Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen (24 page)

Chapter Thirty

Weight Loss

M
illions of us are overweight, though the standards used to gauge our ideal weight vary and don't equally apply to all individuals. Some could stand to lose a few pounds; others are dozens or hundreds of pounds overweight. Some among us go crazy when finding that they've gained a pound; others don't care.

One thing seems clear—few of us are completely happy with our bodies. Print ads, commercials, motion pictures, and television programs are populated by people with perfect faces, perfect teeth, perfect hair, and perfect bodies. Those of us who don't share these attributes are exposed to such seemingly perfect beings day in and day out for our entire lives. The underlying message is that thin is not only in—it's natural.
******

Weight-loss centers are mushrooming around the country. Hundreds of diet books are launched every year. Millions of dollars are spent on appetite suppressants, aerobics classes, and weight-loss support groups. Millions dream of dropping a few pounds and, more importantly, of keeping them off.

As I wrote in the introduction to part three, this isn't a “diet book.” Most people think of the words “dieting” and “losing weight” as being synonymous. This isn't the case. There are many types of diets: low-salt, low-cholesterol, high-fiber, weight-loss, even weight-gain. The secret for success with any diet is to think of it in permanent terms. A “diet” isn't something that you do for a while; it should be a permanent change in eating habits.

This chapter isn't an all-encompassing diet. If these foods are added to your meals, and prepared and eaten with visualization, they can indeed be useful in lessening your pounds—but they aren't a mystical guarantee of weight loss.

Before trying to lose weight, consult a qualified doctor. Ensure that your problem isn't being caused by a biological condition. Once you've been cleared of such worries, begin to add these foods to your diet.

The basics of any weight-loss program are:

—Eat lots of vegetables

—Consume less fat and sugar

—Increase your exercise

—Never skip a meal

Here are some more ways to lose weight:

Do nothing but eat while you're eating.
Don't read the paper, watch television, or perform any other activity. Sure, you can talk to the person on the other side of the table, but keep meal times for eating.

Don't reward yourself with food
—unless it is one of those listed in this section. “Rewarding” yourself with a hot-fudge sundae is actually punishing yourself. See what I mean?

Don't celebrate with food.
Choose other activities to serve as get-togethers.

Limit the number of meals that you consume out of the home.
It's much harder sticking to any type of diet when you have little or no control over what you eat and how it's prepared.

Eat three large or four small meals a day.
Don't skip breakfast. This has been proven to slow the body's metabolism and can actually
increase
your weight! It also raises cholesterol levels. If you follow this plan, you'll do wonders.

Herbs and Spices

Chickweed

Dill

Fennel

Season foods with these herbs. Dill goes well with green beans. Fennel seeds can be pushed into pizza crusts (remember: no more than one or two pieces per meal). Eat a bit of fresh chickweed before meals if it's available.

Vegetables

Celery

Chervil

Chives

Kelp (all seaweeds)

Onion

Actually, all salad greens are useful in weight-loss programs. Use an apple cider vinegar or tofu-based dressing; avoid dressings high in fats and oil.

Seaweeds, though not commonly eaten here, are wonderful helps in losing weight. Add them to soups and stews.

Other Weight-Loss Foods

Apple cider

Grape juice

Honey

Pickles

Fill a teaspoon with honey. Visualize yourself as a slimmer person. Eat the honey. Do this fifteen minutes or so before a meal. This reduces your appetite and certainly can kill cravings for sugar. Anytime you have the urge for sugar, eat a teaspoon of honey.

Or, drink half a glass of unsweetened apple juice or grape juice to stem sugar cravings.

Eat one pickle a day. This is an old weight-loss idea.

Foods to Avoid

Fats

Fried foods

Salt

Sugar

Is this a surprise? Also, avoid consuming dietetic foods. Research indicates that low-calorie, artificially sweetened foods often stimulate the appetite, leading people to eat or drink so much of them that they don't save any calories. Those “diet” drinks aren't.

Also, all artificial sweeteners are potentially dangerous. Honey isn't nutritionally superior to sugar to any significant degree, but it's less processed, has its own taste, and is available in a smaller number of foods, which limits your dessert possibilities.

If you must eat sugary foods, only eat those you prepare yourself—and then in small amounts.

Preparing and Cooking Weight-Loss Foods

Burn a yellow candle in the kitchen while cooking and eating to strengthen your conscious resolve.

Do eat some sort of dessert, but make it one sweetened with fruit juice or honey. And, once again, eat small portions. Would a four-inch-square piece of honey cake taste better than a two-inch-square piece? Of course not.

Eat slowly. Chew thoroughly. Be aware of everything that you put into your mouth. Affirm while you eat that food is nourishing and good for you, and that it will help you to lose weight.

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Chapter Thirty-One

Other Magical
Food Diets

T
hese are short descriptions of other magical diets that you can follow.

Physical Strength and Magical Power

All foods that lend the body strength also lend extra magical power. There's no difference between the two; there's only the purpose for which they are used.

Fruits

Citron

Date

Fig

Pineapple

Other Power Foods

Chocolate

Coffee

Endive

Flaming foods

Honey

Leek

Meat (lean)

Proteins of all kinds

Rum

Salt

Sautéed foods

Spicy foods

Spirulina

Tea

Tofu

Foods to Avoid

All those that lead to sleep, such as lettuce and grapes; very sweet foods that lull us into a half-conscious state directly after consuming them.

Preparing and Cooking Power Foods

Burn red or purple candles in the kitchen. Sautéeing foods adds to their energizing effects.

Though it's best not to eat directly before a magical ritual, a light meal two hours before the working is fine.

Fertility

Many couples are looking for ways to increase their chances of conceiving a child. If you've both been checked and neither is sterile, try adding these foods to your diet. Visualize!

Fruits

Fig

Grape

Mulberry

Pomegranate

Other Fertility Foods

Barley

Eggs

Egg breads

Hazelnut

Hot-cross buns

Milk

Poppy seed

Rice

Sesame

Watercress

Preparing Fertility Foods

Burn green candles while cooking or mixing. If possible, eat in bed with your lover. And keep trying!

Grounding

When you can't seem to concentrate, when you're psychic awareness is far too open, or when you can't come down to earth, a grounding food plan may be advisable. Eat these foods when you feel lost in a dream world, or when fantasies cloud your mind.

These foods are also eaten after heavy magical and spiritual ritual to get back in touch with the earth.

Vegetables

Beans (all types)

Carrots

Potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Other Grounding Foods

Crackers

Cheese

Cheese omelets

Eggs

Grains

Heavy proteins

Meat

Peanuts

Salt (in moderation)

Tofu

Foods to Avoid

Beer and all alcoholic foods

Flower foods

Psychic foods

Seafood

Sugar

Yeast (raised) bread and baked goods

Preparing and Cooking Grounding Foods

Burn a tan or brown candle in the kitchen. Cut foods into square chunks and serve on square dishes (if you have any).

Conscious Mind

These foods can help us better cope with problems such as balancing checkbooks, filling out forms, and studying for exams and tests. They stimulate the conscious mind.

Herbs and Spices

Dill

Rosemary

Nuts

Chestnut

Hazelnut

Walnut

Other Conscious Mind Foods

Coffee

Honey

Raisins

Tea

Watercress

Foods to Avoid

All psychism-inducing foods.

Preparing and Cooking Conscious Mind Foods

Burn a yellow candle in the kitchen. Visualize your conscious mind operating at peak efficiency.

Luck

“Luck” is an ambiguous term, which is why I've enclosed it in quotation marks throughout this book. Some people believe that they have bad “luck” and want good “luck.” I've defined “good luck” in the glossary of this book as:

“An individual's ability to make timely, correct decisions, to perform correct actions, and to place herself or himself in positive situations. ‘Bad luck' stems from ignorance and an unwillingness to accept self-responsibility.”

And so, positive or negative, good or bad, we create our own “luck.” If you wish, add some of these foods to your diet. Prepare and eat them with visualization.

All the “luck” that we'll ever need is within ourselves. Perhaps eating these “lucky” foods will bring that point home.

Luck Foods

Bananas

Black-eye peas

Cabbage

Coconut

Coleslaw

Green foods

Hazelnut

Kumquat

Mincemeat pies (eat on New Year's Day)

Noodles (eat on Chinese New Year)

Nutmeg

Pancakes

Pear (eat on Thanksgiving)

Red beans and rice

Sauerkraut

Preparing and Cooking Luck Foods

Burn green candles in the kitchen.

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Part Four

Scott's favorite recipes

Chapter Thirty-Two

Appetizers

T
he fresh chives, parsley, basil, and garlic in the following recipe charge this toast with superprotective energy.

Magic Herb Toast

8 French rolls, sliced horizontally into
3
⁄
4
-inch-thick pieces

1
⁄
2
cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

1
⁄
2
teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Cream the butter together with the chives, parsley, basil, and garlic until it forms a smooth, spreadable paste. Spread this on sliced French rolls. Broil until light brown.

Yield:
4 servings.

Magical uses:
Protection.

Halloween is a popular holiday in both the United States and in Scotland, where it originated. Many foods have become associated with this magical night and, indeed, often seem to taste even better when made only on October 31. Foods specifically associated with Halloween are: apples, nuts (especially hazelnuts), ginger, and, of course, pumpkins—the pumpkin is the United State's addition.

Roasted Jack-O-Lantern Seeds

1 pumpkin

Salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F (177°C). Slice open pumpkin and scoop out seeds. Wash seeds until all strings and orange insides have been removed. Pat seeds dry with a cotton dish towel. Spread seeds on an ungreased cookie sheet or shallow baking pan. Bake until a light golden brown, stirring every few minutes for even browning. Remove from oven, add salt to taste, let cool, and serve. Store any leftover seeds in a tightly covered jar.

Yield:
About 2 cups.

Editor's note:
Vegetable oil may be used to grease the cookie sheet to prevent the seeds from sticking to the pan.

Magical uses:
Festival food—Halloween/Samhain.

Most supermarkets and hardware stores sell special Halloween cookie cutters during September and October. These cookie cutters are usually shaped like bats, cats, Witches, brooms, cauldrons, owls, and other appropriate figures. The older cutters were made of metal; today, plastic is being used. No magical kitchen is complete without a set of these cutters, which are used in the following recipe.

Sandwiches

8 slices white or wheat bread (your favorite)

3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 peeled cucumber, thinly sliced

Lightly spread two pieces of bread with cream cheese. Generously cover one piece with cucumber slices. Place second piece of bread on top of cucumber covered slice. Press a Halloween-shaped cookie cutter (or simply star- and crescent-shaped cutters) into the center of the sandwich. Remove the outer bread and discard. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Yield:
4 servings.

Variation:
For children, you can make sandwiches out of any type of sandwich: bologna, peanut butter and jelly, and so on. Warning: these are known to disappear.

Scott's note:
I don't let the outer edge of the sandwiches go to waste; I always eat them.

Magical Uses:
Festival food—Halloween/Samhain.

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