INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the book section of Daniel's Diet. This area will help you plan your diet and process the program's results in a way that you can use. Special thanks to Mark Berrier (mark@markberrier.com) and Scott Binkley who discovered this revolutionary diet plan.

DANIEL'S DIET: FEAST BY DESIGN

WHAT THIS PLAN IS:

WHAT THIS PLAN IS NOT:

What is Daniel's Diet?

DANIEL'S DIET: DANIEL 1:8-15

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food." (NIV)

Note especially three things:


  1. Daniel and his friends tried the plan for ten days, and...
  2. They were healthier than the other prisoners.
  3. The word "vegetables" in the NIV is actually "seeds" in the Hebrew text. This includes vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains.

EXODUS 23:25f
Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be upon your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you.

GENESIS 6:3
Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years."

This was BEFORE the flood.

GENESIS 9:3-4
Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that still has its lifeblood still in it.

This was AFTER the flood. Could there be a connection between limiting man's lifespan and eating meat? Certainly, there are many factors, but meat "weighs heavy."

LEVITICUS 3:17-7:23
"This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: YOU MUST NOT EAT ANY FAT OR ANY BLOOD."

EAT NO ANIMAL FAT OR BLOOD (eliminate meat and you have LITTLE OR NO chance of eating saturated fat or blood). "FAT" of meat means the skin of chicken, the "RIM of fat around the outside of meats"--which is what the Hebrew text means by "fat."

Note: We do need Omega-3 fats, called "essential fatty acids" (EFA's) that are found in fish oil tablets or refrigerated flax oil. If you already have heart problems, you should take at least 2 tablespoons of flax oil daily with food; if you merely wish to avoid heart problems in the future, you should take 1 Tbs daily with food.

Acts 10, Mark 7:19 and other New Testament Scriptures teach, "All foods are clean." But not all foods are profitable. Not all are beneficial for health. Legally we may eat anything," But: In the Law of Moses GOD tells us to eat no Blood or Fat.

The American diet typically serves meat at every meal. FORTY PERCENT of the American diet is FAT. This directly relates to the millions of dollars spent annually for hemorroid remedies in this country. Americans also have the highest incidence of colon and rectal cancer in the world. Americans are also more subject to hardening of the arteries and other kinds of heart diseases.

Another danger of the American diet is "hydrogenated" fats or oils. To the human body, these are foreign fats that damage the arteries, blood vessels and heart. If the ingredients say "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated," don't eat it. Nearly all chips have these foreign fats in them. However, "baked chips" don't. Just watch out that you don't eat too many of them; they are not "bad" for you, but they do contain calories.

Meat is filled with saturated fats and cholesterol. Vegetables, fruit, and whole grains may include some fat and even some saturated fats (only in palm oil and coconut oil), but they have NO CHOLESTEROL at all. Besides that, FAT COSTS MORE MONEY! Meats cost far more than an equal weight of rice, macaroni, wheat, beans, etc.

Also--studies show that pure "vegan"-ism is not healthy. Pure vegetarians die earlier than meat-eaters! So I would now recommend some (nearly fat-free) meats with the "seeds" of Dan's diet.

Why does Daniel say their diet changed BEFORE they received wisdom? Could it be that clearing their bodies of saturated fats and poisons would clear up their minds also?

In I Corinthians 6:12 Paul said: "I will use all things, but I will be mastered by nothing." If you feel you MUST have some FAT FOOD, to have some on each eleventh day is okay. You must return to the low fat lifestyle for the next 10 days. Probably, after a while, you won't even miss the fat! The problem has been--"we were mastered by food" in our past. God can help us overcome this sinful behavior. Any addiction is wrong. With God's help, any addiction can be conquered.

(Much of this information is derived from: David Reuben, M.D.'s THE SAVE YOUR LIFE DIET. S.I. MacMillan and David Stern's NONE OF THESE DISEASES. Also many articles from "Prevention" magazine, Robert Kowalski's THE EIGHT WEEK CHOLESTEROL CURE, and Cliff Sheats' LEAN BODIES.)

The body uses food for fuel to supply energy for all bodily functions and movement just as a car engine burns gasoline to supply energy for all its moving parts. Suppose your car engine is not performing properly. It pings and diesels. You pull into a gas station for fuel. There you are faced with two types of fuel. The first is regular unleaded and the second is super-premium unleaded. Naturally, one would choose the higher grade fuel even though it might cost more, because this fuel would be more efficient. The engine will run on either fuel, but much better and longer on premium fuel. However, many automobile drivers, when faced with the choice between performance and longevity and short term cost, choose to save money in the short term. They think it is better to save money now, even though the car will be destroyed in the future.

Ironically and more shocking is the fact that this isn't true with the fuel we eat. In fact, the opposite is true. The low grade fuel or "fat food" is FAR MORE EXPENSIVE than the high grade premium foods or "fat free foods". So, unbelievably, we pay MORE for what isn't good for us as opposed to eating right and saving money.

Now, I don't know anyone who wouldn't choose premium gas over regular, especially if it were cheaper. Do you?

We would treat our cars better than our bodies. We simply want our pleasure from fat food now, in spite of the high price of poor health and poverty. Isn't this true of all sin?

Fast Facts and Suggestions

Fast facts and suggestions to get you started:

Recommendations for your food planning:

Buy the following items at the grocery store:

IF YOU NEED TO LOSE MORE WEIGHT, KEEP THE FAT AT OR NEAR 5%.

To figure fat content of a product, divide the calories from fat by the total calories. The calories from fat is found by multiplying total fat grams (not daily value percentage) by 9 and rounding it off. The "Fat Finder" program can automatically do this for you.

Hydrogenated oils should be avoided at all costs. These (like margarine) contain stuff that clogs arteries. This is one of the main reasons the American diet is so deadly. Heart-disease, high blood lipids and other problems are the result of the American diet. Read labels on chips. If the ingredients say "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated," don't eat it. Nearly all chips have these foreign fats in them. However, "baked chips" don't. Just watch out that you don't eat too many of them; they are not "bad" for you, but they do contain calories. I recommend you eat only 'baked chips'.

Some Common Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers:

Why do diets fail?

Diets are short-term and unnatural. If you starve yourself, your body goes into "starvation mode." Then you get so hungry, you binge on fat foods. Willpower fades after a while. Diets make you irritable, tired and, of course, hungry. The key to this life-style is: shift away from fats to complex carbohydrates; shift away from fried foods to steamed foods, wokked or broiled foods; shift from fat meats to lean. Cook only with olive oil.

Who needs this weight-control lifestyle?

Everyone. God gave you a body as His sacred temple. He also gave his rules for health maintenance and vitality.

What is this weight-control lifestyle based on?

Daniel 1:8-15, other Scriptures, and modern nutritional science.

Sample Meals

Here are some suggested meals you might like:

Cook rice according to package directions. (1 cup rice in 2 cups water with a tiny bit of oil.) Mix your favorite condiments and one drained can of beans. Add picante if you like. Scott likes rice, beans, corn and other vegetables mixed with picante. I like Cayenne pepper and garlic salt in my rice and beans. EAT ALL YOU WANT! This mixture is loaded with fiber and protein and almost no fat. Drink water, and the beans and rice will act as tiny sponges; you'll be full for some time.

Let one meal be any vegetables you like with one to two servings of spaghetti or macaroni in tomato sauce.

I have a juicer. Fresh juices of fruit and/or vegetables are packed with nutrients. The juice is also delicious. My wife and I make "V-8" juice with mixed veggies, some Worchester sauce and some picante sauce. It is excellent!

MEALS WITH MEAT:
If you feel you just can't make it without meat (beyond the low fat turkey or chicken) find a lean cut of beef (sirloin tip or eye of round or pork [pork loin is the only lean kind]). Cut off all fat. Cut it in small pieces. In a hot skillet, "quick-wok" it, stirring it around all the time. When it looks done, then "quick-wok" the chopped vegetables. Add little bits of pineapple for some extra zing, if you want. At the end of wokking the veggies, add the meat again and stir. Add condiments and serve hot. MMM! Good.

MEALS WITHOUT MEAT:
The easiest, cheapest high-carbohydrate, high-protein meal is rice and beans seasoned to taste. Eat all you want! Drink lots of water.

FOR BREAKFAST:
The evening before, open one can sugar-free pineapple and pour it, juice and all, into a bowl. Mix in all your favorite fruit--fresh or canned (sugar free, if possible). Cover with cling wrap and leave out overnight. You'll find it for breakfast to be deliciously sweet and nutrient dense! (To drink it, use your blender.)

MILK PRODUCTS:
Supermarkets now have all kinds of dairy products that are fat free. Cold cottage cheese would be great with the above breakfast. Skim milk is higher in calcium than whole milk and it's fat free! Many people tell me they "can't stand" skim milk. Of course, if they'd been raised on it, WHOLE milk would be the one they "can't stand." I used it for two weeks and became used to it. Now if I taste even so-called "2% milk," it tastes like cream. Whole milk is about 65% pure fat calories, 2% milk is 5 grams of fat per serving. Skim is .2% fat! Milk fat is THE FASTEST way to gain weight! For baked potato topping, blend "Butter Buds" (available in stores) and fat-free cottage cheese. It's great! Scott and I take lots of oat bran. Try Hodgson Mill's "Cinnamon Apple" flavor oat bran. It is cheap, sweet, delicious, all natural, and sugar-free. Mix it with water, milk, apple juice, etc. Drink lots of water!

DESSERT:
Avoid cream pies (455 calories, HALF of which is fat). Instead, eat non-fat yogurt or angel food cake. Believe it or not, angel food has only a TRACE of fat in it! And it's delicious covered with strawberries or blueberries.

Scripture References

Food found in the Bible

Personal Testimonies

Personal testimonies from the Authors:

At this writing I am 37 years old, an ex-football player and power weight lifter. At age 22 I was in top physical condition weighing 208 lbs. and was able to lift in excess of 350 lbs. with either arms or legs. I thought I knew it all, and I ate and drank anything I wanted both day and night.

As a result of a physical examination on April 10, 1991, I found myself weighing 247 lbs. Later that month I ballooned to 253 lbs. I was ignoring a severe problem. I'm a committed Christian and have been since August of 1988. But I was still a slave to the lust for food--namely "fat foods."

I went back to vigourous exercise, including running, skipping rope, biking and weight-lifting. After two months of extremely hard work I had lost only five pounds, and in the process hurt my knee and back. (Both conditions appear to be arthritic in nature.) In fact, I literally had to be helped out of a movie theater, because my knee was so stiff I could not walk. I asked the Lord for wisdom. Through His word and the love of a close friend I was able to understand that God not only had given me eternal life, but he had also given us provision and instruction for proper use & maintenance of the physical body. I decided to change my lifestyle and eat foods that God says are vital to a healthy body.

Today I eat as much as I want, almost never feel hungry, exercise three times a week and have never felt better, stronger, and more mentally alert. My knee and back are nearly completely healed. Most important, I am no longer a slave to food. As this is written, I weigh 203 lbs. I am still losing weight.

I hope you will hear God's Word. He loves you, and He who is the maker and designer of the body, who better than He knows how it works and what best powers it?

Don't seek your own answers to your weight problem. Trust His answers. Don't live to eat. Eat to live, to worship God.

At first I lost 20 lbs. in 21 days! At THIS point, I've lost 50 lbs., all eating all I want.

Will you try Daniel's lifestyle for ten days? Daniel 1 says ten days was enough to see a difference. Scott and Mark went on it for ten days. Amazingly when the eleventh day came up--"pizza day" we called it-- we did not WANT pizza.

Recipes

Recipes to help you along:

David Liederman's OAT BRAN MUFFINS:

Per muffin: 108 calories, 1.4 grams fat (12% of calories)
2 cups oat bran 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/3 cup unbleached flour 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 1/4 cups skim milk 3/4 cup raisins
5 oz. apple or other all-fruit preserves
  1. In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together milk, preserves and egg whites.
  3. Pour liquid ingredients over flour mixture. Stir with rubber spatula to moisten flour. Fold in raisins; this is a very wet batter.
  4. Line 14 muffin cups with foil liners. Fill with batter.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes, or till muffins are brown and firm. Makes 14.
© 1990 by David Liederman and John Schwartz, from the book DAVID'S DELICIOUS WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM.

Judith Benn Hurley's PEAR AND GINGER BRAN MUFFINS:

Per muffin: 136, 2 grams fat (13% of calories)
1 1/2 cups bran nugget cereal 1/2 cup pear or apple juice
1 pear coarsely shredded 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt 1/4 cup all-fruit pear or apple butter
1/4 cup maple syrup 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cup unbleached flour 2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tbs oil
  1. In a medium bowl combine first four ingredients. Let soak for ten minutes. Stir in yogurt, pear butter, maple syrup, egg and oil.
  2. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
  3. Pour liquids over flour mixture. Stir to moisten flour; don't overmix.
  4. Coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with foil liners. Divide batter among the cups.
  5. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Makes 12.

SUMMER BREAKFAST SUNDAE:

Per serving: 193 calories, 3.6 grams fat (16% of calories)
4 cups chopped fruit 1 tsp mild honey
1 cup nonfat cottage cheese 2 cups fromage blanc or nonfat yogurt
1 tbs chopped dates or dried figs 2 tbs chopped tasted almonds or hazelnuts
2 tsp bran or yeast flakes 2 tsp minced fresh mint or coriander
  1. Place fruit in medium bowl. Drizzle with honey and set aside.
  2. In small bowl, fold together fromage blanc and cottage cheese. Divide the cheese among 4 sundae type glasses.
  3. Top with fruit. Sprinkle with nuts*, dates or figs, bran or yeast, and mint or coriander. Serves 4.

* To lower fat content even further, omit nuts. *

BEEF LOVER'S DELIGHT


Per serving: 216 calories, 3.5 grams fat (15% of calories) Serves 8
  1. Tie 2 lb. eye of round or top round at 1 inch intervals with kitchen string for easier handling and so it retains its shape. Brown the meat in 1 tsp olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add 1 onion, halved, 1 stalk celery, and 1 clove garlic, continuing to cook for another 10 minutes until all are evenly browned.
  2. Add 2 quarts water and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Skim any foam from the surface. Cover and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender.
  3. Take meat and vegetables from pan, cover and refrigerate. Strain stock into large bowl; discard bay leaf. Refrigerate overnight.
  4. Place 1-2 tbs prepared horseradish in small stainer. Rinse away salt with cold water, then dump horseradish onto triple layer of paper towels. Pat well to remove excess moisture. Transfer to food processor. Add 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese and 1 tbs skim milk. Process until smooth.
    Place in small bowl, cover and refrigerate.

    NEXT DAY:

  5. Using a spoon or metal spatula, lift and discard fat that has congealed on top of the stock. Pour the stock into a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Add 2 medium new potatoes, quartered, cover and cool ten minutes or until tender.
  6. Meanwhile, saute 4 carrots, halved lengthwise, in large nonstick frying pan over medium heat, until lightly browned. Add 1/4 tsp black pepper and set aside.
  7. Remove string from beef and discard. Trim off any visible fat.
  8. Cut beef in chunks for serving, add potatoes, carrots and spices to beef. Set aside.
  9. Boil stock down to about 1/3 its original amount. Stir in flour or corn starch to boiling stock for a rich, low-fat gravy. Salt & pepper to taste.
  10. Heat meat and veggies in microwave. Serve. It's great! (Serve gravy over whole grain bread for an extra treat.) Serves 8.
FOR MORE LOW-FAT RECIPES, READ THE T-FACTOR DIET.

Eat Fat to Stay Thin

There is a fat that has been removed from the American diet over the last century. It may be the main reason so many Americans are overweight. The fat is “conjugated linoleic acid,” CLA for short. A good quantity of CLA has been found in the beef, butter, milk and cheese of New Zealand, but in America it has all but disappeared. The people of New Zealand are slim and rarely get cancer, but they eat lots of beef, butter, cheese and milk products. But the same foods in America make us fat. Also, CLA is a powerful cancer fighter. The only place I know of where CLA is available in bulk in the U. S. is at VitaminShoppe.com or at a Vitamin Shoppe local store. The Tonalin brand is the best quality I've found. If you take 3 or so tablespoons daily with meals, you'll lose about 20% of your body fat without making any major attempt to change your diet. If you do both, you could lose much more. After you reach your ideal weight, drop the CLA off to about 1 Tbs per day with food.

I wish you health and happiness.