W30D15

I woke up this morning and decided that I wanted to fast today. At the time of this post, I'll have gone without food for 27 hours. I don't know all of the reasons why, but I always feel GREAT when I fast. I have no stomach issues, no headaches, and consistent energy levels. I even worked out tonight. I did 45 minutes on my rowing machine and then spent 15 minutes doing yoga stretches and working on inversions (a.k.a. head stands).

I really need to research fasting some more, because as great as I feel now, not eating for extended periods of time is just not going to work for me. So I need to figure out what it is that I'm eating that is causing me to have lingering stomach issues. Thoughts anyone?

Roast Chicken

4 lb free-range chicken

2 Tbls olive oil

3 tsp salt

3 tsp pepper

1 lemon

4 cloves garlic, smashed

2 sweet potatoes, chopped into 2" pieces

10 carrots, roughly chopped

1 yellow onion, thickly sliced

1 bunch celery, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven or roaster to 350 F.

2. Rinse the inside and outside of the chicken. Pat dry and then coat with olive oil.

3. Rub 2 tsp salt and 2 tsp pepper into the skin of the bird. Make cuts in the skin near the wings of the bird and use the holes to rub salt and pepper under the skin as well.

4. Rub the remaining salt and pepper on the inside of the bird.

5. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the lemon on the inside of the bird. Then place the lemon halves and the smashed garlic cloves into the chicken.

6. Spread the sweet potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery chunks across the bottom of the pan. Use a rack to place the chicken above the vegetables.

7. Cook for 1 hour (roughly 15 minutes per pound of chicken). Halfway through, baste the chicken and drain off the liquid in the bottom of the pan; this will make sure the bottom of the chicken gets crispy as well.

ECD7: 45 minutes rowing machine, 15 minutes yoga

W30D7

What a disappointing Superbowl game! Normally, you'd expect the game to be much more evenly matched, right? Oh well. If you're a fan of my facebook page, you'll know that I attended a superbowl watching celebration where there were significant amounts of chips, breaded snacks, and desserts. One of my friends brought some gluten-free sugar cookies that were calling my name, but I restrained myself. I ate some leftover organic hamburger and then kept myself snacking on celery and carrots with guacamole or salsa. I'm a snacker when I'm bored, so it's always best for me to have pre-chopped veggies around for me to grab instead of chocolate or nuts. While this upcoming recipe isn't a good finger food sort of snack, it's still a good vegetable side dish that's super easy to put together.

Baked Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus

2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

2. After rinsing the asparagus and cutting off the bottom inch of stem, put the asparagus into a gallon-sized plastic bag.

3. Add in the olive oil, seal the bag, and shake until the asparagus is evenly coated. Then sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Shake again.

4. Spread over baking sheets and bake in the oven for 17-20 minutes. Serve with hollandaise sauce or by itself.

Whole 30 - Day 16

Want an easy and inexpensive family meal? Go for a roast chicken. It's one of the least expensive options and it can easily feed your family. Oh, you're single? Join the club, and congrats! You now have enough chicken to last you for the next few days. I've posted recipes for roasting a whole chicken in the past, but here we go again. Slight variation from what I made when I went to Atlanta in April for my family's first round of chemo, so here you go.

Crispy Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken ~5-6 lb

2 small lemons, cut in half

1/2 bunch of thyme

salt and pepper - I used roughly equal portions, probably 2 Tbls each

3 Tbls olive oil

1 onion, halved and sliced

4 carrots, cut into 1" pieces

3 stalks celery, cut into 2" pieces

1 leek, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 425 F and set rack in the middle of the oven - if you have two racks in the middle, pick the upper one.

2. Thoroughly rinse the inside and outside of the chicken. Pat dry.

3. Sprinkle the entire inside and outside of the bird with salt and pepper. Rub in with your hands.

4. Make two small slices in the skin near the legs, and use your fingers to rub salt and pepper under the skin.

5. Stuff the inside of the bird with the thyme and three of the lemon halves.

6. Spread olive oil over the outside of the bird, rubbing it in (of course).

7. Sprinkle again with salt and pepper, and rub into the skin, yet again.

8. Squeeze the remaining lemon half over the bird to get some lemon flavor on the outside. Use a zester to add lemon zest to the outside of the bird.
9. Put the bird into a roasting pan if you have one, breast side down. If not, you can use a lasagna pan. 

10. Surround the bird with the onion, carrots, celery, and leek. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a little bit of thyme if you have any leftover.

11. Cook for one hour, then flip over the bird. Use a baster to remove some of the liquid to a leftover glass jar. Remove the veggies from the tray.

12. Cook for another 30 minutes, then remove more of the liquid from the pan. Flip the bird over again, and cook for another 10 minutes. This is mainly to get the skin crispy and brown. Congrats, you're done.

21DSD - Days 13-14 - I'm On a Boat...

I made it through the entire weekend without slipping with 21DSD. I'm incredibly proud of myself. I managed to have fun the entire weekend while being the sole sober individual in a large group of people. Impressive, huh? A few people even commented that they couldn't tell that I wasn't drinking... as in I was having fun, chatting, laughing, and dancing like everyone else. I didn't sit in the corner and brood while everyone lowered their inhibitions and went wild. So yay! It wasn't as bad as the last happy hour that I went to where I just felt excluded for not drinking.

Overall, it was a good weekend. My friends and I rented two pontoon boats and hung out on a lake for 6 hours on Saturday. It was a blast. However, major downside is that I managed to get incredibly sunburned. As in, I think this is the second-worst burn I've ever had. The first-worst burn consisted of my skin turning purple and scaly-like. Gross. This one, on the other hand, covered more skin - my shoulders, back of the neck, chest, stomach, arms, and thighs got burnt. Bright red, almost purple. Whenever I walk, I can feel a burn almost down to my muscles. I guess it's that my skin got tight and every time I moved it stretched the skin... painfully. Luckily, I brought aloe, and reapplied frequently Saturday night and Sunday morning, and I was in the bed closest to the A/C unit, so there were a few times during the night that I'd stand in front of the A/C and let the cold air cool down my body. Yep, you got that right, I was HOT. Damn skippy. Seriously, just walking in the sun was enough to make me cringe and exclaim "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow... ow," until I made it back into the shade. Sunburn plus sun = crazy heat = bad = sad sober Gitta. (My nickname for the weekend from my buddy DK was Sober Sister of Sunburned Sober Sister, because I wasn't drinking, and I was her "sister" from sharing a room together in Jamaica. Good times.)

Anyways, what did I eat for lunch when stuck on a boat in the middle of a lake for 6 hours? Pre-made supermarket salad sans dressing? Yep. So while everyone else made sandwiches with deli meat, cheese, mustard, mayo, and wheat bread, I hunkered down over what comparatively looked like a monstrous salad, and ate around the olives (gross) and blue cheese (double non-Paleo gross!). Basically, I ate lettuce, chicken, hard-boiled egg, and some bacon chunks. I admit, the bacon probably wasn't 100% 21DSD-friendly. I bet the bacon was made with sugar. The horror! But I'm not counting that because it wasn't enough to send me into some wild sugar-craving spin. Once I was done eating, it barely looked as though I had touched my salad. I'd say 80% of the salad was still there: lettuce, onions, olives, blue cheese, and some bacon. I brought a Ziploc bag of carrots and celery, as well as a bag of mixed nuts (walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and pistachios), and beef jerky. I only ate the carrots while on the boat though. And when I pulled out the carrots, most of the people on the boat wanted some. Apparently, sandwiches, chips, and Cheetos puffs don't completely satisfy people. Yeah, never would have guessed that... eye rolling ensues.

The hotel we stayed at provided breakfast, but its offerings consisted of cereal, yogurt, toast, bagels, muffins, waffles, oatmeal, and hard-boiled eggs. I ate two eggs for breakfast on Saturday and on Sunday, and I supplemented that with some beef jerky after we got back to the room.

Dinner on Saturday was delicious. A group of us made the drive over to Trudy's for some yummy Tex-Mex. Trudy's is famous for their Mexican Martini, which is basically a strong margarita that comes in a large martini shaker. You're only allowed to order two, and then the waitress cuts you off. Sounds intense? It is. I order the beef fajitas, hold the tortilla. And let me tell you, that was probably the best fajita that I ever had. Seriously. It was fantastic. If you're ever in Austin, go to Trudy's. You won't regret it.

Oh, and I never shared what my pre-road trip dinner was. Chicken and eggs. I heated some olive oil in a pan over medium heat, tossed in some chicken strips with a couple dashes of coconut aminos, cooked, added whisked eggs, and made up some Stir-fry-esque chicken and eggs. Not bad when you've only got 10 minutes to cook and eat before running out the door.

21DSD Day 8 - Chemo

Well folks, I'm back in Atl to be with my parents for this next round of chemo. Yesterday we just took things easy. We took the dogs for two walks, finished one puzzle, and watching Rise of the Guardians and Resident Evil: Resurrection. I really enjoyed the first one. I thought it was super cute and funny. Resident Evil was a bit of a let down though. I've been a faithful Resident Evil since I watched the second film during my senior year of high school, probably slightly becasue of the movie itself, but mainly because of the good memories I associate with it. (Yes, you heard that right. Zombie movie = good times. I'm weird, right?) Anywho, we stayed busy, while still taking it easy. I whipped up some steak and roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner.

And got to use my parents' handy Wustof Silverpoint steak knives. Yep, they copied me because of how much I raved about my set.

Today we spent about 4 hours at the facility, which is a lot less than what we expected. The doctors started the chemo drip slowly (50 mL/h, then 100, 150, 200, and 300 after 30-minute intervals) in order to watch for any signs of allergic reaction, which of course kicked in after about 45 minutes. The allergic reaction we got today was a "weird-feeling," slightly itchy throat. We notified the nurse (Vanessa is really helpful), and they paused the chemo and started up a steroid drip to stop the reaction. The doctor basically told the nurse to use whatever drugs (steroids, anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, etc.) she thought we needed, considering all of the issues we encountered with the supposedly "nicer" chemo drug. After the steroid we progressed without a hitch.

We then headed home to start a new puzzle, (maybe you can tell that we like puzzles?), and eat a late lunch. We brought some food to snack on while we were at the doctor's office, but it didn't count as a meal. I brought a sugar-free chicken-andouille sausage, some proscuitto, and a mixture of almonds, pistachios, pecans, and pumpkin seeds.

After about an hour working on the puzzle, we took a nap break because some light-headedness and tiredness had set in. We checked temperature and blood pressure just to make sure there wasn't any fever, which is a concern if it goes over 100 F, or anything like that. I headed back to the puzzle after placing a trash can next to the bed just in case and leaving the yorkies in the room to "keep an eye on things" (Yes. The two 8-lb dogs are worriers and will stick close by when they know something isn't quite right.) A couple hours later, we were pulling together some dinner before calling it an early night, with some Benadryl to hopefully prevent any other possible side effects.

In summary, things are going well so far. Fingers crossed that the good continues!

And just to leave you with some comfort food, here's a garden vegetable soup recipe I made last week:

Garden Vegetable Soup

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup tomato puree

3/4 cup water

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 14-oz. can tomato puree

2 cups carrots, sliced

2 cups celery, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbls olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1. Toss everything into a large stock pot. Heat over medium-high heat on the stove for 2 hours.

Man, again with the one-step recipes. Awesome, right?

Chemo - Part 2 - Day 1

Today was our first day of chemo. We all went to the oncologist for this first one so that we would know what the procedure is for when I'm not in town. Each patient gets a reclining chair in a "room" with curtains as walls between each patient. There is a small TV with 15 channels and a DVD player for you to use, but my family each brought something to do. A book, the newspaper, and my iPad for typing up this blog post. Oh, and for your first day of chemo, they give you a folder of information for you to review if you wish. My dad is currently highlighting the important parts of one of the booklets. Did I mention that we came prepared with highlighters? Yeah, that's how we roll...

Today's cladribine drip took two hours, but the overall visit lasted four hours. We were told to expect each visit to take roughly that long. We started off with Zofran, "The Mercedes of Anti-Nausea Medications," which is taken orally, so requires some time to kick in. After that, we chatted with the nurse for a little bit. She gave us a brief summary of what to expect and what to watch out for: shortness of breath, red blotches, itching, lower back pain, and sore throat. If we notice any of these, we're supposed to let her know immediately. (So far, so good.) The nurse then inserted the IV, which is to be kept in for the next three days. Who knew that an IV connection could remain for that long? She connected a bag of saline "to keep things flowing" and then connected the cladribine bag via a pump which maintains a steady flow of the chemo drug.

Because we were here during lunch hour, we each brought something to snack on. Altogether we brought water, yogurt, almonds, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, Toasted Oatmeal Squares cereal, a Diet Coke, Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs, carrots, celery, and pistachios. I ate the eggs.

Here's what I put into my Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs (mainly a mix of leftovers):

2 eggs

1/4 cup baked sweet potato, mashed

1 handful of celery, chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

a pinch each of oregano, basil, salt, and pepper

Start with the celery in the pan, adding the tomatoes once the celery has softened a bit. Add the sweet potato, whisked eggs, and seasoning, cooking until the eggs are done.

This morning, before heading off to the doctor, I whipped up some Stuffed Peppers to cook in the slow-cooker while we were at the doctor.

Stuffed Pepper with Rice

4 bell peppers, thoroughly scrubbed

1 1/4 lb ground beef

1/3 cup + 1 Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls lime juice

3 chipotle peppers

2 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce that canned chipotle peppers come in)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup chopped green bell peppers

2 cups cauliflower, roughly 1.5" diameter bunches

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the olive oil, lime juice, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt, and green peppers. Mix in the ground beef and set aside.

2. While the beef is marinating, prep the bell peppers (you can use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and remove the white flesh on the inside of the pepper.

3. Put your cauliflower into a food processor and pulse 6 times, or until the cauliflower has been reduced to rice-sized pieces.

4. Heat ~1 Tbls of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Transfer the ground beef mixture to the skillet and brown the beef. Once the beef has finished cooking, remove from heat and stir in the cauliflower.

5. Spoon the ground beef and cauliflower into the bell peppers, leaving 1/4" of space from the top. Brush the outsides of the peppers with a little bit of olive oil.

6. Place the peppers into the slow-cooker, cover, and place on the lowest setting. Cook for 2 hours.

Before

After

This really only needs to cook on low for a couple hours, but let it go for as long as you're away. I'd suggest cooking this one weekend while you're at home doing chores, or running a few errands.

Another note about this dish. It can be pretty spicy depending on how many chipotle peppers you add, so this would be best at the beginning of chemo before any potential stomach/intestinal issues pop up. Spiciness doesn't always agree with people.

Simple Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

On my way back from the airport from my Portland trip last weekend I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up ingredients for a stew. I literally just walked through the produce section thinking Hmmm... that looks yummy. I'll grab one of those. Oh! Sweet potatoes!! Hmmmm, I should probably get an onion. Oooohh! The red peppers looks good. I need some more color. It was very haphazard as I zig-zagged back and forth across the produce section. That's what I get for showing up without a grocery list. Anyways, I got home, unpacked, and started laundry (Yeah, I'm good like that), and started chopping vegetables. I was finishing up my stew preparations just in time for a friend to join me in some TV/football watching. By the time I woke up Monday morning, this deliciousness was waiting for me.

Simple Slow-Cooker Beef Stew
1 lb beef, in chunks (the type of beef that you use is up to you, stew beef is always an option)
6 carrots, peeled and sliced
3/4 bunch of celery (~7 stalks), chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 sweet potato, in chunks
1 red pepper, chopped
1.5 cups beef broth
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
salt and pepper, to taste
6 shakes tabasco sauce (optional)

Once all of your ingredients other than the broth have been chopped/sliced, layer the ingredients into the slow-cooker: onions, sweet potato, carrots, celery, and beef. Sprinkle the spices on top and then pour in the beef broth. Add your tabasco sauce. Cover, and set on low for 10 hours. I usually mix after a couple hours, but you don't have to stir if you don't want to or won't be near your slow-cooker (I have this thing with leaving my crock-pot unattended for an entire day. I think I inherited my mom's fear that the slow-cooker is going to burn down the house.). Anyways, there you go. Easy-peasy!

The Pitiful Sick

I've been feeling a little under the weather since I got back from my last trip to the beach (a.k.a. the past two weeks). After going for a run this past Tuesday, I got a sore throat and from there the sinus pressure, stuffy nose, and cough has developed. My best guess is that I've come down with a sinus infection. I don't know if any of you have ever felt pressure building behind your cheeks, nose, and eyes, but let me tell you, it's not pleasant. The pressure is so much that it vaguely feels as though my head isn't really my head. It made me think of a balloon that you blow up till it's about to burst. All that's necessary to cause it to pop is a sharp point (kind of similar to the sharp pains in my ears). Poor balloon.

I feel like it should be fall. I think it's the fact that I used to get ever year in the fall that has developed my association between a cold, flu, or sinus infection and autumn. I'm currently watching the Olympics (men's gymnastics to be precise), so I know that it's summertime and not fall; however, I keep expecting cooler temperatures so walking outside into 100F temperatures is a shock. But then again, I'm also wearing sweats and a sweater, and standing with my head over a pot of boiling water. The pot of boiling water is my mom's solution to clearing out my sinuses ("plus it's good for the complexion"). I always hated it because, in case you didn't know, steam gets really hot... and it doesn't feel too pleasant on my face. And since when does 75 degrees cause me to wear sweats in bed and huddle under the covers? Unless my thermometer is broken,my temp is 96.6. Can you get a reverse fever from a cold/sinus infection? Is that possible?

I've been gulping down tea for the past four days. Today, I switched to alternating between sips of chicken broth and water. I have a fondness for Swanson 33% Less Sodium Chicken Broth, which I developed when I had my tonsils removed 3.5 years ago. A cup of the aforementioned broth, heated in the microwave for 46 seconds was perfect for my recovering throat. I don't drink coffee and I'm not a huge fan of tea, so for a couple months after my surgery, my morning hot beverage became chicken broth. Weird, I know. But think about it... don't you love chicken noodle soup?Doesn't it make you feel slightly better? To me, it's as close as I'm going to get to the warm and fuzzy feeling of a doting mother's love and attention. Soooo, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work (yes, I went into work on a Saturday), and bought two 48-oz containers of chicken broth. I also grabbed a pound of chicken, some celery, and some carrots. The result was a chicken and vegetable soup. I also bought a Naked Juice Power-C Machine because I figured I needed the extra vitamin C.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

1 lb chicken breast, chopped

3 Tbls olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

48-oz chicken broth, reduced sodium

1 lb carrots, chopped

1 bunch of celery chopped

1 sweet potato, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

In a quart size Ziploc bag, mix 2 Tbls olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp parsley, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, and chopped chicken breast. Seal and shake/mold to evenly distribute the marinade. Put in the fridge for 2 hours.

After you've chopped all of the veggies, heat 1 Tbls of olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook thoroughly. After the chicken is cooked, put the chicken, veggies, and chicken broth into a crock pot. Add an extra 1/2 tsp of parsley, rosemary, and thyme, and a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. Set on high for 4 hours. Veggies should be soft once the soup is done cooking.

Lamb Stew

Lamb Stew

Acorn Squash - I ended up only using the one of the left.
The picture below shows the squash after chopping.

2 lbs lamb (cut into bite-sized chunks)

2 tbls EVOO

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbls EVOO

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

7 cloves garlic, chopped

3 strips of bacon, chopped

1 acorn squash (~1 lb), peeled, seeded, and chopped (can use butternut squash)

splash of white wine (any kind will do, I used Sauvignon Blanc)

1 1/2 cups carrots

1 can diced tomato

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup red wine (any kind will do, I used a blend)

1 tbls dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbls of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. When the oil is hot, add the chopped lamb, and cook until browned (if some pink remains, don't worry), stirring occasionally. Remove lamb from the pan, leaving the small bits of meat and fat. Set lamb aside.

Without cleaning the pot, add 1 tbls olive oil, celery, onion, garlic, and bacon. Add a little bit of white wine, thus deglazing the pot. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrots, squash, diced tomato, tomato paste, red wine, browned lamb, red wine, beef broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir. Cover the pot and turn heat to low. Cook for 2 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes. After 2 hours, remove the lid, and turn heat up a few notches. Set timer for 30 minutes. (This last 30 minutes will boil off some of the liquid and thicken the stew. It's up to you how thick you want the stew, so adjust the time accordingly. For a thicker stew, mash up some of the chunks of squash.)

Spicy Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef

Spicy Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef
1.5 lbs Beef Bottom Round Rump Roast (or cut of choice)
1/2 tsp:
   chili powder
   cumin
   cayenne pepper
   paprika
   garlic salt
1/4 tsp:
   basil
   cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 onion, sliced
7 stalks celery, cut into ~2" pieces
20 baby carrots, halved
3/4 cup chicken stock (can use beef stock/broth as well)

Mix all of spices together in a bowl. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on your counter and put your roast on top. Use a spoon to transfer spices to the meat and rub in with your hands. Once the spices are thoroughly rubbed in, wrap the meat in plastic and put in the fridge for ~1 hour. While the meat is chilling in the fridge, chop your veggies: sliced onions, halved baby carrots, and 2" pieces of celery. Later these in the crock-pot. Pour in the chicken stock and 1 tsp hot sauce. Take the meat out of the fridge, unwrap, and put on top of the veggies. Spread 1/2 tsp hot sauce on the meat. Cover. Cook for 10 hours (you can cook it a little faster/hotter if your crock-pot has the setting available. I choice 10 hours so that it would be done cooking by the time I woke up at 5am.

Before cooking

After 10 hours of cooking

 After taking two forks to the beef, you get the shredded beefiness shown below.