Health

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My allergies might be out of control...or I have a continual respiratory infection (but I've done the antibiotic run)  - so after this weekend it's back to hard core diet stuff.

There are many facets to health and fitness, some are spiritual.  Is Christ honored in my body?  Keep that in the front of my mind...

 

This recipe wins out as a favorite - easy, healthy and (except for the rice) pretty paleo.  (This is a photo I took myself, no staging, etc.  So this is what "my version" looked like.)

lighterorangechicken

 

 

 

* Exported from MasterCook *

LIGHTER ORANGE CHICKEN

Recipe By     :
Serving Size  : 4     Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    :

Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
3              large  boneless skinless chicken breasts -- pounded to 3/4 inch thickness and cut into bite sized pieces + salt & pepper to taste
1/2           cup  orange juice
1         tablespoon  orange zest
3        tablespoons  soy sauce
3        tablespoons  honey
2        tablespoons  rice vinegar -- (may sub white vinegar)
1/2      teaspoon  crushed red pepper flakes
2          teaspoons  minced garlic
1         tablespoon  cornstarch -- mixed with 1 T water and whisked until dissolved
1/4           cup  green onion -- sliced
1         tablespoon  sesame seeds
3               cups  cooked white rice

Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste. Spray a large pan or non stick skillet generously with cooking spray. Cook chicken 5-6 minutes, stirring through out for even cooking, until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a paper-towel lined bowl. Drain and wipe out the pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together orange juice and zest, honey, vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper flacked, and garlic. Add mixture to pan and bring to a slight boil. Add water-corn starch mixture and stir until thickened. Add chicken and stir to coat.

Serve chicken with cooked rice and garnish with optional sesame seeds and green onions if desired.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 471 Calories; 4g Fat (7.4% calories from fat); 46g Protein; 60g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 103mg Cholesterol; 892mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 0 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

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It strikes me as I sit at the end of a (nearly) four mile hike that my "diet walk" bears certain similarities to my spiritual walk.

This may ring a familiar tune: "Dear God, if you just grant {this,} then I will...{that.}

If I can {this} then I can {that}

If I do the Rotary Furnace loop in 1:30 or less, than I can sit and enjoy a smoke at the end. (by the way, I did the loop in 1:25, and yes, I'm enjoying a Partagas 1845.)

If mapmywalk says I burned 400 calories, I can eat 2 Cadbury Cream Eggs.

Some days it seems like a reward system, other days it seems like a bargaining system.

Maybe the reward system works: As long as the "treat" doesn't impinge on my "bad foods" list (gluten, potatoes) maybe the system works. As a bargaining system, I think...not so much.

Does the mindset make a difference?

If I use {that} as a reward because I did so awesome on my workout (tomorrow's plan is an 8 mile, Quicksilver end-to-end hike) then my goal is still the workout, with the treat at the end.

Turn that around...I want {that} so much, that I'm willing to do the difficult workout in order to get it. The goal is the treat, with the workout as the obstacle. The {that} is controlling my behavior.

"All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “ All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything" (1 Cor. 6:12 ESV)

I don't know how to tell the difference. I might need to work on that.

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I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Romans 12:1 ESV

This verse connects the body and spirit.  Presenting the physical is the spiritual act.  In mistreating my body, I am abusing worship.

Thinking this way changes the way I think about eating.  Is what I'm putting in my mouth right now, "right worship?"

That's a big responsibility - it puts eating wrongly in the category of "sin," by worshiping wrongly with my body.

The daily reading for yesterday in "Everyday Prayers" was about serving God, not man.  The author applied it to service, I applied it to my eating.  And it hit me in a good (effective) place.

Oh, the hope this gives me— the invigorating, liberating, consecrating hope this generates as I begin my day. It’s why this admonition from Paul feels more like a kiss than a kick today. I want to work more heartily at all things because of your finished work on the cross, your present work in the world, and your future work in the new heaven and new earth. Even in eternity you will shepherd us and lead us to springs of living water (Rev. 7: 17). No one will ever outserve you, Jesus.

Therefore, here’s my cry: continue to free me from doing anything for the approval of people, out of the fear of people, or to gain power over people. I work for you, Lord Jesus, not for mere men.

A frustration at work can equal "stress eating" - am I eating for the Lord, or am I eating for that co-worker?

I'm working toward a goal for my wedding.  Am I eating for God?  or for that wedding dress?  Oh...the wedding dress is a good goal!  And it's not as if we're not to have goals for this world.  But eating for the dress, to the exclusion of eating for God...is putting worship in the wrong place.I can "tag" eating as both worship, and dress.  Both apply, both work, both are good.  but in the "word cloud" in my brain, with word is largest?
And I will fail at this!  Over and over, I will fail.  But along with this failure is hope, because even the failure reminds me of the gospel. If I work/eat for God, it's because of Christ's work on the cross.

How I praise you, Jesus, that the gospel is the end of any sense of a wage-earning relationship with God. I work for you because you first worked for me. (What a humbling, staggering, and astonishing truth!) I serve you because you ever live to serve me, as my advocate and intercessor. Indeed, I love you because you first loved me and gave yourself as a propitiation for my sins. You are always first and last— the Alpha and the Omega. I’ll receive an inheritance only because of your work, not mine. And should I receive any rewards or crowns, they will be thrown at your feet, giving credit where credit is due. I pray in your quintessentially glorious name. Amen. ~~Everyday Prayers, March 20

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How do these work together?

I started "The Daniel Plan" by Rick Warren (and others) - yeah, yeah...same old, same old.  But as something to work through, there might be some meat there.

Consider the introduction of the book.

Stewardship.  Stewardship over my body.

Friends, I’ve been a poor steward of my health and a terrible example for you. While we’ve been helping many around the world, I’ve ignored the problem here at home.

So today I am publicly repenting, and I ask for your forgiveness! God expects us to take care of the bodies he has given us, but I have not done that. Now, I’ve only gained two to three pounds a year, but I have been your pastor for thirty years. So I need to lose ninety pounds! Do any of you want to join me in getting healthy?

Committing to giving my body to God first, is a way of putting the physical focus on Him, away from me.

Yet, in this season of Lent, of preparation, of looking forward in time to the work of Christ on the cross...it seems like a good time to start this way of thinking about health.

My body is not my own, it was purchased by Jesus, with His blood.

Today we make the same common mistake Greek philosophers did thousands of years ago. Aristotle, Socrates , and Plato believed in dualism, 4 which included the idea that your mind (or spirit) is important, but your body isn’t important spiritually. They devalued the body. In fact, some Greek philosophers taught that your body is evil, so it really didn’t matter if you messed it up.

The Bible tells us the exact opposite. Your body is holy because God made it, and everything God makes has a purpose. We are to bring glory to God with our bodies, so we can’t compartmentalize our lives and think that we can divorce our bodies and live as if only our spirit matters. God owns your body!

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On August 7 I'm having surgery on my rotator cuff (left shoulder)

I'm way more nervous after talking to the nurse, than I was after talking to the doctor. And WAY more nervous after poking around on line.

And even more nervous after talking to my sister, whose husband had a very similar surgery done (shoulder labrum)

But it's at the point that it needs to be done. The first time it hurt was 20 years ago, and it flares up and then goes away...swelling and a little separation. Well, now it's a tear and it's not getting better.

My shoulder is getting stiffer and more sore, but I think it's because now I'm worried about it and using it less, so today I'm starting the same stretches that I'll be doing right after surgery.

• 5 Comments

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This is really good!  I've put it on chicken, kale, broccoli, and could pretty much eat it with a spoon.

SPICY COCO SAUCE

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped Ginger, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne (all to taste)
  • 1 can coconut milk (please do not use low-fat)
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 1 heaping tbsp brown sugar
  1. Sauté onion, garlic, and spices in coconut milk.
  2. Add salt and brown sugar and reduce for 20 minutes.

Sauce will hold for 5 days refrigerated, or you can freeze it. Portion size is cup per serving. Makes 4 servings.

Recitas, Lyn-Genet (2013-01-01). The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising "Healthy" Foods That Are Making You Fat--and Lose Weight Fast (Kindle Locations 2671-2681). Grand Central Life & Style. Kindle Edition.