Biblically Clean Meal Ideas
How to Eat Biblically Clean
You've decided you want to start eating the way that Scripture instructs, now where do you begin? Today I want to talk you through the practical side of how you can eat a diet that is Biblically clean.
What is Biblically clean eating?
If you're not familiar with what Biblically clean eating is then see this post. It's not complicated, it's just making sure we don't consume animals that the Bible calls unclean, such as pigs, shellfish, and fish that don't have fins or scales. On a Biblically clean diet you are free to consume clean meats such as beef, lamb, chicken, and fish with fins and scales, as well as all vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, herbs, nuts, eggs, and dairy products.
Once you are familiar with what foods are considered Biblically clean (really Scripture only calls clean things food - it never refers to pigs, etc. as "food"), it's time to clear the unclean things out of your kitchen, and make a game plan for avoiding them in the future.
Clean out your kitchen.
Go through your refrigerator, pantry, and freezer and look for any products containing unclean animals. This means everything from pork chops and catfish to pepperoni on a frozen pizza or a jar of oyster sauce to a can of pork and beans. Then get rid of these items! Set yourself up for success by getting these things out of your kitchen, and only stocking foods that are Biblically clean.
If you share a kitchen:
If your spouse or roommates or parents are not onboard with Biblically clean eating, then you might not have full control of the kitchen and pantry. In that case, do what you can. Clean out what is yours. Maybe you could designate cupboards or shelves in the fridge that are just for your foods or theirs. You are not obligated to cook or eat meals with unclean things. I know a couple that makes two different sauces each time they have spaghetti. One with pork sausage and one without. If your spouse, parent, or roommate wants to eat something unclean that is their choice, and they can make and purchase those things, but you don't have to be involved in that. You can prepare clean meals, or stick to the clean parts of the meal if someone else cooks.
That said, if it's your kitchen and others in the household aren't on board I don't think you should have to compromise. If you are the homeowner or parent or otherwise in charge, then it's up to you to set the rules for your house. You don't have to let ham or other things forbidden by Scripture live in your fridge or home. Clearly and kindly explain the ground rules for the household.
Make a plan for moving forward.
How are these changes going to affect you? Depending on what your diet was like before, you may have a lot of adjusting to do. You'll want to find alternatives for products you'll no longer be using and things you especially enjoyed. Did you cook with lard before? You'll want to stock up on olive oil or butter so you can use that instead. Can you start using chicken sausage instead of pork sausage? Do you need to break an addiction to bacon? Consider if going cold-turkey would be best for you, or if trying Biblically clean alternatives would be a better fit.
While trying substitutes and new things can be fun, I would also make it a point to turn to recipes and snacks that you already enjoy that are Biblically clean. If it helps, make a list of favorites to turn to when cravings kick in or you're not sure what to do for dinner.
Consider how you will handle meals with others.
It's one thing when you're the one making dinner or ordering takeout. It can be quite another when you're invited to someone else's for a meal. How can you follow Scripture's instructions for eating when you're not in charge of the menu?
You'll want to politely let your host know of your dietary changes. A sentence like, "I'd love to come, but I have to let you know that my diet has changed and there are certain things I don't eat anymore." Or, "I've always loved your barbecue, but my diet has changed. Is there anyway we could do chicken or beef instead? I'd be happy to buy the meat." Offering to chip in and bring part of the meal is always thoughtful, or in some cases you might be better off suggesting going out for dinner or inviting them to your house instead.
Or what if your grandma serves ham at every family get together? Make a game plan that works for you. You could go and plan to just skip the ham and make a meal of the side dishes. Or you could offer to make and bring chicken or roast beef. If you're attending a potluck, take Biblically clean things that you will enjoy eating. If nothing else, you can enjoy the dishes you brought and share a meal with friends and family.
Does your office buy pepperoni pizza every Friday? You can see if they'd order another kind for you, or you could start packing your lunch.
Whatever the situations you may find yourself in: your meals are your responsibility. While some family and friends might be accommodating, it is not the job of everyone else to adjust to your new diet. Come up with your own plan; that could be taking several dishes to a dinner party or paying for your own pizza. That could be sticking to eating side dishes at a barbecue or suggesting a restaurant that you enjoy for lunch with a friend.
Change what you buy.
Don't bring home unclean products anymore! Learn to read labels. Get in the habit of looking at the ingredients list for everything you buy at the grocery store. If you don't know what an ingredient is then don't buy it. If you're buying hot dogs or a similar product make sure they're all beef. Watch out for things like lard in refried beans, and gelatin (which is mostly pork-based) which often shows up in yogurt and marshmallows.
Kosher certification labels can be helpful. Common symbols for kosher certification are a K inside a circle or Torah scroll, or a U inside a circle. If a product is kosher certified it means that there are no unclean animals or byproducts of unclean animals in that product. Keep in mind that there are some differences between eating Biblically clean and eating kosher.
Pray about how you can best communicate your new dietary choices with others. Work to do so in a way that is gentle and kind, and not demanding or boastful. I find that if I just share that I feel like YHWH has called me to this lifestyle, people are more accepting and less defensive.
Related posts:
What is Biblically Clean Eating?
Biblically Clean Eating Is:
Eating only the foods that Scripture permits. These include vegetables, greens, herbs, berries, fruits, grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, honey, eggs, dairy products, and certain meats (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, venison, and goat, among others), fish, and poultry. Even grasshoppers and locusts if you're so inclined!
Personally, I want my food choices to reflect all the teachings of Scripture. Not just the dietary commands, but also other ideas like loving our neighbors, treating our bodies as temples for the Holy Spirit, and being good stewards of the land.
What we do NOT eat on a Biblically clean diet:
Pork, rabbit, shellfish, and fish without scales are the main animals we need to watch out for in the modern Western diet. Many other animals are forbidden including alligator, raccoons, horses, tigers, seagulls, bats, owls, and most insects. See Leviticus 11 for the full list, or take a look at this helpful infographic on clean and unclean animals. It's also important to not eat blood, even the blood of clean animals.
-We are not to cook an animal in the milk of its mother. People interpret this verse in many ways from literally not cooking a specific cut of meat in the milk of that animal's actual mother to not mixing dairy and meat at all. I would encourage you to pray about how the Creator wants you to live out this instruction.
-During the Feast of Matzah each year we are instructed to not eat leaven or even have it in our homes. You can learn more about that here.
-Occasionally in Scripture people took what is called a Nazarite vow, during which they didn't consume wine or other grape products (see Numbers 6 for more information). This is an optional vow though and if you haven't taken it you are free to enjoy grapes and grape products.
You have so many choices! Biblically clean eating doesn't have to be ultra health-food where everything is sprouted or fermented. It doesn't have to be traditional Jewish foods. It does not have to be vegan or include weird things you don't like. You don't have to throw out all your family recipes. It can be meat and potatoes. It can be high-carb or high-protein. It can be home cooking and ordering pizza. It doesn't have to be homegrown or homemade. You are free to enjoy dessert and go out for lunch. You can choose healthy options or eat French fries and beef hotdogs. You can make casserole or make curry.
I have several posts of meal ideas for the Sabbath and Biblical holidays that are linked below. They are all Biblically clean and great for any day of the week!
Biblically Clean Meal Ideas
How to Eat Biblically Clean
Biblically Clean Make Ahead Salads for the Sabbath
Enjoy a full day of rest on the Sabbath by staying out of the kitchen with these salad recipes that are perfect for making ahead of time and serving later. These recipes are Biblically clean and great anytime of the week.
Vegetarian Nicoise Salad from Love and Lemons
Greek Chicken Chopped Salad from Half Baked Harvest
Best Egg Salad from Love and Lemons
Classic Caprese Salad from Love and Lemons
Couscous Salad with Lime Basil Vinaigrette from Pinch of Yum
Chickpea Salad Sandwich from Love and Lemons
Greek Salmon with Orzo Summer Salad from Half Baked Harvest
White Bean Quinoa Greek Salad from Pinch of Yum
Herbed Potato Salad from Cookie and Kate
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad from Half Baked Harvest
Lentil Salad with Feta from A Couple Cooks
Caprese Salad Sandwich from Love and Lemons
Grilled Vegetable Orzo with Smashed Feta Vinaigrette from How Sweet Eats
Easy Macaroni Salad from Love and Lemons
Farmers Market Pickled Crudite Platter from Half Baked Harvest
Looking for more Sabbath meal ideas?
Here's my No Stress Guide to Sabbath Meal Prep.
These are recipes to make in a slow cooker.
More great summertime salads!
10 Times the Bible Talks About Clean Eating
Ten Times the Bible Talks About Clean Eating:
"I have given you every seed-yielding plant on the earth, and the fruit trees to you as food."
This is the second recorded thing that the Creator speaks following the creation of mankind. And it's instructions about eating!
2. Genesis 2:16-17
3. Genesis 7:2
"Of the clean animals take with you seven pairs, a male and female, and of the unclean animals take two, a male and female."
The distinction of clean and unclean animals began way before the list of dietary instructions in Leviticus. Noah was instructed to take different amounts of clean and unclean animals on board the ark. This tells us that Noah and his family knew which types of animals were considered clean.
Mankind is now allowed to eat meat. But wait a minute, what was that fuss about the clean versus unclean animals just a few chapters prior? Is YHWH now saying that any animal is okay to eat? Let's not miss the catch here: as I gave you the green plants. Mankind was not permitted by the Creator to eat every single plant that grew on earth. They were restricted to plants that were green and bear seed, as well as the fruit trees. They did not consume every plant, just as we don't eat Kentucky bluegrass or poison ivy. In both cases of eating plants and animals distinctions are made.
5. Leviticus 11:2-8
"These are the living creatures which you eat: whatever has a split hoof completely divided, and chews the cud, you may eat. These you do not eat: the camel, the rabbit, the hare, the pig. Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean."
This chapter in Leviticus plainly lays out which animals are forbidden as food. There is the guideline that the hoofs of animals need to be divided, and they need to chew the cud. But just to be doubly clear we are specifically told not to eat things like camels, rabbits, and pigs. It's interesting to me that eating something like camel or horse is very repulsive in Western culture, but most people think nothing of eating a pig. In many places in the Middle East that thinking is reversed as camel is considered food, but eating pig would be abhorrent. That abhorrence is how the entire list of unclean animals in Leviticus 11 is meant to be understood. If the Bible says not to eat something, then it shouldn't even cross our minds to do so.
If you're familiar with the Chronicles of Narnia you may remember that the characters eat meat on their adventures, but eating an animal that talks is anathema. When the giants serve a talking stag in The Silver Chair it is a major sign that something is wrong; and the true Narnians are horrified. Something similar I've noticed in the dietary laws of Scripture is that the unclean animals tend to be much smarter creatures than the clean. Cows are clean but their intelligence doesn't touch that of unclean horses. Pigs are incredibly smart and I've heard many stories of small-scale farmers being unable to butcher them after looking them in the eyes. My dog is much more intelligent than clean sheep and goats. I'm not saying clean animals don't have their own strengths, but it really interesting to think about.
6. Leviticus 11:9
"Of the fish in the water you may eat any that have fins and scales. If a water creatures does not have fins and scales it is an abomination."
Fish like trout, perch, salmon, whiting, tuna, sea bass, pollock, halibut, and mahi mahi all have scales and fins and are permissable to eat according to Scripture. Fish without fins and scales (such as catfish, swordfish, and monkfish) we are told are unclean for us to eat. Crustaceans such as lobster, crab, clams, and shrimp are also off-limits according to Scripture since they don't have fins or scales.
7. Daniel 1:8
"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food."
Our choices about what we eat can glorify YHWH - or not. Here is a New Testament verse that calls for us to eat in a way that honors YHWH. It doesn't say that anything we eat glorifies him. It is a reminder that in every thing we do - including how we nourish ourselves - we should work to be obedient to Scripture's instructions.
These are just ten passages where the Bible talks about clean eating, but there are many more. Throughout Scripture we can see the foods eaten by YHWH's people fit into the clean category (think of Isaac craving goat meat, Jacob making lentil stew, Abigail taking David lamb, roasted grains, and figs, the lovers in Song of Songs talking about pomegranates and apples, the Messiah serving bread and fish, the Israelites desiring quail). In Isaiah 65:4 YHWH himself is lamenting about disobedient people who "provoke me continually...who eat the flesh of pigs." We don't have to participate in the offense of unclean eating! He gives us instructions on how to eat. And we can see from the above stories that there is blessing for us when we live out those instructions.
Learn more details about clean eating here.
More about Daniel's food choices here.
Peter had a vision about eating unclean animals - what did it mean?