Dieting and eating--Catholic style?

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Is there such a thing??

I was trying to find something…anything online, regarding weekly fasting, and basically, the Catholic/Vatican’s view on healthy eating habits. There is a book which came out…oh, maybe 3 years ago or more called ‘The Maker’s Diet,’ written by a Messianic Jew, who outlines, step by step, how to eat…what to eat…and what not to eat, according to Jewish law and the Bible. Ok, I’m not asking if there are certain ‘forbidden foods’ that the Catholic faith professes to stay away from…but, are there any guidelines that one can follow, to ensure that we are eating the ‘right’ foods…and how we can combine our daily diet with regular fasting? My husband and I have started observing fasting on Fridays…sticking with the original Catholic doctrine about meatless Fridays (beyond Lent) …but, we were wondering if there is anything in writing somewhere, regarding the Catholic Church’s stance on diet.

So…does anyone know of any books or links that you can provide on here that speak of this topic? (eating right, the Catholic way?) Thanks in advance.

Your opinions and your own personal thoughts on dieting the Catholic way, are welcome, too.🙂
 
what i want to know is if there are catholic cookies and if anyone has a receipe.👍
 
whatevergirl said:
So…does anyone know of any books or links that you can provide on here that speak of this topic? (eating right, the Catholic way?) Thanks in advance.

Your opinions and your own personal thoughts on dieting the Catholic way, are welcome, too.🙂
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For the basics…

ewtn.com/faith/lent/fast.htm:thumbsup:

I myself abstain from meat on ALL fridays. I also fast both Wednesdays and Saturdays, dedicating them to Mother Mary and the souls in Purgatory. And to slowly lose weight. I’m age 62, so not required to fast, but it seems to be an OK idea IN MODERATION.

As for eating right, try cookbooks that are written for Type II Diabetics like me. Moderation and well balanced are the keys to this diet, and it would be quite suitable for everyone, including Catholics

Those who want a REAL penance could eat a Scottish haggis:rolleyes:
 
LilyM said:
Surely we Catholics would prefer bread (pure wheat flour, no yeast or other additives) to cookies 😉
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Speak for yourself. I don’t mind whole wheat flour, as long as it is used to make a pizza with cheese, mushrooms, onions, and cheese:D
 
guardian1 said:
what i want to know is if there are catholic cookies and if anyone has a receipe.👍
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when I log off here it says “all cookies cleared” which I take to mean no calories allowed.

as far as Catholic teaching on what and how much to eat, like anything else that is in the province of medical science, the Church leaves that to medical science, and expects us to make our judgments based on the best knowledge and research provided by those who have been graced with the ability to discover that information. In other words, a sensible diet for your physical type and needs.

from Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life by Margaret Funk OSB, reviewing afflictions of the senses: food, sex and things

My body reminds me of the need for food in regular ways. When we honor those needs the body responds with well-being, since for the spiritual life we must be healthy. [fasting] is about training our bodies for endurance and stability, not about taming the beast inside. Since passions or afflictive thoughts can absorb us instead of serving us, our goal must be purity of heart, the state in which our thoughts are directed by our own will [rather than by our passions] and then our minds is at peace. . . . we must know our thoughts with utmost honesty. . . . The thought of food is of benefit for the spiritual life. p.26

First there is the food thought, then the thought about the time to eat the food, then about the quality of the food, then about the quantity. Now the training, called fasting, is to check those four decisions: eating, kind of food, when, how much. . . . it is as objectionable to eat to little as too much.

One thought about food makes all the difference: motivation. Why is one eating or drinking? gluttony is indiscriminate eathing or drinking. Fasting is eating mindfully with full attention. . . .
when we fast-which is balanced eating at designated times-our hunger has no major swings but is appropriately receptive and eager to enjoy a tasty meal. . . . we cannot determine for another what is good for them. p. 27

Moderation is a good sign and extremes are to be suspected as having their roots in pride.P 28
 
Puzzleannie, I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the quote from Sister Mary Margaret Funk’s book. I went to school with both she and her sister, Evelyn. She is very trim and healthy looking. She now goes by Sister Meg. I saw her about a month ago, but did not get to talk with her. We are the same age, but she looks at least 20 years younger. (Of course she didn’t have 4 kids to make her fat and turn her hair grey either)
 
I would think all things in moderation.
Our family stays away from red meat and we only eat it once in a blue moon…we do eat lots of fish,shell fish, lamb and pork. lots of veggies and fruits! (guess we would not do well on that jewish diet the OP mentioned)😃
We also stay away from artifical and processed foods.
 
Catholic theology seems to be more a both/and thing than an either/or thing (think Mary as virgin AND mother, Jesus as God AND man, the Trinity as three AND one…). Our eating is both fasting AND feasting for all the celebrations throughout the year. So, I recommend a book called A Continual Feast, written by Evelyn Birge Vitz, a convert to Catholicism. It’s a book about the celebrations throughout the year, complete with recipes - Catholic cookies included! 🙂

Betsy
 
whatevergirl said:
Is there such a thing??

I was trying to find something…anything online, regarding weekly fasting, and basically, the Catholic/Vatican’s view on healthy eating habits. There is a book which came out…oh, maybe 3 years ago or more called ‘The Maker’s Diet,’ written by a Messianic Jew, who outlines, step by step, how to eat…what to eat…and what not to eat, according to Jewish law and the Bible. Ok, I’m not asking if there are certain ‘forbidden foods’ that the Catholic faith professes to stay away from…but, are there any guidelines that one can follow, to ensure that we are eating the ‘right’ foods…and how we can combine our daily diet with regular fasting? My husband and I have started observing fasting on Fridays…sticking with the original Catholic doctrine about meatless Fridays (beyond Lent) …but, we were wondering if there is anything in writing somewhere, regarding the Catholic Church’s stance on diet.

So…does anyone know of any books or links that you can provide on here that speak of this topic? (eating right, the Catholic way?) Thanks in advance.

Your opinions and your own personal thoughts on dieting the Catholic way, are welcome, too.🙂
Click to expand...
From a Monastery Kitchen by Victor D’Avila-Latourrette

or

This Good Food: Contemporary French Vegetarian Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen .

In fact, all of Brother Victor D’Avila-Latourrette’s books are good. Brother Victor is a Benedictine Monk, who has been the cook at his monastery for some time.

His recipes are in accord with the rule of St Benedict, where very little if any meat is used,(eat no flesh of quadrupeds), but fish and dairy are allowed.

I have From a Monastery Kitchen, and the recipes are easy and the prayers that he included with each recipe are nice.

All that being said, I have to watch the carbs, and some of the recipes are heavy with carbs, especially the pasta dishes.

Blessings of the Daily: A Year of Monastery Meditations by Brother Victor. This is a walk through the Divine Office throughout the year. Very good!

Let me know how you make out.

Jim
 
JimR-OCDS said:
From a Monastery Kitchen by Victor D’Avila-Latourrette

or

This Good Food: Contemporary French Vegetarian Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen .

In fact, all of Brother Victor D’Avila-Latourrette’s books are good. Brother Victor is a Benedictine Monk, who has been the cook at his monastery for some time.

His recipes are in accord with the rule of St Benedict, where very little if any meat is used,(eat no flesh of quadrupeds), but fish and dairy are allowed.

I have From a Monastery Kitchen, and the recipes are easy and the prayers that he included with each recipe are nice.

All that being said, I have to watch the carbs, and some of the recipes are heavy with carbs, especially the pasta dishes.

Blessings of the Daily: A Year of Monastery Meditations by Brother Victor. This is a walk through the Divine Office throughout the year. Very good!

Let me know how you make out.

Jim
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Thanks Jim–that’s totally what I was looking for…I guess my post wasn’t clear…I am searching for foods that perhaps would be more ‘Godly’ than other foods…obviously, probably foods that are not natural would be considered foods to avoid. I not only want to be healthy…for health’s sake…but for God’s sake, literally. I want to follow what He would have me eat…and I would assume the rest will just fall into place…(physical health)

Thanks for your advice everyone…and as always, guardian…you are forever the comedian.😃
 
Karin said:
I would think all things in moderation.
Our family stays away from red meat and we only eat it once in a blue moon…we do eat lots of fish,shell fish, lamb and pork. lots of veggies and fruits! (guess we would not do well on that jewish diet the OP mentioned)😃
We also stay away from artifical and processed foods.
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Thanks Karin–there is an eating plan I followed for years…my husband, kids and I all followed it for a long time, and the effects were wonderful…just a healthful way of eating–it was called the Caveman Diet…an actual book…wait, I think it was called, Neanderthin…it was very easy to follow…same thing…all organic eating…no artificial things (sometimes that can be tough…you don’t realize all the junk that is in literally everything)…but, I would ‘imagine’ that God’s plan of eating involves eating what He provides and not what man distorted.

Rule of thumb in general, no?👍
 
whatevergirl said:
Thanks Jim–that’s totally what I was looking for…I guess my post wasn’t clear…I am searching for foods that perhaps would be more ‘Godly’ than other foods…obviously, probably foods that are not natural would be considered foods to avoid. I not only want to be healthy…for health’s sake…but for God’s sake, literally. I want to follow what He would have me eat…and I would assume the rest will just fall into place…(physical health)

Thanks for your advice everyone…and as always, guardian…you are forever the comedian.😃
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There’s a saying from Ray Audette’s book, “Neanderthin: Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body,”
that goes, “If God didn’t grow it, don’t eat it.”

Essentially, low-carb diets promote eating only whole natural foods. Dr. Atkins advises when you shop, stay on the outside paimeter of the supper market, and avoid the isles in the center.
The outside is where the fresh fruit, vegetables and meats are. The isles are where the process foods are.

Jim
 
I would be careful not to look for a new “dietary law”… Christ himself aboloshed the need for these “laws”…

vatican.va/archive/catechism/p122a4p1.htm
582 Going even further, Jesus perfects the dietary law, so important in Jewish daily life, by revealing its pedagogical meaning through a divine interpretation: "Whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him. . . (Thus he declared all foods clean.). . . What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts. . ."346 In presenting with divine authority the definitive interpretation of the Law, Jesus found himself confronted by certain teachers of the Law who did not accept his interpretation of the Law, guaranteed though it was by the divine signs that accompanied it.347 This was the case especially with the sabbath laws, for he recalls, often with rabbinical arguments, that the sabbath rest is not violated by serving God and neighbor,348 which his own healings did.
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I think watching your health is very important to taking care of your body… as a “temple of God” our bodies are a gift, so we need to show the upmost respect by taking care of our health…

Fasting, as well, is a wonderful method of prayer… and is highly encouraged…

But as far as “Catholic dietary rules”… they don’t exist!
So enjoy your cookies! 😃
(just say grace first! 👍 )
 
I would agree with the poster who said that a good rule of thumb is to stick with what God has created, and not the factory processed stuff. Cooking and fermenting and sprouting may be necessary to some extent. God intends for us to work with our food, not just pick it off the tree, but factory processing is something different, usually just because the motivation is different: making gobs of money off the cheapest quality food possible. Spend the least amount that you can and charge as much as you can for it. That basically sums up the food industry in this country. So, anything that brings you back to whole foods, unprocessed, homegrown, cooked from scratch is a very holy thing indeed. Everyone is right, there is no official Catholic diet. Jordan Rubin makes some good points, but he does not address Paul’s dream on the rooftop at Joppa and the consequences of that event. Far as I know, he isn’t Catholic either. Sally Fallon has an excellent cookbook called Nourishing Traditions which is slowly gaining popularity. It’s all about whole foods and primitive foods and cooking everything from scratch. I love it and recommend it. I have heard the suggestion for “A Continual Feast” a few times and would like to buy it soon, maybe next month. I love the idea of liturgical cooking. I love catholicculture.org too. But the biggest problem I see with most liturgical cookbooks is that they all have some really unhealthy foods in them. (white flour, sugar and so on). What I would really like to do is put together a liturgical cookbook that is based on the principles of Nourishing Traditions, put it in chronological order so you can turn to the feast of the day and see what is there to feast on, even make it based on seasonal foods, since Advent and Lent and so on are always at the same time of year, but do it in the healthiest way possible, so that it’s possible to celebrate the great feasts of the Church without getting heart disease or becoming a diabetic. 🙂
 
There is a Scripture based Catholic eating plan called “The Light Weigh”. I know it is being presented at St. Joseph’s Retreat House in Malvern, PA (Archdiocese of Philadelphia) in, I think, January, 07. My dh & I were thinking about going but our plans have changed. Maybe if you’re not in this area, you could Google it.

Peace,
Linda
 
when I think of eating–Catholic style I think of great ethnic foods eaten at various parish festivals during the years:
fish fries during Lent
pierogi swimming in butter and onions, with homemade mushroom soup
all manner of pasta and Italian food, esp. sausage
for that matter, all the ethnic variations of sausage
soups
stuff on a stick
German–sweet n sour cabbage, schnitzel, more sausage
I guess the old Hofbrau Haus in Cleveland has closed by I understand Serle’s country house is still there, also Fanny’s on E. 156, all these were places to go for celebrations of 1st communions etc.
Down here there is a local all-night Mexican restaurant that is the local spot for dinner after 1st communion or Confirmation, same idea, different food, also the BBQ at home as the family celebration

for some reason sacramental celebrations and other high points of Catholic life are always connected with food–there is definitely a Eucharistic dimension here, perhaps it comes straight from the gospels and Christ’s proclivity for using meals as occassions to teach and bring his followers together.

not to forget good wine, either. take a little for thy stomach’s sake, as Paul says.
 
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