Dandelions & Roasted Red Bell Peppers

When I started the Blood Type Diet almost 14 years ago, instead of focusing on what I couldn’t eat, I decided I would focus on what I could eat.  I took my food list to the grocery store and sought out beneficial foods that I had never heard of.  One of those foods was dandelions.  I found dandelion in a container of mixed greens once.  Another time I found it at an upscale restaurant.  But I rarely saw dandelions in the produce department, so I didn’t eat them often.

But this week in my box from the organic farm I had the option to trade spinach  for dandelions!  They were fresh, and I was excited.

I like putting veggies on top of my eggs, making a frittata.  I thought I’d do that with the dandelions, but I was going to need some kind of seasoning.

Pardon me if I back track a bit.  Several years ago at Book Club, the hostess served pesto.  While it was delicious, it was complicated and time consuming to make.  One day I had a coupon for pesto that had no BTD avoids and no preservatives.  I began to buy it regularly, but one day came when the store was out of pesto.  Then, for the first time, I noticed that the same company, with their distinctive jars and specialty label, made several other products.  I tried their artichokes and their roasted red bell peppers.  Frankly, my artichokes are better, but the roasted red bell peppers were really good.

This week I put about 2 teaspoons of roasted red bell peppers on top of the dandelions which were on top of three eggs in my skillet.  I turned up the heat.  When I could hear the eggs popping in the covered skillet, I turned the heat off.   I came back in 30 minutes and my breakfast was done to perfection.

I’ll admit I’ve had eggs almost every day this week and have been keeping the dandelions to myself.  But they are also beneficial for my Type A husband, so I’ll add some to his salad tonight.

Today our pastor explained a Bible passage that has always bothered me from the BTD perspective.  He is an interesting guy – about 90% health-conscious, but with a serious weakness foe Blue Bell Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  Today his sermon was on Matthew 15, and he read verses 15-20

Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding?  Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.  These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

I have not understood those verses, because it’s clear to me that what you eat does have a huge impact on how you feel and how your body works.

Our pastor explained it this way:  Jesus is not talking about nourishment or physical health.  He is talking about spiritual defilement and sin.  When Jesus says it’s not what goes into the mouth and the stomach that defile a person he is saying that your diet is not what determines your relationship with God.  Jesus is saying that what you feed your heart matters spiritually.  The words that come out of your mouth reflect what is in your heart.

My desire is to do both – to feed my body healthy food and to feed my heart good spiritual nourishment.

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