You Are What You Eat!!!!

So I have been in NH  at the  Sante Center for Natural Healing now since December fighting breast cancer, and the list of what I CAN eat is shorter than the list of what I CAN’T  eat but it is making me stronger and healthier then I have ever been.

If anyone had told me that I would be excited to be able to eat salad, I would have laughed at them but since  I did a seven week juice fast after my surgery that was just the case. It has been a long process of healing while I have been here. Since December I have lost about 18 pounds by changing my diet in order to kick cancer!

It started with my juice fast which was a gallon of juice a day during the week and then 2 quarts plus on the weekends. I alternated between carrot apple and carrot apple spinach initially, and then a cucumber beet was added into the mix. The cucumber beet was a daily addition and it was one quart a day. Any of you that have been following this journey over the last six months know all about my juice fast and how excited I was for weekends and food even if it wasn’t cooked.

I have not had anything cooked since the beginning of December when I was still allowed some fish and seafood. I have not had chicken or red meat since October,  or dairy, grains, sugar or alcohol for that matter…and believe it or not I survived.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still crave foods that are not part of my diet, and may never be part of it again. I still have days where I want a cheeseburger or pasta or even a steak, but I have just come to terms with the fact that these things are not part of my life currently.

If my mom could see me now, eating all these fruits and veggies she would be so proud. My day usually consists of a berry bowl with 12 sliced almonds in it for breakfast along with a quart of juice, for lunch I have a raw soup quandary then for dinner I either  have more raw soup or a salad. I also snack on carrots and guacamole and our new invention raw veggie wraps.

The raw soup has just about every green vegetable that you could imagine in it, reminding me a little bit of a gazpacho consistency.  My step-mom and I have pretty much perfected the soup and I am even starting to really like it. Either my taste buds are changing or I just don’t remember what other foods taste like anymore. LOL. Our raw soup is spinach based, with avocado, tomato, cucumber, celery, LOTS of garlic, red pepper, zucchini, rainbow chard, watercress, dandelion greens, pea shoots, kale, broccoli, red cabbage and just about any other green you can find. The key we have found is after you blend the spinach and avocado and tomato is to add the watery veggies first so that you don’t get a soup that is either too watery or too mushy. Once the veggies are all blended in food processor or Vita-Mix, we add garlic and flax seed oil as well as olive leaf oil and voila dinner is served! I eat a lot of this and it usually is only good for 3-4 days so we make it a few times a week.

The new addition to my list of foods I can eat are veggie wraps made using collard greens as the wrap instead of the traditional wrap. They are simple to make, and taste delicious once I add some of my homemade guacamole (which I had to cut back on because I was turning into an avocado). To make these, cut the collard green leaves and remove the center so that the leaves are smaller and easier to roll up. Take the guacamole and spread it on the inside of the leave, add whichever veggies you want (I use carrots, red peppers, and cucumbers) and then just role it up and eat).

Another yummy treat is the zucchini pasta, to replace my oh so favorite pasta. The zucchini pasta is mixed with tomatoes, garlic, and some flax oil. In addition depending on your diet at the time you can add olives and capers which gives it a little more flavor. Since I am not allowed to use salt, we created a basil and avocado “sauce” to put on top which makes it almost like a pesto.

I am finding that the key to this for me is some variety and taking the veggies that I NEED to eat and making them a little more fun to eat. When you are eating the same thing daily no matter what it is it can get boring so when your list is as short or as specific as mine creativity is key. I mean if I could eat carrots and guacamole every day I would but clearly that would not be all that healthy for me.

This past weekend I had a BIG treat, it was a raw mango coconut pie and it was Mmmm mmm good. I do not have any sugar aside from the natural sugars in fruits and being a person with a sweet tooth this was hard for me so the pie was a great treat. It had an almond and date crust, and then the mango and fresh coconut meat was blended and poured into the middle, there was some shaved coconut on top and some sliced kiwi. After it sat for a few in the fridge to chill it was ready to eat….and it didn’t last long believe me.

Eating like this is not easy, I’d be lying if I said it was and it isn’t as cheap as eating junk food either. $5.00 for a fast food meal or $10.00 for a salad that you don’t make on your own. Buying fresh and organic can be expensive but it is your life, and we only get one! I still miss foods I use to eat, and I hope one day when I am all healed and cancer free some of them will again be allowed once in a while but for now…. I’m the raw soup veggie queen.