My personal prayer while eating-it really helps.

When I am eating my weighed and measured meal, there is always a point when I look at my food and say, "Oh, no, there is not much left."  I try to use this as a reminder to daven for 3 things:
1) That Hashem should keep me abstinent until my next meal.
 2) That Hashem should make me satisfied from this meal, and
 3) That my food should be a Refuah. (I read in a Sefer by  Rabbi Nachman that our food can be a refuah.)

I have shared this with many people and they say that it helps them too, so I decided to post it.

Give someone a smile today.

It is a greater thing to give someone a smile then a glass of milk.  One of the most important ways to grow spiritually is to feel good about yourself. When a person feels good about themselves they have confidence that they can grow.  By helping another person to feel good about them self we are helping them to grow.

from a Shiur by Rabbi Orlowek, "Stategies of the Yetzer Harah"

One from column A and one from column B: Mix and Match your way to simple but varied healthy food.

 People who see my meals think that I spend a lot of time cooking elaborate meals for myself, when in reality I have developed a system for cooking in bulk, weighing out and freezing potions, then mixing them in different combinations to get some easy and delicious food.

http://tiforoafood.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-from-column-and-one-from-column-b.html

Detals here.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail- A check list for a well stocked home.

 Many people lose their abstinence because they did not have the right food in their house. This is a check list for things that store well, freeze well, and ideas for ways of combining them. If you make sure that you always have a variety of preweighed portions ready, you will find it much easier to keep to your plan of eating. If you cook in bulk, you will find that you will save a lot of time and have a nice variety of food by freezing preweighed portions. :

at our sister blog:

http://tiforoafood.blogspot.com/2011/01/if-you-fail-to-plan-you-plan-to-fail.html

The power of a single action.

When Yisro told his daughters to invite Moshe home for a meal, he had no idea how this one small act would impact his life.  In our lives we tend to underestimate the importance of every act that we take.  It is important for us to remember that every single act that we do has the potential to change our lives for the better or for the worse.

heard on an outreach call

In OA we learn that one bite of food off of our food plan has the potential to take us very far from our goal of abstinence.  Therefore we put a lot of emphasis on not taking even one bite off of our food plan.

Infested With Worms

"The Children of Israel did so and they gathered, whoever took more and whoever took less. They measured in an Omer and whoever took more had nothing extra and whoever too less was not lacking. Everyone according to what he eats had they gathered...people left over until the morning and it became infested with worms and stank..." 16:17-20




According To What He Eats He Gathered...Infested With Worms - This was a sign that all of a persons earthly needs are decreed from Above and there is no point in gathering more than one will need, for it cannot be taken along with a person once his time on earth expires. When a person immerses himself excessively in earthly pleasures, he only provides extra fuel for the worms... - Kli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz)

Kli Yakar adds that the exception to this rule was that which was left over on Friday for consumption on Shabbat, which did not rot or turn wormy. Instead, it remained fresh and nourishing. This was symbolic of the idea that a person must spend his days accumulating possessions that can be stored away for the "Day That Is Complete Shabbat", also known as "Olam Habbah"- The World To Come. The Torah and Mitzvot that we bank for that period, will never decay or decompose. They're the only functional currency in the World To Come.
 
from a newsletter from 'Partners in Torah'

Another moving guest post--

I just wanted to share something that happened to me this past Friday night in the hope that it will help someone with their recovery. I usually find Shabbos the hardest day for abstinence as it is the time that I like to unwind, sit down, relax a little, read some Jewish books and enjoy nice food! So, last Friday night I had been abstinent all week and I wanted to try over Shabbos too. It was hard, and I was struggling, but BH, the kids had gone to sleep and I had some time to think. I went upstairs to avoid the temptation and I actually stopped and spoke to HaShem. I begged him for help and I thought about a few emotional issues that I had been dealing with during the week for which I hadn’t found any solution. This time that I sat quietly and actually tried to connect to HaShem and open up my mind and my heart to His presence was richly rewarded!


I started to see the issues that I was struggling with, in a completely new light. Answers were just coming to me as a free gift being dropped into my brain from HaShem and I am so grateful to Him for helping me. I wanted to share it with you because my sponsor has said to me a number of times that the food is like a blockage between myself and HaShem. By putting down the food, and running to HaShem instead of food when I want to escape whatever is happening in my life, then I open myself up for His help. The food cannot help, but He can! It’s so simple, and yet I’m still fighting with my self-will (aka Yetzer Hara for me). The Yetzer Hara wants to keep us miserable, and keep us away from the help we can get and the closeness to HaShem which is the main purpose of our being in this world.

I wish you all a wonderful, abstinent Shabbos, with tremendous closeness to HaShem, who loves us all and is waiting so patiently for us to come and find Him.

Much love,

X

Overeating has a spiritual cost.

We tend to think that eating and drinking are parve in a spiritual sense, but the reality is that they will either uplift or degrade us. Overeating can desensitize us from becoming what we are and want we want to be. Rabbi Nachman says that overeating leads to the illusion that the physical side is all that there is in the world.When you buy into this lie, your life becomes a distortion of the truth.

from an article by Rebbetzin Heller in the Hamodia,
 thank you Rivkie for bringing this to my attention.

Check out these new recipes on our recipe exchange!

Crustless Fruit Tart

Black Bean Soup

Lo Mein

Fantastic Tea Essence

http://tiforoafood.blogspot.com/

Hidden Sugar in Cottage Cheese- an alert from a reader

Just that you know and be alert!

I purchased a new, cheaper brand of cottage cheese yesterday. My son and I tasted it this morning and it tasted 'different' than 'regular' cottage cheese. My son checked the ingredient list, which I did not think of doing before purchasing and sure enough this cheese has more 'additives' than 'whole ingredients'. Amongst this mishmash of ingredients were maltodextrin and cultured destrose! Brand name: 'Ateres'. Needless to say that container is now in my trash can!

I never thought I have to check cottage cheese, from now on I'll check everything, even bottled water!

What is more important?

It is a mitzvah to take care of your health.

It is a minhag to eat fattening food in large quantities.

Philosophy of Food

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin writes that the primal desire of man is to eat of the forbidden. Adam and Eve succumbed to that desire, and as a result it has remained predominant in the human psyche since that eventful day.

from:
Philosophy of Food  by Rabbi Binyomin Forst   on aish.com

Self control as a path of spiritual growth.

Last night I was at my regular shiur about Tefilah (by a Rebbetzin who does not want to be quoted) based on the book by Rabbi Shimshon Pinchus about Tefilah.  We were learning about the idea of Amidah- standing before Hashem.  Our teacher said that the more that we nullify our body the closer that we come to Hashem. 

 This morning I got up early to weigh a lot of portions of food for the future.  Sometimes it is very difficult to weigh out 8 ounces of vegetable and have to put that extra onion back, but I realized this morning that every time I put back that extra piece of vegetable, I am exercising self control that is nullifying my self and bringing me closer to Hashem.

The greatest pleasure.

 Physical pleasure is short lived. People think that it is self love to give themselves physical pleasure. But being and having are not the same thing. Real connection is the real happiness. This is a spiritual pleasure. Spiritual connection is the greatest pleasure.

from a Shiur by Rebbetzin Heller

The moral issue involved in losing weight.

  Hashem gives us a body that is our responsibility to take care of.  If we abuse our body by overeating, we are going against Hashem's will.  We have a moral responsibility to take care of our body.

From a Shiur on Naaleh:  Who is the Provider

Teacher: Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller Class: Bitachon: Meaning of Trust

Emptiness as a source of growth.

...Rebbe Nachman presents the feeling of emptiness in a different light-not as a failing, but to the contrary, a springboard to finding true meaning. It is admittedly painful to feel empty, but once awareness enters, it becomes possible to fill the void with genuine, fulfilling content.

The same process is evident in nature. A seed must rot in the ground and be almost obliterated before it can undergo the wondrous transformation that leads to the growth of fresh foliage, flowers and fruit. Similarly, if a person acknowledges his deficiency and makes an effort to seek answers he will ultimately experience growth and spiritual blossoming-even if he must first undergo a degree of pain.

from the book, "Journey" by Erez Moshe Doron of Lev Hadavarim p.26

This feeling of emptiness led many of our to fill ourselves with food instead of spirituality. With OA we learn to address the feeling of emptiness without trying to fill it with food.

A Narrow BridgeWorking with Anorexia

By Elana Mizrahi

I have to admit, I'm easily brought to tears. I don't know whether it's because I'm overly emotional, overly sensitive, or both, but these eyes of mine, they fill like wells in a heartbeat.

I sat before one of my students. A woman who four months ago was living, or I should say dying, on sixty calories a day. Now, with a lot of help, I repeat, a lot of help, she's at her minimum weight, looks stunningly healthy, and has eyes that amongst their sadness also shine forth with life.

At times it is one step forward and two steps backA guitar lay next to her. "Play me something," I requested. Transformation. I saw metamorphosis, thinking back to the girl who came to us four months ago and to the woman who picked up the guitar now.

"The entire world is a very narrow bridge. A very narrow bridge. And the principle is not to ever be afraid." She sang these beautiful verses of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and I cried. I couldn't help myself. My eyes became wells of tears as I joined in with her, "The principle is not to ever be afraid."

A year ago I started working with young women who have eating disorders. It is not an easy job. I have moments where I want to quit. I tell myself, "I'm not qualified for this. I'm not strong enough for this. I just can't do it." My boss tells me, "If you don't, who will?"

At times it is one step forward and two steps back. What do I do with them? I teach them exercise, I do reflexology on them. In between I always share with them a bit of Torah—it's not the body alone that is starving, but also the soul. I relate to them the words of our Holy Sages. I take them to the graves of righteous individuals (tzaddikim) and share with them stories: stories of hardships and stories of survival. Everyone has their story; I have mine.

I explain, "The Sages tell us that the righteous fall seven times and get up." I relate in the words of my teacher, "It's not that the righteous are righteous because they are the ones who can pick themselves up, but the fact that they fall enables them to become righteous." The only way to ascend at times is by means of descent.

I tell myself, "The statistics are not good. The chances of full recovery are slim. G‑d I can't do this, but You can. With You there are no statistics, no numbers. Let me be Your messenger and heal these precious women." Suddenly I feel less afraid. Whatever I do, I am not a failure.

"The entire world is a very narrow bridge. A very narrow bridge. And the principle is not to ever be afraid."

Imagine our forefather Abraham with his wife Sarah. G‑d came to him and told him, "Go. Leave everything that you know and go." "To where?" "To the place that I will show you."

They went and what did they do? They revolutionized the world. Two people. Rashi explains that Abraham did acts of kindness and converted the men while Sarah did acts of kindness and converted the women. What if Abraham had said, "I can't do it. I'm not qualified for the job"?
They revolutionized the world. Two peopleI remember when I was eighteen years old traveling alone in Europe. I arrived in Venice. I saw by the historic synagogues a sign that read, "Chabad. Kosher Pizza." I hesitantly walked in, "Shalom Aleichem! Welcome!" boomed a loud voice. It was not the first time, nor will it probably be the last time, that a friendly voice called out to me in some far-off place. His smile said it all. "What can I do to help you, my fellow Jew?"

Yes, what can I do to help you? I wish I had all the answers. I wish I had a magic wand that would make all the suffering and pain of my students go away. Unfortunately I don't.

I'm not a prophet, I'm not a magician, I'm just a simple Jew with a heart and two hands to extend to another. I'm probably not qualified, but then again, maybe it doesn't really matter. After all, the principle is "not to be afraid, at all…"

from chabad.org

The more you immerse yourself in prayer, the less you'll think about food.

from Lazer Beams by Rabbi Lazer Brody

This applies on Yom Kippur but also the whole year long.

"Why does Hashem care what I eat, there are so many more important things for Hashem to worry about. "

 This morning by Hasgacha Pratis several people made this comment to me.  It reminded me of something I once heard in a Shiur by Rabbi Rabinowitz ztl, "It might feel petty putting a few coins in the Reb Meir Baal Haness pushke and asking Hashem to help you find something, but really its the opposite, Hashem wants us to realize that he is involved in the small things and the big things".

Then someone gave me an additional perspective to why every detail of my food plan makes a big difference,  "It make a difference giving up coffee,  because when I cheat and have a coffee I am moving from the world of eating for my bodily needs, to eating for emotional satisfaction, and it triggers a binge"

We have the power to elevate our food.

My daughter asked a very good questions today. "What gives these fruits and vegetables the zechus to be part of our Shabbos Seudah"  We stopped at a Mennonite Farm and bought a bunch of food for our Shabbos meal.  There only officially sell corn but we asked if they had any other vegetables for sale.  The farmer's wife said that they had such a good crop they could sell us some other things.   She took us to her field and allowed us to pick onions, potatoes, beets, tomatoes and corn. Suddenly, instead of being eaten in a traif kitchen they were elevated to have a bracha made on them and eaten as part of a seudah.