Grapes As I walked up to the tortillas at the natural health food store, I noticed a package that shouted the name Ezekiel. Ezekiel? What did a Hebrew prophet have to do with tortillas? I looked more closely and noticed that the package included this verse from Ezekial 4:9. “Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and Beans, and Lentils, and Millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it…”

The package also explained that the grains had been sprouted before they were turned into tortillas. Why was that so important? And then I remembered the onion. A solitary onion had been left, forgotten, in a bag in the back of our pantry. I don’t know how long it sat there, overlooked—weeks, or perhaps even a month or more. When I opened the bag, I expected to see something moldy to throw into the compost heap. Instead, I found a living onion stretching itself outward with long emerald shoots, seeking the sun.

Filled with amazement at the tremendous life force expressed by this onion, I realized it had produced green shoots, which must have been at least six inches long, with no water, no sunlight and no soil. If a sprouted onion can produce so much life, perhaps the sprouted grains turned into tortillas also could impart a healthy meal—certainly far more healthy than the trans-fat, bleached-white-flour tortillas I had been used to.

During recent years, I have chosen the path of life-giving sprouted grains and beans, brightly colored produce, and sometimes I even dare to eat a small amount of cultured vegetables. I do occasionally eat meat, and I won’t give up my chocolate, but primarily I focus upon whole vegetarian foods.

Becoming a compulsive label-reader, I prefer to avoid hydrogenated oils, any type of corn syrup, and anything I can’t easily pronounce. I try to shop the perimeter of the grocery store, except for herbal teas and, of course, chocolate. When it makes sense to me, I prefer organic foods. For about five months of the year, a local community-supported agriculture program provides our table with fresh, organic produce that’s in-season—vegetables from all colors, including purple eggplants, red beets, leafy greens and plenty of golden butternut squash. This change has paid off handsomely, as I have more energy than I’ve had in years. The vitality of the food has given me vitality.

As we enter the Lenten season, perhaps one idea for celebrating this time is not just to deny ourselves certain foods, but rather to focus on the positive by receiving the energy, the nourishment, and the power of whole foods, so that when we enter into our Easter celebrations, we will feel, in our very cells, that new life we share in Christ.

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