100 Perks of Having Cancer: Plus 100 Health Tips for Surviving It (99 page)

drain after cooking. If you don’t believe me, just check the color of the water

after you’ve boiled some.

Steaming is much healthier and easier, and cooking this way eliminates

the risk of burnt food. Steaming broccoli also retains that beautiful dark green

color. If you don’t have a steamer, simply place a metal colander on top of a

large pot filled with about five inches of water. The colander should fit

securely on the pot and not be touching the water. Place the washed broccoli

in the colander and cover. (It’s okay if some of the steam escapes out from

the sides. It will still cook properly.) Turn the heat on high and allow the

water to boil under the colander for about 15 minutes or until the desired

tenderness. Stir-frying or quick frying in a tiny bit of oil is another healthy

preparation method. But before you reach for the melted cheddar cheese, try

topping this green miracle with melted plant-based butter like Healthy Bal-

ance mixed with finely ground nuts like almonds, or just drizzle olive oil and

lemon juice over it and finish with pine nuts and a pinch of sea salt.

Another way of eating your veggies is to use them in healthy recipes.

This one makes a good side dish or paired with a salad for a main dish.

This recipe uses broccoli and has the word
cake
in the name. See? You can

have your broccoli and eat your cake, too.

Perk #98: Raising Awareness

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BROCCOLI CAKES

YIELD: 15 CAKES

1 large head of broccoli, larger stalks removed (about 6 cups)

1/2 cup prepared quinoa

3 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra-virgin organic,

plus more for cooking

5 to 6 scallion greens, chopped to make 1 cup

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

11/2 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzos)

or 1 (15-ounce) can, rinsed

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups panko-style breadcrumbs

11/2 tablespoons Old Bay or other seafood seasoning

White Sauce (optional)

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

2 scallions, whites only, finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

Directions:

1. Wash and cut broccoli, small stems and florets, into chunks. Steam for 20

minutes or until broccoli is tender when pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, cook

quinoa according to directions on the package. Set aside.

2. Sauté scallions, onion, and garlic in 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium

heat until onions are translucent (8 to 10 minutes).

3. Add all ingredients except flour, breadcrumbs, and Old Bay to food proces-

sor. Add 2 teaspoons of olive oil and pulse until blended. Process on high

until very smooth. Transfer to bowl and add the flour. Mix well.

4. In a small bowl, combine Panko crumbs, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and Old

Bay, and mix well. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron (or other) skillet and add a table-

spoon of oil. Disperse evenly. Using a 1/4 cup scoop or large spoon,

and filling just shy of full, drop batter into breadcrumb mixture and

Broccoli is the

coat evenly. Use a spoon to help coat the batter, as the batter will be

vegetable that

sticky. Place coated batter in the pan and press down slightly with

loves you back.

the back of the spoon to flatten. Three cakes should fit in a 10-inch

skillet. Cook about 8 minutes on each side until sides are golden.

Add 2 teaspoons of oil to pan for each additional batch.

5. For white sauce, mix vegan mayo, scallion whites, and lemon juice well.

Top broccoli cakes with white sauce if desired and garnish with chopped scal-

lion greens.

NUTRITION:

Serving size:
1 cake

Two cakes
provide you with 130% of your daily intake of vitamin C.

Calories: 180; Fat: 7.7 grams; Protein: 4.5 grams; Fiber: 2.8 grams;

Vitamin C: 65% of the RDA; Iron: 6.6% of the RDA

White sauce serving size:
1 teaspoon

Calories: 43; Fat: 4 grams

Perk #99

Cancer Introduced Me

to a New Way to Get a Buzz

“Hello, my name is Florence and I am a blogger. I

knew it was becoming a problem when I started to

steal time away from my kids to blog. Eventually,

I just let myself go. I found myself checking my

blog stats rather than brushing my teeth. Of course,

the inevitable happened. I got a cavity. God, I’ll

never forgive myself for that. But I just couldn’t

resist the buzz. That’s when I decided to join Blog-

gers Anonymous.”

O
kay, it didn’t actually get to the point of having

to join a 12-step program (and the jury is still

out on what caused the cavity), but the truth is, I am hooked on blogging!

It gives me a buzz that I can only compare to buying new clothes or finding

a great deal on potted perennials.

You see, I am the type of person who loves to set concrete, measurable

goals for myself, goals like: lose 5 pounds, run 10 kilometers, or find 100

perks of having cancer. The closer I get to my goal, the more excited I get.

So you can just imagine my anticipation as I sat on the cusp of one of the

greatest victories of my life: finding 100 perks of having cancer!

Hey, I heard that—some of you are questioning how writing a blog can

be considered such a victory. Not to toot my own horn, but finding 100

good things about having cancer was no easy task. Being so close to my goal,

I felt like I was nearing the end of a marathon, and I was simply HIGH on

my sense of accomplishment.

Even though I make jokes about my cancer experience, I would like to

make it clear that my goal has never been to make light of this very serious

illness. For me, focusing on the perks was my way of staying positive through

a very difficult time in my life. I did not write these perks after I was declared

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100 Perks of Having Cancer

“cancer-free” and looking back on the experience through rose-colored

glasses. Rather I wrote them while undergoing treatments and surgeries and

not knowing what the outcome would be for me. Blogging not only pro-

vided a great distraction from my illness, it also gave me a positive and cre-

ative outlet for my feelings. Writing my blog, and now this book, has

certainly been one of the most therapeutic perks of having cancer.

Don’t let cancer stop you from

setting goals for yourself.

HEALTH TIP #99

If Your Goal Is Healthier Eating,

Start with Your Cookware!

Y
es, throw away those pots and pans made of Teflon, aluminum, and sil-

icone. They may be making you sick, and there is a healthier, cheaper,

and more logical solution:
cast iron
.

Cast-iron pots have been around for thousands of years (yes, thou-

sands!) The material for cast iron comes from iron ore, found in the

earth, mixed with oxygen and carbon. A molten mixture is

made by superheating, and then the mixture is poured

into sand casts and cooled. When the cast is cooled, the

sand is blasted off and voilà! A pan is made. No matter

who you buy from or where you find your pans, all cast-

iron pots and pans have been made the same way for

the past 130 years. Beware of cast iron from China, how-