Fasting = Framework, Not Just a Box

By Tammi Keffer
Director of Community and Caring

TAMMI KEFFER

Twelve days of fasting left.  It's hard to believe we are almost done.  I have to say that the idea of eating anything for 40 days seemed pretty horrific to me.  I am a fairly creative person and I prefer that nothing in my life stays the same, well, except my husband.  So here I am cooking rice and beans and chicken every day. UGH!  Through the fast I have learned a lot about my family's eating habits and what we really need to survive. :) 

Somehow (I could blame my mother....but that's never a good idea) I had this idea that every evening I needed to put a meal on the table that consisted of hot vegetables, salad, a starch and a meat, and the ingredients I used to make this meal needed to be completely different from the day before.  Asian stir fry one night and enchiladas the next.  The next day nobody wants to eat the leftovers because we are accustomed to eating something different each day, thus more food waste.  I hate food waste – it’s just not good stewardship any way you look at it.  Lesson #1: Eating different foods each day leads to food waste. 

During the fast, our family is eating chicken and rice every night and every afternoon....  the leftovers go in the fridge and we pack them up and use them for lunch the next day.  We also eat less as there are fewer choices to eat from.  Lesson #2: More choices in food items leads to overeating. 

Then there is the area of creativity.  In my work, I find that once a clear framework is given, it is easier to be creative.  Too many open ends on your creative box and you get stumped...you lose direction.  Cooking for me is still creative even inside the 40 days box.  I just have parameters that are better for my family, and my family is not complaining about eating chicken and rice. Tonight might be curry chicken and rice or it might be italian rice and chicken.  They know what's for dinner and they are happy to be able to eat.  Lesson #3: Parameters breed contentment. 

I am anxiously awaiting Thanksgiving Eve where we can come together and share the stories of what we have learned during the fast.