Preparing for the Daniel Fast makes your life so much easier when you're ready to begin. There is nothing that will derail you like looking for something you can eat and finding nothing in your pantry except processed foods.

I've been participating in a fast every January at my church for about ten years, and my husband and I chose the Daniel Fast. January is a time to start fresh, and we have always loved both the spiritual and health renewal of this fast.

Spiritual Aspect of The Daniel Fast

Many websites are available to learn more about the Daniel Fast. Susan Gregory has written a wonderful book titled The Daniel Fast: Feed Your Soul, Strengthen Your Spirit, and Renew Your Body, and we found it to be very helpful. You can sign up to receive emails from Susan Gregory, as well.

The spiritual part of this fast is also really important. If you're looking for a good fast for your health, this fits that bill, too, but I can't recommend highly enough that you take part in the spiritual portion of the fast, as well.

One of my favorite ways to read devotionals is through the Bible app. You can sign up for the 21 Day devotional and get an optional reminder on your phone or desktop every day.

As most of my readers are women, I have to add another great resource I've been using for years for my daily Bible study. Love God Greatly is a worldwide ministry that has studies lasting about six weeks.

You can go back and do any of the studies at any time, and it's completely free. This study uses the SOAP method so you can do it from anywhere with the Bible on your phone. It's great for people like me who travel a lot.

There's an optional workbook for each study that I've decided to use because it makes my life easier and supports the LGG mission.

Preparing for the Daniel Fast

In the Book of Daniel, there are two different times Daniel fasted. Daniel 1 says he only ate vegetables and drank water. We're not going to be that strict! In Daniel 10 it says he ate no rich foods and no meat and drank no wine. This is where the Daniel Fast comes in.

I love my wine, but give it up during The Fast, along with rich foods. However, as you'll see, foods that are healthy can also be really delicious! I'm making it easier for you as I've posted breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes.

It's a New Year, a new month, and new beginnings. While keeping to a fast for a whole month may be difficult at times, the spiritual and health reward are well worth it. From experience, I can tell you that even a week on this Fast will be beneficial.

If you decide to join us in participating in the Daniel Fast, you will purify your body and soul. To make it an easy transition, start with a clean pantry.

Get rid of all the temptations and make it as simple as possible to eat healthy each day. I realize many of us have children at home, and especially young children may not like this way of eating.

Perhaps designating a shelf or two in the pantry for your use is the way to go. Rid those shelves of all our "whites" (flour, sugar, salt, and rice.)

Replace all the chips and crackers and sweets with raw nuts, legumes, coconut oil, Himalayan sea salt, raw apple cider vinegar, almond butter, dried fruits, easy grains (quinoa, millet, brown rice) and unsweetened almond milk.

This is a fresh start, so let's keep it fresh with herbs, fruits, and vegetables.  Remember, though, this is not a time to beat ourselves up - it's a time of focus.  Discipline can be tough at times, but be encouraged - we're going through this together.   

I hope you'll leave some comments about your progress. Feel free to ask questions or just leave some encouragement for the rest of us as we take this journey together. If this is your first time here, I hope you'll go ahead and subscribe so you don't miss a post! We'd love to have you join us!

Here are 15 recipes to help you get started. You will love this Roasted Vegetable Soup. It's one of the most popular recipes on my site all year long, and it follows the Daniel Fast.

Begin your day with this healthy oatmeal recipe and I promise this won't feel like you're fasting at all!

I also have a Pinterest Board for the fast where I have over 80 recipes and will continue to pin more. If you have a recipe that works for Daniel, please share. I'd love to try it!