Food Beliefs

I am a believer in real food and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka the Mormon church). 

What does this all mean?

First off, I avoid processed foods as much as possible, and mostly cook from scratch. The reason for this is that processed foods are not only unhealthy, but also expensive (and I don't have a lot of money). Secondly, because of my religious beliefs, I abide by a dietary law known as the Word of Wisdom.

The first thing that comes to mind to those familiar with The Word of Wisdom is what we *can't* have (coffee, tea, alcohol, tobacco, or hard drugs). A lot of people don't think about the things we *can* have, such as...

Herbs and fruits in season (this does include vegetables)

Grains

Meat sparingly

There is some debate within the LDS community about what eating meat "sparingly" means. There are some people who believe that it means eating a vegetarian or vegan diet, and only having meat during "times of winter, or of cold, or of famine." And there are those who believe in only having small amounts of meat as part of a balanced diet.

Personally, I don't believe there's a "one size fits all" solution here, so I encourage those who are concerned about this to make it a matter of serious thought and prayer. Yes, I know it seems silly to pray about your diet, but I say if it's your concern, then it's God's concern as well.

Here is some interesting history about The Word of Wisdom: most LDS people know the story about how Emma Smith (wife of the prophet Joseph Smith) was not happy about cleaning up the tobacco messes from leadership meetings and all that. What most don't know is that there had been a cholera epidemic in the United States at the time, and medical experts were telling people to STOP eating fruits and vegetables, and instead eat tons of meat. The Word of Wisdom was also the Church's response to that--telling people that you SHOULD eat your fruits and vegetables. Pretty cool, huh?

Oh, and there's this neat site about The Word of Wisdom called (get ready for this):

Word of Wisdom Living