Grain-Free Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze...and my food attitude

Personally, I believe God gave us food to bless us and to, well, indulge and even entertain us! That’s why I find our discrete cultural attitudes about food devastatingly intriguing. The phenomonon that we feel guilt over even small food slip-ups and expereince self-loathing when seeking satisfaction from food is quite paradoxical to me. It's also directly contrary to my belief about this body-nourishing blessing meant to indulge and entertain us.

Think about it: Would God have gone to the trouble of all the creating such a vast variety of tastes, textures, colors and combinations had He not intended us to enjoy eating while nourishing these beautiful bodies He created? After all, He could have simply created one super-pellet we’d consume to satisfy all our nutritional needs. But He didn’t. He went all out to make food fun and enticing to eat!

Biblically, since the beginning of time, celebrations included special foods to feast on to enhance one’s experience. Families of believers broke bread as they communed around the table to honor God and express gratitude. Food was often given as gifts or offered as sacrafice. That means food is a GOOD thing, right? Still today, food enhances festivities and, when shared, communicates care for others.

God gave us such goodness when He dreamed up the way we'd sustain our earthly existence!

Problem is, our human nature attaches all kinds of mixed-up emotions, triggers, destructive thoughts and unhealthy habits to foods we consume. Not to mention the number the food industry has done to contaminate our crops, preserve and process foods making many almost completely non-nutritive. Food has evolved from God's good intentions to a source of emotional and physical harm.

I can’t imagine God intended His gift of human nourishment to harm us!

Between personal problems and the industrialization of food, we fight an uphill battle to receive the blessings meant for us in a meal. I’d argue it’s not only the crops that are contaminated—it’s also our messed-up mindsets when it comes to eating and our relationship with food. It’s like a marriage ordained by God gone wrong in the ways of the world.

So how should we respond if we want to take back the blessing? How can we give the glory back God in our own lives when it already lost in our cultural translation of food? Start simply...Click here for 3 Steps to Take Back the Blessing...

I have not always viewed food this way. I struggled as much as many of you do trying to reconcile my relationship with food rather than the source, my heavenly Father. I wavered between wanting to love what I eat but an attitude focused too much on aesthetics.With some hard work (using a method like this), I've learned to enjoy real foods, indulge in tantalizing tastes without guilt and I've come to relish preparing it with care for those I love. And what better way than with a delicious

ly moist cake to show you how it can be done. Check out the ingredients to this grain-free chocolate cake. Even better, sit down with a piece and be entertained by the blessing!

Here's how, in 3 simple steps, I've learned to take back the blessing of food in my life: 3 Simple Steps, and I bet they are not really what you think!

OH--and I must mention, if what I'm saying here peaks your interest and you'd like to go deeper, here's an entire 'clean eating from a faith perspective' series that will help you spring into action: 30 Day Challenge (if you're not already a Member, you'll need to join)