March 18, 2013 - Quinoa

Good Monday to you all and praying that you had an amazing weekend. I am still having a time getting back on a regular schedule and 4:30am seems to be my wake-up call. YIKES! But it is a quiet time to pray for the faces that impacted my life on my Thailand trip. So that's good! The publisher for my Devotional Cookbook sent a proposal on Friday, but I am praying and waiting on God for the green light. If we can work out the details, the book could be ready for distribution by the end of the year. It is a journey and at first I was not certain I could walk "up hill" for that many months. But with God, all things are possible. Right? I will keep you posted. For now, I am focused on my work at the church, creating a schedule to allow me to travel and speak more, and being a wife, mom, and grandma. As God opens the door for more travels, I will prayerfully consider each one. I am speaking at a women's meeting in McDonough the last Wednesday of the month. While in Thailand, God renewed my PASSION to see people walk in freedom in all areas of their lives. Jesus came to give us freedom and paid the price for it. It's like this: In Thailand we had to pay the going rate to have the bar girls come to a banquet prepared for them. We went out to get them, paid for them, and provided a BEAUTIFUL banquet for them for one evening. One of their "owners" came and made a show because we had taken his property. He was not allowed to take the lady from the banquet because we paid HER PRICE. However, we had to stand our ground against him and his insults. But in standing - we won. Do you see the correlation to Galatians 5:1. Jesus paid for us to be free, but the enemy will always come to challenge that freedom. Jesus did his part, but are we determined to stand in that freedom regardless of the opposition? It was a super visual for me. Amen! Let's remind the opposition (anything opposing our health journey) that we ARE FREE from this bondage thanks to Jesus and WE WILL STAND and remain as free people. I have been studying a lot about quinoa and have decided to give it a try. It is a starch, but has all 9 amino acids that allow it to break down as a protein. It contains a multitude of nutritional values and has several healthy fats. I have read that the balance of high fiber content and healthy fats actually promote healthy blood glucose levels and could possibly be beneficial to those with Type 2 diabetes. Most of the research also suggests quinoa can help with inflammation in the body. It reportedly does not cause a spike in blood sugar as other grains because of the 9 amino acids. All that being said, I am going to start playing with some quinoa recipes. Have any of you tried it? Does it cause you to gain weight or your blood sugar level to rise? Let me hear from you. Have a great day, PK PS - Lots of GREAT health information renewed in my heart about coconut oil and coconut water while in Thailand. Good to get both in our diets daily if possible! PSS - due to the sensitive nature of the banquet scenario described above, please no Facebook shares. They don't mind us sharing our stories in a group, or like this, but many of the teens on the streets have access to Facebook and we don't want them to feel exploited in any way. Thanks! PSSS - Healthy 4 You Life Group - first Sunday in April (7th) from 6-8 at my house. Bring a friend. Our focus this month will be salads and side dishes. I will have some healthy muffins as well. Please let me know if you plan to attend.