100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (41 page)

should be respected, regardless if they’re plant-based or not. Don’t be a food

meanie.

Occasionally, I like a good tuna salad sandwich. And until recently, I have

just been “doing without” because of my plant-based eating style. However,

even before I started limiting seafood in my diet, I tried to

avoid large fish like tuna because of their high level of con-

Exciting new recipes

taminates. Larger fish, because of the amount of food they

don’t have to be

consume and their size, have higher levels of mercury in their

“substitutions” for old

flesh. When you eat the contaminated fish, the mercury, in

favorites. They can just

the form of methylmercury, accumulates in your body and

be exciting new recipes.

can cause neurological damage over time. Fetal risks are

greater. Your size determines the amount of mercury that is

considered safe for you to consume. For example, according to the Environ-

mental Protection Agency (EPA), a child weighing twenty pounds should only

eat a sandwich made with white albacore tuna every ten weeks! Someone

weighing one hundred and twenty pounds should wait eleven days before

eating tuna again. Knowing that just reinforces my decision to eliminate tuna

from my food choices, but I still liked the way it tasted.

So How Do You Get the “Tuna” Without the “Fish”?

Here’s the beauty of plants: There are tastes and textures

to match anything in the animal world. In this case, seeds

and chickpeas are used to get the texture and color, and

flavorings are added for taste. When I found this recipe,

I was skeptical, but after tasting it, and after seeing my

husband (an anti-vegite) find the bowl of this in the

fridge and devour it, I became a believer. I make this all

the time because it’s so easy. It’s great as a dip, too.

Recipe and photo by Trish Cowper. For more great recipes like this, go to:

www.infinebalance.com.

Perk #42: Packing Light

167

CHICKPEA OF THE SEA

YIELD: ABOUT 2 CUPS

1 cup cooked (or canned, but cooked is healthier) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup raw unroasted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

A pinch or two of sea salt

1 to 2 stalks celery, finely diced

1/4 cup finely diced red onion, or less

1/4 to 1/2 cup Vegenaise or any vegan mayo

A good pinch of fresh black pepper

If you’re cooking your chickpeas to avoid the BPA in canned, cook this way:

Place 1 cup of chickpeas in a bowl and add enough water to cover them. Let

soak overnight. Drain, rinse, and transfer to a pot with a lid. Cover with water

that is twice the amount of the chickpeas and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce

heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from heat and drain (This can be done

up to 3 days in advance and kept in the fridge.)

In a blender or food processor, add chickpeas, seeds, soy sauce, lemon juice,

olive oil, and sea salt. Add a tablespoon or two of water if you need to get the

mixture to move a bit, but only if necessary. Blend until relatively smooth,

but not pasty. It should have some texture to it. Transfer to a small mixing

bowl and add celery, onion, mayo, and black pepper. Let it sit in the refriger-

ator at least 30 minutes or overnight. (This step is vital.) Makes enough filling

for about 4 hearty sandwiches. Great with celery sticks and on salads, too.

NUTRITION IN 1/4 OF THE MIX:

Calories: 319; Fat: 23 grams; Protein: 10grams; Fiber: 5.5 grams; Iron: 19%

of the RDA; Calcium: 12.8% of the RDA; Vitamin C: 8.5% of the RDA.

Perk #43

A Free Trip to Florida

I
was on a real high after surviving chemo and finally start-

ing to feel like my old self again by Christmastime. I

thought,
Life doesn’t get any better than this.
Ah, but I was

so wrong . . . life did get better! When I opened my Christ-

mas gift from my sister, Lynette, and her generous husband,

Jeff, I was surprised to find plane tickets to Florida! (To be

accompanied by my boyfriend Shawn and my parents.)

The surprise vacation could not have come at a better

time. It allowed me to recoup after my chemo treatments

and prepared me both men-

tally and physically for my

There is nothing like a

upcoming mastectomy. While

good dose of sunshine to

my colleagues in Canada were

lift your spirits when you

trudging to work through sev-

are undergoing cancer

eral feet of snow, I was loung-

treatments. If you are

ing by the pool, soaking up the

not able to fly off to a

rays, with a warm breeze blowing through my

tropical destination, just

stubble. Without a doubt, that was one of the

get outside and enjoy

nicest perks of having cancer!

the sunshine.

HEALTH TIP #43

Take a Vacation in Your Own Backyard

C
ontrary to what we might think, our natural habitat is not on a couch

or in a cubicle. It’s outdoors among the trees, grass, and fresh air. We

keep forgetting that we belong to the “wild kingdom” and we are pro-

grammed by deep-seated, million-year-old genetics before anything else to

realize that nature is our true home. You don’t have to go farther than your

own backyard to enjoy the benefits of green space, fresh air, and sunshine!

I 168 J

Perk #43: A Free Trip to Florida

169

In line with this thought, recent studies show that humans are healthier when

they have access to parks and green spaces. The connection between nature and

health, both physical and mental, has been studied for years. Researchers at the

University of Illinois are compiling fact-based evidence that shows we experience

a “feeling” of well-being when we are exposed to the outdoors, but we also

experience better blood sugar control, and we have an increased

immune response, which can be translated into a reduction of can-

Exposure to the

cer risk. They also found that simple exposures to green landscapes

green spaces of the

were associated with shorter recovery times from surgery.

outdoors benefits

On the flip side, those with no access to green spaces had

your body, mind,

a higher risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and death. The

and spirit—and best

data results were independent of the person’s amount of exer-

of all, it’s free!

cise and socioeconomic status.

Scientists relate these human studies to what they see in

the animal world. Animals taken out of their natural habitat and placed in

concrete ones have higher rates of sickness and death, reproduction prob-

lems, and an odd phenomena called “soiling the nest,” where animals

destroy their man-made homes because of an inability to cope.

The same holds true for us. Comparisons were made of residences in

urban areas. The neighborhoods with direct access to grass and trees had a

lower rate of crime and vandalism regardless of socioeconomic status. Those

living in these green areas also had more job satisfaction, better moods, less

violence and aggression, and showed better impulse control when they had

access to some form of nature, even if it was just a visual one.

Worldwide studies confirm this. In the Netherlands, for example, it is found