Good morning! I hope you had a nice weekend. Wow, can you believe it is October 1st? We are having a heat wave in California so it even harder to believe that fall is here.
Today also marks the first day of Vegan Mofo 2012: the vegan month of food! I participated last year, too, and it was so much fun. To see the list of vegan blogs participating, just click here.
The idea is that vegan bloggers post at least 20 times for the entire month of October, with food-related posts. I think last year I ended up posting 14 times, so I my goal this year is to beat that. I would say that I’m going to post 20 times, but given all that is happening in my life right now, I’m just going to take it one day at a time.
This year is the first time I’ll be picking a theme for the month, and it is going to be “Cancer-Fighting Foods.” I think it’s appropriate since, by the end of this month, I should be on the road to being cancer-free (the first step being having my thyroid removed on October 15th. By the way, if you are new to my blog and want to read the previous posts about being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, then click here). So, in the meantime, I am going to post about cancer-fighting research, the meals and recipes that I’m making and my progress with overcoming this disease.
To start, I wanted to share a few photos of the foods I ate this weekend. I have been inspired to eat more mushrooms, pomegranates and cruciferous vegetables after re-reading Dr. Fuhrman’s book, Super Immunity, that discusses the latest research on the issue of using foods to fight and prevent disease. I actually wrote a review of this book back in January of this year for the Our Hen House blog; you can check it out here.
On Friday afternoon, I made a version of my 20-Ingredient Antioxidant Soup. I started with a big bowl of vegetables to make juice for the soup base:
I gathered these ingredients:
It’s a lot of work to make this soup, but it is so worth it! I even froze two glass containers-full as part of my stock-piling for foods to eat after my surgery. It’s not super pretty, but it’s healthy and delicious:
I’ve written posts in the past with step-by-step instructions for making such a soup here and here.
Just to give you a quick mental health update, I’m doing pretty well. I had some ups and downs from Friday when I last posted through the weekend. I let myself get too tired on Friday and then I had a real issue controlling my emotions by the evening. I think I’ve also started the grieving process for losing my thyroid which may sound strange, but it’s something I’m feeling for sure. It’s kind of like being told that your arm (or another part of your body) that is working perfectly fine has something going on that you can’t even feel and so it must be removed and you’ll just have to live without your arm. Okay, that’s probably a little dramatic, but the only way I can describe it.
Other than that, I continue to gain strength and hope from your support and from my other friends and family. My mom is planning on visiting a few days after my surgery and I’m starting to make plans for life afterwards. In the midst of this uncertainty, I need to have things to look forward to.
I’ve also talked to a few people through e-mail who have had this surgery and I’m getting a more realistic idea of what is in store for me. I’m trying to manage my expectations for how I will feel and the complications that may arise. It scares the crap out of me, but it also helps to know what could happen so I can mentally prepare myself.
Have a wonderful first day of October and I will plan to post again tomorrow!
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
This soup looks great and I think that how ever many times you post, these are great little post so they are worth it!
Thanks, Courtney!
Hi Carrie, what a great theme you have chosen, and Vegan MoFo couldn’t happen at a more appropriate time.
I would guess with all that is going on, your body would need some more rest. Have you tried meditation? It helps me in so many ways … even getting through hard times. A nap could also help!
I do understand your grief! I had a vascetomy 3 years ago because of acyst … and I griefed for a lot of months before I came to terms with it and then I had it removed.
Thanks, Oly! Yes, I have been working more on meditation and agree that it’s extremely beneficial. Naps are good, too.
Glad to hear that I’m not the only one who has experienced these feelings of grief before losing a body part. It is going to take some more time before I feel better about it.
Hi Carrie, having had MS (diagnosed in 1981, now controlled with diet), I can empathize with your feelings of loss.
You will come to feel like a whole you again!!
How I wish you didn’t have to go through this.
I happen to think you are going to do just fine!! That is because you are strong,
not because there won’t be bumps in the road.
Very, very, very best to you!!! Thank you for your beautiful blog post.
Thank you so much for the support, Laurie and for saying that I will feel like me again. It’s only been a week since my diagnosis and I feel a little more like myself, but still in a bit of disbelief that this is all happening. I keep trying to wish it away but then I realize that’s not realistic. In some ways, I don’t know that I’ll ever be the same again, but my hope is that I’ll be a stronger person because of it and that the “new” me will be even better.
This is so brand new to you, just a week since your diagnosis. Who could blame you for being unsteady on your feet??!
We all wish we could wish this away for you, just as you wish!
Sending lots of hugs to you,
and wishing you the very, very, very best.
Laurie
I love your theme this month and look forward to reading all of the posts (whether it be 20 or not).
I hope you have a more upbeat Monday
Thanks Rachel!
Carrie,
You rock! You are such an inspiration to those who read your blog. You are going to get through this with flying colors. Keep upbeat and keep busy doing what you enjoy…we are just lucky to benefit from your awesome (and healthy!) food creations. Cheers!
Thank you so much, Charlie, your encouragement means so much to me!
Hi Carrie, Great post and love the Cancer Fighting Food theme. I make various soups and freeze them for a quick lunch or dinner. I heat them up with raw kale or other greens in the bottom of the bowl so they become wilted but not cooked (a tip from Dr. F I believe); really yum and I get extra greens in as well! Thanks for giving me a new recipe to try that is packed with goodies.
On another note, know that it’s OK to morn your thyroid and have a good cry (or several!) about the diagnosis and process. Much better than bottling it all up, both physically and spiritually. Write, walk, run, yell or hit a pillow but get it out. I personally found it useful to make a list (when I was feeling more positive of course!) of my blessings or things that I am grateful for (and believe me this list was very eclectic!) which gave me a beacon to return to after a down episode. You will need something positive to have with you in hospital because trust me, those hours pre-op and post-op are long and can lead to way too much thinking, unless of course you are thinking about all the great activities you have planned when you get out of there! Make some smoothies and soups in ‘to-go’ containers because in my experience vegan options in hospitals are very limited and you will need all those super foods post recovery and in an easily digestible form post throat surgery. Hey, maybe you can convert some nursing staff while you are in the hospital!! Thanks for the post and have a a great Monday and even better Tuesday.
Hi Caroline! Thanks for the awesome suggestion about heating up the soups and serving them over raw greens…I love that idea! I’m also going to take your advice to take positive things with me to the hospital, I’ve already started collecting notes from love ones in case I get sad while I’m there. Also, I just ordered some of Dr. Fuhrman’s boxed soups to take with me so I can always have someone in the kitchen heat up a bowl of that for me to eat!
I understand how you feel and I am sure it is a very emotional process! I think that soup looks yummy, especially when you know how good it is for you!
Thanks, Vicky! You’re right, foods look even more beautiful when they are nourishing and health-promoting.
Hi Carrie,
I love the black and white background with the soup and the purple handled spoon. Too pretty! Maybe taking a Kindle or iPad or something you can play games on to distract you pre-surgery? I found that very helpful to keep my mind off my nerves before I had my hysterectomy. My brain couldn’t concentrate on what was coming up and solving a game at the same time. So smart of you to stock up on foods to have post surgery! Okay, I’m off to read your review about Super Immunity.
Thanks, Christy! I am planning on taking my iPad, iPod and iPhone with me which could keep me busy for days; thanks for the reminder.
Oops! LOL, the name on the above post should be Christy, not Carrie.
Good review on Hen House, but wowza, you are only the 2nd person I know who has made that chocolate cake. The ingredient list looks like it would take hours! But it does look yummy.
I think the soup looks BEAUTIFUL! Wholesome and healing – what more could you ask for?
It’s perfectly natural to go through a “grieving” process too – actually I think it is CRUCIAL to healing oneself. Emotions are meant to be released
Thanks for the supportive note, Lou, I appreciate it!
I’ve been behind in my blog reading and am just catching up now. I’m so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Sending healing thoughts your way.
Thanks, Dianne!
Of course you’re mourning your thyroid! It’s a part of your body; I’d think it was weird if you didn’t mourn it.
Maybe you can take the next few days to pay tribute to your thyroid in some way, and show gratitude before the procedure. This might mean simply doing a progressive relaxation exercise and gently thanking that part of your body for all it has given you until now, and then making peace with the fact that it’s run a full “life cycle,” as it were, in your body. Maybe this sounds a little woo woo, but I think it can be really helpful to pay homage to parts of our bodies that way, through sickness and health.
Hi Gena! Thanks for the note, I have been thinking about your suggestion all day. I love the idea of thanking my thyroid for being part of my life and then working toward saying goodbye to it. It’s so strange, but I almost have a feeling of guilt about what I am about to put my body through and to my poor little thyroid for all that it has put up with (first, nodules and now cancer). The only way I can describe the feeling is that it’s like putting a beloved pet to sleep that has been so important in my life but is now sick and I want it to have peace. I hate to let it go but I know I must. It’s such a hard process.
(By the way, I think I came up with this pet analogy because I was just listening to Jasmin and Mariann’s interview with Jenny Brown from Woodstock Farm Sanctuary and she mentioned this scenario about putting a pet to sleep in a totally different context, but it stuck with me).
Great theme for VeganMoFo and I wish you all the best!!!
Thanks, Gnoe!
Hi Carrie- I just found your blog through this year’s MoFO (I am up to the C’s)
I read your bio and back story ,and I am so sorry about all the health challenges you have faced. I admire your serenity and composure and hope through adversity.
Oh and the soup looks delicious to me, and healing. Sending you healing thoughts.
Thanks so much, Gigi!
Carrie
(((Hugs))). Remember to take some turmeric with a little black pepper too to increase the absorption. 1/4 tsp canola oil and a little sweetner helps the medicine go down. Also cold steeped white tea with a little lemon!
Also recommend Anti-Cancer by Servan-Schreiber. Although he’s passed, he had a brain tumor with a much worse diagnosis and bought himself many productive years. All in all, a good read. Strongly recommended. If you have any chemo or radiation, strongly recomend the cancer fighting kitchen by Katz. http://www.amazon.com/The-Cancer-Fighting-Kitchen-Nourishing-Big-Flavor/dp/1587613441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349287754&sr=8-1&keywords=katz+cancer+fighting+kitchen If it is just the surgery and nutritional excellence, then you don’t need Katz. Stay strong Carrie. Best to you and Alan.
Paul
Thanks for the awesome recommendations, Paul!
one last recommendation, Foods to Fight Cancer by Beliveau and Gingras. Although prevention is in the title, it’s treatment related as well. http://www.amazon.com/Foods-Fight-Cancer-Essential-prevent/dp/0756628679/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349288263&sr=1-1&keywords=foods+to+fight+cancer I sent you the pocket guidance to this already. B&N may have a copy or a library. Covers synergisms which I think could help be reassuring. 1 + 1 = 10, not two.
Best.
Paul
last point, I assume you know what Mofo means in common parlence Just a curious choice of words.
Paul
Yep, it is definitely an interesting choice of letters, that’s why I always try to explain what it is referring to.
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