Rabbit Food and Bird Seed

April 15, 2014

So let's talk diet.

How to put this......it kinda sucks. A lot.

One of the first things I did after I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer was ask my BFF Kimmy (who is a registered holistic nutritionist) about diet. She swung into action to talk to her colleague Susan who is a cancer coach (and takes a holistic approach)

It was more bad news:

"She (meaning me) needs to go on a strict vegan diet"

Please throw me a bone!! I'm basically a carnivore with splashing's of MacDonald's and Subway....Ok, I don't eat a lot of MacDonald's - we have cut down significantly - and I think my kids were switched at birth cause they don't like fast food...

But to me if food is green, it's gone bad! Well maybe not that extreme but you get the idea....

The bad news didn't end there either! Oh no, it got worse:

"You shouldn't drink. And if you do, beer is a big no no"

AAAAAAK!

I think it took me longer to process this information than my diagnosis. It certainly brought a tear to my eye...(if any of my Irish friends are reading this, probably theirs too)...sigh...

So going from Carnivore to complete Vegan was just not going to happen. I don't think shocking my system before chemo with such an extreme diet change is a good idea for me. However, I needed to make big changes for a few reasons:

1)      Diet is one of the few things I can control, so feeling like I am starving the cancer and making my body and immune system stronger helps while I go through what feels like endless tests and appointments, but no actual treatment yet.

2)      I wasn't eating enough veggies before and eating a lot of the wrong things. Kimmy (and her colleague Susan) are knowledgeable about what kind of right things to eat, what to cut out (like sugar & processed stuff) and what to limit to once in a blue moon (like red wine - yay!)

3)      I need to make my body as strong and healthy as I can going into chemo and throughout treatment, right through to remission. Kimmy is the expert, and I trust her with my life (and the doctors....don't worry Kimmy it's not all on you!! lol)

So as much as I can't go total vegan, I have to say I think I've been a trooper. Did you know there's such a thing as chia seed and golden flaxseed bread? Or that almond butter is great (ha maybe just cause it's not green and leafy....I eat a lot of green and leafy) I found out I enjoy baby kale and spinach salads (never saw that coming - I'm sure Kimmy is doing a happy dance right now)

I found out I DO NOT like regular kale. Like the salad I ordered when we were out for MILF's birthday. "Kale Salad" the menu said. Sounded Good.

Then it showed up:

Basically it was a head of kale!! I added yam fries to it which helped...

Kinda.....

I drink green smoothies that are less and less fruit and more and more veggie (note to self: putting it in a pint glass does NOT make it taste like beer) Phil is a trooper too and tries all this weird, uh, I mean healthy stuff with me. He even went out and bought almond milk, coconut mik, coconut water and a truck load of organic veggies....

 It's like a coup d'état in our house - Veggies Everywhere, Unite! Packed in our fridge (there's more veggies in the fruit drawer than fruit) taking over our beer fridge (sacrilegious I know....) and even sprawling into the garage itself!

It's a Vegetarian's heaven and I'm in Carnivore hell!!

But I look at this as one of my first battles in this war. I am DETERMINED to fight mind, body and soul. If I can't do this, how will I deal with the other challenges awaiting me down the road? It's hard but change always is. If I'm committed (ha pun intended!!) it's gotta be all the way. So unfortunately, the veggies are here to stay.

I had a Guinness on Sunday. Big no no! But I have to have something to look forward to. Haven't touched beer since my diagnosis. So I think the ¾ of the glass I had was OK (it was out of a bottle so kinda disappointing...next time I'm saving my "Guinness tokens" for a proper pint poured from a tap!) It just has to be in SUPER moderation. Like maybe in a few months I'll have another....sigh.....

I haven't had any red meat since my diagnosis. And no mocha's! Although on my way to the oncologist  I think I'll get a half sweet small one as a treat. I can already taste its yummy creamy deliciousness...wonder if they would use my own organic milk... Too diva-ish??

 I do enjoy my herbal teas, but as hard as I've tried they don't remotely taste like a mocha...Guess I need to work on my mind over matter....