girl talk

Summer Dessert

Thanks to all of you who've already submitted entries for our summer contest--keep 'em coming! In the meantime, I tried this new Epicurious recipe for berry crisp yesterday and if you can measure its yumminess by how many helpings my husband's had in twenty-four hours, then it is quite delicious. Best of all, it is really easy. Oh, and per some of the comments I doubled the topping which is definitely the way to go.

Mixed Berry Crisp

The frozen berries aren't thawed before you use them, so this dessert is super fast.                                                                    

Servings: Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

2 12-ounce packages frozen mixed berries (such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries; about 6 cups), unthawed
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced    

               

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine berries, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour and lemon juice in large bowl; toss to blend well. Transfer berry mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Combine remaining 3/4 cup flour, oats, brown sugar, spices and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until topping holds together in small moist clumps. Sprinkle over berry mixture.

Bake crisp until berry mixture bubbles thickly and topping is golden brown, about 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

FoodTalk Feedback

Of the many emails we received in response to foodtalk, we thought you all would be especially encouraged by these two:

Hello GirlTalkers!

I just wanted to share with you how timely your interview with the author's of the new book "Eat and Be Content" came!

I've always struggled with my weight, more recently with three pregnancies (one being a miscarriage and all the emotional eating I did because of that.)

I read your interview with anticipation of the next day! I have gone back and re-read it and as I type think, "I should read it again."

What struck me was the fact that I eat and am not content...so I overeat. Looking to food and not to God to satisfy me. This is a heart issue in my life! It's an idol in my life!

One thing that stuck out to me was the 30 grams of fiber and fat rule. I did some research on line as to what is high in fiber (to be honest I was quite clueless!) After doing some research, last Monday I headed to the grocery store to stock up on some high fiber/ low fat foods.

This week I focused on be content with my daily portion of food! No matter how small! And when I did eat, I ate foods that were high in fiber and low in fat.

I prayed that God would allow me to not be controlled by food, looking to food for satisfaction and really allowing my heart towards food to change.

I have felt that freedom! I have tasted this God given freedom this week!

I got on the scale this morning...I have lost 8 pounds! Praise the Lord. My husband lost 7...just following my lead!

Thank you for that interview!

**********

Hi girls,

I just thought I would write to you and tell you that my personal story matches up with Elyse's theory on bulimia/anorexia as a chosen behavior, not a disease.  I struggled with this sin for many years through my high school and early college days.  I was finally able to overcome this destructive behavior through God's help (Phil. 4:13).  I am 32 years old now able to enjoy food without the temptation or desire to go back to those days.  I agree, wholeheartedly, that I chose that behavior and also chose to stop.  Thank you for your encouraging posts each day pointing me to God.  God bless you all.

A reader from Sacramento!

Concluding FoodTalk

We’re going to stop talking about food now. Well, officially that is. Food will probably always be sub-theme on this blog as long as Janelle is a girltalker.

But we hope that you’ve been encouraged, filled with fresh gospel-hope, and equipped with sound, practical advice for godly eating habits.

So that you can easily return to the collective wisdom of authors David Kotter and Dr. Trimark, and Elyse Fitzpatrick, we've combined their interviews and published them on one page.

To conclude foodtalk on girltalk, we leave you with excerpts from a prayer from The Valley of Vision (p. 188) sent to us by Molly:

O Spirit of God,
Help my infirmities;
If Thou seest in me
    any wrong thing encouraged,
    any evil desire cherished,
    any delight that is not Thy delight,
    any habit that grieves Thee,
    any nest of sin in my  heart,
    then grant me the kiss of Thy forgiveness,
and teach my feet to walk the way of Thy commandments.
Help me to wrestle successfully against weakness;
Give me power to live as Thy child in all my actions,
    and to exercise sonship by conquering self.
Lead me safely on to the eternal kingdom,
    not asking whether the road be rough or smooth.
I request only to see the face of Him I love,
    to be content with bread to eat,
    with raiment to put on,
    if I can be brought to Thy house in peace.

May God give us all grace “to be content with bread to eat.”

FoodTalk With Elyse, Part 4

Turning our focus to anorexia, you say that not only is this behavior very destructive to one’s health, it often shows up in teenagers. What are some of the warning signs that a mom (or teacher or friend) should be on the lookout for?

Generally speaking, until moms are aware of the anorexia, this would be the compliant child in the home that never gets into trouble and that you don’t really notice. Because of this, it’s hard to specify warning signs that might not frighten most moms in your audience. But in essence, I’d want to be sure that I was aware of what my daughter was eating, of what her weight was, and of how controlling or fearful she was, all without making too much of a fuss about any of it.

What sinful desires often drive anorexic behavior?

Usually the anorexic girl begins with an overriding desire to be perfect and to control her world so that nothing untoward, embarrassing or tragic might happen. She’s driven to the point of compulsion and is never satisfied with an “A”, she has to have an “A+”. Perhaps it might start out with a desire to lose weight or look better, perhaps to compete with her sisters or mother, but then, in this type of personality it can morph pretty quickly into a way to control others or demonstrate anger or fear. She might also have an over-active sense of modesty and be worried about looking shapely like a woman. She might even think that the material world (her body, food, her sexuality) is sinful.

How does God’s Word speak to these specific cravings?

Again, here’s where the gospel and the doctrines of grace are so very helpful. First of all, the desire to prove one’s own perfection is sinful, not only because it leads to controlling and pride, but because it’s a way to avoid Jesus as Savior. He’s our perfection and the sooner the anorexic rests in this alien righteousness, the better. He is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30) and in Him we’ve fulfilled all the requirements of the law (Romans 8:4). The perfection Christ calls us to in Matthew 5:48 can’t be accomplished by our efforts – they were accomplished for us in Him.

Secondly, her desire to shape her world and protect herself from embarrassment, harm or pain (by creating her own pain) needs to be overcome by the glorious truth that her King rules sovereignly over every single facet of her life and nothing can come to her apart from the loving providence of her glorious King. God’s sovereignty can be terrifying to a young woman if we don’t also stress His love. He loved her so much that He gave His Son for her and that Son is now ruling, in heaven, incarnate, bearing upon His hands the nail scars. She doesn’t need to control her world and she’ll exhaust herself trying to; no, that job’s already been filled.

What wonderful truths! As we conclude this interview, Elyse, how have you seen the power of the gospel help women to overcome the sins that lead to anorexic and bulimic behavior?

I remember one lovely young woman that I had been counseling for anorexic behavior for a number of months. She had been raised in a good Christian home and brought up in a church that preached grace. But she had never really gotten the good news. That’s not to say she wasn’t a believer, I think she was, it was just that she had never understood that the righteousness of Christ was really hers. One day, during a session when we had been going over the meaning of grace (again), tears began to stream down her face and she asked, “Isn’t God just kidding Himself?” That afternoon was the beginning of change in her as she saw that the perfection she had striven for was already hers and that she was being invited to rest in Him. She didn’t need to prove anything to anybody. Of course, even though she turned a corner that day, she still had to struggle against her habitual proud desire for self-worship and control, but the lessons of grace was what she needed to hear.

The lessons of grace are what we all need to hear, regardless of our temptations! Elyse, thank you so much for helping us better understand the eating behaviors of bulimia and anorexia and most of all for pointing us to the cross.

Once again, for further study on the topic of eating for God's glory, you can check out Elyse's books Love to Eat, Hate to Eat, Uncommon Vessels, and for a closer look at the cravings that underlie sinful eating patterns: Idols of the Heart: Learning to Long for God Alone.

And please join us tomorrow for the conclusion of foodtalk on girltalk.

FoodTalk With Elyse, Part 3

Today, let’s focus briefly on bulimia. Elyse, you write that bulimics will often “identify a strong physical feeling of being compelled to binge.” But you believe this “strong physical feeling” is evidence of a spiritual problem. Can you elaborate?

Habits or compulsions are formed as one responds to the ups-and-downs of life in specific ways. Think about the neural connections that become our compulsions as simply the well-trodden pathways that our soul has taken over time. For instance, if one continually overate when guilty, worried, lonely, angry or bored, the desire to overeat when experiencing any emotional discomfort will be very strong. And, of course, the longer one persists in seeking to anesthetize the soul or placate the feelings with some form of pleasure (think “chocolate”), the stronger the feeling of compulsion will be.

Gluttony is also one of the sins of the flesh, so one not only has to fight the desire to overeat in the inner person, one also has to fight craving in the physical body – jitteriness, watering mouth, the brain sending messages to the body to move toward food, the desire for a sugar rush.

The way to renew your mind when faced with emotional discomfort is to answer the Savior’s invitation. “Come to me,” He said,  “all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 ESV). Rather than turning to the refrigerator to save her, the bulimic can turn to her patient Savior who has promised her rest for her soul. “Lord,” she might pray, “I’m worried about my husband’s job and I’m tempted right now to binge. Please satisfy my soul with the bread of heaven and give me rest.” Once she’s prayed like that, she needs to move her body out of the kitchen – perhaps she could go for a walk or put on some worship music and get down on the floor with her kids. Just so that she doesn’t stand in front of the pantry, praying that God will help her resist.

Besides greed, what other sinful desires may underlie bulimic behaviors?

Aside from greed, the primary motivating desire is probably vanity. The bulimic gives into her greedy desire to eat to excess and then she wants to avoid the resultant weight gain, shame and discomfort that will follow. She’s also looking to “make up for” her binge, so there’ll probably be quite a bit of self-styled law-making and the resultant condemnation and pride that always accompanies the desire for self-righteousness.

You see, the bulimic not only has a false savior, as we said above, she also has false laws, certain rules that she’s placed on herself. These rules might have to do with the size of her jeans (playing to her vanity) or different categories of food that she allows herself (playing to her pride). Once she violates any of her laws (gaining weight or eating a brownie, for instance), she’ll usually give in to the binge and then be forced to purge by her own shame and fear. Think about the purge as penance for the binge.

Why is it helpful to identify these sinful cravings and how can a person take steps of repentance and change?

It’s generally a good idea to try to understand why we do what we do, so that we can war more skillfully against our sin. Of course, no one ever completely or correctly understood himself, since the heart is deceitful and beyond understanding (Jeremiah 17:9), but God does, by the Spirit and Word, sometimes reveal certain desires, cravings or idols to us. Self-knowledge is significant but it doesn’t change us. For that we need the gospel, which alone produces repentance and faith. Looking into the face of Jesus is what transforms us (2 Corinthians 3:18), not looking into our hearts or eating habits, although sometimes it is helpful as first steps to do so.

In light of this truth, I’d encourage the bulimic to spend significant time meditating on the gospel. As she’s continually marinating her soul in these truths, it will be important for her to find an accountability partner, hopefully in her small group. She’ll need to confess her habits and promise to be honest about any binging or purging. She’ll need to identify her laws and her helper should assist in helping strengthen her conscience. She needs to be taught that eating a Twinkie isn’t sinful in itself, but as long as she thinks it is, it is, since her eating is not done in faith (Romans 14:23). Perhaps, along with her friend she could go through Love to Eat, Hate to Eat.

What role should a physician play in helping a person with bulimia?

The physician should first be consulted to be sure that there isn’t an underlying physiological cause, especially for the vomiting. If there isn’t, then he should monitor the bulimic, especially as regards the erosion of her esophagus and teeth and her general health and weight.

If we have a friend or family member who is struggling with bulimia, how can we help?

We should extend all the normal means of grace to a bulimic that we would extend to anyone else dealing with a sin problem. The sacraments, fellowship, encouragement, prayer and accountability in the local church is what she needs, as well as a continual dose of a robust gospel.

FoodTalk With Elyse, Part 1

As we bring you our final week of foodtalk on girltalk, we are so pleased to welcome Elyse Fitzpatrick for a conversation about the eating behaviors anorexia and bulimia. For many of you, she needs no introduction. However, in case you are unfamiliar with her work here are a few highlights…

Elyse is the author of two books on eating: Love to Eat, Hate to Eat: Breaking the Bondage of Destructive Eating Habits and Uncommon Vessels: A Program for Developing Godly Eating Habits. She has also contributed articles to The Journal of Biblical Counseling on Helping Overeaters, Helping Anorexics, Helping Bulimics, and Disorderly Eating for the Rest of Us. 

Thank you for joining us, Elyse!

The topic of eating—and anorexia and bulimia in particular—can, by its very mention evoke feelings of hopelessness and despair. Before we examine these destructive eating patterns more closely, can you remind us why we can have hope for change?

Of course, the only hope any of us have for change in any area is the gospel! Only when we know, and I mean really know, that our sins are forgiven, that we’re fully justified, that God guarantees our ultimate sanctification and glorification, that He is as pleased with us as He is with His Beloved Son, can we have faith to continue to fight against sin, especially over the long haul. When we recognize that this acceptance of us is not based upon our obedience, but rather the obedience of Another, we will respond in love for Him and in godly living. The only power that’s strong enough to root out sin is love. Only love for God can kill the love we have for our idols. In addition, love “casts out fear”: the fear of failure, success, despair, humiliation, desertion and most of all, ultimate judgment. When we are assured of God’s power to change us and of His unequivocal love for us, our love and faith will grow and we’ll be able to continue to war against our weaknesses and sins.

Tomorrow, we will hear more from Elyse on a biblical perspective of anorexia and bulimia….

FoodTalk with Kotter and Trimark, Day 9

There’s no place we’d rather conclude our interview with Dave Kotter and Jeffrey Trimark than the hope of the gospel. Gentlemen, can you please tell us again how the gospel empowers us to eat for the glory of God?

As with all the efforts to please God, it is beyond our natural strength to always eat for the glory of God.  Even the desire to please God or eat for the glory of God does not naturally occur in our hearts (Romans 3:21).  More common is the desire to eat in the service of other “gods” or idols, such as gluttony, fitness, beauty or long life. 

As believers, we are saved by the power of the gospel; our desires are transformed by the power of the gospel and we are empowered by the gospel to obey the will of God, even in the area of eating.  Every action of our lives must flow from the gospel, and we eat three times a day.  How do we bring the power of the gospel to bear on this aspect of our lives?

We must first understand the gospel thoroughly before we can apply it to what we eat.  Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a perfect life and died on a cross to take the place of sinners in bearing the just wrath of God.  This is the good news that in Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself. As we are justified through the blood of Jesus, we are enabled for the first time to eat for the glory of Someone besides ourselves.  As we are sanctified and are progressively made more like Jesus, the way we eat should change over time to bring more and more glory to God.

Thank you for this encouraging reminder! And thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us over these past two weeks. We have been blessed by your practical instruction and gospel encouragement.

As we conclude our interview we want to request that you, our readers, pray for David Kotter and Dr. Trimark as they finish writing Eat and Be Content. Please pray that God would bless them with wisdom and clarity as they write, and that their wives and children would continue to experience God's grace during this project. Ultimately, may the fruit of this book be changed lives for the glory of God! 

And please join us next week for our interview with Elyse Fitzpatrick. Friday Funnies coming your way before the day is out...

FoodTalk with Kotter and Trimark, Day 8

Dr. Trimark, while you believe that exercise is essential for a healthy lifestyle, it must not be done in isolation of good eating habits. Tell us a little more about why this is so important.

Doctors heartily encourage regular exercise for strength, flexibility and cardiovascular health.  Proper perspective can help people pursue fitness without making exercise an alternate idol in life.  Increasing medical evidence is leading physicians away from recommending intermittent sessions of high intensity exercise and instead recommending frequent walking, whether in the park, at work, or at home.  Ideally, we should all strive to achieve 3 hours of continuous walking every week.  For example, this would look like 45 minutes of walking at a brisk pace (4 miles each hour), 4 times per week.  Additionally, we would encourage individuals to walk as much as possible throughout daily life—park farther away from the door and use the stairs as much as possible.  Walking is inexpensive and risks few of the activity-associated injuries that are often seen in high intensity athletes.   

While physical activity is good in its own right, many people overestimate the amount of calories consumed by a specific exercise and underestimate the value of making wise food choices.  The energy consumed by regular exercise can be dwarfed by the energy easily eaten at a local restaurant.  In order to expend the energy contained in a typical hamburger, fries and diet soda, an average person would need to walk about 10 miles at a brisk pace.  Not choosing a diet soda would add an additional three miles to the journey.  After walking such a distance, many people would be tempted to stop for a quick bite at a convenient fast food franchise.  This illustrates that self-control in eating is much more important than drastically increasing exercise.

Daily decisions are also very important.  A 12 ounce can of soda contains about 100 calories.  The energy in one pound of fat is about 3,500 calories.  In this light, drinking one can of soda a day with no corresponding increase in exercise would add about one pound of weight every month.  A 20 ounce bottle of soda would add weight faster.  On the other hand, an overweight person would expect a similar decline in weight following a simple switch from a habitual soda to a bottle of water each day.  In other words, small decisions add up to considerable effects over time.  Through our choices in eating, we can bring glory to God in a noteworthy way.

In summary, exercise should be for its own merits and weight reduction, if needed, should be accomplished by implementing godly eating habits.

Please join us tomorrow for the conclusion of our interview with Dr. Trimark and David Kotter.

FoodTalk With Kotter and Trimark, Day 7

Today we talk more with Dr. Trimark about how to apply the gospel and avoid idolatrous and foolish overeating. Dr. Trimark, you offer two simples “rules of thumb” for healthy eating. What are they?

The first rule of thumb is to not eat fewer than 30 grams of fiber each day. Why concentrate on this measure?    Highly processed foods tend to be low in fiber while fruits, vegetables and whole grains are high in fiber.  Eating enough fiber in a day naturally leads one to fill up first with healthier foods. 

The second rule of thumb is to not eat more than enough grams of fat for your gender, height and frame size (for most people this is around 40 grams).  For most people keeping track of fat grams is the simplest way to ensure that their energy intake is appropriate.  Fat contains more energy per gram than any other components of food.  A lot more energy: about twice as much as protein or carbohydrates and nine times more than fiber.  This rule of thumb leads people to eat a satisfying amount of food, while consuming less energy.  Dieticians call this lowering the “energy density,” and can be accomplished without the starvation feelings of a crash diet.

Tracking two numbers--fat grams and fiber grams--is sufficient to help people wisely avoid idolatrous or foolish behavior. The standards are easily remembered, and the information is readily available on certified government labels and in reliable Internet databases.

In our book we will help people to establish a maximum daily budget for fat grams based on their gender, height and weight.  No matter how much weight needs to be gained or lost, eating the right amount of energy will lead over time to a “sanctified weight.”  Nonetheless, the goal is not weight loss in isolation, but to eat in a way that glorifies God.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk with Dr. Trimark on the importance of exercise…

FoodTalk With Kotter and Trimark, Day 6

Under the umbrella of discontent, you identify two biblical categories of sinful eating. One is idolatry, which we discussed yesterday, and the other is foolishness. What does foolish eating look like and how can we avoid it?

Unfortunately, some Christians believe they are eating for God’s glory, but are foolishly unaware that they are overeating.  In the Bible, foolishness is more than immaturity associated with youth.  Biblical foolishness is morally wrong, just as the fool says in his heart, “There is no God,” (Psalm 14:1).  In contrast, the sanctification of believers can be considered as a journey from foolishness to wisdom in all areas of life, including eating. One of our obligations as Christians is to have a biblically correct understanding of what we are eating so that we increasingly can make wise choices.

In addition, our wisdom must be informed by medically correct information.  This does not mean we should be tossed about by every sensational diet headline or be slaves to a method of categorizing and counting every calorie we consume.  Rather we should be familiar with the best medical evidence that is increasingly available.  Understanding a few key principles is one of the responsibilities that we inherit along with the incredible abundance of food that we now enjoy.

You talk about the concept of a “sanctified weight.” What do you mean?

Eat and Be Content will claim that a specific sanctified weight is given by God to every believer just like eye color or height.  This is the weight that would result over time if a believer were to turn from sinful eating and make wise food and exercise choices.  This weight can be medically estimated to within a few pounds based on gender, height, frame size and activity level.  A specific amount of energy is required to maintain this sanctified weight, and this defines for each individual how much food is “just enough” (Proverbs 25:16).  In our book we are able to give a more complete explanation of how to define what is eating "just enough" for the glory of God.  We also provide believers with scientific but sensible ways to utilize these measures in daily life.

Idolatrous eating or gluttony can be defined as regularly and knowingly eating more food than is required to maintain this sanctified weight.  Unknowingly eating beyond this requirement is defined as foolishness.  Both are morally wrong and over time make believers overweight.  Turning from these sins cannot be accomplished through sheer dint of will, embarking on the latest diet plan or following the latest eating guru.  Fundamental changes in eating can only flow from the power of the gospel.

Please join us tomorrow for some practical advice from Dr. Trimark on how to maintain a “sanctified weight.”