Lemo-eep

Sorry to continue on and on about lemons, but I'm on quite a kick. Although acidic, they are great at balancing out blood sugar levels, purifying your blood and maintaining a healthy ph balance (there's a belief in some circles that an alkaline diet reduces the occurrence of cancer). It's great for brain function (I guess there's a bunch of potassium in the juice), and it boosts your immune system. I'm mostly excited about the fact that it helps cure insomnia. Tonight, I think I'll count lemons instead of sheep.

There is so much information out there about the benefits of lemons and fresh lemon juice, it's pretty astounding, and really exciting. I always love finding new delicious ways to jumpstart or maintain my health. You can even use the juice to zap zits. No joke! And it evens out your skin tone. Just be careful because it also makes your skin more vulnerable to the sun.

It's lemon counting time for me, but before I go, I'll mention Dan's favorite green drink. I use a Vitamix by the way, and would use no other brand - it is THAT fantastic. I don't use protein powders, I haven't found one that didn't have at least one questionable ingredient. Also, I don't need any extra protein, I get lots and lots from my diet. Sorry I can't be of more help on that front.

My quantities are eyeballed, so feel free to tweak things. This is a batch that creates about 2.5 pints. I make this for both Dan and I on Sundays, his day off of the week.

3 c raw spinach
3-4 large leaves of raw kale (remove stem)
2 medium-large ripe bananas
2-3 cups of cold water

The mixture should be runny (if not, slowly add water). Fill two pint glasses, leaving just a little room. Add 1 tablespoon of orange flavored fish oil to each glass. Stir. Drink. Use the rest of the mixture for whoever is the hungriest. Dan said its the best green drink he's ever had, like a green orange julius. He doesn't even know there's fish oil in it :) insert evil laugh here: bwa-ha-ha!

Personally, I prefer the same drink, less one banana, but ill make it however I need to so that he enjoys it, and now that I added the extra banana, he actually wants to drink it. To me that's a huge success!

You can save your green drink, or lemon juice for later in the day if you'd like. I don't because I prefer it fresh, and am able to blend/juice on a whim because I'm always home. I wouldn't go more than a day, though, before drinking it. The sooner you drink it the fewer enzymes and nutrients disappear. Some breakdown and die within 15 minutes. And your green drink will separate, and that's less than appealing, but if you have time issues, or want to take it with you to work, just pop it into a cup with a lid and shake it before you drink it. Even if some of the nutrients and enzymes die, there will still be huge health benefits to drinking the drinks, so don't just give up. It's still, most likely, going to be the healthiest thing you could have while at the office.

PS Happy Saint Patty's Day! I made Dan and I our green drinks, and we did lemon shots to celebrate. Not the same shots I used to do, but just as fun!

Lemon Shots

I had a busy weekend perfecting my lemon shots. They're finally to the point where Dan will drink them. The trick is to mix equal parts pure fresh juiced lemon and refrigerated water (so it's nice and refreshing). Then sprinkle cayenne pepper on top. It's like drinking a shot of espresso, causing a burst of energy.

I'm also juicing lemons as I go, then pouring it into ice cube trays. Those cubes are great for glasses of water, or you can pop them into a tumbler, and place it in the fridge to thaw for a shot for later. For the record, I add the cayenne later, not on the tray.

Chemo Concoction

Danny and I took off for the Memorial Day weekend. We packed up Emma and Bingie; Emma in her crate in the back of the truck, and Bingie wandering the cab, finally settling onto my lap. We braved the crazy traffic, and headed east over the mountains. My parents gave us their house so that we could get out of town, knowing that we need a kitchen in order to function with our crazy chemo phase. It was so much fun getting away from the routine of our life. We needed a break, a change of pace, a different view, new scenery, and a mild adventure. 

Above are photos of the chemo process. On Saturday night, Danny and I made two batches. These new little gadgets are making things so easy! After the drink had cooked for three hours at 100 degrees, I hunkered down. It took me an hour to ingest an entire glass, five large sips every 20 minutes, which is pretty typical. I can't drink it fast or it causes almost instant projectile vomiting. After my last sip, I was able to hold the drink down for one hour, then, after gently pacing, and doing some deep breathing, I had a wave of nausea so severe that there was nothing I could do. Neither my desire nor thinking of warm beaches, butterflies and bunnies did it either, I went to say something and vomit shot out of my mouth. It was seriously like something you'd see in a horror movie. The worst part about vomiting, other than the fact that I need my body to absorb the sulforaphane, is that one drink costs about $40. So, it's practically liquid gold. I don't care about the cost, as long as it gets into my body. I'd pay anything to heal myself, but if the money is going down the drain, quite literally, it's frustrating.

Danny cleaned up all of the mess, which was incredibly sweet. I wish that there was something I could do - I feel like I'm literally allergic to this stuff. The worst part is that this chemo drink that we created on Saturday night was half the dose of the normal drink. I honestly don't think I can drink it, not even a little bit. It always causes me to be sick.

Fortunately, there's a way to slow cook the drink, and as it dries up, you can roll the film into pills. Since we recognized my issue with the chemo drink in the past, as a precaution, we had already enlisted my parent's help in creating chemo pills. So, thankfully, when we saw my parents, after the long weekend, they handed me a bag of their homemade pills. Not wanting to waste any time, last night, I started with five pills which is 245.5 mg. I'm starting slow, trying to find my tolerance. Five pills caused heartburn, and some discomfort, but that's fine - no big deal. I can handle pain, and discomfort. In fact, I can handle all of the horrible side effects, but somehow I can't manage to keep it down for good. There has to be a point, though, the threshold where I can get the maximum effect and not vomit. The way that my body rids itself of the chemo drink is shocking. It's like I'm possessed - it's unreal. I just need to keep this stuff in my system long enough to get the effects. And happily, at least now, I have a few pills to slowly assess things. The pills are lot of work, but with my parents and Danny and I, all working like two sweatshop factories, we should be able to keep a good amount in production. I have to do whatever I can to heal my body. This treatment works, we already know that, but, first things first, I have to find a way to keep it in my system.