Marlene's Meal Makeovers

Check out Marlene's Meal Makeovers at http://www.marlenesmealmakeovers.com/. Marlene made some lifestyle changes after being diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2008 and now has a Rogers TV show about planning and cooking healthy meals.

You can view episode 1 directly from the website. You can also read Marlene's blog at http://marlenemacpherson.blogspot.com/.

Red wine and dark chocolate cancer killers

"Cabernet and chocolate are potent medicine for killing cancer, according to research presented Wednesday."

Guess what I'm having for breakfast? :-)

Read the full story

What I'm most grateful for today: Cabernet and chocolate, of course! (Although, I must admit, I'm not a big wine drinker. But my arm is easily twisted, especially when in wine country in the Czech Republic!).

Vitamin D, melatonin & flaxseed

I faithfully take 1000 IUs of vitamin D every morning.

According to a Canadian study: “Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient.” Read more…

In a recent Ottawa Citizen column, Julie Mason writes: “To D or not to D: It's not a question. The science is clear: Vitamin D is an inexpensive pill with powerful benefits. One reputable study showed a 60 per cent reduction in the incidence of cancer among people who had higher levels of vitamin D, as compared to those who were vitamin D deficient.” Read more…

It has also been reported that people with breast cancer have lower levels of melatonin. I’ve never been sure if the lack of melatonin causes the cancer, or could it be that the cancer depletes one’s melatonin (or vitamin D for that matter)?

I've been eating 2 tablespoons of flaxseed every day for about 10 years. It seems rather foolish; after all, it didn’t keep the cancer from returning.

But I keep taking it. Who knows, maybe it kept it from coming back sooner. I really don’t know, but I’m too superstitious to stop.

Food, glorious food

I am eating my way through all of the pastry, cheese and broodje (sandwich) shops in Den Haag. As you can see, it's hard to resist.

Grocery shopping is interesting in Holland. Everything is sold in very small portions (no Costco quantities here), probably because their fridges are so small.

I decided to make dinner last night but baking powder, baking soda and turnips were not to be found. I settled on Stuffed Chicken Parmesan, mainly because it was the one thing that I could find all of the ingredients for.

Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

Chemo weight gain: Snacks

I do love my snacks! I’m trying not to go more than 2 hours without eating something, so I need to have lots of snack food on hand to keep me going in between meals. Fruit and raw vegetables are great, but I still crave sweets and carbs.

Some other snacks that I enjoy are:

· Special K bars. I like the ones with nuts (almonds & peanuts I think). 2 WW points each.
· Pomegranate applesauce. They come 6 tubs to a sleeve & you find them with the puddings. 1 WW each.
· Low fat cottage cheese & fruit. They are in the cooler & come 4 tubs to a sleeve. A bit pricey, but a nice treat. 1 WW point each.
· Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop mini bags popcorn. 100 calories. 1 bag = 1 WW point
· Triscuits 50% less fat, 100% whole grain. Very hard to find. Loeb had them for 2 for $5 recently and I bought 6 boxes. 5 crackers = 1 WW point.
· Grissol Canape Melba Rounds, 12 grains. I sometimes put 7 on plate, dab a bit of salsa and fat free sour cream on each & microwave for about 15 seconds. Not exactly nachos, but I like them. 7 crackers = 1 WW point.
· Dare Simple Pleasures cinnamon snaps. I like to dip them in tea. They come in a single sleeve in a long box, usually at the end of the cookie aisle. (Note: the Dare ginger snaps are good, but they are higher in fat & more calories). 2 cookies = 1 WW point.

Chemo weight gain: Products I find helpful

While I am trying to stay away from too many processed foods, there are a few things that I like to have on hand that make following my food plan easier when I’m in a hurry. Before I put my groceries away, I take a sharpie and mark the WW points per serving on the front of the packages.

Here are some things that often end up in my grocery card:

Weight Watcher products
· Tortilla wraps (about 1/2 fat & calories of regular). I make a salad and roll it up in 2 or 3 wraps. I could eat a few every day and don't get tired of them. With a boiled egg or some other protein, it makes a good lunch. 1 WW point each.

· WW bagels. They are a bit smaller than regular & have less than 1/2 the fat & calories. They freeze well. 2 WW points each.

President’s Choice (PC) products

. Thin hamburger buns. I forget the name of the PC brand, but there’s also another brand called Thintini. They are pita bread type buns, found next to regular hamburger buns in the bread aisle. Great for sandwiches & they freeze well. 3 WW points each.
. Blue menu breaded chicken breasts. I cook two at a time and have one on a thintini bun the next day. They seem expensive (over $16 a box) but you get about 6-8 per box. 4 WW points each

. Blue menu meatballs. They heat up quick in the microwave and are great rolled up in a wrap or in a tomato sauce. 6 meatballs = 4 WW points.
. Ancient Grains crackers. I like them on soup and even crumble them on top of salad for a weird version of croutons. 10 crackers = 1 WW point.

To be continued...

Chemo weight gain: Breakfast, soup & eating out

As of this morning, I have lost 20 lbs since Feb 1, of which at least 1/2 was chemo weight!

Here are a few more tips that I have found helpful:

. I eat the same breakfast every day: oat bran, ground flaxseed & blueberries (6 WW points). I measure 1/3 cup oat bran, 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed and a handful of frozen blueberries into individual containers & put them in the freezer. In the morning, I dump a container into a bowl, add 3/4 hot water & microwave for 1.5 minutes. Your body can’t absorb the oil from the flaxseed with the shell on, so I grind it fresh (in a coffee grinder) every few days. The leftover ground flaxseed freezes well and it stays granular.

· I've been making soups using lots of vegetables and whatever else I have on hand. I might add barley or lentils or mini pasta & some canned mixed beans (rinsed). Sometimes I add a can of minestrone soup as a base but I often make my own vegetable or chicken broth. I make my soups thick so they are a meal in themselves.

· Rinsed canned beans and cooked rice freeze well. I usually freeze them in small containers (single serving size). Drop the frozen serving in soup or pop it on a plate in the microwave.

· Eating out is my most difficult challenge but in a pinch I will get a turkey sub from Subway with low fat honey mustard dressing. The Works has an elk burger that is about 1/3 the calories & fat of beef. They charge $3.50 extra, but it's a nice splurge.

To be continued...

Chemo weight gain - Eating my veggies

This post is a continuation of one I started yesterday, in which I said I'd share ideas that I've found helpful for getting off the chemo weight.My naturopathic doctor said to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I possibly can. I've done a good job with the veggies but not so much with the fruit. Here are some ideas that have worked for me.

· I routinely go through my fridge & wash & cut up vegetables, usually just after I buy groceries. I shred carrots in my food processor, cut other veggies into small pieces and store them in stackable plastic containers in the fridge. I can quickly put together a salad by opening all my containers and grabbing a handful from each.

· When I'm chopping up all of those veggies, I sometimes throw the peelings into a strainer. I rinse them well; dump them in a large pot with a bunch of spices, boil & simmer. Strain and you have vegetable stock for soup.

· If I have left over cooked vegetables, I sometimes puree them and freeze in small containers. I add the puree to things like ground turkey burgers (instead of egg), tomato sauce (depending on the veggies - sweet potato works well), meatloaf, zucchini loaf and other things I might make. I got the idea from Jessica Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious. This is one of her recipes: Gingerbread Spice Cake.

. Because my back yard is all deck, I don't have a place for a composter. So sometimes, if my food processor is already dirty because I've been shredding carrots or pureeing veggies, I dump the peelings into my food processor and chop them really fine. I stir the result into a large bucket of potting soil I have on my deck & put the lid on tight. It doesn't take long for it to disappear into the dirt and I have rich soil for potting. This year I'm going to try to grow some vegetables in pots.

Maybe I should try eating an apple a day, like my friend Mary Lou. She is using the apple stickers to create art on a piece of paper stuck to her fridge. Here is her masterpiece: a work in progress.

To be continued...

Chemo weight gain

As if nausea and fatigue aren’t enough!

I read online that 96% of women in a study of 237 on chemo for breast cancer gained weight. I’m not surprised. While I have met a few who have lost weight during their treatment, the majority of women I know gained. I was up 17 lbs after first round of treatments and I decided not to weigh myself this time. I would guess that I gained well over 10 lbs during this last round.

One doctor I asked thought that some people’s bodies interrupt mild nausea as hunger pains. I used food as a way to control my nausea, feeling best with a full tummy. Also, there are the steroids. To use one of my Mom’s sayings, I could have “eaten a horse and chased the rider” on the steroids days. And of course, for those of us who eat to self-medicate, it’s a time when we turn to food for comfort.

So, when the Taxotere ended, I was left with unwanted weight and a closet full of clothes I couldn’t fit into. My wardrobe consisted of stretch pants and baggy sweatshirts. Unless I wanted to go shopping for spring muu-muus, I had to do something.

I’m happy to report that, since the beginning of February, I took off the chemo lbs and a few more to boot. I’ve been counting Weight Watchers points, which ensures that I am eating lots of vegetables. Raw veggies help me stay within points without being too hungry. More importantly, they are giving my body the nutrients it needs to stay strong and fight the cancer.

A friend suggested I post some tips I’ve been learning about eating healthy and staying on my plan. I made a list and it’s long, so I’ll try and post it in pieces over the next few days. Because it’s an ongoing struggle and I have more lbs to go, I’m a bit embarrassed to be giving anyone weight-loss advice. But maybe writing about it will not only help someone else, but will help to keep me on track too.

So here it is, tip #1.

A friend and I have been writing down everything we eat since the beginning of February and send the list to one another in an email every day. It makes me accountable to someone else and keeps me on the plan. I know if I go on a binge, I have to answer to my conscience (aka Anka).

Asparagus article

An article has been circulating for some time about taking pureed asparagus as a cure for cancer. Snopes.com says that this claim has not been substantiated.

The good news is that you have nothing to lose from trying it. Asparagus is good for you, regardless of its ability (or lack thereof) to ‘cure’ cancer. It has high levels of glutathione, which has cancer fighting properties.

Asparagus article

Health benefits of asparagus

Snopes. com

Recipe for low-fat asparagus soup

You know you are obsessed with food when...

It’s 9:30 a.m. and I know everything I’m going to eat today. Not only do I know what I’m going to eat, it is all prepared and in containers in my fridge.

I have had a long love affair with plastic food containers. (Remember my pill container?) I stick to the same brands so they stack neatly in my cupboard and fridge. I seriously considered boycotting Ziplock and writing them a letter when they changed the style of my favorite containers so they no longer fit into the previous design. How could they do that? Don’t they know the stress they caused to me and other anal people like me?

This is a picture of one of the shelves in my freezer. (No Mom, I haven't defrosted it yet). There is something gratifying about having everything orderly, labeled and recorded on a master list in my kitchen. (Is there a support group for this?)

I’ve been trying to get control of my eating during my treatments. I’ve considered vegetarian, vegan, raw food, low dairy, no dairy, macrobiotic and, my favorite, ‘give up and binge’. Due to that last choice, along with Taxotere, steroids, emotional eating, mild nausea and too much time on my hands, my diet has ended up being inconsistent and I’ve gained weight during my treatments.

I’ve joined Weight Watchers so many times that I should get a free pass every 10 times I join, but I have to admit that I’ve always eaten very healthy when I was on the program. So, starting today, February 1, I’m going to try counting points yet again.

Maybe if I combine two of my obsessions: 1) organizing things into containers and 2) food, it can help me to get control of my eating. Not only am I going to plan my menu for the day, I am going to prepare my meals ahead of time and store them in the fridge, ready to heat and eat.

These are my meals for today - breakfast, lunch and dinner. I put the lid on the plastic containers, stack them in the fridge & microwave what needs to be heated (against the advice of the author of "Balance", who says that microwaving food is a huge no-no). No, the plastic doesn't go in the microwave; the plates inside the containers are glass and that's what gets heated up.

I think I might be on to something here. It's what celebrities do, only they have a chef or delivery service do the work. I could turn this into a diet book! I think I’ll wait to see how I get through the week before I contact Oprah to appear on her show.

Maybe next week I'll show you my linen closet...

I failed Intro to Juicing

There my juicer sits, on my counter, taunting me, making me feel guilty because I’m not reducing vast amounts of vegetables into highly concentrated nutrient rich juice – otherwise known as sludge.

The first time I used it, in true Chris style, I didn’t follow a recipe (mistake #1). I just threw in one or two of every vegetable I had in the fridge, including too many beets (mistake #2). The result was this thick red slime that resembled clotted blood, which I couldn’t bring myself to drink.

I was a bit more cautious with my second try, choosing a basic recipe with three ingredients from the juicer manual: carrot, apple and ginger. The color was better than my first try but I still had a problem with consistently. I ignored my gag reflexes and managed to drink the entire glass.

Then I was left with the clean up. The machine has lots of parts that get stained by juice and filled with vegetable pulp. The thrifty part of me couldn’t bring myself to toss out the massive amounts of pulp produced during the juicing, so I froze it, planning to use it in muffins or find some other use for it. (In other words, I’ll throw it out the next time I defrost my freezer.)

The juicer is still sitting there. If I was a knitter I would knit it a tea cozy type cover, because it’s starting to gather dust. Maybe on a day when the mood hits me I’ll give in another try. In the meantime, I think I’ll stick to carrot sticks and celery, the old fashioned way: raw and crunchy.

Meat and Dairy

Back to recommendations from Susan Manion MacDonald’s book, Balance…

The Balance book recommends not eating red meat or dairy products (other than organic quark) because of the possibility that they contact hormones or antibiotics, which may cause the cancer cells to divide and grow more quickly. The author references the book Life in Your Hands by Dr. Jane Plant, who states that 1 in 10,000 in China develops cancer compared to 3 in North America. One of the biggest differences in the Chinese diet is the absence of dairy products.

Her recommendations include having protein at all 3 meals, with the least amount of protein in the last meal of the day. To allow the liver the opportunity to process food properly and regenerate itself, it’s best to reduce protein after 2 in the afternoon. Sources of high protein: peas, beans, lentils, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, sesame and sunflower seeds.

I made a trip to Rainbow foods and bought a few things that were recommended in the book. I got strips to test my pH balance and was happy to see that my alkaline level was 7.4, which is optimum. I am experimenting with using Stevia instead of sugar (although my sugar addiction is an ongoing battle). I also picked up almond milk, which is relaxing warmed up before bed.

My latest concern is numbness in my right hand and foot, which is a side-effect of the Taxotere. I saw my naturopath yesterday and she gave me a B-12 shot to see if that might help. It’s getting progressively worse and the worry is that it can be permanent. I’m already have a hard time picking up small things like pills. I’m hoping that the longer break at Christmas, combined with the B-12 shots, will slow things down.

pH Balance - Ackaline v.s. Acidic

I’ve heard it said that cancer cannot grow in an alkaline environment. According to Susan MacDonald, author of “Balance … nature’s way to heal your body”, a pH reading of 7.4 pH protects the body from attack from bacteria, viruses & fungi.

You can test your alkaline level at home using strips purchased at a drug store. The drug stores in my suburban area don’t seem to carry them, so you might have to try a more urban one like in the Glebe or a health food store. Susan Macdonald suggests that initial tests should be done daily for 2 consecutive days to start and then weekly until one’s alkaline level stabilzes via lifestyle changes, such as appropriate nutrition, clean water, and stress reduction.

She suggests doing both urine and saliva tests for the most accurate evaluation. The ideal time for taking a urine sample is the second urine stream in the morning, but the first one is acceptable. Saliva tests should be done before a meal and then 4 minutes after the meal. Your pH level should increase after the meal. Avoid putting the strips in your mouth; spit into a spoon or directly onto the strips. Salivary pH should be approximately 0.5 lower than the urinary pH.

Highly acidic foods (avoid): most fast food, meats, grains, cranberries, prunes, plumbs, rhubarb, refined salt, sugar, condiments (e.g. pickles, ketchup) soda pop.

Alkaline foods: almonds, melons, unpasteurized honey, maple syrup, figs, dates, natural yogurt, dairy, root vegetables (e.g. potatoes, turnip) apricots, avocados, coconut, grapes, molasses, raisins & lemons. Alfalfa & other sprouts, cayenne.

Organic almonds are the kings of alkaline foods. Eat 15-20 day. Soaking for 24 hours in pure water starts the germination process and activates its life force. If a person has cancer, they shouldn't eat more than 5 per day. (I'm not sure why; I can't find an explanation in the book).

Suger substitutes: molasses, maple syrup, unpasteurized honey. It takes 30 glasses of water to neutralize the acid from one can of pop.

The aim is to eat 80% alkaline and 20% acidic. Try to consume ½ your veggies raw.

Note: The chart shown did not come from Susan's book. I found it on the Squido website.

Vitamin D

Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found — adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin'' has anti-cancer benefits.

Only 24 percent of women in the study had sufficient blood levels of D at the time they were first diagnosed with breast cancer. Those who were deficient were nearly twice as likely to have their cancer recur or spread over the next 10 years, and 73 percent more likely to die of the disease.

"These are pretty big differences,'' said study leader Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "It's the first time that vitamin D has been linked to breast cancer progression.''

To read the complete story, go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24654464/