Diet and Lifestyle
Comments
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Oh and a quick note about all those cookbooks. For a mixed diet family it is very easy to just put a side of shredded meat or cheese on the table. My husband is starting to make those recipes and he just tosses a bit of meat on the kiddos plates. That makes it easier to accommodate everyone.
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Good point! My husband is quite the carnivore. I am (was?) too, just trying to be super disciplined to beat the breast cancer.
I checked out the sample of the Vegan for Everybody book and think I will buy it! Thank you for the reco
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I have way to many ideas so sorry for bombing this thread repeatedly.
BTW the american test kitchen recipes are pretty involved from what I read yesterday and they have quite a bit of oil . However I bet they are delicious and very easy to eat. I am going to try a few this week and report back.
For a counterpoint Chef AJ uses an instant pot and makes a lot of stuff in that. Most meals have a lot of things tossed in there and are ready in under 10 minutes. They are also very easy for my husband to throw some meat in his bowl if he wants. I just freeze small baggies of cooked hamburger or chicken and reheat at meal time. Chef AJ also has a bean burger on youtube (its her diner food video) I am dying to try but it takes some prep and then you make a huge batch of them. I haven't found the time to do that but it is on my list. she has so many videos on Youtube you wouldn't need to buy the book. She doesn't tell the amounts so you have to kind of be free wheeling. Her food is good and she has a ton of ideas to make foods healthy but delicious.
The john Mcdougal site has the most number of comfort food recipes all FREE and they are very easy and very basic and taste good. I personally like to use more spices than they use because chemo burned out my taste buds but I just serve some hot salsa and such at the table to give the recipes I personally do not like the mcdougal cookbooks because I don't cook with soy and didn't have great luck last time. The online recipes are easy to search and try.
The forks over knives site has quite a few recipes so no need to buy cookbooks. There is a lot online.
Try to just find a few easy delicious foods and make them vegan .
I love this video by Chef AJ for easy foods . Everything she cooks is anti cancer and whole foods no oil but she still manages to make them with basic ingredients and they are great for weight loss.
Chef AJ-"Easy foods to make you thin"
Mashed potatoes piled with some yummy gravy sauce. Mcdougal Golden Gravy
Other ideas
Pasta with marinara just find a sauce that is not high in oil
Tacos or fajitas with black beans and rice add some taco seasoning and red peppers etc.
Indian food if you are craving that so easy to use coconut milk and make something delicious. I will try to find the recipes I used for that as they were online.
For Thai food I remember seeing a really good Vegan Thai youtube video I just need to search again .
Also if all of this is too hard then you could watch "plant Pure Nation" They have a 10 meal pack of food or a 20 meal pack of food that goes in the freezer for a very decent price. I have their cookbook because I like to cook and I am making their jumpstart meals . That film is very cool to watch. I skipped over the political part because I am just so busy with my health and trying to get better I don't have the bandwidth for it. BUT the food is dang good and would be an easy way to eat (cookbook or delivery) for the first month.
Also I haven't read it but forks over knives has a 4 week plan as well. I think I put that on my kindle and it was only like 4 dollars with all the recipes. They hired chefs so the food is very well thought out I like their recipes as well.
This is a bit of my story. I watched the nutrition.org videos about how a whole foods plant based diet can make your body inhospitable to cancer. I also learned that breast cancer likes cholesterol and mine is just naturally high. My liver enzymes were elevated and I couldn't get them down with a paleo diet. Then I saw the video on that site regarding neuropathy and committed to go whole foods for 6 months. I would say I was very good for the first 6 weeks maybe a small slip here or there. Then I had my tests and the results were very encouraging. Cholesterol huge drop, liver enzymes normal, lost around 8 lbs in that time, My hands started to feel like they had more circulation, my digestion had been a mess since chemo but everything just started to be better. Also my neuropathy has started to decrease significantly. Then at around 9 weeks, I noticed my mood and depression had lifted and I felt so much better. This has given me the encouragement to stay with it. Its like moving to a new town and just loving it. I now don't want to go back and live where I was before because cancer had put me in a pretty dark place. Halloween week was not my best as it was close to my caniversary and lots of junkfood invaded my house but I bounced back. Now I am moving towards making meal plans. I have so many delicious recipes and I have started to make things faster and easier. Also now that my husband bought into serving the meat and cheese/dairy on the side my life is much easier. I can cook one set of meals and move on. Everyone is benefiting from the beans and grains and extra vegetables. I am benefiting from the streamline cooking and reduced stress. Also its easier on my grocery budget and clean up. I know many of you are not trying to lose weight but I gained 25 pounds on Herceptin and Tamoxifen so when I step on the scale and see that I am losing weight without measuring anything and without going hungry it has just lights up my world. My body naturally wants to be healthy and for the first time in a long time I am optimistic about where my health is taking me.
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So glad to hear that your lifestyle is working well for you, exercise_guru!
I have to admit that even though my dietary changes started a year before diagnosis, I actually cried at the supermarket yesterday when I passed by the Olivieri ravioli. Sometimes I just miss my old life.
I take one meal a week as a “cheat” and I love it. I don’t want to be in a position where my body can’t digest “normal” food. That way I can still enjoy special occasions and travel is less complicated.0 -
I am still doing some extreme practices as I am in the midst of treatment. I am doing a 90% vegetarian, low animal products, low carb, keto diet. And fasting-mimicking.
I love the idea of one cheat meal per week, to make it tolerable to stick to this eating plan longer term, at least through my window of recurrence. That would feel like a nice treat.
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santabarbarian, wishing you the best with treatment!
Yes, it is a treat and I enjoy it with a small glass of red wine! The practice helps me to feel a bit more “normal”. Too much has changed with cancer and tamoxifen.0 -
I have two different challenges to eating health. Kiddos and the outside junk world that send or have things that are really just garbage calories. Crappy pizza, halloween candy, cupcakes, soda pop that kind of stuff. I try to keep it out because I don't buy it but it seems like almost every week there is a "special" occasion that this happens. Also I am room mom so I always try to bring something yummy the kids can choose over that if they like. I had to walk a bag of dorritos down the street and put it in my neighbors garbage because that stuff is way to tempting for me.
The other challenge is the off plan foods people love. If its something I am craving like the example above the one you mentioned the Olivieri ravioli. If I am eating whole foods for health not humanitarian reasons I would just plan to have that one day with a glass of wine and first create a giant beautiful salad to pair with it. Then I would enjoy it and look forward to it and have it as "support meal" where I felt nourished rather than a "cheat" food that would make me feel guilt. Food should be a celebration in my opinion. We have all been through so many treatments and emotional challenges more guilt and disappointment .... $^#@$%@$^ that.
I have a slight advantage in that I haven't consumed dairy for over 20 years. It makes me dog sick even if its in a vitamin or some bread or something . I have read every label for so long that it trained me to cook my own food that I love and my own Faux cheese sauces . I have spent all of that time going to parties bringing items I can have and ordering at restaurants dairy free. Switching to the whole foods plant based diet was actually not that difficult with good recipes and youtube. Dragging my family along is a whole other story but I keep going. My goal is to make muffins and such that are good for the lunchboxes but haven't gotten there yet. My goal is to make muffins and such that are good for the lunchboxes and on the go but I put myself first and decided that was the most important.
For those of you who are in treatment do check out and search for that Prolon kit by Victer Longo. It is supposed to help put the active cells to sleep while the cancer cells can not adapt and get nailed by the Chemo. I didn't have this available in 2015 so I just fasted and it was pretty brutal.
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Exercise Guru: "I had to walk a bag of dorritos down the street and put it in my neighbors garbage because that stuff is way to tempting for me." was a LOL
Yes, I read up on Longo and am doing fasting-mimicking prior to and through chemos, using my own foods but following his formulae for calories and % carbs, fat etc. Not too hard with the internet to look up the nutritional stuff. F-M is much easier, even though 5 days, than straight fasting....
My 2nd to last chemo is today and I can feel tat finish line coming at me! Luckily my tumor has been melted since after chemo #2. But those dang stray cells need the whole course of 6.
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Funny you should mention Doritos. I was never a big junk food consumer, but my goodness, those have been on my mind for the past couple weeks! I'm focussing on Christmas Eve Old Dutch Rip-L chips. Last year I made the mistake of going low sodium. With so much salt how could I miss half of it? Turns out it makes a big difference! If you're going to eat something once a year, might as well go for it! 😂
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Exerciseguru-- please do report more on your new America Test Kitchen cookbook! I just purchased an instant pot and excited to get my chili and soup on!
Santabarbarian-- You've got this! I too had 6 treatments of TC, and certainly wanted to stop at 4, but took 5 and 6 with strength and grace as you are. I too did the FM diet with my treatments, and have to believe it gave me an edge. Trying to find supportive information and research to learn if fasting would be beneficial now. I find conflicting evidence. What have you found regarding fasting for cancer patients post treatments?
I have a new hobby in my home-- broccoli sprouting! Anyone else sprouting? I would love any beginners tips, as well as ideas and recipes! Thanks!
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Also maranta to ask if anyone has tried this mung bean scramble--
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MamaFelice, yes, I do sprouting, but am new to this. Have a look at the previous page, there are several posts from me with pictures of my sprouting trays
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MamaFace, Yes- I intend to stay on my vegetarian heavy keto diet, and to do F-M diet quarterly after treatment is done, throughout my prime recurrence window (3 years). My understanding is that it performs a good "reset" on the immune system, and that people who fast intermittently (even those who have crummy diets) experience lower BP, triglycerides, etc... all trend down from periodic F-M.
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC49827...
https://www.connersclinic.com/time-restricted-eati...
These two articles talk about the benefits of time-restricted eating - which is what I do (rather than going whole days of fasting or cutting calories drastically). The second article from Conners Clinic also mentions that by fasting overnight, it improves gut health.
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Straight fasting is only hard for the first day. After that it gets much easier. Eventually you reach a point where you feel like you could do it forever, which I know is hard to believe. It's like running in that sense.
If you're going to do straight fasting for more than a couple days, be careful to reintroduce foods slowly or you'll wind up with terrible diarrhea. Start with juices, then soups, then start to mix in solid food as tolerable until you're eating normally again. And drink a LOT of water while you fast.
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GoKale-- Thank you for the articles! I practice the same but have heard it referred to as intermittent fasting. I starting eating around 11:30am and finish before 7:00pm, and in the winter sometimes even earlier.
I tend to make lunch my bigger meal, have an afternoon snack and then a heavy snack or light meal for dinner. I love soups this time of year.... my favorite being a take on my grandmother's escarole and white bean soup but with kale. Oh and lentil soups too! I just purchased an Instant pot and I have lentils soaking in it overnight for tomorrow's soup. Anyone have any great Instant Pot recipes to share?
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https://www.kitchentreaty.com/simple-instant-pot-v...
I made the black bean chili recipe above on the stove without an instant pot. SO good! It was also very fast and simple. It's only 4 servings so next time I might make 50% more.
I don't have an instant pot, and I am pondering whether I should get a Vitamix or a food processor because I see recipes for things like cauliflower crust pizza and "riced" cauliflower. Right now I get by with my black and decker blender (27 years old) and my Pampered Chef Chopper. I also have an electric coffee bean grinder that I use to grind up oatmeal for oat flour. I resist the urge to buy more appliances so I am still trying to decide if I really need these things. I most cook for just the two of us.
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Pebbles5:
I know what you mean about the pizza. I actually bought a slice and stashed it in my freezer for until after my surgery.
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The appliances I use everyday
Pressure cooker to precook and freeze beans and make stews and veggies
I also cook potatoes and yams for later .
Rice cooker to cook all kinds of pilaf and rice to freeze does later
An instant pot would do both if those functions. I am considering getting one because I worry I will go run errands and leave the stove cooking Under my pressure cooker because I have such chemo brain.
My Vitamix is good for smoothies and making blended soup. That's all I use it for but it's good at that.
I use my food processor to chop things because I have neuropathy and my hands are not friends with knives but otherwise I could live without it.
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The appliances I use everyday
Pressure cooker to precook and freeze beans and make stews and veggies
I also cook potatoes and yams for later .
Rice cooker to cook all kinds of pilaf and rice to freeze does later
An instant pot would do both if those functions. I am considering getting one because I worry I will go run errands and leave the stove cooking Under my pressure cooker because I have such chemo brain.
My Vitamix is good for smoothies and making blended soup. That's all I use it for but it's good at that.
I use my food processor to chop things because I have neuropathy and my hands are not friends with knives but otherwise I could live without it.
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Vitamix blender, slow cooker, and Champion juicer!! I use them daily and couldn't live without them! I'm considering a pressure cooker but I'm a bit afraid of them. I hear they have changed since I was a child and are much safer. Is this true?
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Hi everyone! OK I finally tried this gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin pie recipe! Pics below and link below
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/gluten-free-pumpkin-pie-recipe/
It was OK Not bad but I think I’m going to adapt it - make it pumpkin only and no butternut squash, add more berries (the added berries were my special touch, and they are cancer fighting foods so the more berries the better!), and add more honey and maybe dark chocolate I need it to be a bit sweeter than the recipe and honey and dark chocolate help fight breast cancer so why not.
WC3 - enjoy that pizza slice for the both of us. 😜
Anyways here are pics at this first attempt! Click the link for the recipe and know I added berries!
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On the topic of B12, I went plant-based and stopped eating meat about 5 months ago a little while after my diagnosis. I had a check up with a blood test two weeks ago - cholesterol dropped dramatically but so did my white blood cell count and platelets, which were below the target range. A friend mentioned that it was probably due to low B12. I messaged the MO and asked if it is OK to supplement and the nurse responded yes. I took a relatively high B12 for the last two weeks and got bloodwork retested yesterday -- white blood cells and platelets improved a lot, back in the acceptable range.
However, I am going to take a lower B12 dose going forward. For what's it's worth the following article seems like a reasonable summary. It recommends low folate and moderate dose of B2 and B6 along with not a super high dose of B12 in the methylcobalamin form.
https://www.mygenefood.com/b-vitamin-supplements-a...
I found the Andrew Lessman B12 250 which meets all those criteria. I take some other Andrew Lessman supplements -- they seem to have well-thought-out formulations.
My red blood cell count, hemaglobin and hematocrit are still below target, which is anemia. I am betting this is diet, so will ask MO if I should supplement with iron.
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Stacy there is. Very specific test for pernicious anemia. I would have that ran ASAP.
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Beautiful pies Pebbles! I'm ready for all the fall flavors to take over my kitchen!
LORI-- The instant pot that we have been talking about is the new electric pressure cooker. My crock pot gave out last year, so I decided to replace with instant pot since it has a slow cook function along with pressure cooking.
I made lentil soup last night in it. I had presoaked the lentils the night before, sauted onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the pot using sauté function....added the lentils and rest of the ingredients and in 20 mins-- voila-- perfectly cooked soup! I used it a few nights ago to make beef stew for my husband and son which had stew meat, and big hunks of potatoes an carrots, and it was done in 30 mins with everything tender as if it had cooked for hours. I hope to make good use out of it all winter Making soups with beans and squashes....and I believe it has a rice function as well.... and oatmeal.... etc. Can't wait to use it to its potential! And I purchased the Mack Daddy one at Costco for $100. The price really has dropped on them, and I even see more basic models that are fewer quarts in size but still most all the functions for $60. Great to put on your Christmas wish list!
Happy Healthy Cooking
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Thanks MamaFelice! I'll check it out. I didn't know there was such a thing as an electric pressure cooker! It sounds so multi-functional and time-saving too!
PebblesV - Your pumpkin pie looks delicious!!
Exercise_guru - Whole foods for 6 months is a great goal! I bet you will feel so good that you will never go back. That has been my experience so far. I'm on my 8th month. Thanks for all the amazing food ideas you share!!
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Hey ladies,
You all have been amazing in (unknowingly) supporting me in my new cancer journey. Diagnosed end of September at 43. I've read all the posts to date, and people on this thread now seem familiar to me:)
I have plans to do an excel sheet on the various foods and how much I should eat of what daily. I am aware of the daily dozen app, but I want to go deeper.
Do you have any wisdom regarding:
1. MCT oil //we have to eat fat daily imho as there are a lot of fat soluble vitamins to digest and fat is critical to various other functions.
2. Which oil to cook with? // Kristi Funk says best is organic canola oil, but I remember not so good things about it before my precancer days. I normally use toasted sesame oil but now looks like sesames are bad.
3. Bovine collagen powder //Aside from its not being vegan, does it have other effects on BC? Apparently it helps a lot with skin, joints and nails during treatment
4. Vitamin C // I have an "amazing greens" super powder with tons of veggies but it also has 1000 mg of vit C in it per serving. Does vit C affect BC recurrence? In general, do you use greens super food powders in your smoothies in addition to your daily veggies?
Thanks!
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I think there are some different opinions on canola oil. Some people think it's unhealthy because it has a high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. I think most people think its unhealthy because it is usually processed using hexane, which is a component of crude oil. It's one of those chemicals that the EPA swears is fine, but I'm extremely skeptical and don't want it in my food. A lot of oils are processed with hexane. If you want to avoid this just get expeller pressed oil.
I use canola oil as it is very neutral tasting, I just get organic expeller pressed. As for the omega-6 to omega-3 things, I really haven't found a lot of good options that can be used for cooking, most of the stuff with a high ratio of omega-3s are only good for dressings and break down with heat. For high heat cooking on the stove I usually use avocado oil and for grilling or baking I usually choose coconut oil, which I find to be a pretty decent substitute for butter or vegetable shortening, as it is somewhat solid at room temp but melts slightly above room temp (it will melt on warm days if you don't have your A/C on). For a quick saute I use extra virgin olive oil (expeller pressed) but if I need a neutral tasting oil or need a lot of oil (like for a pan-fry) I go with canola. I also use canola if I'm making salad dressing ahead of time or dressing something that I plan to put in the fridge because it stays liquid in the fridge whereas olive oil does not.
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Hi Nomaddd - I use wheat grass and barley greens in my home juiced vegie/fruit smoothie every morning. I also pour a quick glug of flax seed oil into it. The crazy thing about the convenience of using the internet to educate ones self on what is "good" and what is "bad" for breast cancer is that there will be contradictions to almost everything that you google. It almost boils down to weighing out what you read and then trusting your instincts to determine what you end up finally doing/eating/drinking etc. I've never read anything bad about vitamin C, and because it is a water soluble vitamin, it's less likely that taking the highest recommended dose will be too much. I cook with coconut oil, also controversial, but I believe in it. Costco has an organic, cold pressed, unrefined coconut oil by Kirkland that they sell here in Canada. I like knowing that I am improving my health when I use it and I love the taste too!
It's tough when you talk about collagen. My understanding is that it does help with damage caused by radiation or other BC treatments that affect our skin, hair, nails, etc. If that was our only problem, then I would take it, but there is also information that is available regarding how it can encourage the spread of cancer cells. Again, instinct as to what makes the most sense to you may have to come in to play.
One thing that I believe is that there is probably a reason that we got this disease in the first place. Maybe cancer causing chemicals in our foods, in our beauty products, in our water, in our air, etc. Maybe the risk of cancer is in our genes, so we should have been extra cautious not the trigger it, had we known. Is it a poor immune system due to excessive stress, lack of relaxation, long term sleep deprivation? There is a reason but it is hard to know exactly why an individual ended up with cancer. That is what sucks the most, I think. If we knew exactly why we got BC, then we would stop doing whatever it was that caused it. I decided to stop doing all of the things that may have contributed to my BC that I possibly can. It has certainly kept me busy in my "free time", but it has also given me some peace of mind. I am doing something to help myself, as opposed to looking to others to say nice words, hoping to make me feel better that way. There is a good article titled "What to Stop Doing if You Have Breast Cancer" by Pam Stephan. Google that as just a start, if you like. You may be doing most of the right things already. When you have met those challenges, go a little deeper into each one, because there is always room for some exciting improvement. It's amazing how it helps you deal with things in a more controlled way, both emotionally and physically too! It's not only us going through this disease. It's our husband, our kids, our parents and siblings, etc. Feeling empowered to the point of showing empathy towards how they are feeling and the fears they are quietly going through, is the reward that I have found, at least at this point in my journey.
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Thank you both so much! This thing completely uprooted me from my comfort zone and I am ready to step up to the challenge (albeit not necessarily my choice;) ! I am the lizard king, I can do anything is a motto I sometimes use 😀😎💪Sucks it happened to me, but it is what it is, and it isnt what it isnt. A new journey it is...
Thanks!
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