Paleo Naan Review

I seem to be really into Indian food these days. My gal pal KAOS is my Indian food buddy. Whenever I had the hankering for my go-to chicken tikka masala, I'd call her with something along the lines of "So I'm feeling like Indian... you in?" It was a good bet that she'd say yes. We had one restaurant that we'd always order takeout from, then head back to her place and watch an Indian movie or something like the TV show Vikings. Both are excellent options, though definitely opposite ends of the spectrum. If you're looking for a good Indian movie, I highly recommend Jodhaa Akbar - it may be 3 hours and 33 minutes long and comes with an Intermission, but it's pretty awesome. I love it. Go watch it! Or if you're looking for something more like the stereotypical Bollywood film where the characters randomly breakout into song and dance, give the Dhoom series a try. I haven't watched all of them, but Dhoom 2 led to quite a few laughs and sighs over the dreamy Hrithik Roshan - he's also in Jodhaa Akbar. Notice a trend?

Anyways, I seem to have gotten sidetracked by an Indian hottie... back to Indian food. I found a recipe for Paleo Naan on My Heart Beets. It went great with the butter chicken from last week.

Paleo Naan! Nom nom nom!

This recipe has only five ingredients! If you read the recipe on the site, it says it contains just three ingredients, but really you need the last two: salt and ghee. The ghee helps give the naan the golden color you expect from naan, and the salt really brings out the flavor. Otherwise, it's a decent attempt at replicating naan, but tastes a bit bland. The downsides of this recipe include cook time and the about of ghee necessary to get the flavor and color looking the way that I wanted it to. The first thing my roommate said when she came home an hour after I made naan was: "Yum. It smells like butter." Yeah, I tend to feel the same way... Butter = yum. It's easy to go a bit heavy on the ghee. This photo below shows what happens when you use too much ghee - still tastes delicious, especially when you're wanting bread, but it is a bit on the greasy side.

The alternative is if you don't use enough ghee. And it basically looks white with a few browned patches, like you can see below. I found that the best amount of ghee was 1 tsp per side. Don't put 2 tsp at once, because then one of the sides looks golden and the other looks pale.

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.

Steak with Swiss Chard

Well, it's a Friday evening and I just finished cleaning the heck out of my living room. I spent at least 4 hours vacuuming the rug, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuuming the couches and giant bean bag, fluffing pillows, sweeping under the couches, wiping down the dining room table and chairs, and mopping the tile in the hallway. To say the least, I'm beat. On the bright side, I did spend the evening with two of my delightful friends, KAOS and PC, painting pottery. I was so engrossed in trying to decide what to do and then actually executing my plan, that I forgot to take photos. It seems like I can only remember to photograph food. Anywho, here's some of the food I remembered to take a photo of...

Steak with Swiss Chard and Roasted Peppers

1 top sirloin steak (other cuts work too)
salt and pepper, to taste

1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped into 1-2" pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper
2 Tbls ghee

Roasted Peppers

1. Set oven to broil.

2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over high heat on the stove. Once hot, add the steak and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

3. Place the steaks 3" away from the top of the oven. Cook for 13 minutes, flip, and cook for another 13 minutes (for medium-rare).

4. While the steaks are cooking, heat 2 Tbls ghee over medium heat. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and the minced garlic, and saute for a minute or so.

5. Add the Swiss chard, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Flip over the leaves, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes. The chard should be soft and look like sauteed spinach leaves. If it's dry, add a tablespoon of water and cook for another couple minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

7. Once the steaks are done, remove pan from the oven, transfer steaks to a plate, and cover with tin foil. Let rest for 5 minutes. Then serve with Swiss chard and roasted red pepper.

How To: Roast Bell Peppers

Exciting news everyone! I now have a facebook page. Go check it out, and like me!

How To: Roast Bell Peppers

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place the peppers on their side.

3. Bake for 20 minutes, then use tongs to flip the peppers.

4. Bake for another 20 minutes. The peppers should look charred and should be very soft. Roast for a few more minutes if they're not ready.

5. Once the peppers are out of the oven, you need to let them steam for a little bit longer. You can use the tin foil that you baked on, and wrap up the edges to make an enclosure for the peppers. Alternatively, you can place the peppers on a cutting board and place an upside-down bowl over the peppers. Let them sit for 10 minutes.

6. Now, make a single cut along the pepper and roll the pepper open, so you have one long strip. Pull the stem to remove some of the seeds, then use your hand or a paper towel to remove any remaining seeds.

7. Flip over the pepper and peel off the charred skin.

8. Slice the pepper. Serve, or store in an sealed container under olive oil.

Whole 30 - Day 25

I dragged myself out of bed at 5:25 yesterday morning. My alarm had gone off at 5:15, but I guess I snoozed it twice before my brain really kicked on. I had the same thing happen today, but it took me 20 minutes to finally wake up from the alarms. I hate that groggy feeling in the morning. I really need to start going to bed earlier. I've been pretty forthcoming with my friends and family that I have a 9 p.m. "Go to Bed" alarm, but lately I seem to be ignoring it. Part of the problem stems from the fact that I'm not getting home until 8 p.m. and it's really difficult to shower/get ready for bed, cook, and eat, and then rush to sleep. I'm really not a fan of eating immediately before bed. It kind of seems like a waste. You're fueling your body to sleep? Seems strange to me. Plus, after eating your body will send blood to your digestive system instead of throughout your extremities, and sleep is the perfect time for your body to focus on itself and repairing any damage done to it throughout the day, such as a really tough workout.

Sleep helps to:

1. Improve memory

2. Increase metabolism and weight loss

3. Improve your mood

4. Improve your cardiovascular health

5. Fight illness (everyone knows when you're run down, you're more likely to catch a cold)

6. Improve alertness

Harvard Health Publications: Importance of Sleep : Six Reasons Not to Scrimp on Sleep, Jan 2006. http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health

And though this isn't evidence from any particular study, one of my co-workers told me that while he was being very dedicated about tracking his calories, he always seemed to gain weight during the week when he was averaging 4 hours of sleep per night. However, he consistently lost weight over the weekend when he was sleeping 7 hours per night. So at least extra sleep works for one person's weight loss.

If you're snacking right before bed, it's probably not as healthy as if you were preparing and consuming a healthy balanced meal, so it's possible that you're consuming a lot of calories. Late-night eating can also cause trouble falling or staying asleep, though if you haven't eaten all day, some food (again, a few hours before bed) may help you sleep better so you don't lay in bed thinking about how hungry you are.

From what I've read, you should eat at least two hours before bedtime. In other words, I should be finishing up my dinner in the middle of my Krav Maga classes or my evening rowing practice. Somehow, I don't think that pulling out my steak knife to dive into a juicy sirloin is really going to work so well during Krav or while rowing. Though I guess we could use the knife for practicing blocks in Krav. It would make Krav a lot more intense and if you mess up once, you won't be messing up again, though you may also be out for the rest of class due to profuse bleeding... just maybe.

Baked Chicken and Veggies

2 lb grass-few chicken breast tenders

1/2 bag frozen Brussels sprouts

1/2 bag frozen artichokes

3 stalks carrots, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp oregano

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Microwave the Brussels sprouts and artichokes to thaw them (30 sec - 1 min). Pat dry with paper towel to remove excess water.

3. Toss everything into an oven safe baking dish, stir, and cover with a lid.

4. Put into hot oven for 35 - 40 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, but not dry.

Whole 30 - Day 22

I smell like a candy cane right now. Weird, right? Especially considering that it's September; I'm a few months early for the Christmas holiday... just a few. Anyways, you're probably wondering why the smell of peppermint is wafting from my skin. Well, in my ever-encompassing effort to incorporate the Paleo ideals into my life, I bought a bottle of Dr. Bronners Magic "All-One" castile soap which is supposedly a good option for Paleo/all-natural-fanatics, of which I'm becoming (or have already become). There are a lot of different scents available: tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, almond, citrus, rose, peppermint, peppermint/hemp, aloe, and unscented. You can purchase it in bar form or in liquid form. Personally, I got my hands on an 8-oz bottle of the liquid soap. I probably would have gone for a different scent than peppermint, but it was the only option that came in 8-oz at the grocery store, and I didn't want to invest in a giant 32-oz bottle if I didn't like the stuff or the smell. Now, I've only used it once, but I have no complaints so far. My skin feels soft and minty-fresh. It also feels moisturized, which means that my skin isn't itchy right now, if you exclude the locations mosquito bites magically appeared after my Saturday morning row, and even they aren't terribly itchy.

You may be wondering what is castile soap, and why should I use it? Well, castile soap is the name of olive oil-based soaps that are made in similar style to that originating in Castile, Spain. Dr. Bronner's soap is a popular version that is well-known for the insane amount of tiny text all over the bottle's label, and more importantly for its foaminess. If you're like me, you're used to your soaps developing into a lather when you use them, however, there's some soaps out there that don't lather. For instance, Cetaphil is a soap that had been recommended to me by my dermatologist as a gentle face wash. It was moisturizing and gentle as claimed, but it didn't lather and I just felt like I wasn't getting clean. That being said, my experience with Cetaphil was ages ago (a.k.a. high school), and now that I've switched over to the oil cleansing method for my face, I no longer need that foaming action to consider my face clean. I haven't completely accepted that for my shower though, so Dr. Bronner's Magic "All-One" is a good option for me to start going more natural for soaps. I've looked up some recipes for making my own soap though, and I imagine it's going to happen some day. I mean, I've taken to making everything else and using natural household ingredients for everything from face wash to toothpaste to leave-in conditioner and moisturizer. Why wouldn't I eventually get around to making soap. Yeah, I see that in my future.

In the meantime, let's talk about the present, or technically the past at this point. After getting home from Krav Maga and a brief stop at Trader Joe's for some veggies and unsweetened dried fruit, I whipped up some steak with fajita veggies, and a side of plantain chips with salsa. For the fajita seasonings, refer to my post here: http://adventurepaleo.blogspot.com/2013/08/whole-30-day-4.html

I used a bag of frozen 3-pepper medley (red, green, and yellow) with onions. Toss that into a cast-iron skillet, and cook with the seasonings until it's melted and the excess water from freezing has started to evaporate. Then toss in the steak (or half a steak as shown above), cooking for a few minutes on each side until the insider reaches your desired pinkness. As always, go for the grass-fed beef if you can find it. And the plantain chips are a good option (when you can find them not cooked in canola oil) if you're really craving chips and salsa. Don't go wild on it, because we don't want to have too much dried fruit, and it falls into that iffy region of "Sex With Your Pants On." But I feel that as long as you don't eat ALL of the plantain chips in one sitting, you're probably okay. And if it feeds the craving, that great, and you can get back to all of the other healthier options.

Whole 30 - Day 19

So far this week, I've been physically active every day. On Monday I started off the day with a 6 a.m. row with my one of my double's partners for next week's regatta, followed by the club row at 7:30 a.m. On Tuesday evening, I went to Krav Maga. On Wednesday, I had another practice with my double partner, and on Thursday, I had an even club row. Today, I spent some time on the erg practicing for my regatta next week. It's been a lot of rowing for one week, and my hands are complaining. During last night's row, I got two fresh blisters that ripped open during the row, and one of those ripped-open blisters got a blister beneath it. Yep, my blister got a blister. Yikes. Anyways, despite my hands being a bit tender, it was a good week. It's nice to remind myself that I enjoy working out so much. If I could, I'd spend hours every day working out. Remember, endorphins make you happy, and I could always use more happy in my life.

Last night after crew practice, I threw together some Hot Wing Chicken Wraps. Here's how it went a 1-person serving.

3 slices of chicken breast (from the whole chicken I cooked the other day), ripped into small pieces

1 Tbls hot sauce (Franks or Tabasco)

1 tsp ghee

1. Melt the ghee in a large bowl in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.

2. Once melted, stir in the hot sauce.

3. Add the shredded chicken. Toss until well coated.

4. If the chicken isn't already hot, then heat on the stove.

5. Place on large leaves of lettuce. Wrap. Eat.

Whole 30 - Day 18

For ages when I made hard-boiled eggs, I struggled with removing the shell. I'd try like crazy to remove the shell without pulling the egg with it. I looked online and found lots of different options. I tried one method that had you add vinegar to the water; another where you boiled the water, then removed the pot from the stove, put the eggs in the pot, and put the lid on the pot, but it seemed like every time, the egg would stick to the shell and no matter how slowly or carefully I went, my resulting egg looked like a hot mess. So I decided to try a different way, and this is what worked wonderfully for me.

How to cook the perfect hard-boiled egg
1. Bring pot of water to a boil, ensure the water is high enough that it will cover the eggs. Add a shake of salt to the water and stir.
2. Add your eggs to the pot and boil for 3 minutes.
3. Put cover on the pot and remove from heat. Let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes.
4. Transfer eggs to an ice bath until they cool completely. Now you're ready to peel and enjoy.

Look at how smooth that sucker is...

As promised, here are some of the photos of the plated Korean Beef Short Ribs I made on Monday. You can also check out the original post (which I have since updated) for these photos. Enjoy the deliciousness!

Whole 30 - Day 17

So I’ve been listening to Backstreet Boys since the concert on Saturday. Yes, I’m a 26-year-old woman listening to my favorite childhood band. Don’t judge. I find it interesting that I can still identify who is singing based on the sound of the voice... yeah, that's Brian singing, now AJ, oh and switching over to Kevin. Is that not crazy that even though I haven’t really listened to Backstreet Boys for 10 years, but I still remember each of their voices. I bet I can still do the same thing with N’Sync too. It’s incredible what the mind can do. I can pick out the sound of some of my old choir buddies’ voices even when they’re singing in a group, like our old choir tour CD or one of my friend's a cappella group's CD. I guess some people just have very distinctive sounding voices. Sorry for that tangent. I’m just listening to BSB right now, so it’s on my mind.

If you want an easy side dish, give acorn squash a try. It’s got a nutty flavor and is a bit sweeter than summer squash. Some tips for picking a good one: You want the squash to be 1-3 lbs, because larger squash tend to end up stringy and dry. There should be no soft spots and the skin should be smooth and dull (shiny skin is either applied wax or the squash was picked too early). I aim for the ones with more green color than orange, but some orange color is okay. Too much orange and you could get a stringy squash.

I think the most common non-Paleo way of cooking acorn squash is to cook it with butter and brown sugar and/or cinnamon. If you’re Paleo, here’s one way to do it, and it smells delicious while baking!

Cinnamon Acorn Squash

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Cut your acorn squash in half length-wise. Scoop out the seeds.

3. Rub coconut oil or ghee over the surface of both halves of the squash.

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg.

5. Place halves face down on a lined baking sheet (or unlined if you don’t care about cleanup).

6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

You can eat as is, or you can add some chicken or eggs inside to make an acorn squash bowl.

Another random side note… did you know that there are gluten-free dating websites out there? Go figure.

Whole 30 - Day 11

I'm really cutting this close with getting a post out today, aren't I? Well, my reasoning is simple. I had crew practice after work, where I took out a single and gouged some more skin off of the knuckles of my right hand. Then I rushed home to shower and grab a bite to eat before meeting up with my out-of-town friend J. I figured nobody at the bar would appreciate me showing up sweaty, and I didn't really want to sit in my sweat-drenched clothes (Boy, was it warm today, so I didn't exactly have time to sit down and type up a post, but I'm doing it now. So there.

Despite being up and out so late on a weekday, I'm still pretty energetic, probably because I was so excited to see J again. We had interned together up in Pennsylvania five years ago, then had both lived in Texas for a while, before he returned to the North. Work brought him back to the grand state of Texas, so I abandoned my 9 pm bed time and caught up with him and his wildly ridiculous stories. He is the BEST storyteller. I always have a blast with him!

Anyways, I'm going to share with you a way of steaming asparagus in the microwave... without any dishware. Say what? Keep reading.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus

1/4 cup water

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

1 packet of Proscuitto

1. Grab 3 papertowels. Use the 1/4 cup of water and lemon juice to wet the entire papertowel. Lay flat.

2. Rinse the asparagus and trim off the bottom inch to inch and a half of the stem.

3. Spread the asparagus on the papertowels, sprinkle with salt and peppa, and roll that sucker up. Proceed carefully so you don't tear the sheets apart.

4. Place in the microwave and nuke it for 4 minutes. And your asparagus is ready.

5. Wrap up 5-6 stems in each piece of Prosciutto and serve... with some chicken and wilted spinach and baby kale.

Whole 30 - Day 7

Heirloom Tomato Salad

3-4 heirloom tomatoes of varying sizes and colors

1 1/2 Tbls olive oil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1. Slice the tomatoes, roughly 1/4" thick.

2. Layer on a plate. Making it pretty is optional.

3. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar over the tomatoes. Serve and enjoy.

Whole 30 - Day 1

Over the last couple weeks I've been allowing myself to have a lot of cheat meals, meaning that I've been snacking on gluten-free crackers lately. I've also been experiencing more headaches and stomachaches during the last few weeks. I even had to leave work early the other week due to a migraine and stomachache. So, I decided last Thursday that I was going to start a Whole 30 today. And I did. I was in Atlanta over the weekend so I had some free time this afternoon after I got back from the airport. Here's one of the recipes I made today...

Cauliflower Hummus

1 medium head cauliflower, broken into small pieces

1-2 cloves garlic, smashed  **UPDATE (see below)**

1/3 cup tahini

2 Tbls olive oil

1 Tbls lemon juice

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Steam the cauliflower. Boil your water, then add the cauliflower in a steamer basket, and steam for 15 minutes.

2. While the cauliflower is steaming, heat some olive oil in a small pan and add the garlic, cooking for about a minute while stirring.

3. Transfer the cauliflower and garlic to your food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Serve with carrots, celery, cucumber slices, etc. Or use it as a topping for chicken or salads or whatever you feel like using it for.

**UPDATE : The longer you let the hummus sit in the fridge before eating, the strong the flavors get. The garlic flavor got really strong by the second day - to the point that I have to run to the bathroom to brush my teeth because I'm worried I'm going to scare someone off with my breath. Yikes. It still tastes good, but is a bit strong.**

Guacamole To-Go

What do you do when you have half of an avocado left-over from breakfast? And how do you keep it from going all brown and gross? Easy peasy. Let's make some guacamole.

Guacamole To-Go

1/2 avocado with pit

5 drops lime juice

sprinkle each of

 -garlic salt

 -pepper

 -cumin

 -cayenne pepper

 -chili powder

Cut your avocado in half, use the half without the pit for something else. Rub the lime juice over the other half of the avocado. Then, sprinkle the spices/salt over the flesh. (Keeping the pit will keep a bit more surface area from being exposed to oxygen and turning brown. Lime juice helps, too.) And that's it. Store in a Ziploc bag, trying to get as much air out of the bag as possible. Then eat later.

The photo above shows the avocado 6 hours after I prepped it. Still looks nice and green to me.

21DSD Day 3 - Mashed Parsnips

I've been in training sessions for the past two days. Because you never know what you're going to get when it comes to the food that's provided, I planned on bringing my own lunches and snacks. It turns out that I can find something to eat for lunch, but I would still need my own snacks. Yesterday for lunch I ate mixed greens with pan-fried chicken, two small pieces of salmon, and steamed broccoli. Today we had pork loin and braised chicken legs/wings. The food is mediocre, but it'll do, and it's less strange for me to eat large portions of meat than it is for me pull out my own foods while everyone else is eating the provided food.

Today was a bit harder to deal with the sugar cravings and temptations. After my meeting today, we had a dinner out at an Italian restaurant. We were offered wine before dinner and with the meal. I think that was the hardest part: saying no to wine. Everyone else was drinking and some people questioned why I wasn't drinking. Instead of explaining that I'm in the midst of a Whole 30 and 21DSD, I just said that I wasn't drinking because I was driving. That seemed to be a good enough excuse for everyone. Another thing I wanted was to have something other than water. But when you go to a restaurant, your options for drinks generally include alcohol, soda, iced tea, and water. Obviously there are some variations, but not many.

There were three courses: soup or salad, entree, and dessert. Oh, and fresh-baked bread. I had a caprese salad which is tomato, basil, and mozzarella (I had tomato and basil), chicken with mushrooms and spinach, and no dessert. Though oh buddy did I want that cheesecake when it came out. Yum. Anyways, enough about my struggles, here's a recipe you can use while doing Whole 30 or 21DSD.

Mashed Parsnips

1 lb parsnips

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp dried parsley

2 Tbls ghee

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1. Set water to boil in a medium pot on the stove.
2. Wash and peel the parsnips as you would a carrot. Here's the before...

and after shots.

2. Cut the parsnips into chunks and place in the boiling water. Add in all of the ingredients and boil until the parsnips are tender ~ 20 minutes.

3. Drain the liquid (but don't toss it yet).

4. Transfer the parsnip pieces and 1/4 cup of the liquid you set aside to a blender or use an immersion blender in the pot to puree. Add more liquid if you want it a bit smoother, but don't add too much or it'll get runny.

Optional: Instead of using the cooking liquid, you can use coconut milk to make the mashed parsnips a bit creamier.

Paleo Gyros

Paleo Gyros

1 lb meat (beef, lamb, etc.)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 Tbls marjoram
1 Tbls dried rosemary, finely chopped or ground if you can
1 tsp sea salt
5 leaves of red butter lettuce, washed and carefully separated

1. Mix together the olive oil, garlic, marjoram, rosemary, and sea salt.

2. Place the meat in a plastic bag and pour the olive oil mixture in as well. Shake the bag to coat evenly. Let rest in the fridge for a couple hours.
3. Cook the meat on a pan over medium heat for a couple minutes per side, or until cooked to the level you desire.
4. Slice the meat and serve over red butter lettuce with cucumbers (and tomatoes if you want).

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.