From the first moment
my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from
the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer
seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did
little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known
reason, I started this blog…
Not sure exactly if this has to do with breast cancer or
not, but lately my wife and I have started eating healthier…more healthily…hmmm…
Anyway, last night we had our first ever “vegetarian supper”.
I’d post a picture of what it looks like, but I’m not particularly techie, so I’ll
just say that we had cucumbers, celery, multi-grained chips, cauliflower, and
broccoli which we used to scoop up home-made hummus.
Those of you who don’t know what hummus is...well, is there
ANYONE who doesn’t know what hummus is? Ground garbanzo beans mixed with olive
oil as well as a variety of spices. The beans provide the protein and
carbohydrates; the vegetables provide the fiber and vitamins.
So WHY would we not snarf down steaks and beer and all the
other “fun” stuff in the world? Well…we want to live to perhaps walk down the
wedding aisle with our grandchildren. We want to have FUN together now.
The research shows that eating even ONE vegetarian meal can
have health benefits (http://www.meatlessmonday.com/about-us/why-meatless/).
It can also have FINANCIAL benefits. Anyone who has gone
through breast cancer treatment has not come out of the experience unscarred by
bills that were not covered by insurance. Certainly no one tried to charge us
for the drugs used to attack and destroy the cancer! But the incidentals
whittled away life savings to such an extent that we are still trying to
recover. Read this article to find out how even doing one veg meal a week can
save you: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/budget_cooking/6_simple_changes_that_could_help_you_save_2997_a_year?page=2
So we’ve chosen to try it. There’s no huge “change”, no
earth-shattering decision. It’s all in an effort to both simplify our lives and
make better choices.
“Why would you bother to do that? She’s already had a double
mastectomy, chemotherapy, and implants! What more can happen?”
Hmmm…well, there’s always the other cancers. Eating a vegetarian diet can reduce the risk “of colorectal cancer…esophagus, lung, pancreas, and endometrium cancer and… stomach, and prostate cancer…as well as mouth, pharynx, larynx…cancers”.
And what about being overweight? That presents its own problems right there – joint pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and a host of other problems that (really!) we can do without as we approach our sixties. We’ve already lost almost half a hundred pounds together, it seems only logical to eat healthy and avoid complicating an already horrendously complicated run in with breast cancer. Below you’ll find the REALLY simply recipe for the hummus we had last night
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Put it in your food processor, blend it all together (I
added paprika, red pepper flakes, and frying pan-roasted-then-ground sesame
seeds for a more full flavor) and then used as a vegetable dip.
Other ideas for healthy eating?
