The Daniel Fast Food List What To Eat And What To Avoid

The Daniel Fast emphasizes fruits and vegetables over processed grains and alcohol.

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The Basics
Menu Guidelines
Foods to Eat
Foods to Avoid
Plant-Based Diet Benefits
Vegetarian Diet Benefits
Daniel Fast Benefits
Daniel Fast Concerns
1-Day Eating Plan

The Daniel Plan, started by pastor Rick Warren with input from three doctors — Daniel Amen, Mark Hyman and Mehmet Oz — is a long-term lifestyle program that centers on faith, food, fitness, focus and friends, according to the Daniel Plan website. That’s a big difference from the Daniel Fast, where eating habits shift for a short period of time. The Daniel Plan divides your daily food into 50 percent non-starchy vegetables (think: broccoli, carrots, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes), 25 percent lean animal or vegetable protein and 25 percent starch or whole grains, according to the diet’s website. Fruits are allowed as a side dish. Unlike the Daniel Fast, this plan allows meat, coffee, tea, butter and sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup and stevia extract. While the Daniel Fast requires abstaining, the Daniel Plan is “about abundance, not deprivation,” per the website. It also has a strong spiritual component, with faith as the “foundation” of the program.

The Daniel Plan divides your daily food into 50 percent non-starchy vegetables (think: broccoli, carrots, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes), 25 percent lean animal or vegetable protein and 25 percent starch or whole grains, according to the diet’s website. Fruits are allowed as a side dish. Unlike the Daniel Fast, this plan allows meat, coffee, tea, butter and sweeteners such as honey, maple syrup and stevia extract.

While the Daniel Fast requires abstaining, the Daniel Plan is “about abundance, not deprivation,” per the website. It also has a strong spiritual component, with faith as the “foundation” of the program.

As with any diet, you should check with your doctor before starting this fast, especially if you have any medical conditions.

Fruits, veggies and whole grains take center stage on the Daniel Fast.

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Because sweeteners are off-limits during the Daniel Fast, make sure any canned or frozen fruits do not contain added sugars.

The Daniel Fast doesn’t distinguish between starchy vegetables (think: corn and potatoes) and non-starchy ones such as celery, cabbage, eggplant, mushrooms and broccoli. But if you’re following the Daniel Plan — not the Daniel Fast — vegetables are separated into starchy and non-starchy, per the website.

If simple H2O gets too mundane, add fruit to your water; berries and cucumbers both stand up to being in water for many hours while offering a hint of flavoring.

Leavened bread products like pizza crust and animal-based foods like cheese and pepperoni are off-limits.

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Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about taking vitamin B12 supplements if you’re doing the Daniel Fast long-term, per Loma Linda University Health. Unless they’re fortified, plant foods do not contain this important vitamin, per the NIH. That makes it easy for people following a plant-based diet to fall short.

Talk to your doctor before trying the Daniel Fast.

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Before you begin the Daniel Fast, speak with your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you. If you are on the Daniel Fast and experience unpleasant symptoms, such as digestive issues, skin or hair problems, fatigue or anything else unusual, contact your health care team.

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