specific rules about food or abstaining from food, our church body definitely has a food culture. In nearly every instance of fellowship with the church body, there is food. Be it a "Soup-er" Bowl party on Super Bowl Sunday night with different soups and chili's being enjoyed together after evening worship, Valentine Dinners, Corn Husking picnics in the early fall when the corn comes in, or just a potluck supper "Linger Longer" after morning worship. Food is a way to bring people together, a chance to sit at a different table and chat with a brother or sister in Christ and enjoy the company of fellow believers.
Our church does some sort of fellowship something at least once a month, if not more often. It is definitely one of the benefits of being part of our congregation.
Our family, however, apart from the organized religion that we choose as a worship and works platform, follows a Levitical diet. We believe that the restrictions God gave pertaining to food in Leviticus are there for health reasons.

What is the Levitical Diet?

There may be some confusion between what defines a Levitical Diet -- sometimes also called a Levitican Diet -- and how it is different from a Kosher diet. The principles of keeping Kosher go far beyond the principles of a Levitical Diet. Without writing a book to explain the differences, there are 3 principles to the Levitical Diet and they are:

1. Eat only substances that God created for food.  Avoid what is not designed for food.
2. As much as possible, eat foods as they were created - before they were changed or converted into something humans think might be better
3. Avoid food addictions.  Don't let any food or drink become your god.

The reasons our family follows these principles are easy to explain.   The bottom line is that the Levitical Diet is healthier than alternative eating lifestyles (III John 1:2).  However, the diet we choose for our family does not reflect judgment of what others eat or how they prepare their food. When we are guests at another person's table, we eat whatever is offered in the spirit of hospitality and are blessed by their generosity (Romans 14:2-17).  While we realize that following this diet is NOT the key to our salvation, we follow the guidelines offered in God's word as an act of worship and faithfulness.

The Principles

1) In brief, the first principle allows for eating what the Bible calls  "Clean" foods and avoiding foods that the Bible deems "Unclean."
Clean foods include herbivorous animals that have divided hooves and chew cud, such as cattle, sheep, and goats (Leviticus 11:3); all fish that have fins and scales, either fresh or salt water fish, such as perch, trout, tuna, and salmon (Leviticus 11:9); birds that do not eat carrion such as chicken, pheasant, goose, duck, and turkey (Leviticus 11:13-19); a few insects (so we have something to complain about, I guess) like locusts and grasshoppers (Leviticus 11:21-22)-  dried locust is nearly 75% protein which could explain how John the Baptist remained in such good health; milk (Exodus 3:8); all seed-bearing fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables (Genesis 1:29); and honey - we purchase our honey from a local beekeeper and we try to get the comb as well. If you don't have a source of local honey, try your best to purchase "pure honey" (Exodus 3:8).
Unclean foods include pork, kangaroo, rabbit, anything without a divided hoof and chews the cud (Leviticus 11:4-8, 26-28); fat (Leviticus 7:23); blood (Leviticus 7:26); kidneys; (Leviticus 3:4 ) bottom feeders such as catfish, oyster, shrimp, crab, lobster, shark, octopus, squid, clams, coral, and any fish that doesn't have scales and fins; any plant that grows in water, whether salt or fresh water, such as spirulina (algae), sea weed, kelp, and food additives such as carrageenan (Leviticus 11:10-12); birds that eat carrion such as the eagle, osprey, hawk, kite, vulture, raven, ostrich (including eggs), goat sucker, seagull, buzzard, swan, pelican, owl, carrion eagle, stork, heron, crane, hoopoe; bats (Leviticus 11:13-20); any insects that crawl, as opposed to hopping like locust and grasshopper, which makes nearly every insect off limits (Leviticus 11:23-25); rodents such as the mole, mouse, rat, and shrew; any animal torn, mangled or worried (painful death such as roadkill);  any cattle dying of disease (Leviticus 11:29-43); all reptiles including turtles, lizards, alligators, and snakes (Leviticus 11:4, 10, 29, 42); and any food that has touched anything unclean, such as a mouse chewed on it (Leviticus 7:23).
The health reasons for the distinctions between clean and unclean are fairly apparent. Avoiding unclean foods means avoiding harmful toxins and possible disease. For example, unhealthy toxins are stored in the fat and removed by the kidneys of every animal. Bottom feeders were created to remove toxins from the seas and their flesh is full of unhealthy toxins and metals. There are many, many reasons to avoid pork. Pigs will literally eat anything, and pork can contain up to 30 times more toxins than beef or venison.
Conversely, lean meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, milk, and scaled fish are healthy foods in so many, many ways. The benefits of each are so plentiful, I won't attempt to list them all, but they include: good proteins and amino acids, healthy omega-3's and 6's, healthy carbohydrates, and balanced measures of beneficial and soluble minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
2) As much as possible, eat foods as they were created - before they were changed or converted into something humans think might be better. There are some excellent examples of this and more and more research is showing that the further we remove ourselves from our food sources, the unhealthier we become as a result.
Consider margarine: Leviticus 7:23 prohibits eating any of the fat of even clean cattle.  God noted in Leviticus 3:17that this would be a "perpetual statute" prohibiting the eating of fat.  Back in the nineteenth century, a Frenchman learned how to turn vegetable oil into an artificial animal fat substitute we know as margarine in direct conflict with the Levitical dietary law.  In the last 200 years, we have changed our diets and our lifestyles so much that we have caused an epidemic of cancer, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Angina pectoris has only been described in the English medical literature for the last 200 years. Two hundred years before, NONE of these diseases or conditions existed at all or in any appreciable numbers.
Consider unfermented soy. In recent studies, even the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has listed unfermented soy as an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical (EDC) meaning it contains natural hormones that emulate human hormones, the consumption of which can lead to obesity, infertility, genital malformation, reduced male birth rates, precocious puberty, miscarriage, behavior problems, brain abnormalities, impaired immune function, various cancers, and cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association (AHA) recently withdrew support for any definitive health claims related to soy protein and coronary conditions.
Consider genetically modified or engineered foods (GMOs or GEOs) many of which are sterile and thus are not "seed-producing" which has been linked to a variety of health concerns including many of the same problems with unfermented soy.
Consider high fructose corn syrup, added to literally everything from ketchup to cough syrup, which shuts down the human metabolism and has been linked to high blood pressure. Consider enriched bleached, white flour" which contains none of the healthy oils or nutrients of whole grains and is enriched with industrial grade chemicals.
Consider that it is highly unlikely that you will ever encounter any health problems as a result of preparing and eating unmodified "real" foods. You won't live forever, but you will certainly live longer and better as a result.
3) The final principle, that of not making any food or drink or any diet or eating lifestyle into an idol, is a bit subjective but also not difficult to integrate into our eating lifestyle.  Some things which can become too important include alcohol, caffeine, and sweets (Ecclesiastes 10:17).  Devoting too much energy or too much of your finances to purchase exclusively this or that kind of food is also a danger, especially if you place more financial importance on that practice than on, for instance, offering a tithe (1 Corinthians 10:31).  If rich delicacies or rarities rank high on your dietary priority list, this can also present a risk (Proverbs 23:1-3).
One way to break food addictions or binge cycles, a method which also has definite health benefits, is fasting. According to recent studies, Americans in particular rarely if ever experience real hunger anymore. Essentially, we have not yet digested our last meal before we have already eaten our next meal.  Therefore, we never feel hungry. A short fast, such as a "daylight" fast can offer time for prayer and meditation and alert you to certain unhealthy cravings or food attachments. If you take no food or drink, or else only allow for drinking pure water, during the hours of daylight, coupled with prayer, your body can send you signals of certain foods which have become too important. This is particularly true of caffeine and alcohol.
A prolonged fast, such as the Daniel's Fast, also offers time for prayer and meditation while weaning your body of possibly dangerous addictions to any but "clean" foods.

Real Food and Religion series: A Christian Perspective

Todays guest post is from Kate Tietje. She blogs at modernalternativemama. She blogs about real food and describes herself as "Living the non-mainstream life: Jesus-loving, debt-free living, home birthing, extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, non-vaccinating, organic gardening and real-food cooking mama!"

I am a Christian.  Currently I attend a non-denominational church that has Baptist roots.  I grew up Catholic and my husband grew up Church of God.  But now we basically focus on the fact that we follow Jesus.

            The biggest thing we take about food from our religion is that sacrifices and ceremony are not necessary.  We’ve studied this issue indepth in our Bible studies with friends, and Jesus teaches that the “Ways of Old,” like animal sacrifice or avoiding certain foods, are not necessary, because they are just for show and are not as important as loving people and celebrating with them.  This is what we follow – we don’t worry about celebrating with anything in particular, or avoiding anything in particular because we don’t believe that the rituals are as important as the spirit.

            However, we strive to eat what is natural and created by God.  We try to avoid food that isn’t the way God created it – which is anything that is processed, like store-bought prepared meals, canned foods, etc.  We try to be good stewards of the resources God has provided, by doing things like sourcing local foods, picking things wild, etc.  It is important to us to eat naturally.  Although not as important as not offending our hosts should we be fellowshipping with others who don’t share our passion!

            Our church highly encourages us to get together with a small group on a regular basis and share a meal.  There is no specific menu, it changes every time (we eat together about once a month).  The idea is to sit down and “break bread” together, as Jesus did with many people during His lifetime.  Our focus is on togetherness and sharing.

            We don’t have much of a problem between science and religion.  It’s funny, but I’ve done a lot of research on diet and have come to various conclusions based on my research and my religion, but the “mainstream scientists” don’t agree.  Then, within a few weeks or months, a new mainstream study will come out basically proving what I said all along!  I have a friend who frequently sends me articles she finds, saying, “There’s that thing you were talking about!”  So science vs. religion isn’t really a problem for me.

            We do take this seriously!  Following God’s design for food and the world (looking for food that is in season, prepared the way it was designed to be, eating things as minimally processed as possible) is very important to us.

Real Food and Religion series: Fundamental Christianity

The Real Food and Religion Series starts today with this post by Steve and Paula Runyan. They have two blogs, sustainablefirstfruits and steveandpaularunyan. 


We attend a home fellowship, which practices fundamental Christianity, as taught by Jesus Christ, recorded in the 4 Gospels and the epistles. We believe in a real Heaven and real Hell, that Satan is a real, living being who opposes God and attempts to win people away from following God. The only way to Heaven is through the shed blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Salvation is a free gift given to any who is willing to repent of their sins and accept the gift.
Our “religion” teaches nothing about food. No foods are forbidden by our fellowship, nor are any required. The body of Christians we fellowship with also has no set standard for food. What we personally believe about food comes from the Bible. Romans 14 is both a literal and allegorical chapter about eating, which we do take literally. We do not observe Old Testament food laws, because of the New Covenant established in the New Testament. We believe the vision of Peter was a literal as well as allegorical event, and that God, as He told Peter, has given us every creeping, swimming, flying and crawling thing for our food. We also find no prohibition against alcohol in the Bible, in fact, the opposite, as when Paul tells Timothy to drink wine for his stomach. The Bible does command us not to drink in excess; “be not drunk with wine, but the Spirit.”
Personally, we have begun to take a very critical look at today’s food culture in the US. Tied to this is also modern medicine. When God created the earth, after each event He looked at it and declared, “This is good.” Now in many instances our government and food safety agencies are telling us that many of God’s created foods are not good, unless they are modified before use. One of the biggest of these cases is milk. Our government tells us milk is dangerous and unhealthy for us, unless it is altered through pasteurization. Yet, it comes from cows, which God created, with big udders that fit perfectly in a human hand. When he made cows, they were declared to be good. Throughout the Bible, the phrase “milk and honey” is used to denote good, desirable land, or good things. As in Canaan was a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Breast feeding is also frowned upon by many local governments and agencies, though that is God’s design for rearing an infant. We are told that man made formulas are better for our infant children. God didn’t cause milk to flow from a mother for any other reason. So we drink raw milk now, and have seen improvements in our health. We believe many if not all medical conditions in the US are deeply tied to what we eat.
We eat a vast amount of fish and wild game. We believe this is part of our good stewardship of the earth. We also raise chickens for eggs and meat, raise a garden, and pick wild berries. We attempt to feed the chickens an organic diet, as frugally as possible. God’s directive for good animal husbandry takes us away from the industrial meat mills and toward smaller, sustainable farms when we do need to purchase meat. God mandated a 7 year cycle to His people, in resting their fields every 7 years, which helps the land regenerate and should still be practiced today by rotating crops.
Food is a part of our fellowship. We have a large family meal (potluck) after each Sunday meeting, and often meet with families within the congregation for dinner. Food also is used in one of our most important traditions, Breaking of Bread. We use grape juice and crackers or bread, to celebrate communion each Sunday, and remember Christ’s ministry and sacrifice here on earth. We also hunt and fish together sometimes to put up food for the winter. Fish and game often makes up a part of the potluck dinner on Sunday, as well.
Blessings,
Steve and Paula Runyan

www.steveandpaularunyan.blogspot.com
www.sustainablefirstfruits.blogspot.com