100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (31 page)

Perk #29

Riding Shotgun

B
efore I go driving anywhere

with my teens, I am sure to

hear one of them yell, “Shotgun!”

This statement gives the person

saying it the privilege of sitting

in the front seat of the vehicle. I

assume the expression originated

in the days of the covered wagon,

when the person sitting next to

the driver carried a gun for protec-

tion and, therefore, was known to

be riding shotgun.

After getting cancer, I didn’t

have to call “shotgun.” No matter

how many people were packed

into a vehicle, I automatically got

the coveted spot. Even Mom, with

her bad knee, would climb into the back of a two-door vehicle so that I

could ride shotgun. It may have been a small perk of having cancer, but it

was a perk all the same.

Perks such as riding shotgun may be a small

bonus when you have cancer, but each of

these conveniences makes life a little easier.

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Perk 29: Riding Shotgun

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HEALTH TIP #29

Make Breakfast More Convenient with

Simply Scrumptious Granola

Y
ou’ve heard it countless times: “Breakfast is the most important meal of

the day.” After your nightly hibernation, it fuels your body and brain,

improves memory, and improves your mood. Some have, what seem to be,

valid reasons for skipping it:

●
no time
●
trying to lose weight

●
not hungry
●
breakfast is boring

Sorry, but I can shoot every one of those excuses down with one word:

granola.

You may have seen granola recipes that put you in the kitchen all day

toasting your oats and slowly baking over and over. Forget those. The recipe

on the following page is quick and easy, and you can tailor it to your tastes

by adding what you like. Instead of almonds or walnuts, try pecans. Instead

of sunflower seeds, try crushed cashews and sesame seeds. Explore different

ingredients and make a granola with your signature.

Now about those excuses . . .

No time for breakfast? Make some ahead, bag it, so you can

Don’t skip your

just grab it on your way out.

chance for a quick

Trying to lose weight? Skipping breakfast has actually been

nutritious breakfast.

shown to cause weight
gain
because you’re hungrier before

Try this easy,

lunch and tend to snack more. This granola has more than 7

healthy granola!

grams of protein per serving and will stay in your stomach

longer to keep your hunger away.

Not hungry? Just one whiff of this heavenly mix and you will be.

Think breakfast is boring? You can dress up this granola with a differ-

ent blend of dried or fresh fruits every day. You can even eat it hot! How

exciting!

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

SIMPLY SCRUMPTIOUS GRANOLA

YIELD: 5 CUPS

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

3/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds or chopped walnuts

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds, raw or roasted

1/2 cup raw, shelled pumpkin seeds (also known as pepitas)

1/2 tablespoon wheat germ or almond meal (optional)

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola or similar oil

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (Grade A amber if possible)

1 cup dried fruit such as cherries, cranberries, apricots, dates, figs, etc.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Mix all the dry ingredients, except for the fruit, in a large

bowl. Mix oil and maple syrup in a smaller bowl and blend well. Add the wet to

the dry ingredients and mix to coat thoroughly. Spread on cookie sheet that has

been sprayed with a light coating of oil. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, mixing the granola

two or three times to brown evenly. The browner it gets, the crunchier it will be.

Remove from oven and let cool. The granola will be soft and sticky when it

first comes out, but will crisp as it cools. Once it has cooled, add your dried

fruit of choice and mix well. Choose dried unsweetened dark berries like cran-

berries or blueberries for extra cancer-fighting benefits.

Store in an airtight container, and it will keep for two weeks. You can double

this recipe to make more if you like. You may find you need to bake mixture an

additional 5 to 10 minutes and stir more often to brown the doubled amount.

NUTRITION PER 1/2 CUP SERVING:

Calories: 330; Fat: 16 grams; Fiber: 4.3 grams; Carbs: 40 grams; Pro-

tein: 7.3 grams; Cholesterol: 0 grams

You can take this on your hike or eat it as a healthy snack. Besides providing

protein, it has fiber, which helps you be the king or queen of your bathroom

“throne.”

Perk #30

Cancer Made Me

Feel Grateful for My Chores

W
AIT! Hear me out. One day during my treatments, I cooked supper for

my children and cleaned up afterward—all by myself. And it felt won-

derful! I appreciated my support team and was quite happy to allow them

to cook and clean for me when I needed it. But when I felt well enough to

do it myself, I actually felt grateful for my chores (well, except for washing

the dishes).

Maybe I should look at washing dishes like Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat

Hanh: “Washing the dishes is at the same time a means and an end—that

is, not only do we do the dishes in order to have clean dishes, we also do

the dishes just to do the dishes, to live fully in each moment while washing

them.”

I will be sure to share those words of wisdom with my sisters at the next

big family dinner. After all, who am I to deprive them of the opportunity

to live fully in the moment?

Don’t get too comfortable in the sick role. When you can do

for yourself, DO for yourself, and be thankful that you can.

HEALTH TIP #30

Please Say, “Thank You”

T
hose two little words are more powerful than you think as they can have

a big impact on your health.

The definition of gratitude is expressing thanks to someone who has

done something nice or helpful, or just being thankful for a situation.

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

Taking note of things or people that you are grateful for (some might

call this “counting your blessings”) can actually improve your health and

well-being.

Gratitude research is a growing body of science with some interesting

findings. In one study, for example, participants were split into three groups.