Eat Right to Reduce Cancer risk

When it comes to cancer there are no guarantees. However, some of these healthy habits may significantly reduce your risks:

• Focus on fiber. Eat foods rich in fiber, especially those made with whole grains, to help reduce the risk of several cancers.
  
• Find healthy fats. Meals containing olive oil or fish help protect against cancer, and avoiding fat from meat, dairy, and processed foods may decrease cancer risk.
  
• Go vegetarian. Lower cancer risk by eating plenty of fruits, whole grains, legumes, and vegetables (especially tomatoes and cruciferous vegetables like cabbage), which helps to optimize body weight, immune function, hormone regulation, and to avoid meat-related carcinogens.
  
• Avoid alcohol. Use alcoholic beverages in moderation or not at all to reduce the risk of many cancers.
  
• Get regular checkups. Many cancers can be prevented or discovered in the early stages with screening tests available through your doctor.

Banana Berry Nog

Add protein powder or bee pollen granules to this shake for an extra energy boost. Peel banana and wrap in plastic before freezing.

Ingredients
1 frozen banana, cut up
1/2 cup plain nonfat or soy yogurt ( plain yogurt for estrogen + breast cancer)
3/4 cup fresh strawberries
Grated nutmeg

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Pour drink into a glass and dust with nutmeg.

Yield: 2 servings

Spaghetti Squash~

Spaghetti (also called vegetable spaghetti, vegetable marrow, noodle squash or squaghetti) - A small, watermelon-shaped variety, ranges in size from 2 to 5 pounds or more. It has a golden-yellow, oval rind and a mild, nut like flavor. When cooked, the flesh separates in strands that resemble spaghetti pasta. The yellowest Spaghetti squash will be the ripest and best to eat. Those that are nearly white are not very ripe. Although it may seem counter intuitive, larger spaghetti squash are more flavorful than smaller ones.
To prepare spaghetti squash, cut the gourd in half lengthwise and remove the seeds, sprinkle some olive oil, sea salt, pepper and garlic on top, then bake( 350 for 1 hour) or broil (20 minutes) until tender. Once cooked, use a fork to rake out the "spaghetti-like" stringy flesh, and serve with any Pasta vegatable sauce you would use on noddles..
Spaghetti Squash can be stored at room temperature for about a month. After cutting, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days. Spaghetti squash also freezes well. Available year-round - season early fall through winter.

Butternut Squash French Fries

Easily found in supermarkets. Beige colored and shaped like a vase. This is a more watery squash and tastes somewhat similar to sweet potatoes. It has a bulbous end and pale, creamy skin, with a choice, fine-textured, deep-orange flesh with a sweet, nutty flavor. Some people say it is like butterscotch. It weighs from 2 to 5 pounds. The oranger the color, the riper, drier, and sweeter the squash.



Cut the squash at the bulb or wide part. (Set the bottom piece aside. It may be used peeled and cubed for soup/stews). Peel and cut the longer end into strips, like french fries. Season lightly with olive oil and sea salt. Bake @ 450 for 10-15 minutes. Broil for the last 5 minutes to slightly brown and crisp.

eyeball cupcakes

Nothing healthy about these ~ just plain fun.

• White paper cupcake liners
• 1 white cake mix
• 1 container of Vannilla butter cream frosting
• Red food decorating gel
  
• Small black jelly beans
• Round candies with hole in the middle

Preparation

1. Line cupcake tins with the liners. Fill the tins two-thirds full with the batter and bake the cupcakes as directed on the box.

2. Frost the cupcakes. Pile the frosting up a little in the center to make a sort of domed shape, more like an eyeball. To make the surface smooth, dip a butter or frosting/palette knife in hot water and smooth it over the top of the frosting.

3. Using the red decorating gel, pipe the red frosting on the tops of the cupcake in vein patterns. Make the veins radiate from the center of the cupcake to make the bloodshot quality more realistic. Cut the jelly beans in half. Place a jelly bean half into the circle of the round candy. Now you have and iris and a pupil. Place this in the center of a cupcake. Continue with the rest of the eyeballs.

Easy to prepare and tasted great!

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SWEET POTATO MASHED

A perfect pre-race meal that's easy to prepare and packed with loads of carbs.

PUBLISHED 08/02/2007

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch pieces
  
• 1/4 cup whole milk


• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger


• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a gentle boil over high heat and cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until tender. Combine milk, ginger, and nutmeg in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat. Drain the potatoes, return to the pan, add the milk mixture, and beat with a potato masher or handheld mixer until smooth. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Makes five servings.

Calories: 200 Fat: less than 1 g Protein: 2 g Carbs: 45 g vitamin c: 40% Daily Value

10 grain raspberry pancakes

We made these pancakes today and had fresh pineapple slices with it.

Bob's Red Mill 10 grain pancake & waffle whole grain mix
mix raspberries in batter and "mush" with fork
cook pancakes and serve with organic maple syrup.

Organic Chicken Stew

I made this the other night. It was easy and tasted great!
You will need;
2 boxes of chicken stock
1 can crushed tomatoes with basil
1/2 to one 1lb. of chicken ( I used 3 boneless, skinless breasts)
Rosemary
Basil
Zucchini and squash
onion
baby carrots
tiny red potatoes
Sea salt and crushed pepper

Pour chicken stock and tomatoes in a large pot on low/med.
Add rosemary, basil, cut up zucchini and squash, potatoes, carrots, salt and pepper.
Saute chicken, onion and some basil in pan till chicken is cooked.
Add to the pot. ( I cut the chicken up before adding)
Let cook on medium for 1-2 hours.
You can substitute different veggies if you don't like these.
Enjoy on a cool night or great if you have a cold or flu.

Shopping for organic foods

So far I have found the best place to shop for organic food and lots of great choices is Central Market. It's like going to Toys are us for adults :) There are other places like Whole foods as well.

They have weekly specials, coupons in the mail and I am finding their prices to be equal to or even better than places like Wal Mart and Target.

For instance, organic 2% milk is cheaper there than Wal Mart & Target. However it is nice that these larger stores are now carrying many choices for organic and healthier foods.

My favorite things to get at Central Market are ~ milk, chicken, ground beef, bison meat and lunch meat. All organic with no hormones, preservatives, nitrates,etc. Of course all the fruits, veggies, whole grain breads, granola, herbal teas and coffee.

Eating organic is something I think everyone should consider, not just when you have a health crises. My thought is "pay now or pay later". There is such a rise in breast cancer, all cancers and children developing too early ( hormones) not to mention all the other health issues we have. This is just one way to live healthier and hopefully prevent disease and illness by making smart, healthy food choices.

Choose good "Food 4 Life"~ Elayne

Uncle Jim's jalapeno burgers

Mix organic hamburger meat ( you can get Laura's organic at Walmart and Target) with Sweet Baby Ray's sauce, seasoning spices and jalapenos. Serve on whole wheat buns~ so good!

We use jalapenos from the garden, pretty spicy :)

For Breakfast

Yogurt breakfast~ organic french vanilla yogurt with berries of your choice. I use blueberries, blackberries and/or strawberries with organic granola cereal on top.

Steel Cut Oats ( you need 30 minutes to let cook on stove top) with sliced strawberries and organic maple syrup. Just add the berries and syrup when oats are cooked.

Garden Omelet~ I use one egg, Chris has 2. Just add your favorite veggies and some shredded cheese to the omelet. Again, we use veggies from the garden so it is full of flavor. You can buy free range, organic eggs just about everywhere.

For Lunch or Dinner

• Turkey Spinach wraps ~ tomato basil wrap, turkey , cheese , baby spinach, grape tomatoes, avocado & dressing of choice. You can get lunch meat without added hormones and nitrates from whole foods and central market.
  
• Amy's Organic soups~ we really like the southwest black bean and split pea. These are in a can so the sodium is high.
  
• vegetable pizza- pizza crust ( whole wheat) tomato pizza sauce, organic shredded cheese and toppings of your choice. I use vegetables and herbs from my garden.Usually, green peppers, basil, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions. This is so full of flavor without all the grease and preservatives.
• Chicken salad~ I buy pre made chicken salad and put a scoop on top of baby spinach. Add grape tomato's, green peppers, feta cheese and Briannas blush wine vinaigrette. You can add any veggies you want to this.
  

Favorite drinks~

• Rosemary water with lemon ~ filtered water with fresh cut rosemary and lemon balm ( you can also use sliced lemon). Let it sit for a few hours in the fridge to enhance the flavor.
• 
  
• TAZO Tea Calm or Easy Now, Traditional Medicinals~ a blend of chamomile,rose petals & soothing herbs. Great before bed or for stress/anxiety.

Long lasting energy and simple!

Peanut butter, banana & honey sand which on whole wheat bread. Great for pre or post run or work out. Give yourself 90 minutes to digest before run/workout.


This is definitely our favorite food to eat prior to a run, especially a long run. We ran the entire half marathon on this sandwich.

Garden Spaghetti

Garden Spaghetti ~ whole wheat pasta or rice pasta, sauce of your choice, I add basil, Thia basil, green peppers and/or onions from my garden along with garlic and crushed chili peppers.

You can add any veggies to this, we also cut up and add mushrooms to the sauce. It is full of flavor from the veggies with a "kick" from the crushed chili peppers.

Our favorite Hawaii desert

We first had this very simple desert in Hawaii. It is great in the summer!

Any flavor sherbet you want ( we like Raspberry). Add a scoop of sherbet in a bowl and cover with a scoop of fruit cocktail.

Very Refreshing ~ I like to put the fruit cocktail in the fridge and get it cold before serving.

Basil Pesto with whole wheat Angel Hair Pasta

Cook the Angel hair Pasta and mix Classico Traditional Basil Pesto with pasta. Add Organic Parmesan cheese on top.
This is quick & easy!