Today, begins 21 days of Awakening. The definition of awaken is to wake up or arouse.  What does God want to wake up in me?

In a period of fasting and prayer, I can choose if it will be just a sacrifice of the food I am fasting from or a sacrifice of my will. I want to lay everything at the feet of my Father and say,”It’s all yours, every part of me, everything I have, accomplish in me what you want.”

Whether you are giving up sugar, drinking fruit juices only, giving up meats and processed foods, or going on a media fast ask God “What do you want to wake up in me?” Maybe, he wants to wake up a dream or bring you closer to him. I don’t know what he wants to wake up in me, but I am preparing for it to happen.

Last Sunday, Bryan preached a great message. He gave 7 keys to fasting. I have been pondering them all week. I hope they will be a help to you through this journey.

1. Set an objective

• Declare complete dependence on God
• Asking forgiveness
• Completion of the Great Commission
• Inviting the presence of the Lord
• Believe God for specific needs

2. Make a commitment- if you are fasting caffeine stick with it

3. Prepare yourself spiritually

4. Prepare yourself physically

5. Put yourself on a schedule

6. End gradually

7. Expect results

In Ezra 8:21 Ezra proclaimed the people fasted and humbled themselves before God. Today, I come and humble myself before the God who created the universe. Thank you God for loving me even when I am unlovely. I lay aside my desires and ask you to use me how you choose. Awake in me your plans for me.

Sorry for the delay in posting these recipes. It seems I have twisted my back and I was pretty much down for the count yesterday. I appreciate your prayers.

Please don’t get overwhelmed by these recipes. Please email me if you are not sure about an ingredient or a technique.

Tuesday

• Oatmeal with honey and blueberries (see previous post)

• Tomato Basil Soup and a slice of Ezekiel Bread (found in the freezer section) with Smuckers all natural peanut butter

Tomato Basil Soup
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
* 3 pounds tomatoes – cored, peeled, and quartered ( you can use canned)
* 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* sea salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1 quart vegetable broth
* 1 cup rice milk, soy milk or almond milk
* 8 sprigs fresh basil for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in onions and cook until tender. Mix in tomatoes and chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the vegetable broth, reduce heat to low, and continue cooking 15 minutes.
2. Transfer soup to a blender (or use an immersible hand blender), and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and gradually mix in the your choice of milk. Pour soup through a strainer before serving. Garnish each serving with a sprig of basil.

• Corn chowder (this is Yummy) and a salad

Wednesday

• Banana muffins
• Curried vegetables with brown rice
• Tomato sauce w/ mushrooms and peppers over Polenta (make a double batch of tomato sauce for “lasagna”)

Add portabella and button mushrooms along with red, yellow and green peppers to tomato sauce.

Polenta

1 cup polenta
1 quart water
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, water and salt in a 2-quart baking dish. Stir together, and place in the oven. Bake 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, and use a fork or a spatula to stir the polenta well, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, and stir again. Carefully taste a little bit of the polenta; if the grains are not completely soft, return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Thursday

• Breakfast tortilla- Chop up some extra veggies the night before. Saute mushrooms, broccoli, green beans and with olive oil. Roll up in a tortilla. You could add some soy cheese or some soft tofu.
• Leftover Tomato sauce over polenta
• Chili and Garden of Eatin corn chips (My 9 yr old son asks for this even when we are not on a Daniel Fast)

Chili (make sure you make enough because you will use this on your Baked potatoes tomorrow night)

Vegetarian Chili
2 medium-sized green peppers, chopped
1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground red peppers
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
2 16 oz. cans tomatoes (juice and all)
2 16 oz. cans pinto beans (juice and all)
2 16 oz. cans black beans (juice and all)
1 4 oz. can mild green chilies
1 4 oz. can of tomato paste
Chop and sauté in oil the peppers and onions. Add the chili powder, salt, ground red
peppers, and corn. When all the vegetables are soft but still firm, add the tomatoes, all the beans, the
green chilies and the tomato paste. Stir until just blended. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. Let
simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Friday

• Ezekiel bread w/ honey
• Thai carrot soup w/ salad (Make enough at the beginning of the week)
• Baked potatoes with leftover chili (Bake large potatoes in oven and use leftover chili from Thursday)

Saturday

• Blueberry Banana muffins
• Portabella wrap – in a grill pan or a saute pan drizzle a sliced portabella mushroom with olive oil. Saute turning in the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Roll up in a tortilla with lettuce, shredded carrots, and balsamic vinegarette dressing.
• “Lasagna”

Lasagana

• 1/2 pound whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 pound soft tofu
• 1 pound firm tofu
• 1/4 cup soymilk
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp minced fresh basil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 32-ounce jar of tomato sauce (or homemade sauce) If using jar sauce check ingredients for sugar.

Prepare the lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain carefully and set aside on a towel.Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.Squeeze the spinach as dry as possible and set aside. Place the tofu,  soymilk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.Cover the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles. Follow that with a layer of half the tofu and half the spinach. Continue in the same order, using half the remaining tomato sauce and noodles and the rest of the tofu mixture and spinach. End with the remaining noodles covered by the remaining tomato sauce.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until tomato sauce bubbles.

Enjoy these recipes! Please come back and share.