Healthy Superbowl Eating

We're having a few friends over for the Superbowl tomorrow. While I'm still sad about giving up beer, I am very happy to have found a way to enjoy buffalo wings--healthy style! Buffalo wings, I love buffalo wings! In fact, my many attempts to become vegetarian in the past have all failed because of my love for these cute little bits of delicious-ness. You can imagine how horrified I was to find out that they rank high on the list of prohibited pro-flammatory foods (oh, the curse and injustice!). BUT I was willing to give it up if it meant, obviously, the health of my vision.

So, for a couple weeks, I just resigned myself to never having buffalo wings ever again. Then, the boy realized that there was probably a way to bake them. I was not convinced; how could you possibly replicate all that goodness through baking? A quick internet search later and I found a highly rated recipe for healthy buffalo wings. I plan to substitute the margarine with butter, which I am allowed to eat in extreme moderation and is preferred over margarine. I also found a healthy blue cheese dip. Not too sure how tasty it will be so I might end up doctoring some ingredients. All in all, I'm pleased and relieved that I can at least enjoy some party food on my own terms. A couple weeks ago, I went to a friend's house to watch the game and almost died listening to everyone crunch on Doritos. Hopefully, tomorrow's recipes will be tasty so I won't feel as left out anymore.

UPDATE: The wings turned out really well! I couldn't even tell the difference between baked and fried---actually, I thought they were better than most wings I've ordered. We ended up broiling them for less than 15 minutes because our oven gets super hot. Also, we added some Sriracha Chili Sauce to the hot sauce and that added a nice kick. The dip was so-s0. Next time I might just stick with a low-fat sour cream and yogurt base (cottage cheese is kinda weird). It will also be fun to branch out into types of chicken wings, like a honey-ginger glaze or something. I'm still not supposed to have wings all that often so they will still be a treat, but this was a very nice healthy-ish alternative!

Worth a Try

I had a delicious dinner last night, and you should try it--regardless if you give a shibbibbles about inflammation. We made Brown Rice with Black Beans and Cilantro (Cook's Illustrated March & April 2009). Roasted Carrots and Parsnips made a nice accompaniment, and the meal was really good!  Just be careful when coring those parsnips!  If you have an easy and safer way, let me know because I almost lost a finger a couple times...

The Year of the Ox - Happy New Year!

Ironically, I began this anti-inflammatory diet on American New Year's.  Then, I broke several cardinal rules on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year...

As you can see from the picture, there were so many delicious things to eat!  Egg rolls, rice noodles, stir fry, roast duck and pork, soup, and a fluffy white heavenly-looking coconut cake.  

UGH.

So I cheated and ate a couple deep-fried shrimp balls and roast duck, all washed down with a glass of white wine.  It all tasted great and made me miss my old diet.  I tried to rationalize my choices: the shrimp balls were not battered and fried in canola oil; the roast duck was oily but still 'roasted'; and the white wine was not red but at least gluten-free.  At first, this was fine and then I felt crummy/paranoid.  Less than a month into this and I was already falling off the wagon.  Was I nuts?  Was I playing with fire?  What if these tasty things spurred another inflammation attack?  I had planned on eating one bite of the beautiful coconut cake...but felt worried about my previous eating choices.  So, I ended up washing dishes in the kitchen while everyone else ate cake.  At the end of dessert, I began clearing the table and picked up the cardboard round the cake sat on.  There were little bits of frosting and yellow cake still stuck to it.  Right before dumping it into the trash, I found myself---like a complete crazy woman--eyeing these yummy bits.  I took a deep sniff of it: it smelled great and I realized that I miss sugar a lot.  Then I threw it away.

So what did I learn tonight?  I learned that eating with other people who are not on a diet is very painful.  I also learned that I really miss some foods.  Lastly, I learned that a little cheating is probably going to happen...and I'm trying to tell myself that I'm making lots of other good changes at the same time.  For example, I'm still going strong on no french fries and no coffee.

On New Year's day, you're not supposed to do anything that you don't want to do for the rest of the year. Tomorrow, I will go back to my regular anti-inflammatory meals--because that's what I want to do for the rest of the year.

The Hidden Wonders of...Turmeric?

During one of my crazy internet-searching frenzies last month, I came across a message board hosted by the American Foundation for the Blind.   Here I found some folks who also suffer from MFC.  Most of the posts were full of confusion: Why was this happening to me?  What is your life like now?  Should I keep going with the prednisone?  

Then, like this little gem, I found a post from a woman who claimed to have been cured!  By turmeric!  She went out and got turmeric supplements as a natural remedy to her MFC.  In as little as a month (!!!), this woman halted her MFC and even regained some vision.  This was and is a little incredible.  I sat on this bit of information for a couple weeks, vowing to stick with the new diet for now before involving supplements.

Then I found myself in front of a Vitamin Shop and the next thing I know, I'm purchasing a 30-day supply of turmeric supplements.  A bit of research into this spice revealed that it's famous for its anti-inflammatory properties.   I found another article that connected turmeric to the remedial effects of Indian cuisine, which is great because I love Indian food.

However, I've always been lousy at remembering to take daily pills (apologies to all those forgotten antibiotics), so this could be tough.  The pills are large and smell strongly of turmeric but they don't taste strong.  So, here's hoping.

Tasty Treats

So, one of the challenges of my new diet is actually finding suitable recipes.  As someone used to searching by a main ingredient ("I feel like lamb!"), I now found myself totally lost.  I might punch in a main ingredient and then find a recipe filled with deep frying or sugar or something else strictly prohibited.  

I did have some tasty meals this week though.  On Tuesday, I had Barbequed Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  Just go a little easy on the hoisin sauce, generous on the ginger and garlic, and add a dash of crushed red pepper flakes.  I used romaine lettuce instead of iceberg for more color and an easier 'pocket'.  With the leftover chicken filling, I made a salad by putting it all on a bed of baby spinach leaves and a sprinkle of flax seeds.  Both meals were pretty good!  Last night, the boy and I tried out Saag Tofu.  Also very tasty!  We ate it with brown basmati rice.  

Inauguration

Just a quick post to commemorate Obama's inauguration...It's a bit off-topic because he has nothing to do with my choroiditis or alternative health approaches.  However, without getting overly sentimental and emotional, I can't help but feel overwhelmed in a good way.  All day, I have been feeling this way and given the sad moments of the past couple weeks, today offered some welcome relief.  Perhaps 2009 will truly be a radical year.  The nation's first Black president?  The healing of my choroiditis?  

Oh, why not? I'll take it.

Happy inauguration day, everyone!

A is for Acupuncture

My visit to my acupuncturist was interesting and informative.  A newcomer to acupuncture, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  What were the limits?  Would the cost be worth it?  How would I know the acupuncturist would actually be taking care of me?  To top it all off, it was a frigid day for Philadelphia and I was cranky to be on the bus. 

Dr. Wang, the acupuncturist, invited me in to her office and began asking me questions about my multi focal choroiditis.  She also asked me about my family's history with vision problems and also auto-immune issues.  Finally, she asked me if I knew why any of this began happening, and of course I did not know.  Nobody knew for sure.  My doctor at Wills Eye has been baffled for years and keeps testing me for diseases like Cat Scratch, Lyme, and Syphilis...all of which I test negative for.  Dr. Wang then sighed, which made me feel nervous.  Just the other day, a different acupuncturist admitted that he personally had never used acupuncture for a case like mine and suggested that I look elsewhere.  

Fortunately, Dr. Wang did not turn me away but she did give me a very realistic assessment of what she could do.  The acupuncture could never restore or regain any of the vision I had already lost.  What she could do, however, was restore my body's Qi (chi) and strengthen its immune system.  This would help to fend off future inflammation attacks.  She also hoped that the acupuncture would decrease my stress levels because it seems that I have begun stressing about my stressing (very true).  At best, she believed that the current inflammation affecting my eye could be cleared up.  In other words, she could maintain my current state of vision and hopefully keep the MFC from attacking the left (aka "good") eye.

I was eager to get started but sensing my desperation, Dr. Wang said that this was a pretty serious case.  One or two sessions would not be enough.  I didn't care and told her that I'd do anything, even though she's out of my insurance network.  So, I signed up for 10 sessions at a discounted rate of $500 total.  I will see her over the course of 2-3 months, twice a week at first and then just once a week.

And then the good part!  She got immediately started and began administering acupuncture for my stress.  Needles were inserted in my shins, wrists, stomach, and ears (PS. Acupuncture is not as painless as I was led to believe.  It was like little pin pricks) A timer was set for 20 minutes and I was told to relax relax relax.  This is kind of hard to do when you're half naked, unable to move, and jabbed with needles.  However, oddly enough, I found myself sleeping in less than a few minutes!  Maybe this stuff actually works!

When I went home, I prepared some oven fried chicken breaded with panko.  Then I sauteed some kale and sprinkled it with some flax seeds.  I then went to sleep for a glorious 11 hours.  Maybe it was the acupuncture, the end of a long work week, or the feeling of content that comes along with taking health into my own hands...whatever it was, I slept great and hope for many more restful nights.