post-biotics – The Cancer Canary

Cold Plates

It’s really hot this week.

I lived most of my life in Florida, where it’s like this all the time: WAY too hot to use the oven for at least 10 months of the year.

There was a cute little diner at the Tahitian Inn on Dale Mabry where we used to meet friends on groggy Sunday mornings. They had an amazing cold plate there… salad greens and three hollowed bell peppers filled with your choice of chicken, tuna, egg, ham, or potato salad.

We made it part of our routine. Summer dinners (and by that, I mean March thru November) were often homemade cold plates, starting with a green salad and adding a bunch of cold sides.

For example:

Chicken salad/cold chicken
Potato salad
Tuna salad
Egg salad
Pasta salad
Carrot & celery sticks with hummus
Pickles
Sweet peppers
Olives
Sliced cheese
Good bread or crackers
Fruits
Cole slaw / quick slaw

Last weekend, I made a batch of my yummy purple yams with coconut. Yes, I had the oven on for an hour, but I make enough to snack on all week. It makes a great cold lunch or side dish.

I made lentils, too, which is also great served cold.

My husband made a potato salad and an egg salad, and chopped another pineapple into bite sized pieces.

Anyway, if you’re looking for healthy dishes to throw together for hot summer nights, I suggest you try a cold plate night.

Quick Slaw

Another quick, cold, plant-based recipe for you. I’m sorry, I don’t have a more exacting recipe. You’re gonna have to use the force on this one.

Enjoy!

Red cabbage
Carrots
Sunflower seeds or pistachios
Raisins or another similar-sized dried fruit
Honey
Salt
Red wine vinegar

Find a bowl you’d like to serve this dish in.

Slice the cabbage very thin. You want enough to fill the bowl approximately 60% full of the shredded cabbage.

Wash the carrots and then either use a hand peeler OR a cheese grater to shred them. Add them to the bowl. These 2 ingredients will take up most of the space in the bowl, so keep adding until it is about 90% full.

Add at least a cup each of sunflower seeds and raisins. Mix well. Salt liberally, unless the sunflower seeds have already done that for you.

Add honey and red wine vinegar in equal amounts to coat the ingredients. Mix well.

It’s crunchy, sweet, salty, and healthy. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated, which makes it perfect for summer, camping, etc.

Once you get the hang of it, swap out white cabbage for red, different nuts or seeds, different dried fruit, fancy vinegars… just make sure you include something crunchy, something sweet, something salty, and something vinegarrey. 😋

30 for 30

I used to struggle to get 30 different types of plant foods in my diet each week. As I’ve been doing this for a while now — and enjoying the benefits of a much healthier tummy — I thought I’d share a few secrets.

Coffee Klatch ☕️

Every morning, I begin with coffee and add to it about 1 tablespoon of chaga, which is a mushroom product.

Two down, 28 to go!

Tea for Two 🫖

Teas count! I usually have a cup of herbal tea after my morning coffee. My favorite is ginger turmeric, but of course, I mix it up… each day is different.

I’m going to estimate that you’ll get at least 3 plant foods and their wonderful micronutrients in one cup of tea.

Add a lemon, lime, or orange slice? You’ve got 4.

What’s the tally now? Six plant foods! 24 to go!

Nuts to You 🌰🥜🐿

We like to keep a couple of jars of nuts in the den… easy access to healthy snacks when movie time rolls around. We keep a big one just for cashews, a small one for pistachios, and a medium-sized one for mixed nuts from Aldi, which includes peanuts, pecans, almonds and hazelnuts.

Ok, so a handful here and there throughout the week equals 6 of your 30 plant-based foods. And just having them around will help curb your desire for the unhealthy stuff.

Ok, add 6 to the tally. 18 to go!

Shoot Some Salad, Salad Shooter 🥗🔫

I’m making a big salad for tonight, and marinating some chicken for Jimmy to grill.

Here’s the salad ingredients in tonight’s mix: romaine lettuce, baby spinach, baby chard, baby kale, broccoli sprouts, tomatoes, cucumber slices, celery, sweet pepper slices, avocado, olives, and green onion.

There’s enough for 4 of us to eat, and I’m pretty sure there will be leftovers for tomorrow. I’m not too proud to eat yesterday’s dressed salad. It takes on a giardiniera vibe.

Ok, that’s 12 more plant foods to add to the tally.

If you count the red wine vinegar I use in the dressing, it makes 13! I’m not going to count the dried herbs, though…

18 – 13 = 5 more to go!

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy 🍉🍒🫐🍓🍍

It’s summer, and there’s a ton of ripe fruit available, so take advantage while you can.

This morning, we finished a pineapple at breakfast.

My lunch was apple chunks with peanut butter drizzle.

On the dinner table, I set out blueberries, watermelon, and cherries. So there’s 5 more plant foods for today!

5 – 5 = 0! I got 30 in one day! Now, any new veggie to cross my path is just a bonus!

Easy, healthy, and delicious!

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.

Fridge Oats

So I’m not eating Cheerios anymore, or really anything from the cereal aisle (if we’re being truthful, it’s more of a candy aisle).

But I still like oats! If you can find an organic source, here’s a tasty and quick breakfast recipe — and it is loaded with fiber, aka post-biotics.

These Woodstock Oats are great. Yuka gives them an excellent rating, 100 out of 100.

So I fill up a little jar about 50% full of the oats, then add a heaping spoonful (each) of milled flax seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. These are all organic, purchased at either Trader Joe’s or Aldi.

Add a couple sprinkles of cinnamon if you like, then stir everything up. Add the milk of your choice and stir again.

If you want to add honey or maple syrup, add it after you stir, and don’t stir any more because it will get sticky and your spoon will get coated. Just put it on top.

Pop on the lid and put it in the fridge. Let it soak overnight or at least for a few hours.

When you’re ready to eat, add some chopped apples, raspberries, or blueberries. You’ll probably also want to add a little more milk as the oats really soak it up!

Pro tip: Check your teeth after eating, because these seeds get stuck everywhere, and you may look a little crazy 🤪 after eating!

Bon Appétit!