Ice Cream, You Scream

My husband and son have to have their ice cream! I don’t join in (lactose issues, and it’s too sugary for my post-diagnosis diet)…

I tried to find a healthy ice cream brand using the Yuka app, but it seems that they just don’t exist.

So, I decided to make it myself, using a little Cuisinart ice cream churn that our nephew gave us a few years ago.

Here’s the recipe:

  • One and a half cups organic heavy cream
  • One and a half cups organic whole milk
  • 2/3 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

I usually add in some organic dried cherries, strawberries, blueberries, etc. from Trader Joe’s or Aldi. Let them soak in the unchurned mixture for a while in the fridge.

Halfway through the churning process, I sometimes also add a handful of chocolate chips.

Update: Last night, Jimmy said the only thing wrong with this ice cream is that it is too rich. I’m going to experiment with different ratios between the milk and cream to find the best way to do it. I’ll post updates.

Black Plastic Kitchen Utensils

“…new research shows that many types of black plastics contain harmful flame retardants that shouldn’t be coming into contact with food.”

We all had them… just make sure you don’t have them anymore:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/news/throw-away-black-takeout-container-kitchen-utensils

The article also says to just throw them away… don’t recycle. Remove them from the cycle. Thank you!

Comparison Shopping

Was doing some grocery shopping this morning, and I needed kombucha.

Take a look at these three products.

I usually just drink a shot in the evenings… but if I were to drink the entire bottle…

The brand on the left would give me 42% of my recommended daily allowance of sugar.

The middle brand has 24% of the RDA of sugar.

The brand on the right has 6% of the RDA of sugar.

That’s a big difference! It’s definitely worth taking the time to look.

Are You Metabolically Healthy?

Dr. Casey Means uses these five key biomarkers to determine if a person is metabolically healthy. Do you make the cut?

  • An HDL level above 50 for women or above 40 for men. HDL stands for high-density lipoprotein.
  • A fasting glucose level of under 100 milligrams per deciliter.
  • A triglyceride level of less than 150 milligrams per deciliter.
  • Blood pressure under 120/85.
  • A waist circumference of less than 35 inches for women and less than 40 inches for men.

Dr. Means cites research that indicates that approximately 93% of adults are not metabolically healthy, which lays the groundwork for a variety of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and cancer.

Strangely, according to these markers, I’m actually in a healthy range … cancer and all. 🤔

Checkup

I had a checkup the other day and saw these on my doctor’s wall. How many times have you seen something like this?

There’s so much good info here. But prior to my diagnosis, I would have taken a little glance and not thought about it again. Now I’m pouring over them, matching this up with my own new patterns and habits.

Dishwashing

When we first stopped using Cascade and other traditional dishwashing detergent, we tried a recipe that called for baking soda, vinegar, and a little Dawn liquid.

It didn’t work so well, and our dishes came out very chalky.

I tried this brand and have been really pleased. They do a good job. The wrapping is water-soluble and doesn’t leave microplastic residue. I recommend them!

Eat for Good Energy

These are the notes I took while reading Good Energy and watching Dr. Casey Means discuss her new plan for optimally healthy meals.

She (and many other doctors and nutritionists) wants us to ditch the food pyramid, which pushed carbs as the staple food, and move to something like this 5-slice pie above.

If we could design each meal to include one element from each section, we would be healthier in terms of our mitochondrial function.

I put it on the fridge so I see it every day, at every meal.

¡Viva 🇲🇽 Mexico!

Just heard this morning that Mexico is saying no to buying and importing the genetically modified, cancer-causing, glyphosate-drenched corn our country is selling. I could not be happier to hear it!!!!

I feel bad for the farmer. This mess will take some work to un-mess. But it’s critical that we stop using GMO corn and its glyphosate counterpart.

Lymphatic Massage

Scrolling thru social media a while back, I discovered this interesting way to move the lymphatic fluid around through massage.

I made up a routine based on what I was seeing, using 18 repetitions (it matches the morning activation exercises I’ve been doing and Ayurvedic tradition). I do it in the shower every morning! And I incorporate a cold blast!

This video explains it well:

My shower routine:

  • Get in and wash as usual (with soap and shampoo that get great scores on the Yuka app 👍).
  • After shampooing, begin at neck, and do 18 sweeping motions from ear to collarbone.
  • Next, 18 sweeping motions along each collarbone, towards center of body. Give each collarbone a few light taps at the end.
  • While one arm is over your head, 18 sweeping motions from center of ribcage (sternum) to armpit. Alternate beginning at the center of the ribcage with beginning at the waist and pushing up along your sides. Ladies, you can also check for any lumps or changes in that area.
  • Once you’ve done that, keep your arm raised over your head and sweep down from elbow to armpit. Put your thumb in the armpit at the end of each stroke. (Btw, armpits should feel like hollow pits. When I was getting diagnosed, mine were fat and puffy. Not good.)
  • 18 circular sweeps of the stomach area. Pretend you are pooh bear rubbing his tum. Use a clockwise motion.
  • Around this time, I put in my hair conditioner, turn the water so it is cool, and get my head out of the reach of the spray.
  • Now it’s time for legs. Remember those spaghetti servers? Make your fingers look like those. I’ll put a photo at the bottom of this post.
  • 18 strokes to the back of the leg using spaghetti fingers. I tend to sort of push a little. Move from ankle to back of knee.
  • 18 strokes to the shin, moving again from ankle to knee.
  • 9 to 18 pinches to just under the kneecap. There’s a pressure point there. It shouldn’t hurt. I’ll try to find a photo so you know how to position your hands.
  • Use both hands to encircle each leg just above the knee, and move up 18 times. Do both sides.
  • Lastly, do 18 presses to the pressure point around the aortas to the sides of the groin area.
  • Now turn the water as cold as you can handle and rinse out the conditioner.

Rebounding

CLL is considered both a leukemia and a lymphoma. (Yeah… I got a BOGO on cancer 😵‍💫?!?)

Having watched my mother and my sister-in-law battle breast cancer, I knew that the lymph system is often the pathway for a disease to spread / become metastatic.

However, with blood cancer, it’s everywhere already. There is no locus or tumor. The cancer circulates all the time.

There really is no pump or circulation process for lymphatic fluid, other than our own movement. Being a desk worker, I know I’ve been living in a dangerously sedentary way.

Things have been way too stagnant in my entire lymph system.

So I needed to find ways to move and stimulate my lymph system to circulate fluid… ways that would work during the long cold winters here in upstate NY… It’s a challenge!

So now I’m bringing in more movement and sweat to my days. I do the morning activation routine, a daily lymphatic massage (usually in the shower), and use the rebounder here and there throughout the day.

Here’s why:

It’s great with music or when watching a TV show with my husband (though I think it gets on his nerves a bit… 🤪)