fast to the finish

i have learned a lot in the past 20 days.

• avocados have 30 grams of fat.  
• we made guac one night from 10 avocados.  you do the math.
• black beans taste good on black beans with a side of black beans.  
• it is possible to go through a container of cocoa powder. by yourself. on a fast.
• i tend to like the worst foods to still be considered healthy: 
• avocados
• potatoes
• carrots
• corn
• coconut milk
• tortillas
• bananas
• peanut butter
• baked corn chips and guac
• i swear, even on a fast/diet, i can gain weight.
• eating better has not helped me wake up with more energy, but it has helped me feel more awake once i'm actually able to get up. 
• no amount of good-for-you-food can give you enough energy to replace the need for naps. 
• i could eat an avocado, or i could eat at mcdonald's for a less-fat option.
• cooking can be fun.
• my recipe repertoire was far too limited!
• dishwashers are of God, yet dishes by hands is the Catholic way of earning my way to heaven. (was that wrong?)
• bananas are better brown, kiwis are best slightly soft, and there is no easy way to cut a mango. 
• banana-based faux-fro-yo and milkshakes are not only tasty, but there's not after-consumption tummy ache.
• i'm doing pretty fine without meat. 
• i like dates.  who knew?
• if you tell me no sugar, i will find every fruit on this earth to substitute (read: dates; pretty sure its God's original version of candy). 
• eating a batch of fudge-babies by yourself still is as bad as eating a batch of brownies (calorically speaking, even if its made out of "all natural" and "healthy" foods). 
• so sue me.
• egg rolls are vegan! and de-freaking-licious!
• quinoa and black bean burgers? i'm running a close second to Burger Up's $11 version.
• 6 people can make, and consume 25 egg rolls.  for the third time in a week.
• you CAN cook a good DF meal for those not on the fast, AND they will actually like it!
• you CAN say no to little debbie brownies.  and free diet coke and popcorn. 

i knew that the Lord was asking me to do this fast in agreement with the words "simple," "healthy," and "adventure," that He spoke over me for 2012.  it has been just that.  i can not explain how full (both spiritually and physically!) i've been over the past 20 days.  

it began as a challenge.  not only did i have to conquer a caffeine dependency and temptation of food, i had to overcome a bad attitude and bitterness that set in the first weekend when i was totally 'over-it,' and ready to give up.  it's funny; i was frustrated because i didn't see how this embodied simplify at all.  i was spending more time, and money, at the grocery than ever before.  i was spending so much time prepping the food that i barely had time to even eat it!.  but once God told me i was missing the point, something changed.  my schedule somehow managed to simplify.  i was able to come home, to nap, to go to the gym, and prepare dinner-- all in one school night.  i was spending more time in the kitchen and at the store, often making as many as 3 trips to different stores in a day, or hitting the grocery no less than 5 times in a week; yet, somehow, I had the time to actually do it.  perhaps even more miraculous, i found the joy to actually do that. 

i find myself innately checking the labels on anything and everything, even the things you would assume to be 'safe' items.  my stomach is feeling much better after meals.  unless they involved cabbage.  or black beans.  which is like, every meal.  then let's just say you shouldn't get too close.  but i do feel healthier.  not as lugging along sluggishly.  my attitude has been much better, and the Lord has restored a joy in my heart for cooking and taking on challenging adventures in the kitchen!  theres been a love and appreciation for the natural, for good-tasting food without additives or preservatives.  excitement in the surprise that something unassuming actually tastes good!  i guess i shouldn't be surprised; rather, that i should just start cooking everything in the ways it would taste best!

i'll take a lot away, mainly, thankfulness for the sacrifice of obedience i was able to walk in.  wait, what?  i am thankful that God had me fast some of my favorite, once-unnegotiable foods and pleasures?  I am thankful He asked me to sacrifice?  absolutely.  you wouldn't have known it that first weekend, and neither would i.  i was bitter, and angry, and didn't even want to continue it.  and now, here at the end, i sit thankful and amazed at what God did through the midst of my obedience.  it's amazing what He will call us into, and walk us through, when all we do is respond with a heart of obedience.  with Him, i am reminded, that all things are possible.

even three weeks without dessert or diet coke.