Natural Beauty

Lately I've been trying to be more natural. By this, I mean that along with eating minimally-processed foods, I've been using minimally-processed beauty care products. So here's what I've been doing:

For the face:

• Exfoliation = Baking soda + water
• Toner = 1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts water
• Face mask = Baking soda + orange juice, play with proportions until its the right consistency for you, leave on for 10 minutes, then rinse
• Face mask = 1 ripe banana, mashed, with 1 Tbls honey and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse
• Lotion = Coconut oil, melted
• Eye make-up remover = Coconut oil, melted 
• Chapstick = Coconut oil

For the hair:

• Clarifying rinse = 1.5 Tbls apple cider vinegar in 1 cup cold water. Pour over hair after shampooing, then rinse
• Moisturizing hair mask = Coconut oil, melted and combed through hair, left on overnight (put a towel on your pillow first)
• Anti-frizz = a tiny dab of coconut oil rubbed on your hairs and then through your hair

For the body:

• Shaving gel = Coconut oil
• After-shave lotion = coconut oil
• Body scrub = Equal parts coconut oil and sugar, mixed together
• Body scrub = 1/2 cup sea salt, 1/2 cup coconut oil, 1 tsp lemon zest

What you can take from this is: COCONUT OIL IS AMAZING! For everything! I mean seriously, it's good for your face, your hair, and your skin. It's also good for cooking, for your stomach lining/bacteria, for brain functioning. Damn. It's awesome!

And as for a follow-up to the Baked Cabbage from yesterday... what better way to eat cabbage, than with veal bratwurst... Yum!

Baked Cabbage

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try because it seemed easy. It is easy, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. The bacon makes it tasty, but if you're not a huge fan of cabbage, it might not be too awesome. I didn't use Worcestershire sauce, so maybe that was my problem... 

1 green cabbage, quartered

per quarter:

1 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls bacon bits

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

After pouring/rubbing in the ingredients over each quarter, wrap each quarter individually in tin foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

Why I'm dumb...

Today we had "All-Day Graze" at work. One of my co-workers sent out an email announcing that we all could bring in foods for breakfast, lunch, desserts, and snacks; if you bring something, you get to partake in the food. I brought in clementines, a veggie tray, and some chocolate chip cookies.

What I got in return is part of a bagel, a bite of pasta, 2 pita chips with hummus, fruit, a kolache, and oreo balls (we had so many carbs). Only the fruit would qualify as Paleo, but I felt like eating it. The result... by noon, I had a raging headache with an overshadowing of fogginess (so I took some migraine meds), and a grumbling stomach. On the bright side, it's times like this that remind me why I follow Paleo. Lately, I've been losing focus, and today is enough to get me back on track. As soon as I got home, I scrounged around through my pantry and fridge to clear out everything that's not Paleo. I've also decided to give up added sugars again. In other words... no maple syrup, no honey, and no chocolate (not even dark), which started at noon today. And I'm going to do this for 3 months. You heard it. No added sugars until July 26th.

Also, as a result of this "All-Day Graze," some of my co-workers and I have decided to start a biggest loser competition on May 14th. First weigh-in: May 14th; last weigh-in: June 13th. Each person pays $20 and the person who loses the highest percentage of their weight wins the pot (which is at $100 so far). And do you want to know what this means I'll be doing during that time? Whole 30 - the secret weapon at feeling healthy. Yes, this means I'll be giving up alcohol just in time for a camping trip and for Memorial Day celebrations. But if I can survive family Thanksgiving without alcohol (jk, I love you guys), then I can probably survive a month with friends.

So two benefits that came out of not eating Paleo today:

1. Being reminded of why I don't eat foods that are bad for me.
2. Planning a weight-loss competition with my co-workers.

Will power needs to kick in now. I like chocolate. I really do. This isn't going to be easy...

Chemo - Part 13 - Day 16

Have I mentioned that cancer sucks? Apparently the allergic reaction is enough that my parents made a trip to the dermatologist. The doctor biopsied a part of the rash to run some tests. They also ran blood work to test liver and kidney functioning. My parents finished off the day with two units of blood transfusion. They were at the doctor from 7:45-8:40 a.m., and from 10:40 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Yikes. I'm hoping that the transfusion will help and improve energy. At this point it looks as though the second round of chemo will get pushed back a bit. We'll have to wait and see what the test results are.

While we're waiting, check out this YUMMY version of Paleo lasagna. It's delicious! Enjoy!

Paleo Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients

2 zucchini, sliced
1 lb grass-fed ground beef

Macadamia Nut Cheese

• 2 cup macadamia nuts
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 2 Tbls of water

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water for 1 hour
• 2 Tbls olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large can of tomato sauce
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 3/4 head of broccoli, chopped to ~1" pieces
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 4 carrots, diced
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp fresh basil, chiffonaded
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Macadamia Nut Cheese

1. Dump the nuts into a food processor and run until the macadamia nuts are fully ground. 

2. Mix in the lemon, salt, oregano, basil, and parsley.

3. Add in the water 1 Tbls at a time. The mixture should become slightly sticky and look a bit like ricotta cheese.

Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.

2. Add the onions and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and cook for 30 minutes until the broccoli and other veggies are slightly soft.

Paleo Zucchini Lasagna

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Use a mandolin slicer to cut the zucchini into thick slices.

3. Place one layer of the zucchini slices at the bottom of a greased 8"x8" square pan

4. Spread out a ~ 1 cup of the Sun-dried Tomato Pasta Sauce and top with ground beef. Spread out some of the Macadamia Nut Cheese on top of the ground beef.

5. Repeat the layers, finishing with the pasta sauce.

(You can also use small Corningware if you have leftovers like me.)

6. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven. Let cool for a bit, then devour!

Chemo - Part 12 - Day 11

Today I had an interesting conversation with my co-workers. We started with the question of when Google was created. I guessed it was late 1990s, but had to google "Google" to find that it was founded on Sep 4, 1998. We then progressed to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, the latter of which reminded me of a process department meeting where my manager's manager said that our HR department will know if you update your resume on LinkedIn and start looking at other jobs. Yikes. "Private eyes... they're watching you" (Thank you Hall and Oates). So of course we moved to the topic of job searches and making sure you don't post your college party photos on Facebook, which led to a conversation about fraternity parties and a discussion about Greek Tug and back to fraternity parties. Because GT fraternity parties often had police officers checking ID at the door, we then started discussing the drinking age versus the age you'd need to be to buy a gun. The result of this conversation... Lawmakers don't want you to be drunk when you have a gun. Sounds pretty solid to me. So, summary of the day: Founding of google leads to "don't drink and shoot."

Now for the chemo update: The rash that I mentioned yesterday has spread, enough so that my parents called the oncologist and were told to come in to get it checked out. So it seems unlikely that it's just a heat rash. So add steroid, benadryl, pepcid, and a topical cream to the list of drugs that need to be taken daily. I believe that brings the grand total of daily pills (excluding vitamins) to 9. And for someone who hates taking pills because of how it affects the mind, it's not good news at all. I have a not so pleased parent.

Also, the current blood chemistries have dropped further than what it was before chemo. Here's the current levels with the normal levels in parentheses:
white blood cells: 1.8 (3.8-10.8)
platelets: 62 (153-379) -- [this was at 96 before chemo]
red blood cells: 2.34 (3.75-5)

And for more disappointing news, the doctor today said that because there was bone pain as a result of this first round of chemo, there will be more bone pain with the next round of chemo.

Here's the results of a recipe I found via pinterest at 3.2.1.Paleo, that I tweaked a bit.

Paleo Pumpkin Brownie Swirl

Brownie Batter
8 oz chopped walnuts
1 cup creamy almond butter (no added salt)
1 egg
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 Tbls vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup chocolate chips

Pumpkin Batter
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 1/2 Tbls cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup almond flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Dump the walnuts into a food processor and run until the walnuts become creamy, like almond butter.
3. Mix all of the brownie batter ingredients into one bowl, and mix the pumpkin batter ingredients into another.

It even looks like non-Paleo brownie batter.

4. Spread the brownie batter into a coconut-oil greased 13"x9" pan. Put spoonfuls of pumpkin batter across the top of the brownie batter. Grab a knife and drag the knife through the pan to mix up the batters and create your swirl.

5. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing.
After it bakes:

And here's what happens after it cools.

Chemo - Part 11 - Day 10

Well, there's good and bad news today about the chemo recovery. The good news: "Feeling more human." The bad news: A rash has developed on the face and chest, and was spreading a little. It's possible that it's a heat rash resulting from being feverish (so a side effect of a side effect) or if it's a side effect of the chemo itself. My parents haven't called the doctor yet, but if it's not better by morning, I'm calling the doctor myself.

I've been busy today after work, doing grocery shopping and cooking. Those recipes will come soon. In the meantime, I had found and tried out a recipe for pear sorbet here: http://rikishore.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-all-of-my-favorites-in-one-meal/. Because I don't have an ice cream maker, I made granita instead.

Ginger Pear Granita

3 ripe pears, cubed

2 tsp ginger, sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

1 cup water

1 tsp vodka (to prevent freezer burn)

Put the pears, ginger, and 1/2 cup water in a large pan over medium heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the ginger slices, then transfer to a food processor. Run until smooth. Mix in the water and vodka. Transfer to a tupperware and place in the fridge until cool. Once chilled, transfer to the freezer. Stir every 30 minutes, until the mixture looks like icy flakes (see below).

This dessert is yummy, sweet, and good for nausea. Yay ginger! It also helps with mouth sores and difficult swallowing. Who knew eating yummy things could be so good for you? I mean, besides everyone who follows Paleo that is...

Chemo - Part 10 - Day 9

Well folks, I'm beat. I've been up since 4:24 am Texas time (5:24 in Atlanta). I went to bed after scrambling to hold one of the dogs over the toilet as it threw up, and woke up with carting the same dog to the trash can in my room so that he didn't get sick on the bed. I took the dogs out, finished packing my car, ate scrambled eggs with my parents, and was on the road by 6 am CST. I powered through 1.5 L of water and 4 cans of Diet Coke while I spent over 12 hours today driving back West. (Given that I don't usually consume caffeine, that amount of soda is enough to keep me wide awake for a long drive on endless highways.)

After deciding that there's no way that I'd be able to convince myself to leave my apartment after unpacking my car to go buy food, I stopped in at my local Whole Foods to pick up some pre-cooked meat for dinner. I finally got back to my apartment at 6:20 pm CST, and then managed to completely unload the groceries, cooler, rowing machine (erg), a couple boxes of old books from high school (including all of my high school yearbooks), a box of wine glasses and two pillows my parents gave me for Christmas, a bag of shoes, a potted plant, my suitcase, a duffel bag of shoes, my backpack, a case of Kopparberg cider, and a couple other bags of sundries. All in my apartment by 6:45. Phew. My erg is currently sitting in a corner of my bedroom, and all of my clothes are unpacked and toiletries put away.

Enough about me. Today was apparently a day of sleeping back in Atlanta. I think, overall, the aches and pains are a bit better, though a lingering headache has been today's biggest annoyance. I'm hoping today is a good sign. Sleep is good. It gives your body time to rest and attempt to repair itself. Maybe by resting today, tomorrow will be better. Fingers crossed.

This is another recipe from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen. This vegetable dish helps with constipation as well as general nutrition. Plus, the ginger can help a bit with nausea. If made according to the instructions, the serving contains 50 calories, 2.5 g of fat (0.4 g saturated fat, 1.7 g mono-unsaturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 2 g fiber, 195 mg sodium. It can last for 3-5 days in the fridge.

Shredded Carrot and Beet Salad

2 Tbls freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp EVOO

1/2 tsp freshly minced ginger

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded

1 cup beet, peeled and shredded

2 Tbls mint, chopped (optional)

1. Mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, EVOO, ginger, and sea salt in a bowl.

2. Pour half of the dressing over the carrots and toss to cover evenly. In a separate bowl, do the same thing with the beets.

3. Mix together and serve.

If you're going to store this in the fridge, I'd recommend keeping them in separate containers because the color of the beets may end up overwhelming the carrots. But if you're lazy and don't care if there's color bleeding, just go ahead and put it in the same gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

Chemo - Part 9 - Day 8

This morning I woke up at 5 am to get ready to drive back to Texas. I took the dogs outside and continued to pack up my car. At around 5:45 am, my parent walked into the hallway and was not looking so good, so we made the decision for me to stay in Atlanta for an extra day. I brought my suitcase back into the house, headed up to my old bedroom, and climbed back into bed. I didn't go back to sleep though. Maybe because of the lack of sleep, we haven't done too much today. I've been trying to catch up on work emails from the past week. Unfortunately my mailbox is so full that I can't even send emails. No good.

On the bright side, today was better than the previous two days. Things get worse as the day goes on though. Maybe it's just because of getting tired throughout the day, despite a few naps/lie-downs. We did go for a short walk today (just part of the way down our street), so that's really good! And we've been pushing fluids today (I even managed to gulp down over 5 L of water), which is almost always recommended by doctors for well, almost everything.

I was out of the house for a little while this evening. I met up with my friend Darby for gluten-free pizza at Mellow Mushroom (Yes, this is the place I rave about every once and a while!). Then, I swung by LF's house to return the dress that she let me borrow for Steeplechase on Saturday. In the two hours that I was gone, we hit a fever of 101.5 F and were applying ice packs and cold washcloths to cool down. When I last checked about 5 minutes ago, the temperature was down to 98.7 F.

The plan is to return to Texas in the morning. So let's hope all goes well tonight. And to finish off, here's part of the results from my day of cooking and cleaning on Sunday...

Chicken Broth
2 chicken carcasses (from 5-lb chickens)
1 onion, cut into eighths, and layers peeled apart
5 carrots, scrubbed, peeled, and cut into ~ 2" pieces
4 stalks celery, scrubbed and cut into ~2" pieces
10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
4 cloves garlic, peeled, but whole
sprinkle with black pepper
water



1. If you have a whole roasted chicken, pull the meat from the bone and save for a different recipe. It's fine if some meat remains on the bones. Place the bones in your slow-cooker.

2. Toss in the chopped veggies and seasonings.

3. Fill water up to the brim of the slow cooker. Cover and set on low for 8 hours. Stir occasionally.

4. Use a large strainer to remove the bones, veggies, and herbs. Then pour through a cheese cloth to remove all of the little remaining bits.

5. Cool in the fridge before attempting to freeze.

Chicken broth is good for constipation, dehydration, fatigue, nausea, sore mouth, and difficulty swallowing. It's easy for your body to digest and is generally rich in minerals since it's made from bones. For that reason, it also provides iron.

Chemo - Part 8 - Day 7

Let's start with an update on the chemo recovery. Things aren't going so well right now. The bone pain has spread, so there's a constant whole-body ache. Additionally, we had a short period of nausea such that we were positioning a trash can close by, as well as placing an ice pack on the back of the neck as well as a cold washcloth on the face. It passed, but came with cold sweats so that a fresh shirt needed to be grabbed and we layered on two blankets and used a heating pad to warm up. Nausea, bone pain, and headaches are terrible on their own. Combine them and it's misery.

One of the families that lives on my parents' street is vegetarian, so when they decided to help out my parents by providing food, they provided vegetarian dishes. When my parent had surgery back in January, our neighbor made the following soup. My parents had told her how I enjoy cooking, so she provided the recipe and all of the necessary ingredients. Because of the black beans used for protein instead of meat, this dish isn't Paleo, but it is a good option when recovering from chemo. This recipe comes from The Voluptuous Vegan, page 36. There are a few differences based on the proportions that I used, but it's basically the same

Colombian Black Bean Soup

2.5 cups dried Michigan black beans, soaked overnight

1 jalapeno pepper

1 dried chipotle pepper or habanero chile

6 cups water

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 Tbls olive oil

1/2 green pepper. finely diced

1 stalk celery, finely diced

1 onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbls freshly squeezed orange juice

3 Tbls freshly squeeze lime juice

Salt and pepper

Cilantro (optional)

1. Drain the soaked beans. Put in a large pot with the peppers and water. Boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for an hour, until beans are tender.

2. Remove the pepper. Remove 1 1/2 cups of beans and 1 cup of the cooking liquid to a blender, blending until smooth. Return the purée to the pot.

3. Toast the cumin seeds in a small, dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Grind the seeds to a powder with a mortar and pestle or electric spice grinder.

4. Warm the olive oil in a medium pan. Saute the onions and garlic over medium-low heat for 7 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the cumin, green pepper, and celery, cooking for 5 more minutes until smooth.

5. Transfer the sautéed veggies to the pot. Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and a little bit of black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

6. Stir in orange and lime juice. Season to taste.

7. Serve with chopped cilantro and orange and lime pieces.

Chemo - Part 7 - Day 6

Today I went to the Atlanta Steeplechase for my friend's birthday. It's bright and very colorful. I didn't see a single horse, but I did see a lot of our tailgate. LF told me after the event that she saw me getting my flirt on... I do miss my fraternity boys - there's not as many within my social circle in Houston. There were four of us that are gluten-free, so we stuck with cider. And there's a liquor store in Atlanta which carries my favorite cider, Kopparberg, so we drank a fair amount of that. Her younger brother, who we used to torment when we were growing up, and his friends planned the gathering, and it was a lot of fun. I recommend that you go if you get the opportunity. A similar upcoming event is the Kentucky Derby. Celebrate this fact.

While I was gone, my parents stayed at home dealing with the repercussions of chemo. I feel guilty that I wasn't there to help out. The bone pain that I mentioned yesterday was worse today. The pain has extended from one shin and one shoulder to both shins and shoulders. And there's not anything that I can do about it.

On the bright side, our neighbors made DELICIOUS pork loin with grilled asparagus for us for dinner. OMG! I would eat that pork all day, everyday. And he sought to make sure that I could eat it with my funny diet. It was wonderful. I plan on chasing him down to get the recipe tomorrow.

Last week one of my family's other neighbors brought us some kale from the DeKalb Farmers Market (yet another instance of my family's support system). She had bought some dinosaur kale, which I had never seen before. But when I was flipping through The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen, one of the many cookbooks I borrowed from the library, I found a recipe that called for dinosaur kale. So yesterday afternoon when we got back from chemo, I decided to give it a try. Here's the recipe (found on page 89):

Kale with Sweet Potatoes and Pecans

2 Tbls olive oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 sweet potato, peeled and finely diced (~1 1/3 cup)
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup bone broth
5 cups dinosaur kale, washed, stems removed, and chopped into bite-size pieces
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 Tbls golden raisins
1/4 tsp maple syrup
chopped pecans for garnish

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the ginger and cook for roughly 30 seconds, until just aromatic.

2. Add the sweet potato, cinnamon, and bone broth, and cook for 1 minute.
3. Toss in the kale, salt, and raisins, cooking for about 5 minutes, until the kale turns dark green and the sweet potato is soft.
4. Stir in the maple syrup and remove from heat.
5. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the kale and serve.

According to the cookbook, kale is like a "twenty-four-hour pharmacy." Kale contains "phytochemicals that attack cancer." So go eat some kale. It's good for you!

Chemo - Part 6 - Day 5

It was our last day of cladribine! Thankfully we've survived the first 5 days of chemo without any major issues. Overall the side effects have been tiredness, nausea, and a fogginess in the head, but we've attributed that last one to the anti-nausea meds. When I was talking about the fogginess with a few friends last night, we discussed how one of my friends thinks that the anti-nausea medications generally just makes you tired so you sleep through the nausea and wake up after it passes. I can see that being true. It's kind of the same way with migraine medications, though I'm not sure if it's the medication or the migraine that actually makes me pass out and sleep through the worst part of the migraine. I'd say that I'd experiment with it, but when I have a migraine, testing to see if I can stay awake through it is the last thing on my mind.

Some bone-deep leg pain has also kicked in. I think that's the hardest thing we've dealt with so far. We've tried ice packs, but I don't think there's anything to do for bone pain, besides maybe pain killers? Suggestions, anyone?

Anyways, I appreciate all of the well wishes we've received. It makes me relieved to know that my family has a good support system here in Atlanta. I won't worry as much when I head back to Texas. Our next-door neighbor called earlier today to see when he could bring some grilled goodies for us. And some other family friends have already offered to help out with the transportation to the future chemo treatments.

Last night, I went to Leon's Full Service in downtown Decatur. I ordered the Chicken Sausage, with charred scallion, ginger, baby bok choy, green curry, and fried shallot pickles. It was really yummy. And I had the Bitter in a Bottle cocktail. Go there and try it.

Though I think my friend LF got the best option: Bacon in a Glass, with a side of peanut butter.

Here's another banana-based dessert that I baked last night. It has a very strong banana taste, so if you're like my dad and don't like bananas, then don't make this. I know, it's a really complicated concept... Don't make something you don't like? Go figure.

Two-Way Banana Bread

5 frozen bananas, peeled

6 pitted dates

4 eggs

2 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup almond flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Put the dates into the food processor and run until the dates have been broken up into little chunks.

3. Cut up the frozen bananas into a separate bowl. Mash the bananas with a fork (you could also put these into the food processor and use that instead of the manual effort needed to mash the bananas with a fork).

4. Mix with the dates.

5. Whisk the eggs, then stir into the banana/date mixture. Add in the rest of the ingredients in order, stirring after each one is added.

6. Transfer to two coconut-oil greased loaf pans.

7. In one pan, stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips. In the other pan, mix in dried or fresh fruit. I used dried blueberries and dried cherries.

8. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the loaves cool completely before trying to remove from the pans.

Cherry/Blueberry

Chemo - Part 5 - Day 4

Today was a bit rougher than the past three. The nausea that is so often associated with chemo finally had a bit of an effect. It wasn't terrible, but feeling even the slightest bit nauseated isn't pleasant for anyone, and it's hard to watch someone you love feel bad, especially when there's nothing you can do to make it go away. Gingerale and Saltine crackers seem to work well for my family members for nausea though.

While we were at the doctor today, one of our family friends stopped by. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 9 years ago and was told he wouldn't last for more than a few months. 9 years later, almost 70 years old, he's still proving them wrong. During all this time he has never gone into remission, in other words he has been undergoing chemo treatments for the past 9 years! He and his wife live on a farm, so he does a lot of work outdoors. He was telling us today that he's in the middle of building a new fence for his berry garden. They also raise horses, pigs, etc. I find his story of fighting cancer incredibly impressive.

The reason why I mention this is that the oncologist believes that the hairy cell leukemia (HCL) didn't have as much of an effect over the years because my family has been so active and healthy. Our family friend was the same way. Doctors didn't think that he would live for more than a few months, but he was in such good physical condition from years of physical activity in the form of manual labor on his farm, that he was able to outlive their diagnosis. How I interpret this is that YOU NEED TO WORKOUT. It is vital that you stay physically active and healthy. Your body will thank you for it.

Now for a subject change... the last time that I visited my parents, my mom had a bunch of bananas that she threw out because they had gotten too soft. I told her to freeze them next time so that I could use them for desserts. When I got back last weekend, I found 11 bananas in the freezer. So, what's a Paleo girl to do but make Paleo ice cream?

Paleo Ice Cream

2 frozen bananas, peeled
1 Tbls cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla

Peel the bananas and cut into smaller chunks. Place the frozen banana chunks into a food processor and run until smooth. Mix in the cocoa powder and vanilla. Voila! You have the easy Paleo version of ice cream. (Alternatively, if you had a ice cream maker you could make ice cream using coconut milk, however, I am lacking in that department.)

Chemo - Part 4 - Day 3

Sometimes the cladribine causes a burning sensation in your veins, in particular at the IV site. And what does the doc give you for this? Pepcid. Yes, as in the heartburn medication. I guess the Pepcid "coats" the veins. Rather interesting, if you ask me. And in case you were wondering, things are still going well for us. This is what I made after coming home from the doctor's office yesterday.

Pork Loin in a Mustard-White Wine Sauce

3 lb pork loin (or 3 1-lb loins)
2 Tbls olive oil
1 cup dry white wine (Chardonnay)
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Rinse the pork, then remove the silver skin (the shiny silvery looking part of the pork), and season that bad boy with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet (preferably one that can go into the oven). Once the oil is shimmery, add the pork. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, 8-10 minutes total, to brown the pork.

While the pork is cooking, whisk together the mustard and wine. When the pork has been browned on all sides, add the mustard-wine mixture to deglaze the pan. Stir a bit and make sure that the pork has been coated. Transfer the whole skillet to the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

If you don't have an oven-ready skillet, just transfer the pork and sauce to a baking dish before putting into the oven. The baking dish may take a few more minutes to cook because it wasn't already hot when you put it in the oven.

Once cooked through, transfer to a plate and cover with tinfoil, letting the pork sit for 10 minute. Slice and serve with the sauce.

Chemo - Part 3 - Day 2

Today was pretty similar to yesterday's visit to the doctor, except that we got an actual room and I knitted instead of blogging. Yes folks, I knit. I find it relaxing. We were only at the doctor for two and a half hours today. I guess things go faster once you get the procedure down. Things are going well so far - a bit more tired, but overall still staying active (we took the dogs for two walks today - the dogs are out cold right now because they're so worn out). Fingers crossed that things continue to go well.

Now to food... While I was at Whole Foods the other day I picked up a chicken to cook and make chicken broth out of (recipe to come). Because my co-worker BA was so unhappy with me for using a whole chicken to make my last chicken broth instead of using just the bones, I decided to follow his advice and roast the chicken first. Here's what I did for the roast chicken:

Roast Chicken

1 5-lb chicken
Inside the chicken
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 lemon, cut in half
1 head garlic (yes, the whole head), with the outer layers peeled and cut in half
Outside the chicken
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Tbls olive oil
1 onion, sliced (~3/8" thickness)
6 carrots, cut into large chunks
2 bags of Brussels sprouts, rinsed and trimmed
1 bulb fennel
Both inside and outside
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Remove the giblets/whatever they're called from the inside of the chicken. Rinse both the inside and outside of the chicken, and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper inside the chicken. Stuff the chicken with the thyme, lemon, and garlic. Use kitchen string/twine to tie the legs together, or use something like the metal prongs that I found in one of my parents' kitchen drawers to skewer the poor thing closed. Rub the outside of the chicken with olive oil so that the chicken is thoroughly coated, then rub with salt and pepper. Don't be stingy.

Spread the carrots, Brussels sprouts, onion, fennel, and thyme in the roasting pan. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make a hole in the center of the veggies and position the chicken in the opening. Place the roasting pan in the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the inside of the chicken reaches 170 F with a meat thermometer.

Remove the chicken from the roasting pan and transfer to a platter, covering with tinfoil. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Then cut and serve. It's so yummy!

I also want to point out that this is the first time that I've ever cooked a whole chicken. Or whole anything for that matter. The last time I had to deal with a whole raw bird was Thanksgiving three and a half years ago. My parents had come out to Texas with the dogs to celebrate with me. My mom took charge of the bird and called me over to help out at the sink. I tried. I really tried, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't reach inside to pull out the giblets and whatnot. I actually shrank away... I was too chicken (yes, that horrible pun was intended).

However, thanks to Paleo and my need to eat meat, I've learned to handle raw meat, in particular raw poultry (I'm still working on fish). So when I roasted this chicken, I passed with flying colors, though I washed my hands like 15 times over the course of prepping the chicken. So I'm a bit crazy about germs right now... or technically always... it just means that I'm a safe chef, right? You're welcome, kitchen counters and bottle of olive oil for keeping you clean.