What I Made For Dinner Last Night

I haven't done one of these "What I Made for Dinner Last Night" postings in a while, but I thought it would be a good idea to show that I can still find time to make dinner most nights even though I am in radiation every day.

The radiation now takes an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes out of my busy day.   The actual radiation treatment isn't that long--on 10-15 minutes, but getting to the hospital and back every day is time consuming.

To make up for the lost time, I've been doing a lot of "double cooking" and cooking on the weekends.    When I "double cook" I make enough food for 2 meals and freeze the remainder, and when I cook on the weekends, I just prepare food in advance and either refrigerate or freeze.

For example, last week I made a big pot of minestrone and froze half for a later meal.    Two weekends ago I made two pans of my mushroom/spinach lasagna (I'll write out the recipe one day), and froze both.  

Even with that advance planning, I still need to whip up some quick dinners during the week.   If I have a chance to get to the grocery store, grilling fresh salmon is quick and easy, and a crowd pleaser with my family.   I can either make a salad or steam some green beans or broccoli to go along side it, and top with one of my home-made vinaigrette's.

Last night, however, I went back to an old family, quick and easy favorite.  My grandmother made this dish quite often, and I always liked it because you cook the cauliflower and pasta together in the same pot which saves clean up time.    The whole dish takes less than half and hour to make from start to finish, and you can substitute broccoli if you don't care for cauliflower.   It's also great because all the ingredients are easy to keep for at least a couple of weeks, so you don't have to run out last minute to shop.

Here's the recipe.

1 head of cauliflower cut into 1 inch pieces
1 12 oz box of whole grain pasta
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 medium-sized yellow onion peeled and chopped
1 2 oz. can of anchovies, drained and rinsed.
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add cauliflower and pasta.  Stir and cook until pasta is al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan over high heat and add the chopped onions.   Cook until they begin to turn translucent and then add anchovies.  Stir until anchovies break apart (about 3 minutes).   Add 1 cup of the pasta/cauliflower cooking water and let the liquid reduce by half (2-3 minutes).

Drain pasta and cauliflower and add to the pan with the onion/anchovy mixture.  Add salt and pepper to taste and parsley if using.

First Ketchup, Now Pizza

Congressional Republicans are pushing a proposal to make pizza a vegetable in school lunches.   I kid you not. 

On Monday, Republican-controlled House of Representatives introduced a spending bill — a measure far more significant than their initial whining and foot-stomping — that would obviate a proposal made earlier this year by the Agriculture Department to limit the amount of potatoes and sodium, as well as increase the number of whole grains, served in school cafeterias. Unsurprisingly, changes to the Agriculture's proposal had been requested by frozen pizza companies and the salt and potato industries, which worry that, deprived of essential french fry nutrients, American children will begin to absorb too much water and explode like Senator Kelly from the first X-Men movie. Some conservative congressional members have also expressed concerns that the government shouldn't be telling children what to eat, especially if they're eating frozen pizza and French fries, and so have crafted a bill that, according to CBS, would "prevent overly burdensome and costly regulations and...provide greater flexibility for local school districts to improve the nutritional quality of meals." The bill includes language qualifying that the gross tomato paste used in school pizzas be considered a vegetable; once classified as a vegetable, the paste would count towards fulfilling the vegetable portion of nutritional guidelines.

Overly burdensome regulations?  It's amazing how regulations suddenly become "burdensome" every time some big business conglomerate wants to make more money by harming the American public.  

If pizza could be counted as a vegetable the problem is that the regulations aren't burdensome enough.  It's time to get money out of politics for our children's sakes.

The Battle for Breakfast?

Think that Tony the Tiger is just a harmless breakfast icon?    Think again.

Despite what big food tries to convince you, here's the reality:

Defenders of kid marketing claim animated characters are simple, harmless fun. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. These characters are not some random creation. Rather, they are a well-calculated assault on children. For any given character, millions of dollars has been spent on the following:

1. Researching the psyche of kids at each stage of childhood development
2. Learning effective emotional triggers to create kid engagement, trust and purchase interest
3. Understanding story frameworks to make sure they are interesting to kids
4. Testing and re-testing advertising concepts and final commercials to ensure they will drive increased consumption among kids

With the help of advertising agencies, research firms, and brand character specialists like Character LLC, Big Food companies launch advertising smart bombs, disguised as fun-loving characters, straight at kids.

It is truly amazing that when you do a side by side comparison of Frosted Flakes to an ice cream sandwich, you'd actually be better off giving your kids an ice-cream sandwich for breakfast.   

And, as the blogger notes, the size of the Frosted Flakes portion is vastly undersized, so you're feeding your kid even more calories, sodium and fat. 

As the author points out, Kellogg's spends nearly $20 million annually marketing just Frosted Flakes.   Tony the Tiger represents big money, and it's not money spent in your kids' best interest.

The author says it well, "Kid's Marketing . .  .  It's Just Not a Fair Fight."
 

Well Duh!!!

Eating a McDonald's McRibs sandwich isn't all that good for your health.    I kind of already gathered that eating processed pressed meat shaped into rib form probably wasn't a good idea.

However, I didn't realize that if I did venture to eat one, I'd essentially be eating the same ingredients that are in my yoga mat.   To wit:

These components are in small enough quantities to be innocuous. But it's still a little disconcerting to know that, for example, azodicarbonamide, a flour-bleaching agent that is most commonly used in the manufacture of foamed plastics like in gym mats and the soles of shoes, is found in the McRib bun. The compound is banned in Europe and Australia as a food additive. (England's Health and Safety Executive classified it as a "respiratory sensitizer" that potentially contributes to asthma through occupational exposure.) The U.S. limits azodicarbonamide to 45 parts per million in commercial flour products, based on analysis of lab testing.

Blech!!!

Confessions of a Former Big Food Executive

A good read.  Most telling:

I think one of the main ways the processed food industry is trying to grow and defend their business is by funding self-serving research. The goal of these studies isn't to uncover "the truth" or to improve public health. Instead, the research is carefully constructed to create sound bites and statistics to help market their products or combat potential regulation. This is one of the primary ways we end up with conflicting studies that confuse consumers on what they should eat or drink.

Is this purposeful misdirection? Intent is always tough to prove, especially if you don't have firsthand knowledge. Research tends to be the work of a select few within processed food companies, and I was never part of one of those groups. That said, if you dig into these studies and their methodology, you can usually find the telltale signs of how they have "stacked the deck" in their favor.

Radiation Dos and Don'ts

Yesterday was my first radiation treatment.   I have to go in everyday, five days a week, for 32 treatments.  

It was pretty uneventful yesterday, aside from the fact that I woke up with a fairly nasty cold, and could not breath through my nose for most of the day.

On my way out, the technician handed me a list of "do's and don'ts" which I thought I'd share with you, along with my thoughts on each one.

1.  Do not expose the treated breast to sunlight.   I'm a 50 year old woman, living in Connecticut, and it's NOVEMBER, what the hell makes you think I'll be sunbathing topless?

2.  Wear Cotton only bras with no underwires.  Well I guess my husband won't be getting any sexy lingerie strip-teases for a while.

3.  Do not shave treated armpit.   If I'm not shaving one, then what's the point of shaving the other?

4.   Apply pure cornstarch to treated breast prior to treatment.  Just what I want to do everyday, rub gravy thickener into my boobie.

5.  Do not use any cream, lotion, cosmetics or deodorant on the treated breast.   Do women actually use cosmetics on their breasts?   Am I missing out on something here?

6.  Do not apply heat or cold to treated breast.  Again, am I missing something here?   Do women typically go around with heating pads and cold packs on their boobs?

7.  Do not scratch or rub skin on treated breast.  Well, that wouldn't be very attractive now would it?  Why don't you just tell me not to rub my crotch while you're at it?  

Radiation Starts Today

Everyday.  Five Days a week, through Christmas.   

The Kids are Not All Right

They don't understand what it takes to lose weight.

What I found most distressing was that obese teen-agers turn to smoking as a weight loss aide.     The second most distressing thing is that they don't understand that they can't have their sugary sodas and lose weight too.   It's sad to think that young men and women may be turned off to exercise, thinking it does nothing for them, because they don't understand that they have to both cut calories and exercise.  

The most effective way to cut calories, of course, is to cut out those sugary drinks.

It all comes down to education.   Our young people are woefully under-educated in what it takes to maintain a healthy weight.   They simply do not understand that if they spend three hours a day sitting playing video games and drinking sugary drinks, they are going to be obese.

Mental Health Break

Because we all need a good laugh now and again:




If you're having problems viewing this Daily Show Clip, check it out here. 

Getting Back to Tai Chi

Last night I made it back to Tai Chi for the first time since the Great Northeastern Halloween Snow Black-out.   It felt so great to just breath.

Our power finally came back on Wednesday night after going out Saturday afternoon.  

Needless to say, not having power for five days majorly disrupted my normal work-out and eating regime.  

It was kind of like being on a vacation without the actual fun of being on vacation.

Did I mention that our town canceled school for THE ENTIRE WEEK???   So I've had a bored ten year old to contend with and a 16 year old autistic young man bouncing off the walls because his normal routine was disrupted.

Then, there was the whole cancer thing.   I was dragging the kids, or trying to schedule sitters, so that I could make the rounds with my surgeon, oncologist and radiologist.

The shala were I normally practice was closed because there was no power, and I couldn't practice in my normal home yoga space because there was over a foot of water in it.

Plus, after three days of living in a cold, dark house were we couldn't flush the toilets, we finally abandoned ship and went to live with my girl-friend.  

Now, with the kids out of school it was impossible for me to walk outside.  I also couldn't utilize my treadmill because there was no power.   Taking the kids anywhere to hike on Sunday and  Monday was out of the question because there was snow on the ground.

With both my yoga shala and martial arts dojo closed due to lack of power, my usual exercise schedule was completely trashed.

I did manage to take a few walks with my girl-friend once I moved in with her and the snow melted, but she doesn't walk as far as I normally do.   I also took the kids for a couple of walks in a park near her house as well.

So last night after getting back in my house, being able to go to the dojo and practice Tai Chi felt so-o-o-o good.   I've been able to get back on the treadmill, take the kids for a hike and this morning I dragged the kids to the shala to wait while I practiced yoga.

What can I say about what I've been eating?   Well, with no power it was hard to cook.   I have a gas cook-top--THANK THE LORD--but for the most part we took the kids out to eat to get out of the cold, dark house (and use the toilets).   I only ordered salads and grilled fish, but it was still probably a higher caloric load than I usually eat.

Did I mention the water in my basement?   It came in handy to flush the toilets.  Every day, several times a day, I'd don my rubber Hunter boots and walk down the stairs to the basement, fill the buckets with water, and go up to the bathrooms on the first and second level.  I'd fill the tanks with the water from the buckets and flush.

We live in an early 19th New England Farmhouse.  The plaque on the house says it was built in 1825.   Whenever we lose power all I can think is that while I'm inconvenienced for a few hours, this was how people lived full time.

Well folks, I have to say.  After having two extended power outages in the last 3 months, and living without electricity, heat and even running water, I know that I am SO-O-O-O happy to be living in the 21st century and not the 19th.

Now if I can only keep the power on.

Exercise DOES Help with Weight Loss

I have to admit that I was highly skeptical when a bunch of studies were touted a few months ago concluding that exercise does not help with weight loss.   It just seemed to run counter to everything I've ever seen with my own weight loss efforts and those of friends and family.  

Well, it turns out I had good cause to be skeptical.   A new batch of studies indicates that weight loss DOES help.

About those Pink Ribbons

Turns out that those pink ribbons plastered all over everything last month may have been a bit hypocritical.   Here's the deal:

Avon and Estee Lauder make various products containing PEG compounds and other chemicals that undergo a nasty chemical process called “ethoxylation,” which uses ethylene oxide (a known breast carcinogen) during processing and often leaves products contaminated with 1,4 dioxane (a carcinogen and serious groundwater contaminant).

All three companies make products containing parabens and other chemicals that act like estrogen in the body, which is problematic because higher estrogen exposures are associated with higher breast cancer risk. A recent study found that methylparaben can interfere with the effectiveness of tamoxifin, a drug used to treat breast cancer.Revlon, Avon and Estee Lauder owe it to us to do better. As leaders in the pink-ribbon parade, they have a responsibility to stop buying carcinogens from the chemical companies, and they have the opportunity to be real champions for women’s health by using their leverage with the chemical companies to demand safer, non-toxic alternatives.

Instead, we get cute pink-ribbon products with an undisclosed portion of proceeds going to breast cancer research, almost none of which is focused on environmental causes of the disease such as cancer-causing chemicals and pollution. They want us to “hope for the cure” rather than having a serious discussion about how to prevent breast cancer – because prevention requires changing the status quo.   

No Power, No Water, No Heat and No Internet

Just wanted to let you all know that due to the freak Eastern October Snowstorm I haven't had power, Internet etc since Saturday.    We haven't gotten any estimates yet as to when we may see our power restored, so until then, I'm not sure what my ability to blog will be.

Photo of the Day

Brutally honest cereal boxes courtesy of artist Ron English.      My favorite is Sugar Frosted Fat. 

The Battle Within

The battle to lose weight isn't easy, but the battle to keep that lost weight off is the bigger battle.   A new study out of Australian shows how our bodies kick in hormones to make us feel hungrier after we shed weight. 

Here's what it says:

In a small study published in the Oct. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Australian scientists found that after overweight and obese patients followed a low-calorie diet for 10 weeks, their appetite and hunger hormone levels changed. While some hormone levels increased and others went down compared to before they dieted, nearly all of the changes favored the body's efforts to regain the lost weight.

The scientists used blood tests to measure levels of nine different hormones at the start of the study, at week 10 when the diet period ended, and again a year later.

The hormone levels did not revert to baseline values within 12 months after the initial weight reduction, said study senior author Dr. Joseph Proietto, a University of Melbourne professor of medicine at Austin Health in Victoria.

For example, in follow-up blood tests, one hormone called ghrelin, an appetite stimulator produced by cells in the lining of the stomach, increased after weight loss and continued to do so throughout the study. On the other hand, levels of the hormone leptin, which suppresses appetite, went down.

It's studies like these that I think demonstrate the most clearly why crash diets don't work.   Your body just responds by doing everything it can to put back on any weight you lost.

Making gradual permanent changes to your diet--in the direction of eating less processed food, less meat and more fruits and vegetables--leads to longer term weight loss.  It may take a year to lose 20 pounds, but the 20 pounds that comes off, stays off.  

Call it the Tortoise diet.   The Hare may take off weight faster, but it's the tortoise that keeps it off.

Occupy Against Big Food

A movement I can get behind:

Doctor Diva

Having cancer is stressful.   Even though I know the prognosis is good. I had a successful surgery and a great pathology report.   I still have this huge uncertainty hanging over my head.

That uncertainty is my overall treatment plan.

So, when I have one of those doctors who is supposed to be helping me through this somewhat stressful time adding to that stress, it's not a good thing.

Let me digress.   A few weeks ago my breast surgeon gave me the name of an oncologist.

Now the good news was that although my cancer was invasive, it was caught at a very early stage--stage 1A.   My surgeon's opinion was that she did not feel that chemotherapy was necessary.  Whether or not chemo was off the plate, however, had to be confirmed by an oncologist.

Needless to say I wanted to get into said oncologist's office ASAP to either confirm the good news (lifting a huge cloud of doubt over my head), or get the bad news and move forward.

Getting an appointment to see said oncologist, however, required more maneuvering than turning a cruise ship around in the high seas.  

First there was the problem with actually getting the doctor's peeps to pick up the phone.   I called the telephone number on the card my surgeon gave me, but was told that the oncologist my surgeon wanted me to see was in another office and was given Telephone Number 2 to call.

So I called Telephone Number 2 at 2 pm on a Wednesday afternoon.  Although the message indicated that office hours were 9-5:30 Monday through Friday, no one picked up the phone.  I tried several more times that day to get through to no avail. 

So Thursday morning I started to try again, and I couldn't get through.  Finally I called the Telephone Number 1, and informed them of my difficulties of getting any actual people to pick up the phone at Telephone Number 2.   I got a receptionist who asked me to hold while she tried to get someone in the office.

After holding for a few minutes the receptionist got back to me and indicated that while their were receptionists, nurses, etc. in the other office, since the doctor wasn't in they decided to not pick up the phones so that they could get paperwork done.

Looking back, I now realize that I should have right then and there hung up the phone, called my surgeon and demand the name of another oncologist.

But, I'm a woman, I have cancer and I didn't want to make any waves.

Instead, I was told that the oncologist's office would get back to me by the end of the day. 

I should of asked "Why not now?"

A few hours later the oncologist's office called. 

Hip, hip hooray!!!

A nurse asked me a bunch of questions and then said that they would request my records from my surgeon and get back to me by Tuesday to set up an appointment.

Tuesday at 4:45 I still hadn't heard back.  I called the office, and guess what?  

They didn't pick up the phone.

I once again called Telephone Number 1, got a person, and asked what was going on.

Quote "the doctor wasn't in, so they decided to leave early."

Huh???? I started to think that this was one office where I'd really like to get a job.

I'm already really irritated at this point, and emotionally distraught since I'm dealing with cancer, kids, autism, work and all the other daily stresses of a a modern day, 21st century working Mom.

The receptionist at Telephone Number 1, however, assured me that she would see that someone would get back to me first thing the next morning.

At 11 o'clock the next day they finally called me (that's first thing?).

"Dr. X will see you at 11 am Tuesday, October 25th," the receptionist told me in a tone that seemed to indicate that she was setting up an appointment to let me see the Queen or the Dali Lama.

"I can't make that time," I told her, "I have another appointment with another doctor at that time."

"That is the time the doctor will see you," I was told.

I booked the anointed appointment, and cancelled the other doctor.

Well, today was the appointed day to see the oncologist, and guess what?

I got a call this morning.   The appointment was canceled.

And, I was given a new appointment, Friday at 10.

"Um," I said, "I already have another appointment at that time.  I have already cancelled one appointment to accommodate the doctor's schedule and I'm not going to cancel another one."

At this point I got a tirade about how this doctor was the "number 1" breast oncologist and that he has a very busy schedule and that I was lucky he was willing to fit me in.

All I could think about was that scene from Sex in the City where Samantha Jones is trying to get in to see some fancy oncologist and she has to deal with the snitty receptionist.




Well, I am not Samantha Jones.   I'm not some single woman with no other responsibilities except satisfying my libido.   I can't just sit around some fucking doctor's office hoping that at some point they will look down favorably on me from their exalted positions and deign to favor me with an appointment (or at least a telephone call).

I've got cancer, dammit and I don't expect to treated like some peon by some diva doctor and his obsequious staff.

Jesus, fucking Christ, am I really supposed to beg and be grateful for treatment????

Who the hell does this doctor think he is???

So I told diva doctor's receptionist what she could do with the appointment, hung up the phone and called my surgeon. 

I got her nurse and explained that me and diva doctor were not going to cut it.   This ship was sailing, and diva wasn't going to be steering it.

The nurse told me that it was understood and that she would ask the surgeon for other recommendations.

Well, long story short, I think I found a new oncologist.   He's already deemed me worthy to speak to me directly on the phone, and his staff is working on getting me in for an initial consultation.

Breast Cancer Update

Where am I?   Feeling a lot better these days.   The post surgery trauma, aches and pains are pretty much gone, and I was able to both take a walk and do a full yoga practice today.

I am, however, sleeping quite a bit.

How much sleep?  Well yesterday I work up at 8, took a 1 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon then fell asleep at 9.

I took another nap today.

So, you can say I'm sleeping my way back to recovery.

But, of course, just as I'm feeling better, stuff looms in the future that's pretty much guaranteed to get me feeling like shit again.

Tomorrow I see my oncologist and he'll tell me if I need chemotherapy.  

Needless to say the idea of getting pumped full of  poisons and chemicals and losing my hair doesn't make me want to jump up and down and yell "hooray!!"

My surgeon thinks I don't need chemo, but it's up to the oncologist to make the final call.  

Wish me luck.

Chemo or no, I will need radiology, every day for 4-6 weeks.   I'm seeing the radiologist on Thursday, and based on what the oncologist says, he'll tell me when and for how long I'll need radiology.

Radiology is also not something that makes me want to jump for joy.   I have to go EVERY FUCKING DAY for 4-6 weeks.   That alone is a drag, but I'm told that after a while your boob gets so burnt you can't wear a bra.  

And, did I mention that I'm going to essentially get zonked with huge doses of RADIATION????

I've come to the conclusion that no real progress has been made in the treatment of breast cancer.

Huge strides have been made in detection, leading to fewer deaths from breast cancer.   Huge strides have also been made in reconstruction.   But the actual treatments are just as barbaric as they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago.  When I talk to women who've had breast cancer in the past, the amazing thing is that what I'm going through is pretty much exactly what they went through.

The idea that a full mastectomy was still on the table for me boggles the mind, as is the idea that the only available post-surgery treatment options are still pretty much only chemo and radiation.  

The Ideal Boob

There's a science to it. 

Your Choice is Their Profits

As always Marion Nestle has an excellent post on the latest corporate marketing drive directed at keeping you sick and fat.

It is not taking away YOUR choice to have Federal food safety regulations, so that YOU don't get sick after eating a slice of cantaloupe.

If you search down through the comments you'll see that the Washington Legal Foundation, which appears to be so concerned with individual freedoms, is actually funded by big corporations such as Pepsico.

Believe me, Pepsico couldn't give a shit about your freedoms, the only thing they're concerned about is profits.   Corporate conglomerates don't give money to advertising campaigns promoting "individual choice" because its the warm and fuzzy thing to do.   They do it because they're afraid that additional food safety regulations will cut into their profits.

Ads like the one Marion mentioned in her post generally never arise from real, individual, grass-roots concerns.   They're corporate propaganda, pure and simple.