Courage and Tea

It takes a lot of courage to fight cancer.  It also takes a lot of courage to help someone through cancer.  Frankly, there is nothing good about cancer at all, but I like the expression "Have lemons? Make lemonade" and so maybe we can look at it as an opportunity to let things that we love help heal us.

In my family's case, that is definitely tea.  I always say "Tea helps everything" and I truly believe that it does.  Tea is your warm little friend in your chilly hands.  Tea is an opportunity to chat with your friend, or mother, or cousin, or child.  Tea is simply wonderful.

Recently in our lives, in order to reduce sugar, we have all replaced the sugar in our tea with honey. That is a good start towards letting what we love heal us.  My mom and I still put a splash of milk in our black tea, and I figure the pleasure outweighs the negative effects of the dairy.  I personally love Tulsi Green Tea.  Or white tea.  Or peppermint tea. 

The following recipe is one I adapted from my dear friend Ingrid.  Every time you go into her house she has something fragrant and delicious on the stove.   This chai has true health benefits, especially for cancer. The anti-inflammatory benefits of the spices help cancer cells repair themselves.

So, back to courage.  You can do it!  Sit down with a friend and a cup of chai, and let both the companionship and the tea make you stronger.  "The trick is not to rid your stomach of butterflies, but to make them fly in formation."

Holiday Chai

There is nothing better in the winter than a fragrant pot of home-made chai on your stove! The whole house smells of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and general holiday goodness.  Made without sugar or dairy, this is also a very healthy and nutritionally-beneficial treat!

Makes 8 small cups of tea

Ingredients:

6 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

10 cardamom pods

1 heaping Tbsp. peppercorns

2 vanilla beans, sliced open length-wise

grated nutmeg

10 whole cloves

2 inch piece of ginger, in slices (skin on)

1/3 cup honey

1 Tbsp. agave nectar

4 decaf black tea bags 

2 cups oat milk

(I like the deep flavor of the tea, but including the tea bags is actually optional. If you'd like to go tea-free, it is a milder but delicious treat without it! )

-In a large pan, bring the water and all spices to a boil. 

-Reduce to a simmer and add sweeteners. Continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.

-Turn off stove and add tea bags. Let tea and spice flavors meld for several minutes.

-Strain the ingredients into a smaller pot.

-Return smaller pot to stove, add the oat milk, and heat to desired temperature for serving!

Enjoy!

A few nutritional highlights: 

Cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves are all digestion aids, anti-inflammatories, antimicrobials, and antibacterials. Nutmeg also contains a compound called myristicin, which prompts a tumor-fighting ability in the body!

Ginger is also an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, and it also reduces nausea. 

Honey has anti-cancer properties and aids liver function.

Black tea contains relatively high amounts of vitamins C, D, and K, as well as a number of important minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium and more.

Creating an Environment That Cancer Dislikes

I was fotunately reminded recently that there is SO much we can do to create an environment that cancer dislikes.  There is so much evidence & science supporting this.  Once again, we are what we eat.  There is so much we can do to choke and starve cancer.

We can increase the amount of foods we eat that fight & reduce cancer cells.

We can eliminate foods that feed cancer.

In a nutshell, we are talking, eat:
-greens
-onions/garlic
-mushrooms
-berries
-beans
-seeds

And eliminate:
-SUGAR
-animal proteins

These are the major cancer-fighting and cancer-feeding foods above.  Even moving in the direction slowly of emphasizing these foods can make a difference. It doesn't have to be 100%. Maybe 80%. Or whatever works for you, to make the change in your diet in a way that fits into your lifestyle/likes/cravings.

Here is a rocking awesome salad that you can throw together in minutes. It could be your dinner. Tonight. And it will fill you up and make your body so happy.

I always have a glass container of brown rice in my fridge. Getting into that habit changed my life for the better. When it runs out, I pour a cup or two in a bowl soaking in water while I'm at work.  When I get home, I cook it. It keeps in your fridge for a few days, and you can have it for breakfast, throw it in salads or stir fries, etc.  Soaking rice separates the phytic acid from the whole grains (phytic acid makes brown rice hard to digest & absorb--removing it turns brown rice into a wonder food.)

Everything Salad

The amount of the following ingredients isn't really important. What matters is that you use a great variety of foods which makes you and your family happy!

-mixed greens (from your CSA or Farmer's Market is best!)
-brown rice (one ice-cream scoop on top of each serving)
-garbanzo beans (pre-soaked and cooked; or from a can)
-blueberries
-walnuts
-green olives (from the salad bar area of your market, marinated in herbs)
-pepitas
-Gomasio*, shake on top of scoop of brown rice

Cover with dressing, below, and enjoy! This really fills you up because of the brown rice.

*Gomasio contains sesame seeds, seaweed, and sea salt, and can be obtained

Apple Cider Dressing
1/4 cup Braggs Raw Apple Cider vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. raw honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small jar, add the ingredients in the order above, adding the olive oil last and shaking it up a lot.

Sesame Seeds are high in protein, fiber, vitamins B1 and B2, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, and calcium.  They have amazing antioxidant properties, aid in digestion, stimulate blood circulation, and benefit the nervous system.

Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds) supply minerals such as iron, magnesium, zinc, and phosphorous.   They are a good source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, protein and more.

Things I Love

In the vein of good health and overall holistic wellness, and in this time of gift giving, I thought I would share a few of my favorite things...things you can give your loved one and feel really good about.  Both because they are good-for-you, but also because the artistic, visionary people who have created them are good for our planet, and good to support.

Love and Tea
 Beautiful tea and art; grown on a farm in Vermont. Happy in every way.
Navitas Raw Cacao
 The source of chocolate. This is a true superfood.  So decadent & delicious and true health properties.
Cold Country Salmon
 Wild salmon fished by a DC resident every summer in Alaska & flash frozen on deck. Incredible!
Super Natural Every Day Cookbook
 Healthy, inspiring recipes to entice your tastebuds and enrich your health.
Tiny Devotions
 Sacred Mala Beads strung together with a precious stone of your choosing. Powerful & beautiful!
Cypress Sun Jewelry
 Gorgeous hand-made necklaces & earrings that will sparkle your way through the holidays.
Organic India Tulsi Tea
 Tulsi (Holy Basil) green tea is stress-relieveing & energizing, with healing properties.
Larabars
 Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, non-GMO, Vegan, Kosher, no added sugar, and all raw fruit & nuts! The best "energy" bar on the market, by a long shot.
Rapunzel Vegetable Broth Boullion
 This is the best stuff ever. Actually delicious vegetable broth. We are head over heels. Avail. at Whole Foods (a great stocking stuffer!)
Lotta Jansdotter
 Beautiful, hand-crafted fabric & small pieces, craft books, and more.
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
 Heirloom seeds raised by a small Missouri Family. Your garden really will boom and your taste buds smile with the abundance and flavor of these rare varieties.

Eating Organic!

You are what you eat.  It is up to you to choose what food is going to sustain you day after day.  You prepare it; you eat it; you digest and absorb it; it becomes your blood, your cells, your tissues.

When I shop at an organic market and buy a diverse collection of vegetables, fruits, grains, seaweed noodles, kombucha, fresh fish....it makes me SO HAPPY.  I love knowing that my family is putting truly good food into our bodies.

The more I learn, the more I understand how critical it is that we all eat organic whenever possible.  This is important for cancer prevention and especially if you are living with cancer.  For your body to fight the cancer cells, it has to be at its absolute best.  That means digesting food easily and not battling free radicals, toxins, and chemicals that make your body and your liver have to work hard to flush them out.  If you have cancer, you want your body to have an easy job of digesting and using food to its benefit, so that it has energy to fight the tumor and heal.  Organic food will absolutely make that process more likely.

"Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last virgin forests to be turned into comic books and plastic cigarette cases...if we pollute the last clean air and dirty the last clean streams...so that never again will Americans be free from noise, the exhausts, the stinks of human and automotive waste.  And so that never again can we have the chance to see ourselves as...part of the environment of trees and rocks and soil, brother to the other animals, part of the natural world and competent to belong in it."

-Wallace Stegner

Having less pesticides on our growing food is also, obviously, better for our planet.  The cleaner our planet, the cleaner we will be.  Eating organic supports a cleaner water supply; agricultural run-off is poisoning our water, which affects each of us with the water we drink.  If we support organic, there will eventually be less toxins on the land.

In addition to organic food being less toxic and polluting of our bodies and our planet, Rutgers University recently conducted a study comparing organic produce with conventional, and the study showed that organic has a (much) higher nutritional count.  So not only are we getting fewer toxins, chemicals, and genetically engineered ingredients in our body when we eat organic, but we are also getting simply better nutritional value.

Yes, organic is more expensive. But it is worth it.  Think about the long-term health costs you may accrue from eating food grown with pesticides or antibiotics.  Also consider that we only spend 13.8% of our income on food today, compared with 29.7% in 1950.  Food is cheaper, and the quality is less.  And our chronic disease and health problems have increased dramatically along with cheaper production costs.  If affording organic is hard on your wallet, refer to the chart below, which lists the "dirtiest foods," which are the most important to buy organic, and the "cleanest," which you can buy conventionally if you need to.

I love this recipe because, to me, lentils feel filling and delicious, without ever bogging you down.  The addition of the bright, colorful, juicy fruit and vegetables makes this dish a delight. And it is fast and easy, too.  Put on the lentils while you're unloading the dishwasher, chop the veggies, and...voila!  Be sure to use all organic, of course. 

Fruity, Crunchy Lentil Salad

1 lb black lentils or french lentils

1/2 hothouse cucumber, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 green onions, diced

1/2 cup almonds, chopped and toasted

1-2 cup red grapes, halved

2 slices celery, diced

lemon zest from 2 lemons

juice from 2 lemons

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

-Cook lentils, by covering them by 2 inches with water in a large pan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 22 minutes on a simmer

-Meanwhile, dice and chop all vegetables, grapes & almonds

-Pour veggies/grapes in a large bowl, and cover with lemon zest, salt and pepper

-Add in lentils once cooked & drained, and add olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Adjust seasoning to taste.

-Enjoy at room temperature or cold!

I like black lentils for their pretty, delicate shape and firm texture.

The mixture before adding the lentils.

Joy, Happiness, Hope = Healing & Health

What can you give to someone who is living with cancer? You can give them joy, laughter, hope and happiness.

Friendship, family, and happiness help us lead longer, healthier lives.

More and more studies are coming out that show that people who have joy & happiness in their life live longer.  Relevant to this blog, people with cancer who have laughter in their lives live longer, too.


Dr. Bernie Siegel, who has worked with thousands of people with chronic illnesses and helped them live healthier, longer lives says, "You can't separate thoughts and beliefs from your body.  What you think, and what you believe, literally change your body chemistry.  If you have a pessimistic, hopeless outlook, you'll change your body, your immune function..."

I have heard numerous stories through Institute of Integrative Nutrition of people willing away their cancers with deep thought, meditation, or simply strong hope.  Visits from friends or family, happy letters, family stories, music...all these things can bring great joy to any of us, but especially if you are living in the scary shadow of chronic disease.

We have amazing control of our minds and bodies, but sometimes we don't access it all. Without being conscious of it, we tell our bodies to stand up and to walk from here to there.  It's worth a try to tell our bodies to eradicate our cancer tumors every day.  Why not give it a shot, right?  Studies have shown that our DNA may be programmed in to our bodies, but our choices relating to exercise, nutrition, relationships, and the happiness levels in our days can alter that DNA.

There is an incredible woman, in my view a leader in the holistic health movement, named Hannah Marcotti, who runs a health practice called Hannah's Harvest.  She is leading a program starting on November 26th called The Holiday Joy Up.  Take a look.  Have your friend who is going through a hard time take a look.  Even tell your friend with a lot of joy in her life to take a look! It is a simple, joyful, 10-day gift in your email that brings extra joy to your day...and reminds us that joy is a choice and can enhance EVERYTHING.

So, in honor of Hannah and her amazing program, I am featuring a recipe today that she came up with, and called "Squash and Olive Goddess Bowl."  I have altered it a little, and have even exchanged the squash, so I'll change the name here, too.

Noodle and Olive Joy Bowl
by Hannah Marcotti

1 package rice thins (noodles found in Asian section of the market)

olive oil 


1 pint cherry tomatoes

diced 
2 cloves garlic 


1 can white beans (you can also get them marinated in the section of the store where you buy olives)


1/4 cup diced queso fresco


1/2 cup green olives, sliced

splash tamari soy sauce 


squeeze of lemon juice

-Put white beans in a bowl with some olive oil and one of the minced garlic cloves, to marinate while you prepare the rest of the dish.
-Prepare rice noodles from package instructions. Usually you boil water, and pour over your rice thins in a ceramic, glass, or metal bowl to soften for 10 minutes, then drain.
-Saute cherry tomatoes in oil, until tender. Add garlic for one more minute then remove pan from heat.
-Chop the olives and the queso fresco.
-In a large bowl, add noodles, tomatoes, beans, cheese, and olives. Splash the tamari and lemon juice, toss and enjoy.

*Olives are a source of healthy fat, needed by our bodies to digest and absorb many micro and macro nutrients, minerals, and vitamins.  Olives also lower systematic inflammation, which can reduce your risk of cancer, asthma, and arthritis.  The oleic acid in olives also significantly reduces your risk of breast cancer, by cutting the levels of a cancer-promoting gene by up to 46%.


**Beans are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and fiber.  They have a lot of folic acid, phosphorous, iron, protein, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.  Beans not only lower cholesterol, but their high fiber content prevent blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making them an excellent choice for someone with diabetes or hypoglycemia.  Beans & lentils also are preventative against cancer and the Nurses Health Study II showed that eating beans twice a week reduced your risk of breast cancer by 24%.

Approaching Someone with Cancer

My mom asked me to write this entry, because it is a recurring issue for people fighting cancer.

It is an inevitability....you find out someone you know has cancer, and you want to express your support and ask them how they are doing.  Undoubtedly, your intentions are kind, thoughtful, and sympathetic.  It is important to remember, however, that cancer, like any issue with one's body, is a very private matter.

There are a number of people, such as close friends or family, that you would run right up to and ask how they are doing.  Many people who have just gotten this news about their health reach out to others immediately.  They send emails.  They blog.  They tell you all their ups and downs when you run into them at the farmer's market.

Others, however, don't want to talk about it one little bit.  And that is their right, their deserved privacy.

It is a good idea to find out if you can, from someone close to the person, whether they are open about it, or private.  If they are private, you can give them an extra big hug and say, "I have been thinking about you a lot and sending you a lot of love."  Or "I heard from your son what you are going through and I just wanted you to know that I am sending you lots of get-well-quickly vibes."  In this case, statements are better than questions.  If someone asks my mom a question about her health, she says "Fine" in a way that makes you wonder if you had actually said, "I'm going to torture you here for a little while, and there's nothing you can do about it."

If you want to reach out to this person, you can offer help through a letter, or through someone close to them.  You can arrange meals through this confidante, as well.  It will still be incredibly meaningful to the person dealing with the disease, but they will feel like their boundaries were kept intact.

For someone more open about their cancer, you can approach them with equal openness: "I have heard what you are going through and I would love to be helpful.  What can I do?  I hope you have felt alright through your treatments."  If they want to elaborate about their health, you have given them an opening.  If they don't, you haven't asked a question that puts them on the spot.  They may add you to their email list.  They may need an ear.  Chances are they will let you know how you can help.

I like the following recipe for this blog, because it is both bold and snuggled-in at the same time.  It is also delicious.  A perfect, tiny, nutrition-filled meal for someone with a tiny appetite, or a great appetizer for someone throwing a party.

Veggie Mushroom Cozy

24 white mushroom caps, with stems cut-out
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 fresh roma tomatoes
1/4 fennel bulb
1/2 cup white beans
olive oil for roasting

Vinaigrette

In a small jar place:
1 part balsamic vinegar
a squeeze of yellow mustard
a big squeeze of honey
a pinch of sea salt
1 clove or garlic, minced
-Put the lid on and SHAKE until combined.
-Then add:
2 parts good olive oil
-SHAKE again until well combined

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Drizzle & rub olive oil over the mushroom caps (with stems cut out), sprinkle with salt, and roast them, open side up, in the oven for 12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, very finely dice the celery, carrot, tomatoes, and fennel.
4. Mix in a large bowl with the white beans and vinaigrette.  Stir well.
5. Once the mushrooms are golden and cooked, stuff each one with the mixture and serve!

If you have leftover veggie mixture, either have it tomorrow for a salad at lunch, or make additional mushrooms!

***Did you know that mushrooms are one of the top-six cancer-fighting foods?  There is a great acronym in nutrition that refers to the best cancer-fighting diet: GOMBBS (Greens, Onions, Mushrooms,  Berries, Beans, and Seeds.)

Mushrooms are an important part of the human immune system.  They stop cancer from metastasizing.  If you ate mushrooms every day you would reduce your risk of breast cancer by 64%.  And that's any type of mushroom: button, oyster, shiitake, although a mix is best.  All mushrooms contain poly-saccharide and beta-glucan components which are anti-cancer properties.  They are also an excellent source of phytochemicals, B-vitamins, zinc, and many needed-minerals.

Variety

Before I open this blog, I want to send out my thanks to my dear friend Lauren, who named my new blog.  Thank you, Lauren!  A new name was needed, and she provided.  And thanks to the rest of you who followed me here to this new name.

Now onto variety...

I cannot emphasize enough the notion of variety having a positive effect on your health.  Sometimes when I visit the Farmer's Market on Sunday, I want to buy a little of everything offered, knowing that each color, variety, texture, and type of vegetable has something beneficial for my body. I have to remind myself that the market will be there next week, and I can buy something different then.  You can't eat everything good for you in one day, so think of each week as a blank canvas for building your optimum health!

If you like white rice, try brown. If couscous floats your boat, try millet. Crave pasta?  Try rice sticks.  Consider carrots your staple?  Try parsnips. Potatoes, try yams.  Reaching for something different at the farmer's market or supermarket means that your body will benefit from new (possibly deprived) nutrients and vitamins.  This is good for everyone, but especially if you are fighting disease.  A wide variety of  proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals will strengthen your body and make you better equipped to fight disease.

In order to not let things go to waste by buying a large amount of a large variety, buy small amounts.  Grab two loose leeks instead of the bundle.  Use the bulk food bins to buy small amounts of interesting grains. Store your grains, nuts, dried fruits and seeds in jars to keep them fresh.

When I find myself with too many veggies that are on the edge of not being so fresh anymore, I make a gigantic salad for dinner.  Last night: mixed greens, alfalfa sprouts, black olives, an avocado, a handful of broccoli, pumpkin seeds, red pepper, a delicious balsamic vinaigrette, and sesame seeds and seaweed flakes (Gomasio) on top.

A staple in our house over the years is what we call "Japanese Soba Noodle Soup." My friend Rebecca introduced me to some derivation of it probably 16 years ago.  It is very simple to make, delicious, and oh-so healthy, too!

Joining us for lunch, my cousin Lily told me today that this soup reminded her exactly like chicken noodle soup, only more interesting (and healthy!)  That is exactly the point of variety and diversity in your diet: mixing it up with something different.

Japanese Soba Noodle Soup
Serves 4-5

1 package soba noodles
1 strip kombu
6 cups water
3 cups vegetable broth
splashes of tamari (or soy sauce)
1 package extra firm tofu
2 carrots
2 green onions

-In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil and cook one package of soba noodles, according to package. When finished, drain, and divide into 4 separate bowls.
-In a large pot, boil 4 cups of water. Add one strip of kombu and boil for an additional 5 minutes; remove kombu.  Add the vegetable broth and simmer.
-Meanwhile, in a small bowl, cut up the tofu in 3/4 inch squares, drain well,  and pour tamari over it, tossing occasionally to soak in the flavor.
-Wash, peel and chop carrots at an angle. Cut up green onions into 1 inch pieces. Add to the large pot of boiling broth, along with the tofu and tamari.  Cook vegetables in the broth for only about 3 minutes.
-Add additional tamari to broth to taste.
-Divide broth, veggies, and tofu evenly among the 4 bowls, and serve, along with chopsticks and soup spoons.

Raw Foods

Many nutritionists and food researchers believe that going on a raw foods diet can decrease the size of and even eliminate cancer tumors. This requires a radical shift to your diet, and even way of life.

I am looking forward to participating in a 7-day raw foods workshop in January. At that point, I will weigh in on my thoughts on the topic. In the meantime, however, it is hard for me to imagine that it cannot help to be eating an abundance of raw foods. If raw foods consist of 80% of your diet, it will make a huge difference in both fighting and preventing cancer, not to mention making you feel fresh, energetic, and healthy.

Vegetables in their raw form are rich in antioxidants and other nutrients. Live food also contains enzymes, which both help your body absorb nutrients (instead of turning to your body's enzyme reserve), and are catalysts for detoxification.  Cooking food decreases the nutritional value of most foods, and also has a more depleting effect on the body as it uses the body's existing (and finite) enzyme reserve.

Here are some raw foods that you probably already eat, and can increase in your diet!

-Salads: greens, an abundance of cut vegetables and fruits on top

-Pesto, with basil and raw nuts and olive oil

-Crudité: a platter of cut carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, or peppers with a vinaigrette

-Massaged Kale Salad: Remove kale from stems and chop, massage for a few minutes with olive oil and salt.
-Smoothies!
-Bowl of raw nuts, covered in spices
-Sprouts!
-Add raw veggies as a side to an already healthy dinner

Sliced avocado, garden cherry tomatoes, and basil & almond pesto are tasty raw additions 

to a home-cooked dinner of pasta and roasted acorn squash.

Many dishes and meals can be enhanced by adding raw ingredients, and there are also thousands of recipes out there for preparing purely raw foods. A few great links include Raw Guru and Gone Raw.  Both have recipes, sources for ingredients, and helpful information.

(Almost) Raw Pad Thai
Adapted from "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
There is no cooking with this! Simply roast the peanuts in your toaster oven. Otherwise, it just involves chopping and your food processor.

First, prepare the easy dressing:

Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
2 Tbsp. chopped shallot
-Pulse in food processor until well chopped

Then add the following, and pulse until smooth (4 minutes; scrape down sides a few times)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. Agave nectar
2 Tbsp. Tamari (soy sauce)
1 tsp. finely chopped jalapeno or Sriracha pepper

-Add 2 Tbsp more peanuts and pulse until chopped, not finely blended

(dressing can last 5 days in fridge in sealed glass container, if you don't use it for the pad thai.)

Pad Thai Salad
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
4 cups bean sprouts
1 small red onion, or a green onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
half a bag of Rice Sticks (found in the Asian section of Whole Foods)--Optional
1 recipe Peanut-lime Dragon Dressing
-Soak the Rice Sticks in hot water for 10 minutes (if you choose to use them)
-Combine above ingredients

Serve with:
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

Water!

Our bodies are made up of 75% water. Our brains are 85% water. Too often health symptoms we have are a result of not having enough water in our bodies. Headaches, nausea, low energy....before you panic, drink a tall glass of water.

For your cancer patient, I can not emphasize this enough. Many of the symptoms from chemotherapy can be aided by drinking more water. Choosing water as your form of hydration is one of the best choices you can make. Most fruit juices contain more sugar than anything else, and coffee and tea dehydrate you.

Water replenishes your body, and it cleanses you.

We start every morning in our house with a glass of lemon water.

This is an Ayurvedic practice, which emphasizes cleansing the body first thing in the morning, before you have put any food into your body. If you can, drink your lemon water an hour before eating. This gives your liver a little "squeeze" and gives your body the ability to absorb nutrients, and combat the effects of chemo, all day.  I squeeze one whole lemon into filtered water. Your water can be lukewarm, or slightly heated.

Another cleansing way to drink your water is to add a splash of unsweetened cranberry juice. I am talking 100% pure cranberry, no sugar. This is not tasty on its own, my friends, it is bitter. But if you put literally a splash in your water, it adds interest, and also vitamin C, fiber, manganese and copper.  Cranberry is also one of the richest sources of anthocyanidins, which is an antioxidant that prevents infections and has been shown to inhibit the development of cancer, among other degenerative diseases. In fact, it is the fruit that demonstrates the highest level of this compound.

Finally, when your patient is longing for that glass of wine, but just feeling like that probably won't be best right now, it's amazing what a slice of lime and a strawberry can do with water in a wine glass...it just FEELS special.

Reducing Dairy

I love good cheese. And, I admit, I love a tall glass of milk every now and again. But I must say, my love for these things diminish the more I learn about the harms of dairy, especially in relation to cancer. I have delved deeper into the world of vegan cooking the more I cook for my mom and even for my own children.  Some dairy in moderation is ok, but the ideal is to move towards reducing or removing it from your patient's diet.

I have a new vegan cookbook that I absolutely LOVE. It is glorious, inspiring, delicious. I am cooking each and every recipe, page by page. I highly recommend it for anyone fighting cancer, wanting to prevent cancer, or simply searching for healthy, enticing recipes. I find it so very exciting!

Why do we need to reduce dairy? I have been delving into this topic lately, and even studying the report "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective," researched and published by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research. Their studies show that diets rich in dairy increase the risk of prostate cancer, and possibly other cancers as well.

One of the lecturers in my nutrition program, Dr. Walter Willett, MD, who is Chairman of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, addresses the fact that most of the world is lactose intolerant. Westerners are the only people drinking milk. Hormone levels are very high in dairy, even in organic milk (because the cows are often pregnant, and even if not, they are lactating!) and increased hormone intake in a healthy body can cause free-radicals in the body, which can cause cancer cells to grow.

Specifically, these studies show that the hormone IGF-1 has been found to increase your risk of cancer, and accelerate cancer growth. Animal protein is the most significant factor in increasing IGF-1. In your bloodstream, it doubles your risk of breast, cancer, and promotes prostate and colon cancer.  Dairy intake also causes inflammation, which prevents the body from fighting free radicals and unhealthy cancer-promoting cells.  Reducing, or eliminating, dairy decreases the hormones in your blood dramatically, and also keeps your body in optimum shape to fight disease.

So! Let's talk about some fantastic dairy-free meals then!

This creamy quinoa and chickpea recipe will really fool you. 

The creaminess comes from pureed cashews!

Everyday Chickpea-Quinoa Salad, with Balsamic Vinaigrette

In a large mixing bowl, combine all these ingredients:

2 cups cooked, cooled quinoa

1 small red onion, diced, or several diced green onions as a milder alternative

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 recipe balsamic vinaigrette (follows), tossed to coat

-keeps in an airtight container for up to 3 days

Balsamic Vinaigrette

If you have the time, before making this recipe, soak the cashews in water for an hour. Then drain and use as directed. It makes blending smoother and easier.

-In a food processesor add:

1/4 cup cashew pieces

-Puree until chopped up. Then add the rest of the ingredients:

2 Tbsp. chopped shallots

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. agave nectar

3/4 tsp. seal salt

a few pinches of freshly ground black pepper

-Blend for at LEAST 5 minutes, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides often, until completely smooth. Make sure you blend the full time, to prevent grainy dressing!

-Store in glass jar with lid, or use for recipe above.

-Dressing will thicken as it chills in the fridge.

Next time...pistachio encrusted tilapia!  Oooh so tasty...

Fresh Air

We breathe more than we do anything else. Breathing air is more important, and more vital moment to moment, than food or water. Fresh air, of course, is the best.

You may be with your cancer patient at the hospital. Or at home with a garden, or in an apartment building. If your loved one is recovering from surgery, getting outdoors may be hard.

But if you can, get outdoors, every day, even if just for a moment. The fresh air will feel good, the sun will give your loved one needed vitamin D.

A silk screen print of mine...to remind us that birds and flowers will improve your mood and attitude!

If you cannot get outdoors, open a window. Hang a bird feeder outside your patient's window. Or bring in some flowers or plants. 

This is not just about the air that we breathe because we need air to survive. It is also about holistic health. It is about body, spirit, mind. The change of scenery, the feeling of the air, the sounds of the birds, the smells outdoors. They have more value to the spirit than you know. And that makes the body stronger.

The following recipe for me is like fresh, tropical air in your body. It is from Mark Bittman, the New York Times food writer, whom I love.

Jicama Salad with Pineapple and Mint

1 medium jicama, peeled and chopped (or 16 radishes, chopped, or 1 diakon, peeled & chopped)

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 tsp. minced fresh chile (if you have it)

sea salt

1 cup small fresh pineapple chunks

1/2 cup chopped scallion or white onion

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves

-In a bowl, combine jicama, lime juice, chile, salt, and pineapple. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

-Toss in half the scallion and mint, then garnish with the remainder and serve.

A few quick notes about what these ingredients do for you:

-Jicama: High in fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, vitamins A & B-complex, and vitamin C.

-Onions: May increase protective enzyme that helps inactivate and eliminate cancer-causing agents.

-Mint: An array of vitamins & minerals, folate, and vitamin C.

-Pineapple: High in vitamin C and calcium!

Endurance, and Brown Rice

Fighting cancer requires a ton of endurance. Maybe I shouldn't be measuring in tons...it requires cells & cells, days and days, hope upon hope of endurance. It requires endurance from your beloved patient, and of you.

I ask you today to come up with 3 things that can give you, the cancer caretaker, more endurance.  You are conditioned to think about everyone else, but I want you to think about YOU! What will it be that might give you a bit more strength to get you through your week?

- A brisk walk before your family awakes?
- A green smoothie?
- A hug from your patient or a friend?
- Yoga?
- Meditation?
- Journaling?
- Brown rice for breakfast?

Come up with 3 things that you think will make you stronger, and try to fit them into your week. Even if you fit each one in only once, that's a start.

This is a recipe for what I call Brown Rice Goodness. It is my breakfast every day, and it gives me endurance to do all the things that are asked of me: being a mother, a daughter, a wife, a cancer caretaker, an employee, a homeowner, a cook, a friend. This is both a for-me thing, AND a for-your-patient thing. Take care of you both.

Brown Rice Goodness

Start off by making a batch (or a double batch!) of brown rice in the evening. You can use it all week! I love short-grain brown rice. Always use organic!

One trick with brown rice is to soak it overnight, if possible. This neutralizes the phytic acid in the grain, and makes it easier to digest. (And therefore increases your body's absorption of minerals, iron, and calcium, among other things.)

In a bowl place:
scoop of cooked brown rice
chopped cashews
raisins
blueberries (or a handful of whatever delicious fruit is in season, peaches, strawberries)
a sprinkle of cinnamon
a sprinkle of powdered ginger
pour (unsweetened) almond milk over

This is pure heaven. It is better than oatmeal, or cereal, and gives me strength all morning long. It is delicious, and has no sugar in it whatsoever.

I have my dear friend (since I was six-months old friend) Liza to thank for the next recipe. She told me that fresh, homemade almond milk was the best, and she is absolutely right. It is SO easy to make and so worth the rewards. All you have to do to make it really easy is order a nut bag (hold off on the jokes, ladies) from Amazon.  Here is the link.  You can also use cheesecloth in a strainer, but it can be a little frustrating. Try that first and if you like the taste, spend the $7 on the nut bag. You'll use it again and again!

Fresh Almond Milk
1 cup raw organic almonds
1tsp raw honey
2 cups water

-Soak your almonds in water (do not use plastic!) overnight
-In the morning, drain the almonds, rinse them, and put them in a blender
-Add 2 cups fresh water, and 1 tsp raw honey
-Blend. Walk away from the blender. It will take awhile.
-When it is as smooth as possible, get out a large bowl (preferably with a pouring lip) and put your nut bag in it. Pour the almond milk through the nut bag. And squeeze the heck out of it until you have a lot of liquid.
-Store your almond milk in the fridge in a large mason jar. It is fresh for about 4 days.
-You can save the almond pulp to use for cookies or other such delights....let me know if you have good ideas!

A future blog will cover why these recipes avoid sugar and dairy, and will explain why this great breakfast is a perfect alternative to cereal with milk.

I am not a cancer expert....

...but I have been helping someone I love fight it for the last five years. And I have become increasingly interested in nutrition and the role it plays in making your patient feel better, and even help them cure their disease.

I decided to start this blog, not for the cancer patient (although some of you reading this may be cancer patients, and I do welcome you here, believe me!), but for the cancer caretaker. You, the caretaker, are devoting your time, energy, and love to someone fighting cancer. I know how it is. You are desperate for ideas that will work. Food they might eat. And probably a little nourishment yourself.

There are hundreds of amazing books out there, and experts in the field, and I hope to direct you to some of them who have helped my family. Sharing knowledge is a wonderful thing.

Food is incredible. Food is healing, it is medicine, it is comfort. I grew up with my mom's delicious homemade yogurt, fresh fruit, and whole wheat bread. But even with such healthy foods, you may have to change your diet to be eating the best foods to fight cancer.  My beloved cancer-fighter likes to say, "Christy, I have been eating this way my whole life. I can't change my diet overnight," and there is great wisdom in that. Some people can cut all animal products, sugar, and processed foods from their diets and go on a raw foods diet, but that isn't always easy to do.

You can take the changes slowly. We try a healthy snack or two one day, a healthy breakfast the next. We try to cut refined sugar out of our diet as much as possible. We started with smoothies that had whey protein powder, flaxseed oil, tons of fruit, yogurt for protein. But there was often an ingredient that didn't sit right. Now we do smoothies with fewer ingredients, but powerful ones.

Today's recipe (and many day's): Green Smoothie.

Kale is a wonder food. Dark leafy greens are the most missing ingredient from our diet. They are rich in iron, calcium, fiber, folic acid, zinc, magnesium, chlorophyll, and vitamins A, C and E.  If you can get 2 pieces of kale in a smoothie, you are golden. They even give you protein, and enhance your mood! If your patient (or you!) is hungry, instead of grabbing for a bag of chips, try this instead--you will truly feel better.

In a blender, combine:
2 leaves of kale
1 to 1 1/2 cups water
1 frozen banana
1 tsp. almond butter
(optional: for a sweeter smoothie) sliced peach, or handful of frozen mango

After blending for a long time, add a couple pieces of ice to keep it nice & cool, and puree for a moment more. Enjoy!