Is There Hope for Cancer Problems?

Cancer is a disease that has no respect for persons. That means it strikes anyone. I know, as I've recently experience this in my immediate family with great sadness. Baby Boomers are totally concerned with the ravages of this disease.

The question continues to be, can cancer be cured?

More than that, the concern could be, can cancer be prevented? Here are a few articles that give some new information and thoughts on this question. Note the relevance of nutrition and healthy eating and healthy foods as wel as an active lifestyle as preventative measures.

Click the titles to go to the articles:

Proof that Cancer is a Man-Made Disease

The Coming Cancer Explosion

Fast Gluten Free Banana Bread

I decided to try some gluten free recipes to see how that affected my stomach. Wheat flour is the usual culprit for creating that bloated, gassy feeling that comes after eating bread products.

I also wanted to find something to do with bananas that get ripe before I get to them. Since drinking smoothies is slowing down during the cold winter mornings, I'm not getting to my bananas as quickly. To keep from throwing those bananas out, try freezing them as they start to get over ripe. Then pull out this banana bread recipe. The only thing I want to try differently is the sugar source. Right now it calls for raw sugar; but I want to try it with Stevia or applesauce to cut down on the sugar.

I adapted this from Bethany Frankel's receipe from The Skinnygirl Dish cookbook.

My adjustments included adding the coconut flakes, nuts, less raw sugar and more butter! I left out the semisweet chocolate chips.


Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare 1 loaf pan: Cut some bakers paper an line the bottom of a loaf pan. Spray lightly with cooking oil or use a bit of coconut oil on a paper towel and oil the bottom and sides of the pan.

Dry Ingredients
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 cup oat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 crumbled nuts (walnuts/pecans)

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoon butter (regular, not margarine)
2 overripe bananas (makes about 2 cups)
1 egg
1-2 teaspoons real vanilla extract


*Mix dry ingredients
*Mix wet ingredients (I melt the butter in microwave or get it to room temperature).
*Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix well.

Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and cover loosely with foil

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. The bread is very moist. I ususally just check that the top is done.

Cool completely, then slick and serve.

This bread is great with herb tea.

If this is your first gluten free bread, see how it settles in your stomach compared to a bread made with wheat flour. Leave a comment to let me know how you like this. If you try another source of sweeterner be sure to add that too.

Beginning Green Smoothies

The idea of a "green smoothie" may not sound appealing at first. But it won't be long before you're addicted to these vitamin/mineral power-packed drinks.

Juicing fruits and vegetables gets the pure essense of the vitamins and minerals from the fruits and vegetables into your system. That is a reason why the smoothie should be consumed within 30 minutes. It's great to start the day as breakfast. You can take it with you in your travel cup in the car.

Here's an easy start:

Banana
Favorite two fruits (cut up to easily blend)
Spinach ( handful, washed and put in blender)

I put the whole peeled banana in the blender. Peel and roughly chop fruit as necessary. You can put strawbeerys, blueberries, etc in whole. Add some filtered water. I also add crushed ice. Blend and drink. How easy is that.

Be sure to use your freshest fruits and veggies. I'm also starting to experiement wtih frozen veggies as these are also next to fresh because they are usually flash frozen fresh.

To start, get one of those large bags of spinach. Get bananas which are full of potassium. I don't like bananas too much by themselves but they add the smooth quality to the smoothie that makes it like a milkshake. Get used to these combinations, finding out your desired fruit to veggie ratio. Then experiment using an additional vegetable. Next, try new fruits and veggies!

Let me know how it goes!

Big Belly Syndrome

I read an interesting article today about the dangers of having a big belly. It's particularly dangerous the older you get. Apparently, having a large waist will take up to 10 years off of your life. That's pretty sobering as a majority of Americans are considered to be obese.

I don't happen to have a tape measure right now or I'd do a quick measurement of my waistline. Of course I wouldn't post the results on this blog, but I would share if I was "worried" or not at the results. I realize that I'd be in good company if I was. However, as I continue to develop more conscious eating habits, the problem is quickly fading away.

Too many people that have the Big Belly Syndrome and don't know what to do about it. Let me give you a hint about why stomach fat occurs. (By the way, let me put in the disclaimer that I don't know if there is such as thing as a "Big Belly Syndrome"; I just made it up. But that stomach that sticks out past your breast is what I'm referring to).

Let me give you an example of why this could happen. I just went through a 7 day raw foods cleanse and detox of coffee. In that time, my digestion improved, taste buds became more sensitive, food became a new excitement. It also helped me to get over the cravings for white sugar.

Well, I had company over the weekend and they wanted to try the cakes at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, so off we go, four of us ordering a slice apiece of the type we each wanted. I thought I was being good because I ate my slice over two days. Well tonight, I have a first hand knowledge of what brings on big belly syndrome - white sugar.

As of tonight my stomach is growing bigger again and I'm so disappointed. All of that hard work seems to have gone down the drain. I guess I have to confess to sneaking some baked potato chips too. Even though baked, it was too much sodium.

All of this white sugar and artificial seasonings is death to a flat stomach. Don't eat these - I tell you, if there's any motivation to get off of white sugar it's to keep a flat stomach.

Well, I immediately went back to watching my eating and getting off of the white sugar with great results. This is an example of why it really pays to be attentive and think "health" prior to stuffing anything into your mouth.

The questions to ask are:
* Is it worth dying 10 years early just to eat sweets?
* Is it worth being sick?
* Is the temporary taste of white sugar worth a big belly?

Now, I know there's more to the problem than just white sugar. Stress plays an big role in the situation along with increasing the cravings for sugary foods. Managing stress is an important part of managing the cravings for sweets. Being aware of stress is a step towards managing it and the effects it has on your eating. For instance, start charting what makes you go for that piece of cake. It's not just because it was Sunday and everyone was around. It was because of the conversations happening that day, the stress of what was coming on Monday and the result of feeling out of control. Right?

Learning to take control of your health means learning to chart behaviors, recognize them and change them. You'll be more aware although it might take some time to realize that real behavioral changes. More later.

Three Ways to Serve One Roasted Chicken

Busy people don't always have a lot of time to cook but eating healthy is even more important when you live a stressful life. To help with this problem, create a few meals using one roasted chicken you can buy at the store or deli. This is an economical way to eat well for one to two people depending on the appetities involved.

Here's the way to get three meals from that one roasted chicken.

First find a supermarket or deli that sells roasted chickens. These are usually about the same cost as an uncooked chicken. Each place seems to do theirs a bit differently. There's only one market in my area that cooks the chickens well enough to not have to keep cooking them once you get them home. You'll have to experiement to find your right source. If you can't find a cooked chicken, you'll have to roast one yourself. This is a simple process but we'll cover that in another post.

Take the cooked chicken home. Usually, I find the chicken still needs some "doctoring" to be ready to eat. Many stores don't cook the chicken well and some of them are very fatty. So I always season and finish cooking the chicken at home.

First, skin the chicken. I've been skinning all of my poultry for decades so the first thing I do is remove the skin. When the chicken is already cooked that's very simple to do. I do this to cut back on the fat and toxins which are held under the skin. If you enjoy the skin, take off the majority and give yourself one bite of skin so you won't feel deprived and end up eating more than you should.

After making the skin decision, you're going to cut the chicken into pieces with the breast, wing, thigh and leg. Season with herbs and spices and put into a baking tray. Use what you have and what you enjoy as flavor. You can also use some marinade such as a barbeque sauce, curry sauce or other sauce or dressing. Using a sauce adds an additional dimension of providing a type of gravy to use if you want to add a starch such as rice. You can spoon the sauce over the rice or potatoes and pull the dish togehter.

Cover the chicken with foil to hold in the moisture and place the dish in the stove at about 350 Degrees. Cook for about 15 to 30 minutes depending on the doneness of the bird. If it was well cooked already, you only need a few minutes to get it warmed up well. If it was still rather raw, cook longer. You might even need more than 30 minutes if it was really raw.

Now you're ready to create your meals.

1. The first meal can be the full pieces. Use one thigh and leg for one serving and one breast and wing for another for a meal for two people If it's only you, that's two meals already. If you created a sauce, spoon this over rice or another starch. Add a green salad and you have a full meal.

2. The second meal will use one breast and the wing meat. Roughly chop the chicken or pull the meat from the bone to put into your salad for the day. Create your Humongous Vegetable Salad (see the prior post for the recipe) and top with the chopped chicken. Sprinkle some nuts and cheese on top if you want. Sprinkle with your favorite dressing. I suggest olive oil and balsamic vinegar or a splash of fresh lemon.

3. Your third meal will be a chicken salad. Take meat from the leg and a thigh and chop well. Add chopped celery, some green onions, parsley and other herbs to taste such as fresh cilantro. Don't worry about being exact. The use of additional vegetables stretches the meal and keeps it from being just asolid protein dish, so use the vegetables and other ingredients that you enjoy. I've also added green or black olives, paparika, and other seasonsings depending on my mood that day. So use what you have and season to taste. Mix everything in a bowl with a low-fat mayonaise or non-fat plain yogurt. Serve as-is, make a sandwich or put into a salad.

There you have it. Three meals from one roasted chicken. Do you have left-overs still because you're cooking for one instead of two people? Here's a few more ideas.

1. Try a chicken omelette. Scamble two eggs, add salt and pepper, fresh herbs. Add chopped chicken, chopped onions or scallions (green onions)and cheese if you want. Feel free to include other fresh veggies if you are so inclinded. Serve this as a breakfast, lunch or dinner. Add a salad or toast.

2. Create a chicken vegetable chili. Open a can of your favorite beans. Rinse the water off which helps take out the sodium and drain the beans in a colander. Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet. Add onions, chili powder, and other seasonings and spices depending on what you like. You can also add chopped celery and green peppers. Saute until the veggies are a bit soft but not too done. Chop the chicken and add it in so it absorbs the flavors. Add the beans, mix everything in the skillet and heat until the beans are warmed. Adjust spices as needed. Serve while warm in a bowl, add to a corn tortilla as a taco, or use a flour tortilla as a burrito.

3. Just heat up the extra pieces and eat as is!

Keep working with your roasted chicken and you'll start coming up wtih your own ideas about how to use one low-fat roasted chicken to create loads of dishes.