Since I usually bring you a workweek day, I thought this week I’d mix it up a little and share some of what I enjoyed during the long weekend.

On Sundays (or in this case, Monday), I usually make enough breakfast to last a couple days into the week. This week it was steel-cut oats with apple, chia, and flax. Top with some peanut butter or sun butter and it’s good to go. 

Since I’m moving next month, I’m trying to use up a lot of the random things in the freezer and cabinets, which is what led to this lunch concoction. Scrambled eggs on frozen waffles? What the hell? 

In lieu of an afternoon snack on Sunday, I walked round the city with my friend Madeline and eventually stopped in at the Maritime Hotel for a drink.

Nothing like prosecco on a hot afternoon

Saturday night I made a soba noodle stir-fry… 

but Sunday I had dinner plans with my dad. We went to Pier 9 in Hells Kitchen just to try something new. I really enjoyed my roasted beets salad and swordfish. 

pardon the dark photo…

I didn’t mean to order two things with arugula, but I’ve been craving it lately. This time last year I couldn’t stand the taste, but lately I can’t get enough. Haha I think I’m afraid of arugula on some level—A few different women I know said that right before finding out they were pregnant, they were struck with out-of-the-blue cravings for folate-rich foods like dark leafy greens and orange juice! But yeah…not even a remote possibility there, so cheers to that!

How do you react to food cravings? For those you in the U.S.—What was the best thing you ate over Memorial Day weekend? 

She writes, “The funny thing is, if I had been a diabetic counseling other diabetics, or an oncologist with cancer, my personal experience might be considered a plus…But, unlike diabetes and cancer, weight issues are not clearly understood as medical. Though obesity is a major individual and public health problem, people become obese because of a mix of genetic, behavioral, environmental, and psychological reasons. And doctors and patients alike still often think an inability to maintain a lean body represents a lack of willpower, a moral failure.”

Though Koven admits she’s never been more than a few pounds over what is considered healthy, she has at times, considered giving up her professional interest in weight, citing shame and musing, “How could I counsel patients to adopt habits I had so much difficulty adopting myself?”

However, over time, she explains, she came to see her experiences as a way to help patients feel more comfortable and even relieved to be counseled by someone who knows firsthand what they’re going through. She writes, “Some of that shame seems to dissolve once I’ve named our common demon.” And from there, Koven and her patients can “move forward together.”

I found this to be an inspiring read. When it comes to health and wellness, we all have our “stuff,” something that we struggle with, whether it’s a physical, mental or emotional ailment or imbalance. I took one grad course on nutrition counseling, and though this topic came up in a discussion on self-disclosure, the class kind of skirted around it.

While I don’t think it’s always appropriate to talk about your “stuff” in a healthcare setting, I find letting someone know you’re listening and not judging can make all the difference. It’s kind of fascinating the way someone’s body language changes when they go from feeling anxious and defensive to feeling safe.  Whether it’s something like a little “Would it help to know what you’re saying doesn’t sound crazy to me?” or just getting a feel for where someone is at so you can figure out where to meet them in the discussion, it’s important.

Anyway, that’s kind of a tangent.

What do you think of healthcare professionals sharing their personal struggles?  

I might need one of these very soon…

I like to think of myself as a kind person who maintains a sense of respect for all creatures, but um, yeah. This morning when I got back from the gym, I saw a cockroach making its way across the floor. Now, I’ve lived in apartments with cockroaches and other critters before (in Boston), but those were like, Napoleon-complex cockroaches compared to these NYC motherf***ers. I’ve been in this apartment almost 3 years, and this was the first time I’d seen one in my own place.

First I screamed, “Holy sh!t! You are a big f***ing cockroach!” Then I stepped on it. “Sorry it has to be this way.” I walked away to get something to scoop up the body in.

When I returned it was still squirming. “Why won’t you die!?” I yelled, and stepped on it again, harder. And that was that. I was shaking like a wet kitten.

So much for that whole “kindness towards all creatures” thing. I will never be barefoot in here again—or at least until the exterminator comes on Friday. Go figure I go almost the entire 3 years without seeing something, but hardly a week after making plans to leave, I see my first cockroach. When I called management about it, the guy on the phone  laughed and said, “I guess it’s a good omen.”

Yep, time to move on. It’s been real, Hells Kitchen, but I’ve got somewhere else to be getting to. Apparently, cockroaches are also a symbol of tenacity, longevity, and the need for renewal and reevaluation in your life—all appropriate. In the past, when I’ve seen creepy crawly things seemingly out of the blue, I’ve later looked at it as a marker of a new phase, so I guess I’ll see. If nothing else, it’s a hell of a way to wake you up and motivate you to get out and enjoy the day.

How do you react when you see creepy crawly things? On a lighter note, how are you spending your long weekend? 

courtesy of Never Seconds

In recent school food news, a 9-year-old girl in Scotland has been posting photos of her school lunch every day in an effort to bring attention to the need for more of the good stuff. And by “good stuff,” I mean fruits & veggies. Check out her blog, Never Seconds!

What’s the best—or worst—school lunch you’ve seen or tasted? 

Incorporating a wide variety of nutritious foods into your daily diet will give you a boost of energy, whether you are being treated for mesothelioma, breast cancer or some other form of this disease. Many people suffer few side effects from treatments and continue to enjoy food during this time. Other people find it difficult to eat well-balanced meals due to nausea and fatigue. Try to eat a combination of complex carbohydrates, fresh fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and lean protein at every meal. This will ensure you are getting the nutrients your body needs to fight cancer and repair itself.

One way to ensure you will have plenty of healthy meals to eat even on bad days is to prepare meals ahead of time and freeze them. On days that you have energy and feel good, cook large quantities of lean meats, fish and chicken, a variety of vegetables and complex carbohydrates such as brown rice. Cooking your meat in olive oil will provide a serving of a healthy fat. Combine these cooked ingredients into freezer safe containers and freeze until you need them. By planning ahead, you will always have a well-balanced meal ready to eat in a matter of minutes. Keeping ready-to-eat snacks handy will also help you stay on track. Purchasing pre-washed vegetables such as carrots or small bags of trail mix will provide you with a quick energy boost. Eating foods rich in nutrients is the key to keeping your body as strong as possible during cancer treatment. Avoid eating foods with empty calories such as soda, cookies and chips as these foods provide little nutrients.

If you find you have trouble eating enough protein, consider using a protein powder to supplement your diet. Health food stores carry a wide variety of these powdered supplements that can be mixed with water or milk. You can even purchase ready-to-drink protein, which is portable and convenient. Protein supplements come in a variety of flavors such as chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. Ask your doctor to prescribe you a multi-vitamin if you find it difficult to eat a variety of nutritious foods.  For more nutritional information for cancer patients please visit- The National Cancer Institute.

That is all.

Do you have crazy hair days? 

Now that we’re at the halfway point of the week, I finally feel like my caffeine withdrawal demons have backed into their cave. I made it through the day with only a few inappropriately-timed yawns and no headache to speak of. Sweet.

I’ve been having insane dreams, though, but I suppose that’s pretty typical. Last night I dreamed I was a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding but somehow part of the band too. As all my dreams about weddings, I was the unprepared bridesmaid. Go figure that’s my recurring anxiety dream. In this one, I forgot to dye my white dress tea-colored until the morning of the ceremony. Whoops. The lead guitarist/singer of the band, who was six-foot-something scary and skinny asked if I was like him, “the same but different on the inside.” Then he playfully punched me on the arm. Well all right then. I woke up just as I was reading my own hepatic protein labs.

I’ve been crazy-busy with internship stuff and side projects, but things on the food front has been pretty good, even if the pictures suck. Here’s what Monday looked like…

Breakfast: steel-cut oats with pear, chia, flax, and dried apricots, topped with sunflower seed butter.

Lunch: cafeteria salad that was better than it looked—cabbage, garlicky chickpeas, and random veggies; yogurt

It was either this or pay $2.95 for Greek yogurt.

Snack: an unpictured orange

Dinner: smoked salmon with avocado on an Ezekiel English muffin; massaged kale salad with goat cheese; a piece of chocolate

Snack: Plain yogurt with cocoa powder, berries, and cereal

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten this week? Any weird dreams lately?

So far so good…

Sometimes patients ask about caffeine content in various kinds of beverages, so I wanted to share this nifty chart I found at the Center For Science in the Public Interest.

How much caffeine do you drink in a day?

I think I underestimated the effects of caffeine withdrawal. Either that or I’m fighting something off. Nothing a little turmeric tea can’t fix. 

Of course, sparkling wine enjoyed in front of an open window helps too. Early Saturday evening, my friend JR and I grabbed a drink at Wine Escape, a cute little Hells Kitchen wine bar. Go figure I didn’t get around to checking this place out until finding out I’m moving. So it goes. I still have a month and change before it’s time to pack up and head to a new neighborhood.

sparkling pinot noir—why not?

After that I ventured to the east 30′s for a friend’s birthday dinner at Hummus Kitchen. I’d walked by the one in Hells Kitchen a zillion times, so it was funny to finally get around to going to a location in another part of town. I couldn’t decide what I wanted, so I ended up ordering a mazze trio: falafel, salad and roasted cauliflower with green tahini. It was fun to catch up over a meal—normally it’s just rushed conversation at the hospital.

pardon the crappy photo-it was dark

We ended up staying at the restaurant until close to 11. Had my voice been working properly, I’d probably have joined the karaoke party, but my throat was so scratchy it hurt to talk and my eyes were beginning to close.

I feel like maybe I just needed some extra “recovery time” this weekend. Some really big, important stuff happened in the past week (home situation, work stuff, etc), and it’s like my body was just holding on to get through the crazy part. Now that I’m not trying to outrun the fatigue, part of catching my breath involves acknowledging that tiredness. I have to go into action mode soon, but for at least the next few days, I plan to enjoy the downtime and that peaceful feeling of knowing I’m on the right path.

When do you seem to need the most “recovery” time? 

Yesterday I had one of those “click” moments when being made aware of how much tension I really do store in my upper back.  How did that get there?

With tomorrow’s solar eclipse already working its magic, it feels like the right time to make a change, however small. So starting with today, I’m going back to drinking green tea in the morning. I think I’ll like it. I certainly didn’t miss the black-coffee jitters before, and I don’t think I’ll miss them now.

So yeah. When I spoke a few weeks ago about 2012 being the beginning of that “whole other ball game,” I didn’t even realize how true that was going to turn out to be. Long story short, it’s all good. For right now, I’m just relaxed and paying attention.

How does caffeine affect you? Do you prefer tea or coffee?