When cold sweet potato skins look good...

you know you're on the Daniel Fast.

For the past three weeks, my parents, Katie, some friends and their church have being doing this fast. If you're not familiar with it, put simply, it just means you can each anything grown from seed. So fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc. No meat, sugar, dairy, or yeast. It was hard the first few weeks, but now as we are in the home stretch, it has become almost normal. It ends on Sunday, though, thank goodness. As normal as this lifestyle has become, I don't think I could forgo all that Super Bowl deliciousness that I know is horrible for me.
     Even though I have had to give up some of my favorite foods, I really do feel great. I've lost weight, which I'm really happy about. I know I've never been over weight, but ever since I stopped playing soccer, I've noticed that I'm just not exactly where I want to be weight wise. But daily runs with Mariah and Katie, and this fast have helped with that. Now I've just got to keep it off...that should be interesting.
    Sanibel has this awesome place called The Sanibel Sprout. It's a health food store, but (my favorite part) also has a juice and smoothie bar. It's been great during this fast because they also make vegan meals like taco salad, lasagna, curry, and soups.
     Now, I don't normally like being hungry (does anybody?) but during this fast, hunger has been a great reminder to pray. Because we're not called to pray once a day, or before meals or bed, although all those habits are good. We're supposed to pray all through out the day.
     And I've also noticed that things I don't normally eat, look appetizing. For example, cold sweet potato skins. A few days into the fast my mom had eaten a sweet potato and left the skins on the plate. A bit later I walked in the room, hungry of course, and promptly picked them up and ate them without giving it a second thought. I also love oatmeal...with a ton of maple syrup and cream. But this morning I had a bowl of it with sliced bananas and strawberries and I actually enjoyed it. So while Mariah and Nathan eat their french toast, cereal, and yogurt, I enjoy my sliced oranges and avocados. Yes, I enjoy eating plain avocados...much to Mariah's disgust.
     That girl is a great encourager, always saying "I'm so proud of you!" "Good for you!", but she wasn't so quick to join the fasting team. We did a girls day out for my moms birthday, and we all orders salads and fruit plate. Mariah's lunch? "I'll have a turkey reuben, fries, and cheesecake."