...and a healthy New Year!

My family has an annual tradition of a New Year's Eve, potluck dinner.  This year, I am contributing these quinoa and kale "bites".  Knowing my family, I can count on a host of delicious--albeit rich and sometimes unhealthy--foods. It's always a good idea to whip up something anti-inflammatory so I can always have something wholesome to eat.  Plus, I have discovered that I can introduce others to healthy foods they might not have otherwise tried.

I created this recipe by melding a bunch of ideas together.  Serve warm as a tasty side dish.  I whipped up a yogurt dip as well.

Quinoa and Kale Bites

(makes approximately 28)

2 cups uncooked quinoa (I used red quinoa for extra nuttiness)

3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

1 head of kale, shredded

1/2 cup of chives, minced

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup shredded cheese

dashes of cumin, to taste

salt and pepper, to taste

olive oil

To make the quinoa, pour the quinoa and broth in a medium pot.  Bring to a boil then simmer, covered until the little "piggy tails" sprout.  This should take approximately 15 minutes.  Allow the mixture to come to room temperature.

Mix the kale, chives, cumin, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Then mix in the cheese and eggs along with the cooled quinoa.  Add a dash or two of olive oil to keep the mixture moist.  Then spoon the mixture into standard size muffin tins.  Use the back of your spoon to flatten the mixture.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Garam Masala Yogurt Dip

2 cups of lowfat or nonfat Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon of garam masala (or curry powder)

1 tablespoon of lime juice

salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients and serve with the quinoa bites!

Happy and Healthy New Year!

Looking back, looking ahead

Sorry that I haven't been posting as frequently.  Being a teacher isn't conducive to maintaining a blog, but I will try to be more on top of this!

I bring bittersweet news.  In September, I had a check-up and an unsettling discovery. After conducting an OCT scan, my doctor found some fluid (blood) in the back of my eye.  However, he was unsure if this was anything new.  The office recently acquired a newer, higher resolution camera so he was not sure if the activity had always been there and the old technology could not detect it.  The other option, however, was that this could be a new round of hemorrhaging.

So, he told me to come back in December to see how the situation progressed.  Between those two appointments, I definitely noticed a decline in my vision.  It was harder to read for long periods of time, and my stamina for grading also decreased.  I was worried...and I even started a blog post about it.  But then, I never finished that post because it was almost too scary to think about it.  After all, I had been injection free since 2009.  I suppose I got too comfortable.

Two weeks ago, I went in for another appointment and could not make out the eye chart at all.  Another scan revealed definite activity, and I walked out with my first Avastin injection in years.  I return in mid-January to see if the injection worked.

So, what does this mean?  I go back and forth. Sometimes, I blame myself for not maintaining my anti-inflammatory diet "better". Sometimes, I curse the diet and think that it must have been a sham.  Sometimes, I think that maybe the diet did work and I should be grateful for the three years that I had relative calm.

As 2013 approaches, I find myself in an ironically similar spot to the one I was in when I first began this blog.  I have been making more deliberate steps to adhering to the diet.  For me, this has meant eating mainly vegetarian meals and cutting out a great deal of sugar.  However, the evil holidays have meant nothing but sweet treats everywhere I turn!  I also love baking, so it's been quite hard to stick to anti-inflammatory eating.  Who can resist these peanut butter cookies?!

I am hopeful though, and I promise that 2013 will be focused on taking care of myself.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Fruit Pops

I am an ice cream junkie.  Since starting the new diet, I have been pretty good at regulating my intake of junk food.  But I have two weaknesses: ice cream and potato chips.  While I haven't quite figured out how to kick the potato chip habit, I have found some solace in popsicles when it comes to my ice cream cravings!

Are they like ice cream?  No, not quite.  But they do the trick when I need something sweet and cool on hot summer days.

I used Tovolo popsicle molds and got them at Whole Foods for $12.  Typically, they are only $1 less so it wasn't bad for an impulse buy.  They work great and don't take up too much room in the freezer either.

(This popsicle features from top to bottom: mango/peach, mixed berry, and kiwi flavors.)

To make the popsicles, I use frozen fruit, nonfat yogurt, fresh lime juice, and agave (optional) for extra sweetness.  There is no hard and fast recipe, as I think much of this depends on your personal tastes for sweet vs. tart and creamy vs. icy.

Here are the basic steps:

1) Combine frozen fruit and a small amount of yogurt in a blender or food processor.

2) Taste the mixture and add more fruit, lime, or agave as needed.

3) Once it reaches the desired taste, pour the mixture into the pops molds.

4) For the striped effect (featured in the picture), you will have to make three separate batches of flavors.  Pour the first layer in, freeze for approximately 30 minutes, then repeat with each successive layer.

Tip: When ready to eat, run the frozen molds under some warm water to help loosen the popsicles.

Soba and Tofu Spring Rolls

Last week's heat wave made turning on the stove or oven impossible.  So, faced with more CSA veggies, we set out to make a meal that was both health- and heat-friendly.  Try these Soba and Tofu Spring Rolls.   They are healthy, seasonal, and easy.

I always set out all the fixings, and each guest assembles her/his own.  I always find that this setup makes dinner easy and fun.  When you're on a special diet, it also makes eating with friends a bit easier.  No one questions your food choices, and everyone has fun creating unique roll combinations.  I made mine vegetarian, but traditional Vietnamese rolls feature thin slices of pork belly or shrimp along with rice noodles.  These anti-inflammatory rolls were made with thin slices of browned tofu and soba for extra heartiness.  Cucumbers were perfect for crunch and their anti-inflammatory properties.  Lastly, carrots provided wonderful lutein for eye health.

Soba and Tofu Spring Rolls

(the rolls)

1 block of extra firm tofu

2 carrots, shredded

1 cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

1 head of red leaf lettuce, washed

soba noodles, cooked and cooled

rice paper wrappers

Drain and dry the tofu, squeezing out any excess water.  Divide the block into equally sized rectangles (approximately 8-10).  Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into a hot pan.  Lightly pan fry the tofu slices until sides take on a golden color and a slightly crisp texture.   Transfer the browned slices onto a paper towel and cool until room temperature.  Slice the tofu into thin strips.

Submerge one sheet of rice paper into warm water, and then place the wet sheet onto a plate.  Arrange your roll's contents in the center of the wrapper.  I like to start with a small piece of lettuce, then layer on a small amount of soba noodles, carrots, cucumber, and tofu.  Bring up one edge of the wrapper and fold it over the contents.  Then lift up the right and left sides, one at a time, to the center.  (It should remind you of an open envelope.)  Finally, roll the rest into the final open seam.  With practice, you'll become a master roller.  The key is to keep your contents manageable--otherwise, you will burst the rice paper.  

(soy ginger dipping sauce)

1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari

1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger

1 Thai chili, thinly sliced into rounds

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  

For extra kick, allow the ginger and chili to steep in the liquid.

A Cool Summer Treat

If you're an East Coaster like myself, you are probably sweltering in this persistent heat wave.  It can be hard to enjoy a sweet treat in hot weather especially when faced with ice cream, gelato, and sorbets.  So when I'm craving something cool and sweet, I turn to banana whip!

I have frozen blackberries on hand, but banana whip is really versatile.  Go naked and just stick with bananas.  Or add a dash of cocao powder.  The banana is great on its own but also provides a wonderful canvas for other flavors.  I love banana whip not only because it is delicious but most importantly, it is easy to make and incredibly healthy.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a Vitamix or a Champion Juicer.  I used my Cuisinart food processar/hand blender combo and it worked great.

Berry Banana Whip

1 frozen, very ripe banana

5-8 blackberries

nuts for topping

agave, optional

Slice the banana into small chunks.  

Toss all fruit into the blender and blend until creamy.  

Add agave if desired and blender until incorporated.  

I sprinkled some sliced almonds, 

but any traditional ice cream topping will do.  

I especially love a drizzle of chocolate!

A Berry Green Smoothie!

My CSA veggie box has yielded me with plentiful greens--so much, that I am scrambling to eat them all before they go bad (or the next box arrives)!  Luckily, I've discovered the joys of the green smoothie, which makes good use of my CSA veggies.

Most other green smoothie recipes yield literally green smoothies.  Because I used blackberries, mine took on a deep, pink hue.  Additionally, I used beet greens because that was what I had on hand, but you can easily throw in kale or spinach.  Surprisingly, the smoothie turned out sweet with a mild vegetal flavor.

Berry Green Smoothie
Serves 1

1 small partially frozen banana
1/2 apple, cored
1 c greens (loosely packed and chopped)
1/3 cup of non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 c berries
water, as needed for consistency

* All ingredients can be tailored to your tastes.  Add more fruit for sweetness or some agave.

Toss all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Enjoy on the go or my favorite...on a sunny balcony. :)

Here Fishy Fishy

Fish has always been my preferred meat of choice, so I was delighted when I discovered the canned sardine. As a kid, I used to eat them with saltine crackers. However, as I got older, I simply forgot about sardines. No one I knew ate them, so it was easy to forget they even existed.

Then came Hurricane Irene.

After watching a flurry of frenzied news reports predicting imminent doom, I decided to be safe and head out to the grocery store. I decided that canned sardines would be a tasty storm treat and headed home with a couple tins of Wild Planet sardines packed in extra virgin olive oil. I was thrilled to find that were even tastier than I remembered and fit perfectly into my anti-inflammatory diet. Sardines are rich in omega-3s and packed with calcium, especially if you eat the bones. I particularly like the Wild Planet brand because the fish are not overly soaked, and the fish are wild caught.

My sardine love affair continued. I now bring a can to lunch and munch happily away, sopping up the savory oil with two pieces of multigrain bread. It's a filling lunch that doesn't leave me overly full. I also appreciate that I don't need to refrigerate it, so it's a convenient option too.

A girl can only eat so much sardine straight from the can, though. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to find an email today entitled "Your Perfect Sandwich" (from my perfect special someone) with a link to Alton Brown's Sherried Sardine Toast. It marries my love of avocado and sardine into a warm, open-faced sandwich. It's pretty tasty. I definitely recommend it! For a gluten-free alternative, these would work just as well on warm tortillas.

Next time I make these I think I'll play around with flavor combinations. Perhaps one with a drizzle of hot sauce. Or another with some crushed garlic. Tonight, I simply splashed an extra does of the sherry vinegar on top, and it was healthfully delicious. (Oh, by the way, it's definitely worth it to splurge the extra few dollars on sherry vinegar--the flavor is tart but with a wine undertone to cut the abrasiveness.)

A Lukewarm Appointment

Last Monday, I had an eye appointment to track the progress of my eye. After going through the usual pre-appointment anxiety attic (which included getting short with some of my students), I finally trekked on over to the doctor's. Here, I found out that my referral had never been processed, thus risking a cancellation of the appointment or forking over my credit card to absorb the charges. I figured that I wasn't going to waste all my time and anxiety, so I handed my credit card to the receptionist.

The day was off to a grand start.

Eventually, my eyes were dilated, and I was ushered into a technician's office. While I had 20/20 in my left "good" eye, I struggled to read pretty much everything with my right eye. I began to get a sinking feeling in my stomach, but I told myself that perhaps something had changed when I switched out my usual contacts for my occasional glasses. It was a nice consolation until I remembered that I read perfectly with my left eye.

The sinking feeling persisted when I finally saw the doctor. He was taking an awfully long time examining my eyes. Then, he took out a wooden stick and rammed it just below my bottom lashes to keep me from involuntarily flinching. It was becoming an atypical examination. Furthermore, he kept directing me to look down, leading me to believe that he saw something troubling.

While he did not see any evidence of wet macular degeneration (wet = presence of blood), he did notice that my vitreal jelly had begun pulling away. This means that I will most likely face a retinal detachment. However, whether the detachment occurs today or in a few years is unknown. All we could do was monitor it and hope for the best.

So, I'm calling the appointment lukewarm. I left without an Avastin injection, which is always good. But I also left knowing that my retina can detach any moment now. I am also beginning to wonder whether my right eye will always cook up something new for me to fret about. The complications seem endless and as I approach my 8th anniversary since diagnosis, I begin to wonder what else may be in store. 8 years sounds like a long time, but I'll probably still live much more than 8 years. What else can happen?

Simple Soba Soup

Here's a simple soba soup that is chock full of nutrients!

The recipe begins with a homemade vegetable stock, so this is a great way to use up all your veggies and scraps. I also love that it's nutrient-rich from beginning to end, making this a very healthy anti-inflammatory soup. Mushrooms are the winning star in this meal, so add them liberally!

Simple Soba Soup

The Stock:

5 c. cold water

2 onions, halved (opt for flavorful varieties like red and Spanish)

5 garlic cloves, smashed

3 carrots, roughly chopped

a large handful of mushrooms*

1 Tbsp. of soy sauce (optional)

1 egg, lightly beaten

a handful of soba noodles

1/2 cup corn kernels

1 carrot, sliced into thin circles

a large pinch of wakame**

* I like to use dehydrated shitake mushrooms, widely available and affordable in Asian markets. These are a great way to make a rich and flavorful stock without the high price tag that often acccompanies mushrooms. I freely use these in my stocks.

** Wakame is a type of Japanese seaweed and also found in many Asian markets, at a fraction of the price. Once hydrated, wakame swells into thick sheets, adding a nice texture to the soup. It is at once subtly sweet and slightly salty.

Fill a large pot with water, and toss in all vegetables. I like to add a pinch of salt here to help the vegetables release their flavors. Bring the mixture to a boil and then cover and simmer for at least an hour. The longer you simmer, the more flavorful your stock. My clue is to look for a deep brown broth color.

Once the stock becomes sufficiently flavorful, discard the vegetables and bring the broth back to a boil. Add the soba and cook for approximately 6-8 minutes. Soba should have a tough texture, so be careful not to overcook. While the soba is cooking, add the carrots and corn.

Toss in the wakame. Stirring the soup, add the beaten egg. If stirred continually and quickly, the egg will blossom throughout and give the soup some "egg drops".

For extra protein, I sometimes add small squares of silken tofu. However, if you may have to add more broth as the soup can become quite crowded.

Healthy Vegetarian Sandwich

As I began looking for healthier ways to approach my lunchbox, I realized that it was difficult to find a meal that was filling, convenient, and healthy. Eating dinner leftovers can get routine, so I began brainstorming ways I could create a healthier sandwich.

One day, I decided to opt for lunch at a local vegan spot and grabbed a Mock Chicken Club. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not "mock chicken" but actually a thick slab of tofu, which keeps in line with my low-processed food limit.

Try this tasty sandwich, and let me know what you think!

Tofu Club Sandwich

hearty multigrain bread

light mayonnaise

basil pesto

olive oil

1 container of extra firm tofu

three slices of vegetarian bacon

baby spinach

1. Slice the tofu into 4 large triangles of equal size. I usually slice a rectangular block of tofu in half, to make two thinner rectangles. Then, I bisect each into two triangles. Dry each piece thoroughly

2. Drizzle olive oil on slices. Bake tofu in a 400 degree oven until pieces are chewy and have formed a golden firmness. You can also add slices of veg-bacon in the same pan, but make sure to take it out after 10 minutes. Let cool.

3. Mix mayonnaise and pesto together in a bowl. I like to mix to taste but I find that 2:1 ratio of mayo to pesto adds a nice flavor.

4. Spread the pesto-mayo mixture on bread, add two tofu triangles, veg bacon, and generously heap baby spinach on top. Slicing the bread into triangles (following the tofu slices) makes for a hand-y sandwich!

* If you don't have pesto handy, you can also use hummus or whole-grain mustard as a flavorful spread. I also like to add mustard to the pesto mixture for extra kick.

Hello again.

It has been a really long time since I last blogged.

I thought that 2009 was a bad year. But then, 2010 came along just to prove me wrong. It was not kind, and I spent most of that year trying to cope with the sadness that comes with losing loved ones. Keeping up with my blog became difficult, and I thought less and less about my vision situation. I ate terrible food...sometimes, I did not eat. I didn't exercise. I didn't sleep. I hardly saw friends. Most of the time, I was very stressed.

I still kept up with my doctor's appointments, however. And it was strange because in the midst of my toughest time, my vision did not worsen. This was confusing, as I was certain that my extraordinary stress levels would usher in a wave of inflammation.

At the time, I was mainly relieved that I did not have one more thing to worry about. My energies were being devoted elsewhere, and I really did not have time for Avastin injections, waiting my eyes to adjust after dilation, going to the pharmacy to fill prescriptions, etc.

As time went on, however, I realized that something very significant was happening.

I am trying to figure it out. After all, I began this blog with the intent to track my diet and see how it might positively affect my MFC. Throughout 2010 (and a good chunk of 2011), I ate some really junky junk. I'm talking Fried Chicken and Waffles--for brunch.

Perhaps the diet was just a theory.

A part of me was happy--I could eat processed flour and meat and dessert! So, I did, and it was really all just delicious. But a few months ago, I started feeling suspicious. Lately, I just don't trust the universe. A nagging feeling sometimes comes over me that my MFC will come back with a vengeance, spurred by my terrible eating habits.

So, I am reframing my relationship to MFC and my diet. I've decided that I will not strictly adhere to my anti-inflammation diet. During the week, I make a concerted effort to eat very healthy--mainly vegetarian or pescetarian, whole grain. and low-sugar. On the weekends or when socializing, I eat and drink mainly whatever strikes my fancy. Most of the time, however, I eschew dessert or only have one bite. I drink lots of green tea and take my Lovaza pills daily.

I'm trying to be better about my diet, though. If anything, I'll be healthy on many levels. On that note I will share with you what I ate for dinner tonight:

Roasted beets

Potato and Onion Pierogies (I limited myself to 5 pieces)

Baked Spaghetti Squash w/ carrots, sugar snap peas, and feta

2010, You Win Again!

I am getting a little suspicious.

Something fishy seems to be happening.

My eye appointments are getting progressively...hopeful.

So I have to ask.

Universe, what's up?

As previously posted, my February appointment was positive. I was surprised--especially given the extraordinary stress and junk food consumption leading up to that last appointment. Doc told me to come back in two months. Like a toddler who has gotten away with some naughty behavior, I spent the interim period eating some more junk (including beef on occasion and lots of chocolate) and worse, actively creating junk for more consumption (in the form of baked goods...mmm chocolate chewies, buttermilk pancakes, lemon cake).

Who was I?! Let's just say, I ate some CRAP. If anything, the last appointment gave me permission to eat and drink lots of inflammatory things. And yes, if you must know, junk tastes great...always has, always will. Healthy eating is all good and well but honestly, junk food is just delicious. Anyways...

La la la. April 12th arrives, and it's Groundhog Day all over again. After some sweating in the waiting room, I am ushered into a back room to assess my vision. I struggle through four measly letters on the eye chart, all the while getting annoyed with the technician who wants me to hurry up ("You either see something or you don't". Wench.). All I can think about it is promising myself a giant ice cream when I'm done with the appointment because if-they-find-more-of-those-stupid-blood-vessels-who-cares-anymore-anyway?

Eventually, it's over and the technician doesn't comment on my progress, just shuffles me into another waiting room. After waiting three hours to see the doctor, I am greeted by one of the fellows, who shines lots of bright lights into my dilated eyes. I have learned that fellows love shining lights into eyes---it is like they are starved for the opportunity to interact with a patient or something. Let's just say he literally left me crying and seeing magenta afterward. Well, I couldn't stay mad all that long because he gave me a clean bill of health and could not detect any fluid. Hooray!

And even though I've been back to office for the past six years, I bombard him with the usual questions. Any research on the cause of MFC? Nope. It's probably auto-immune. Why me? No one knows. Life is unfair. But hey, it's really bizarre that it tends to affect young women. Can I do anything about this--I'm taking fish oil caplets? Sure, why not. Go for it.

Then he says "You've got some scarring on the retina. But that'll be taken care of in your lifetime."

I pause. What? What does that mean? In my lifetime?

He then goes on to tell me, in very hush hush tones...I'm not sure why we are whispering. But he then tells me that the next big thing in macular degeneration research is retina transplants. Apparently, there are lots of old folks who have significant amounts of retinal scarring, and animal testing has yielded some promising results with retina transplants. In a mere ten years, he believes that the technology will be good enough to allow regeneration of the retina. Through the cultivation of stem cells, patients would either receive surgical transplants or injections through the bloodstream. The scarred areas would then be supplanted by new retinal growth.

I then ask him the million dollar question "Are you telling me that one day I might be able to see again?"

He says, "Yes."

Holy holy holy smokes. The fellow then leaves, and I wait another hour to see the actual doctor. But I don't care because I am picturing a life of driving, reading, and seeing things in 3-D again.

When the doctor comes in, he shines bright lights into my eyes and confirms the good news. I spend the rest of the day walking and forego the ice cream. I feel pretty good without it.

A Happy New Year...?

Today was my first eye appointment of the new year. As usual, I couldn't sleep the night before and fretted all morning. I always manage to roll into these appointments completely sleep-deprived from anxiety. (If you are in my boat, please message me and let me know that I'm not crazy.) Anyways, then I did the usual last-minute damage control by looking for healthy things to eat. That's how I ended up being the girl in the waiting room at 7:45 a.m. shoveling oatmeal and mixed nuts. By the time the technician called me in, I think I had indigestion.

When it was time to read the eye chart with my affected right eye, I was able to easily read the first three rows. (Wait, does the giant E count?) Then the fourth line came, and I couldn't do it. At first, I saw four distinct letters but couldn't make them out. Then, they got blurry. Then, some of the letters seemed to actually disappear. The technician asked me if I could see anything. Starting to panic, I told her I needed a break. So that's what we did, and then I tried again and found two letters. That was enough work for one day. She asked me what I thought of my performance, and I told her today was lousy.

One of the fellows then came in to tinker around, shine some ridiculously bright lights into my dilated eyes, and asked me how I was feeling. My eyeballs were ready to fall out of my head, they hurt so bad. I told him I felt lousy and discouraged. He told me that he thinks my scars are changing shape (great...just great) and that they can distort my vision. Then he left.

Alone in the doctor's office with nothing to do...I sat and thought. And drank my coffee. And played with the hand sanitizer. And tried to read some educational pamphlets on macular degeneration. In the hallway, the technicians and doctors were talking about how one of their colleagues just lost her husband to a heart attack...on Valentine's Day. This was not a fun doctor's appointment.

Then my doctor came in, blinded me with more lights, and asked me how I was feeling. By now, I felt extra crummy and told him I felt like I was losing vision. He said "Why do you think this?" I told him that I really struggled on today's eye chart. Then he said, "That's interesting because you actually gained a few letters compared to last visit." Somehow, some way my vision improved. To be safe, I had an OCT scan (this produces a three-dimensional cross-section of the retina), but this also checked out nice and clean! No Avastin injection today!

Before leaving, I asked him if I could get Lasik eye surgery. As someone who has had glasses since age 4, I am ready ready ready to be done with bad eyes. He looked at me and said, "No." I asked again. He said, "If you were my daughter, I would say no. Absolutely not." There is a 4% chance I could lose vision after the operation, and he said that I couldn't afford to compromise a perfectly good eye. I said, "You've been saying no to me for the past six years!" Then he laughed and said I could finally get contacts.

So, that's the next project: contacts! I've never had them. How exciting. :)

Up Close and Personal

The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived!  Well, ok, it's actually been around for while BUT I just discovered it.  Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, you can now all witness what I go through when I get Avastin injections.  Lucky you.

Take a look here. 

I was bored one day and decided to YouTube search this.  I was pretty surprised to find it actually.   Even more surprising, I found myself unable to watch the injection.  It made me cringe and feel scared for Kate.  Given that I've had more injections than I can count (and I used to), this is rather ironic.  However, I pretty much behave the same way as Kate; I don't panic or flinch.  It's very dangerous to do that actually--once, I learned that the hard way and ended up with a pool of blood that developed along the outside of my iris.  Apparently, as the needle was entering, my head recoiled, and the needle knicked me.  Though I recovered and the spot diminished, it "outed" my vision problem and I ended up having to reveal my problem to several friends in the course of one week.  

Anyways, happy viewing.  I posted it for a couple reasons.  1) I get a lot of questions about what the heck an injection involves. 2) I'm surprised it was on YouTube. 3) It's kind of fun to freak people out.  

A New Year, A New Start (Again)

Happy New Year!  Goodbye, 2009--Year of Crummy Health!

It's 2010 and yet, I find myself woefully in a similar position to where I was one year ago.   To make a long story short, November and December were not diet-friendly.  I ate everything I shouldn't have, including products with high fructose corn syrup.  I visited McDonald's twice in one week.  It was delicious--I won't and can't lie about that  But, Oy.  It was ugly.

And I have an eye appointment coming up.

So, welcome 2010!  I am trying to return to my anti-inflammatory diet with mixed success.  Now that I am often eating dinner on the go, I realize just how difficult healthy eating can be!  Yikes.  Eating a sit-down dinner is quite easy, but now my best options seems to be take-out salads with grilled salmon.  

On that note, I've posted a picture of a soup I made last weekend.  From Eating Well, this Collard Green & Black Eyed Pea Soup will keep you full and warm.  Because I am using collards for a different recipe, I substituted my favorite--kale!--instead.  I've been eating the soup for lunch, paired with a multigrain ballard from Whole Foods.  Also, don't fret about the recipe's cheese toasts.  Yours Truly forgot the shopping list last weekend and couldn't remember to buy the cheese.  The soup is pretty tasty with a simply bread.  

Healthy Fall Soups

I have been celebrating Fall (or the little that's left of it) by cooking up some healthy soups.  Though the two soups look a lot alike, they are radically different in taste.  I need a new digital camera so everything seems to look yellow-orange these days.  

The first soup is a Curried Sweet Potato Soup.  I don't particularly care for sweet potatoes but begrudgingly bought some because they are touted for being anti-inflammatory.   This soup was excellent and very easy to prepare.  My only adjustment to the original recipe was in the way I roasted the potatoes.  I used the Cook's Illustrated method because the potatoes caramelize so well--trust me, you will eat these like candy.  The resulting soup was very flavorful with hints of curry that are balanced out by the sweetness of the potatoes and coconut milk.  Make sure you eat this soup with lots of bread or with another side; though delicious, it's not particularly filling.  My roommate has adapted the original recipe by substituting pureed pumpkin for the sweet potato.  She swears it's tastier than sweet potato.  I dislike pumpkin even more than sweet potato, so I'll just stick to the original.

The second picture, a pureed chickpea soup, was hearty and satisfying.  No need to strain the soup--it's still tasty.  Besides, who has time to strain hot soup?  From soaking to actual cooking time, this soup took an eternity to make.  I was too hungry to strain it!  Just make sure you stir the mixture when reheating as it tends to separate over time.  As you can see, I like to eat my soup with lots of bread (sssh. I am not supposed to eat too much refined white flour).  Whole Foods makes an affordable Artisan Ciabatta loaf that rings in at under $3.  I couldn't resist.

S-L-O-W Reading

As promised, I have started to use my eye patch on a somewhat regular basis.  This is a way to keep my eye from a type of atrophy. Because the vision in my right eye is so compromised, a big concern is that my brain will "forget" I have two eyes.  Thus, even though I do still have some vision in the affected eye, there's a chance that my brain will get too tired trying to use a gimpy eye and just switch fully to my left, un-affected eye.  The result: full blindness--regardless of how much vascular or inflammatory activity I may actually be experiencing.

My goal is to finish reading Gilead by Marilynne Robinson using only my right eye.  I have about 100 pages left to go, so this could take a long long while.  Why this book?  I actually started reading it a while ago but tend to put it down after a few pages because it makes me drowsy.  The book is actually not bad, just very quiet in tone so I tend to zone out.  I figured that I probably won't be able to read more than a couple pages with the eye patch on anyways, so it would be an ideal read.  Secondly, though the print is pretty standard (12 pt), the lines are double-spaced and much easier on the eyes---errr, eye.  

The other night I tried reading as much as I could before I became completely exhausted.  I survived only two pages before I thought my eyeball would fall out.  It took me about 10 minutes to piece together the two pages.  Afterward, I re-read the passages with both eyes to check my comprehension.  I discovered that I tend to have the greatest difficulty with the text near the margins of the center book binding.  This makes sense because I no longer have central vision in my right eye.  

All in all, not a bad experience I guess.  It was frustrating when I couldn't make out some letters no matter how hard I tried.  But it was comforting to know that I could read some text, even with a lot of effort.  Above all, it made me grateful that I still had one good eye.  What a difference it makes to still have one completely unaffected eye...

Two! Dos! Deux! Due!

2009 may have begun as the terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad-year, but it looks like it may end on a positive note.  (Watch, my luck is gonna turn just because I said that.  Oh brother. No more of your tricks, Universe!)

Today marks the second successful eye appointment of the year!  These days, I define successful as walking out without any vascular activity and most importantly, injection-free.  I did not make gains on the eye chart, but at least things did not worsen.  I'm "holding steady" as Dr. B calls it.

Before checking out the situation, Dr. B asked me if I thought things had improved.  I told him honestly that I did not know.  Secretly, I feared that my eyes had worsened.  I've been eating a lot of junk lately and not really taking care of myself.  The heartache of the World Series meant that I treated myself to pizza and ale while staying up way past my bedtime.  A few weeks ago, I fought a nasty cold and graded an insane amount of student work.  Then Halloween happened, and I'm left staring at a cauldron of candy that smells good even through plastic wrappers.  I don't think the guilt really hit until last night, which was spent worrying over everything I had done the past three months.  This resulted in feeling bad about not sleeping and what that would do to my eye blah blah blah.  Basically, I worried about my worry.  Unproductive but it happens.

But ta-da!  Great eye appointment, and I'm not due to see the doc until February.  

So, I'm left with a couple questions:

* Is my diet truly working?

* Maybe my diet works...but not necessarily the whole  of it?  Do I really need to eliminate meat and flour?  Or are my pharmacy-grade fish oil capsules doing a great job?  Funny, I'm also asking these questions as I munch happily on my celebration snack of bread, cheese, and prosciutto.  Oh, I missed you prosciutto!  How great would it be if I could eat bread and meat as much as I wanted?!?

* Maybe the decreased stress levels are at work.

* Or, as Dr. B insists, Avastin and Lucentis are the true miracle workers here.

The Incredible, Edible (Omega-3) Egg!

I hate breakfast.  Hate it.  Waffles and pancakes, no thanks.  French toast, who cares?  Omelettes, fine.  I am probably eating such a late breakfast because I hate it so much.  But here's the problem: I totally need breakfast.  If I don't get fed in a timely manner, I morph into crazy cranky person or catatonic lady.  No good.

However, as I type this, I am scarfing down my new favorite breakfast (yeah yeah, breakfast at 2pm.  Don't give me that look.  Like I said, I hate breakfast.)  Anyways, welcome to sauteed kale and fried eggs!  Mmmm.  I keep telling myself that I should upload more photos of my meals, but I ate this one too quickly.  Sorry.

I love this meal because 1) it's healthy and anti-inflammatory and 2) quick.

Ingredients:

olive oil

1-2 minced garlic cloves

2 eggs (preferably omega-3 rich and organic)

a large handful of kale

red pepper flakes

salt and black pepper

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan.  Then add the minced garlic and saute for about a minute.  Add kale (just washed is best because the moisture from the rinsing will help with steaming) and saute until the kale becomes slightly wilted and maintains a deep green color.  I like my kale hearty so I don't saute for more than 5 minutes.  Add a dash of red pepper flakes for a kick.  Transfer kale and garlic to a plate.  Then crack two eggs into your hot pan and fry as desired.  Place cooked eggs atop your lovely bed of kale, sprinkle with S&P, and add a dash of soy sauce.  YUM.

Maybe my hatred of breakfast will transform into a like, or at least apathy?  When I'm in a real bind for time, or just a zombie after work, I'll add brown rice to this dish for an easy dinner.  Sometimes I substitute the garlic with slivers of onion or ginger as well.  

Behold...the Truffle!

I am stuck in the house.  Too poor to do anything fun and very bored.  So, what to do?  Make truffles, of course!  

I found a fantastic vegan truffle recipe which uses cashew cream in place of traditional heavy cream.  My roommate has a Vita Mixer so the cashews were no match, and in seconds I had cashew cream!  I doctored the recipe a bit by adding a tablespoon of coffee.  When the mixture was chilled, I used a melon baller to get equally sized chunks, rolled them by hand, and coated them in toasted coconut, cocoa powder, and regular coconut flakes.  The coconut flakes are admittedly sweetened, but I often don't eat my own desserts anyway.  You could easily make this entirely-sugar free by using unsweetened flakes.

I did save two truffles for myself and plan to indulge later tonight.  A little sweetened coconut won't hurt, I suppose.

Aren't they cute?!