Comfort Food When Sick

It's all well and good to be a pioneer.  Heading out into the great unknown can be an adventure, but when when I'm feeling under the weather all I really want is comfort food.

Since we changed to a plant-based diet we are not sick as often or as long, but when I have a sore throat and feel cruddy I still want something to make me feel better.  So what could ever replace my beloved homemade chicken noodle soup?  Or good ole Sprite?  It turns out hot tea and/or smoothies really soothes my throat.  That's easy.  I don't miss the soda pop at all.  But what about my wonderful homemade chicken and noodles?  It was one of my favorite dishes to make, especially when I felt unwell.  It turns out the answer involves miso - something I never even heard up before our diet change.  Here's my new favorite comfort food for when I'm healing:

Miso Soup

Miso soup is a wonderful replacement for Chicken Noodle Soup when you are feeling unwell.  Miso has a long history and is known for it’s healing properties.  Miso paste is found in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods, and Koyo brand Udon noodles and the kelp/dulse seasoning are found in the asian aisle.

Our favorite noodles are Udon, but feel free to try any noodles you want.   Fetticini nest balls from WalMart are egg free wide noodles that are nice to use, too.  Whole wheat noodles tend to be too strong a taste for this soup.  

Add a bag of mixed veggies to up the nutrients, and color.  Or tofu cubes if you like tofu in your miso soup.  Real onion, seaweed, and garlic can be used for a chunkier soup.

2 packages noodles

1 T sea salt

2 T  onion powder

1 t Kelp and/or Dolse granules sea seasonings (can skip or use parsley flakes instead)

2 T soy sauce (optional)

2-4 T Miso paste (yellow, white, brown rice, or barley)  

Fill dutch oven 3/4 full with water and put on to boil.  Once it is boiling add the noodles stirring to keep separate, using the cooking time on the package.  While the noodles are cooking, add salt, onion powder, kelp seasoning, and soy sauce.  

Once noodles are cooked, remove from heat.  Ladle 1/2 cup of the broth into a 1 c glass measuring cup or a mug and whisk miso until dissolved in broth, then add mixture to the soup pot.  Adjust any seasonings as desired.  

Having weathered a few storms now on a plant-based diet I can say with joy that I don't miss chicken noodle soup or Sprite at all, I've found new comfort foods.

First Night Eating Our New Way

Our first night on our plant based whole foods diet was a bit like being stranded on a deserted island.  We didn't know where to turn.  Scrounging through the pantry we found some oatmeal which we promptly ate for dinner.  It was the only thing we had that was plant based and a whole food and it got us through the first night.  Everything else in our pantry or fridge was processed, meat, or cheese.  Shawn made oatmeal with water - which I've always disliked.  Still do.  I don't think I really ate dinner that first night.

Breakfast after we our diet change includes more oatmeal. 

Oatmeal turns out to be a good example of the little, yet big, changes we've made.  Growing up, I always loved the little packets of Apple Cinnamon and Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal.  It was an adjustment to learn how to make GOOD oatmeal from scratch.  Now, I use almond, walnut, or banana milk instead of dairy; and my current favorite oatmeal is homemade pumpkin oatmeal with grape nuts sprinkled on top.  Now, I use dates for sweetener, and add in flax.  All those extra nutrients and flavor boosts were missing in my little packets of oatmeal.  Now I don't feel deprived not eating the little packets, I'm quite satisfied - and privately think I was a bit deprived before.

BTW, We've tried the steel oats, etc, and they are okay.  But for the most part we just stick to regular oats.  It's just easier and cheaper to get Quaker Oats in bulk at Sam's.  When we're on an oatmeal kick (we aren't right now), I will make a big bowl of oatmeal in the morning and everybody helps themselves.  Leftovers make great snacks or breakfast the next day.

Some time I'll post my formula for making oatmeal on this blog.  In the meantime, be encouraged that plant based whole foods eating does not mean eating bland boring foods day after day.  It means learning about a variety of new delicious foods.

Breakfast before our diet change breakfast would often be quite sugary.  

Cancer, Healing, and Nutrition

Considering the connection between between cancer, healing, and nutrition can be like heading into a vast unknown territory.  It can be be scary.  When my husband was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer, the American Cancer Society was informative when it comes to things such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.  It was remarkably silent about any complementary therapies.  In fact, it was so silent with such a marked void that alarm bells went off in my head.

Sample of whole food in a Kanza lodge.

Our family didn't plan to enter new territory in our eating or in healing.  We firmly planned to go the traditional route.  Several doctors spent quite a bit of time "selling" us chemo, and I remember thinking they were preaching to the choir.  My husband was young, 42, and we have three boys.  It was a no-brainer we would do whatever we had to beat this cancer.  And we have...just in our own way.

So what changed?  Shawn went through with the mastectomy and lymph node removal despite his grandmother's concerns.  She sent us a number of resources on alternative therapies, but there was so many it was really overwhelming.  We didn't know which supplements to choose, what order, or how they could interact with the chemo he was scheduled to begin.  So we made an appointment with a Naturopathic Doctor.  She asked an important question: where was Shawn getting exposed to estrogen?  The American Cancer Society mentions estrogen exposure from steroids as being a possible cause of breast cancer in men, but this didn't apply to Shawn.  Then ND informed us there is estrogen in most dairy products today.  This opened up a whole new world to research.  Was this true?  In short, yes, they give the cows estrogen to keep them lactating.

Today, eating fruits, veggies, beans, seeds, nuts and whole grains is pretty much considered an extreme form of eating.  Trust me, you get some strange reactions when you tell someone.  Yet, our ancestors called this whole food eating normal.  

We don't hand grind our own whole grains like they used to,
but I do occasionally grind them in my Vitamix.

For us, researching the connection between healing, cancer, and nutrition opened up a whole new world for us.  We discovered the works of Dr. John Mc Dougall, Dr Neal Barnard, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn, and especially the Cancer Study by Dr. Colin Campbell.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks

Books on healthy eating often show sample menus lined out you for a few weeks.  This would be real handy if my husband or kids would eat any of the stuff on the lists.  Half the things listed I didn't know how to make or sometimes even what they were.  Quinoa, anyone?  The list below can give you an idea of the kinds of things that have worked for our family, but what we eat varies depending on our mood and what's in the fridge.

This morning I had leftover pizza, a chocolate-banana muffin, and a cup of tea for breakfast.

Dr. John McDougall teaches that there are only a half dozen main meals people tend to eat over and over.  Once you identify your new favorites you will automatically rotate these meals.  It took us some time, but our new favorites look a lot like our old favorites: spaghetti, burritos, pizza, burgers.  Come to think of it - yesterday we had burritos for dinner, and the night before we had pizza.  Concentrate on making your comfort foods as nutritious and yummy as possible, and don't worry about all the exotic recipes you'll find unless you are feeling adventurous.

Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Treats
Smoothies with  frozen banana, fresh or frozen fruit, nut milk or juice, touch of raw sugar, greens, and flax Fruit in season fruit, bananas, apples,  grapefruit, juice, orange dream drink Bread homemade bread, regular toast, cinnamon bread, cinnamon rolls, french toast, pancakes (regular, cranberry, banana oat, blueberry), muffins (banana- chocolate chip, blueberry, applesauce, cranberry) , bagels (whole wheat, cinnamon, pumpkin, raisin, any homemade), irish soda bread Cereal hot: oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, barley.  cold: cheerios, puffed wheat/rice, granola, cereal bars, breakfast cookies  Yogurt coconut brand, soy based, almond based, and homemade  hot tea with soy creamer biscuits and gravy (vegan) roasted potatoes hash browns  scrambled tofu favorite leftovers	Left Overs soups, mex, italian, anything in fridge Potatoes baked, oven baked, fries, sweet fries with maple syrup (Red, Yukon Gold, Sweet potatoes) Salad green, pasta, fruit, taco Sandwich pb & j, pita pocket, grilled fake cheese, non blt, leftover burger Soup miso noodle, 13 bean, minestrone,  cajun black eyed peas, chili, cream of: mushroom, potato, broccoli Wasa, crackers, with.. Pb, hummus, ranch, applesauce, breadsticks, corn chips and salsa, hummus, or white bean dip Noodles - lo mein, japanese, miso noodle soup, stir fry, etc To Go: nuts in one container, dried cereal, dried fruit in others, homemade bread rolls, salad in a bowl, fresh fruit one of my favorite lunchess is spinach and “cheese” quesadillas (Tofutti vegan cream cheese)	Italian marinara, alfredo, spinach or veg lasagna, breadsticks, pizza Mexican burritos, quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, taco salad, mex lasagna, enchilada casserole Soup miso noodle, 13 bean, minestrone,  cajun black eyed peas, chili, cream of: mushroom, potato, broccoli American black bean burgers, mac n’ peas, pigs in blanket, sloppy joes, red beans and rice Chinese stir fry, sweet and sour, moo sho Potatoes baked, mashed, oven, fries using Sweet, Red or Yukon Gold potatoes In Season Veggie especially corn on the cob Good Combos: soup and breadsticks salad and potato     either followed with fruit smoothie rotate dinners featuring pasta, beans/rice, potatoes	Smoothies peach, chocolate cherry, mango, strawberry, endless possibilities Fruit fresh, frozen, dried, applesauce, cobbler, muffins, breads, cereal bars Milk flavors: chocolate, vanilla, banana, eggnog, chocolate mint  bases: soy, rice, almond, oat, banana  Cookies and Bars brownies, gingerbread, monkey bars, banana, cereal bars, granola, chocolate chip, breakfast bars, energy bars Candy carmel corn, carmel apples, fudge Pudding chocolate mousse, rice pudding, bread pudding, chocolate avocado Pie fruit, chocolate mouse, chocolate lace cheesecake  Cake chocolate sheet, red velvet, white, carrot, spice, chocolate beet Salty popcorn, nuts, corn chips

Craving something in particular?  Google for it using "vegan recipe" as part of the tag.  That's how I found a recipe for carmel dip for my apples.  BTW, mac and cheese and pigs-in-a-blanket were old favorites that have not translated so well.  We've found recipes that are acceptable, and we'll enjoy them occasionally, but not as often as we did before our diet change.  However, we've found life goes on without blue box mac and cheese (which now tastes very salty and kinda fake to us).

Over time, I'll post some of our family favorites on this blog.

What Do You Eat?

One of the first things pioneers needed to think about before heading west was what to pack in their conestoga wagon.  Provisions for their new life would have been a primary concern, and they stocked up on a lot of plant based whole foods.  We can be sure they didn't pack twinkies or doritoes.

When people hear about our venture into a new world of food, one of the first questions people tend to ask is "what do we eat?"  The short answer is veggies, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.  What this brings to mind for a lot of folks is some poor schlump gnawing on a carrot.  Not a pretty picture in my mind since I'm not fond of plain raw carrots!

I bet this cat doesn't like plain carrots anymore than I do.

A better answer to "what do we eat" might be: many of the same things we ate before - pizza, burritos, spaghetti, burgers...I just make them with plant based ingredients.  It's pretty hard to comprehend that these things can actually taste GOOD without meat and cheese, but I'd have to say our family is much more enthusiastic about our food now before our diet changes.  If you think about it ground beef and cheese do get a little repetitive.  Each dish varies so much with different veggies, beans, grains, and nut sauces.  An added bonus is the increased color on our plates.

The Pioneering Spirit

Two years ago we started on a journey we didn't expect.  Right after our family vacation to the Ozarks,  my husband was diagnosed with cancer.  It felt like the end of the world, and the next few months are still a blur.

But I can tell you when our new life began: August 2, 2011.   That's the day my husband announced he was going to a Whole Foods Plant Based Diet to heal from cancer.  He had the surgery in July and was scheduled to start chemo, radiation, and hormone therapy in August; all of which he declined.   On that day we became pioneers in a whole new lifestyle.  Our switch to Whole Food eating was abrupt, overnight, and it was overwhelming.  But we needed to do it, not just for my husband's healing but for all of us.

It REALLY was called the Pioneer cabin, down by itself in a 'holler

Our "Pioneer Cabin" vacation, a few weeks before our diet change.

Notice the extra large marshmallows and Dr Pepper (pre-Whole Food eating)

When I was a little girl I wanted to travel across the plains in a covered wagon.  I had a cute sun bonnet just like Laura Ingalls that I treasured.   Today, I often feel like a pioneer - but now my hair is in a scrunchy, and I'm more likely to be wearing yoga pants than a long skirt.  Do I even own a long skirt any more?  So here's my American Pioneering story.  It's how we eat and live.  For a girl who thought she was helping her mom cook when she peeled back the foil on the tv dinner, making bread from scratch has been an eye opener.  I'm constantly learning new things.

On this blog I will share recipes that have worked for our family, tips that helped us transition, share the resources I've found, and be honest about all our experiences in this new life.  Most of all - it's not a story about cancer, or giving up foods.  Much as pioneer stories weren't about the home they left behind.  For us, it's about the new world of whole foods we are discovering for us and our family.  It's about life, health, energy, healing, and joy of living life to the fullest.