Repenting

I was a very bad girl. I walked to PCC yesterday in the mist with Emma, we were on a hunt for healthy snacks, and a few regular groceries to keep the house running smoothly. As I was walking up and down the isle, I spotted a deal on LÄRABARS...my favorite plant based sweet treat. (I think the main ingredient is prunes.) Do you remember me mentioning my weakness for delicious things? That I have no self control? Well, I've been so good lately, and I really thought I could handle it, so I bought six bars for Dan's lunches. Dan has a sweet tooth like me, so I was trying to tempt him toward a healthy snack and away from peanut butter cups. Anyway, Emma and I walked home happily, as I sipped on MY treat, multi-green kombucha (I swear it's delicious).

When I made my way to the kitchen and unpacked the bags, I put the bars into Dan's snack area, but within a few hours I could hear Lara, telling me how delicious her bars are. I ATE THREE OF THEM. Back to back. In my defense, they're small. But still! That's what I mean about not being trustworthy. It's embarrassing. When Dan got home from class I had to tell him what I did, and beg him to put the rest of the bars in his lunch bag. I can not be trusted. I have no self control. God they were good though :) Yummy!

I repented with a fresh kale juice this morning though. I guess that's something :)
(I would include the recipe, but it should never be repeated. I drank it though. Because I was a bad girl.)

By the way, how did I not remember that kale is from the brassica family? So great to fight brain cancer! I'm slacking. I was Googling the benefits of kale juice and was reminded (I usually add it to my smoothies in the morning too). Anyway, all in all, I'm not freaking out about the coconut cream pie, chocolate chip cookie dough, or chocolate coconut chew it was so delicious, soooooo good. That's the worst thing I've eaten in two weeks. Not bad. But still, I am reminded, I can't have it in the house. I'll be relishing the flavor of those three bars for awhile though. Fond memories :)

Watercress & Wunder Runners

Recently, a fellow brain tumor fighter sent me all kinds of information on Artemisinin, sulforaphane and sweet wormwood. The research is incredibly promising, and it looks like I will be starting an alternative treatment based on the research. The best part, according to the research though, is that I had already been including a lot of the main foods that cause the death of the brain tumor cells. A lot of the research is relating to sulforaphane in the brassica family, and sweet wormwood. Although I have not been taking any supplements, I have been eating a diet highly enriched with the brassica family. In fact, I just ate my breakfast of an Omega 3 organic free range egg (it gets the extra omegas from flax in the diet), sprinkled with turmeric (a healthy teaspoon), placed on a slice of sprouted bread which was stacked high with watercress leaves (brassica family) and sprinkled with a clove of diced raw garlic. Needless to say my breath is ripe, but my macha green tea is helping calm it down.

My Little Watercresss Plant

I bought a living watercress at my PCC the other day. I've been picking off the leaves of the poor plant every time I walk past it. It's delicious! It's spicy, and helps disguise the garlic, which is a plus.

I don't always eat so wonderfully, for the record. I have to be honest. Last weekend was our third annual Oktoberfest Marathon Relay, and it happened to fall on a double birthday weekend. The birthday girls were Meghan, and Jenny. So, of course, I brought two dozen organic cupcakes (gotta love that it's all organic ingredients, it makes it sound healthier, but the truth is that they were loaded with scrumptious mind altering SUGAR. Yum!). I didn't make them, which is probably good because I would have eaten my weight in icing. As it was, I ate all kinds of delicious crap. It was fun! And then on Sunday night Danny and I realized, that once you get the taste of blood it's really hard to stop. The cravings are tricky, and it's so easy to go get crapy food. Crapy food melts in your mouth then hits your stomach like a rock. Healthy food has crunch and within moments you have more energy and you feel better about yourself. Even knowing that, it can be really hard to forgo the instant gratification that my tongue is pleading for.

Here's a photo of our group. I'm so proud of everyone. This marathon relay was my dream, it's my little baby. I always wanted to get a group to celebrate running and friendship. It's just a very, very happy thing for me. I've got a great group, and I can't wait for next year!! I guess you could say that my only long term goal right now is to be healthy for next year's race! Is that weird? Maybe I should have a different goal. I guess it's the only long term goal that I have because I'm always afraid to plan too far out. It's also the only thing on my calendar that's a year away. I can train for it too, which keeps it easy to use as a long term goal. It's concrete, and I like that. Anyway, here's the fabulous crew......

Operation Grab-A-Stein III

Enjoying Life's Pulse

We should have the keys to our new place in Greenlake in two weeks. Fun! This move signifies freedom for me. I will be able to walk all over the place running errands. It's literally thrilling. My heart starts going crazy just thinking I'll be able to take care of myself, and the daily things for Danny and I. It has been painful to be stuck in our Wenatchee home, isolated from humans (other than my parents and the friends that stop by). I can entertain myself, I like to listen to music or do things around the house, but there's something about being around people in public, looking at life as it goes by. It's fun. It's therapeutic and magnificent. Life has such an amazing pulse, it's in humans, in pets, in the animals in nature, trees, plants, bugs, even the wind - and when it's all combined, when you look around, it's a lifeblood.

Breakfast On The Patio

I've already been packing for a few hours this morning, but it's time for a breakfast break. I toasted a piece of Dave's Killer Bread, sprinkled an egg with loads of turmeric, and chopped a clove of garlic for the top, and I've got my broccoli tea. I would have added sprouts on top of the toast, but I'm fresh out. It might sound like a crazy meal, but it's delicious and full of cancer fighting elements. Turmeric is insanely important to fight cancer, it's right up there with the brassica family.

I think the hardest part about dealing with cancers and tumors is the diet. There are so many different voices from specialists and they definitely don't all agree. Each illness varies, with the exception of sugar. Sugar feeds cancers and tumors. Sugar is incredibly bad for you. The dispute falls between the doctors that believe that all sugar is the same, and others who still recommend fruit in the diet. (The doctors who recommend removing fruit from the diet exchange the fruit for supplements to get the essential antioxidants and other benefits from the fruits without the sugar.) Some strongly believe that not only breads, pastas, and rice need to be avoided, they also want whole grains out of the diet. I just know that I can't live without some whole grains, so I'm still including healthy whole grains, but keeping the carbs as a small portion of my overall diet.

The brain tumor suggestions for diet is a complete mind game. It's tricky, it's frustrating, and if you over analyze each piece of food, every meal, looking for failure, it will make you crazy. It's impossible to overlook diet, it's the number one way to try and slow the tumor growth but I still have days when I eat poorly. In fact, for the first time, Danny and I went camping. I hung out with our friends eating Cheetos, and Polish sausages, but I'm still sick from all of the bad food. That's the thing that's crazy. If you eat really healthily, if you take a day or weekend off, you will pay for it. When I woke up on Sunday, all I wanted was a cabbage salad. Sounds weird, but my body was craving the crunch and the way I feel after I eat it. 

Our First Camping Trip