What would Jesus eat? Bible tells us
New publication offers tips on healthy food based on Scriptures

By Kristen Browning-Blas
Denver Post Food Editor


With a new self-help book out every month, how could a 2,000-year-old text bring anything of value to the diet debate?

Take the New Testament, comb through it for food references, add health tips and recipes, lay it out like a magazine and you have a new breed of an old book called a "Biblezine."

While it's not the first to look to religion for lifestyle advice, the "Divine Health" biblezine repackages the whole New Testament and would look at home on any coffee table alongside Food & Wine or House & Garden.

And that's just how my neighbor Jody Neumann uses it.

"It's a great format. I think the Bible is an everyday book, not a stuffy piece of literature. It's an everyday instruction manual on how to live," says Neumann, a Fort Collins mother of four, who reviewed the book and tested some of its recipes for us.

"Jesus said that he's the bread of life, so for this format to revolve around health and food, it's almost like it's the embodiment of that message," says Neumann, a 14-year veteran of Community Bible Study.

"Divine Health" is published by Nelson Bibles and edited by wellness evangelists Dr. Don and Mary Colbert, who view the Bible as an owner's manual for humans, as relevant now as when it was first written.

With more than 25 publications, including "What Would Jesus Eat Cookbook" and "Walking in Divine Health," Don Colbert says his mission is "to bring health back to the church." Motivated by a 1998 study from Purdue University that showed Christians were the least healthy among various belief groups, the Colberts campaign on television and in churches for Christians to look to the Bible for examples of what to eat.

"Adam and Eve were tempted by fruit, Jesus was tempted by Satan, and now man is tempted by doughnuts and sodas," says Don Colbert. "We go to all-you-can eat restaurants."

"Christians can't drink, can't smoke, do drugs - the fellowship is around food," says Mary Colbert. "But there are clear biblical guidelines

"Divine Health"

about eating."

The verb "to eat" appears more than 800 times in the Bible, according to the authors of "Bless this Food: Four Seasons of Menus, Recipes and Table Graces." "You can hardly read a single page of the Scriptures without running into a discussion of bread and wine, milk and honey, leeks and onions, glistening oil and plump figs, sweet grapes and delectable pomegranates, roast lamb and savory stew."

Luke must have been hungry, because he talks about food at least 30 times in his gospel.
We know Jesus ate bread and wine, but what else did he eat? Jesus would have kept kosher and followed what we call a Mediterranean diet, says Don Colbert:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables

• Little dairy and red meat
Mostly raw, whole foods

• Olives and olive oil

• Whole grains

In "Divine Health," colored boxes connect the Bible's message with headings like "Godly and Goodlookin'," "Scripture Solutions," and "Preaching Health."

And like Luke, Colbert is a physician. The Colberts simply modernized the message to match the culture. "Jesus taught us to be fishers of men. You gotta be wise about your bait," says Mary Colbert.

The publisher hopes Christians view the Biblezine in an "irreverently reverent" spirit, says Nelson Bibles spokesman Cameron Conant. "Our mission is to reach people where they're at. It's kind of what Jesus did - he didn't wait for people to come up to his level, he reached out to them where they were in their lives."

By making the Bible more accessible, the hope is that "people will not just purchase, but read it," Conant says.

Colbert sees the Biblezine as an extension of the WWJD bracelets: "Christians used to wear the bracelets to remind them to think about what Jesus would do. We want to get them to ask that one question before they eat, that will get them to make a better choice."

Denver Post Food
Food Editor: Kristen Browning-Blas
Phone: 303-820-1440
E-mail:
kbrowning@denverpost.com

Milk and Honey Bread
This recipe from "Divine Health" makes a bread that is hearty and light.
Tested at high altitude, makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup skim milk
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar (or 1/2 teaspoon liquid Stevia)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine honey and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until honey dissolves. Stir in olive oil. Remove from heat and let cool. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. (If using liquid Stevia, wait to add this later.)

Add pecans and toss to coat. Whisk egg into cooled milk. (Add Stevia.) Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Beat just until blended.

Pour into a lightly greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 65-75 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Tarragon Chicken Salad
Dr. Don Colbert suggests using yogurt in dips, dressings and sauces, as an alternative to sour cream and butter. This recipe, adapted from "Divine Health"

Serves 6

Ingredients:
• 4 boneless, skinless free-range chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1 cup chopped red seedless grapes
• 1/4 cup lowfat or nonfat plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon tarragon

Directions:
Bake chicken breasts at 300 degrees 20-30 minutes. Do not overcook. Or, simmer in water or broth 20-30 minutes. Chop meat into bite-sized pieces. Combine chicken, grapes, yogurt and tarragon and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Serve with lettuce and sliced tomatoes, or us as a pita bread filling.

Tomato-Cucumber Salad
Mint is one of the "bitter herbs" in Exodus and Numbers, says "Divine Health," but it makes an excellent addition to salads. Parsley is a good source of vitamins A and C, and some studies show it can help fight allergies.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
• 4 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced black olives
• 1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 1 cup sliced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped mint
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:
Place tomatoes and cucumbers in a large bowl. Add the olives, onions, celery, mint and parsley. Toss to combine. Combine the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk well. Add the vinegar mixture to the tomato mixture and toss lightly.

Yogurt Sauce
A great sauce to use with grilled chicken, lamb or fish.

Ingredients:
• 8 ounces yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves

Directions:
Blend all ingredients well. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Really Good Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar)
• 1 tablespoon purified water
• 1 teaspoon tarragon
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• Dash of pepper
• Dash of salt
• 2-3 drops of Stevia (natural sweetener)

Directions:
Mix ingredients in a cruet and pour over salad greens.

Red Snapper with Raisins and Pine Nuts
From "Divine Health"

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pan-dressed red snapper (4 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon rosemary
• Celtic salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar (or 2-4 drops Stevia)
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup raisins

Directions:
Lightly grease a shallow baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Center the fish in the baking dish. Sprinkle it with rosemary, salt and pepper.

Combine the sugar, vinegar and water in a small bowl; whisk until sugar is dissolved.

Then whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil. Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over the fish and sprinkle with pine nuts and raisins over the top.

Bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Uncover and bake 30 minutes longer, basting with pan juices. Remove from the oven.

Spoon the raisins, pine nuts and pan juices over the fish after it has been placed on a platter or plates as individual servings.