TeamHope

Wow!  What an amazing weekend!  TeamHope is an outreach of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan) for individuals to participate in marathons across the country to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer.  On Saturday , there was a group of 50 TeamHope runners that participated in Duluth's famous Grandma's Marathon.  They raised more than $26,000!   I had helped plan the event in a small way and my husband, Tom, and I helped staff our TeamHope water station at mile marker 22, cheering on TeamHope runners.  Tom's enthusiasm and good humor were appreciated by both runners and volunteers, while I often rested in a chair on the sidelines, amazed at how this event had all come together so well.   

Tom does everything with gusto!  Runners could easily grab a cup of ice from his unwavering, strong arm!

Marathon Goddess

There were many inspiring stories of  runners who have been affected by pancreatic cancer and have turned their anguish into a determination to advance funding for pancreatic cancer.  One of the runners, Julie Weiss, is a self-declared Marathon Goddess, who lost her father to pancreatic cancer last year.  She is slated to run 52 marathons in 2012, and Grandma's Marathon was her 10th one this year.  She has already raised over $100,000 for pancreatic cancer research. Amazing!!!


See her website at: http://marathongoddess.com/










Another such story is Sara Peterson, whose father is on the board of directors for Grandma's Marathon and is now battling pancreatic cancer.  See this link for an inspiring article about their journey.  http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/234254/publisher_ID/36/

Pancreatic Cancer:  Know it. Fight it. End it.

Join the Effort!

Contributions for Grandma's Marathon TeamHope will be accepted online  until December 31.     http://teamhope.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1011589&team=4953312 

You can donate to any individual listed there, or make a general team contribution. 

Runners gratefully

grabbed cups of ice from 

our volunteers.  

Savory Lentil Rhubarb Stew

Rhubarb is another one of the hallmarks of spring.  But it requires so much sugar to make it tasty that I don't use much of it anymore.  So my rhubarb plant has been burgeoning with the stuff.   Then I remembered that a few years ago the local Rhubarb Festival (yea, yea, I know -you are wondering what a Rhubarb Fest is all about) printed some of their best recipes in the newspaper and had included a savory rhubarb lentil  dish of some kind. Where did I put that red folder of rhubarb recipes? And why do I remember a funky recipe when I can't remember what I went downstairs for two minutes ago?  Yep, there was the red rhubarb recipe folder next to my stack of cookbooks.  And there was that recipe for combining rhubarb and lentils. Looking more carefully at the recipe from the June 22, 2005 issue of Duluth News Tribune, I realized this recipe of international intrigue wasn't submitted by a local cook, rather it was by the great culinary guru Mark Bittman.  Definitely worth trying if this renown chef said it was good. An added enticement for me was the use of East Indian spices, which I love.  Mark Bittman made the point that rhubarb is really a vegetable, so it is well suited to a savory dish rather than only pie.   So I gave it a try, and wowza.  Easy and tasty!  And I was lucky enough to have some cilantro growing in pots on the deck, thanks to my husband, Tom.  I might even share this healthy version of rhubarb with him.  Maybe.   


Ingredients:
3 - 4 stalks rhubarb, strings removed
      (about 2 cups chopped)
1 cup uncooked orange lentils, well-washed
2 tablespoons minced ginger                              
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon mustard seed
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 dried ancho or other mild chile, optional
salt to taste  (about 1/4 tsp)
chopped cilantro leaves (at least 1 tablespoon)

Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine all ingredients, except salt and cilantro and add water to cover by about 1 inch.  Cook at a steady simmer until the lentils and rhubarb are quite soft, 20 - 30 minutes.  Remove cloves and cardamom pods.  Add salt, then taste and adjust seasoning.  Add cilantro.  Puree if you want a smoother texture, but the wonder of orange lentils is that they are remarkably soft and cook quickly.  

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4

Serving Size: 1 cup                                  
Calories: 206
Total Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol:  0 mg
Sodium: 8 mg
Total Carbs: 35 g
Dietary Fiber: 17 g
Protein: 14

Strawberry Surprise

Sunny days on the deck are a thing of the past in Duluth - at least during the last seven days of torrential rains. So it was fun to see these photos I had taken earlier this month of a delightful pureed strawberry surprise.  I had enjoyed sliced strawberries with balsamic vinegar prior to my need for pureed food, so when I recently heard of adding black pepper to that already delightful combination of flavors, I was fascinated to try it with pureed strawberries.  Definite Pzazz!  Be daring...be surprised....be bold with your life and flavors.  


Ingredients:
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (high quality)
   (add a bit more if desired)
freshly ground pepper


Preparation:
Puree  the strawberries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar in the blender.  Add freshly ground pepper to desired taste.  Don't be timid.  It really is delicious!


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 2                              
Serving Size: 1/4  cup                        
Calories: 42
Total Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 1  mg
Total Carbs: 10 g
Dietary Fiber:  4 g
Protein: 0

Mango Coconut Dessert

Have you heard of an ataulfo mango?  My friend, Christal, shared one with me a few weeks ago and I was delightfully surprised by the lack of fibrous texture in this delicate golden yellow mango that is about half the size of the typical mango.   The texture was smooth and almost buttery.  So I purchased one a few days ago and looking at it this afternoon, I realized it needed to be used..... promptly.  I love how a mango turns frothy when pureed.  I also love the white violets blooming in the wooded part of my yard this morning.  

Ataulfo mango 

Ingredients:
1 ataulfo mango                                                        
1/4 cup plain non-fat Fage yogurt
2 teaspoons unsweetened finely shredded coconut          






Preparation:  

Peel and slice the mango.  You should have about 3/4 cup slices.

Peeled ataulfo mango

Puree it with the Fage yogurt and coconut in the blender.  

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: About 1 cup
Calories: 140
Total Fat: 3 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 25 mg
Total Carbs:  24 g

Peeled and sliced ataulfo mango
                                       

Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 7

Cucumber Spinach Frothy

Salads say "summer is here", and indeed, the forecast is for 70 degrees again today, and I am desiring a salad. But salads pose a high risk of causing a digestive tract blockage for me, so I made the next best thing - a green frothy drink.  Previous summers, I have "juiced" raw green vegetables, which extracts the fiber from them, and the juices made peace with my digestive system quite easily. But making green smoothies with raw vegetables is a bit of a new experiment for me, and now available because I have a VitaMix.  While the smoothie includes highly pulverized/pureed fiber, and meets my gastroenterologist's guideline for my food (if it can squeeze through a tube of toothpaste, it is safe for me to eat),  it is not cooked, so I am curious to see if my system will tolerate it or not.  While I know it won't create a digestive tract blockage, it may just race through my system.  If you don't see anymore posts on this blog for smoothies with raw green vegetables, you'll know the answer to that question without my having to bore you with the gory details. 


Sitting on the sunny deck sipping this nutrient-rich frothy drink nourished my joy today and gave me a much needed taste of summer.   

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cucumber (1/2 of a very large cuke)
1 cup loosely packed fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup water
lemon juice to taste

Preparation:   This is where the VitaMix really works wonders to sufficiently pulverize the vegetables so I don't need to worry about a possible digestive tract obstruction.    Put the cucumber, spinach, water, and lemon juice in the mighty VitaMix and process until it is frothy.  Sip in the sunshine, with clean, green gladness.


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1 3/4 cup            
Calories: 53
Total Fat: 0
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium:  32 mg
Total Carbs: 12 g
Dietary Fiber: 3
Protein: 3 g

Blueberry Mint Smoothie

Before Tom goes fishing each year, I make a ritual of cleaning out the freezer in anticipation of making room for a new batch of walleyes.  So this year when I was cleaning the freezer, I discovered two bags of organic blueberries and you would have thought I had won the lottery.  YeeHa!   I had struck it rich! At least rich in delectable, beautiful blueberries.  And today the temperature in Duluth was nearly 70 degrees, prompting me to make something refreshing.  Time to whip up something new. What did I have to compliment the taste of the blueberries?  Ah...the mint that is quickly growing in my herb garden would be perfect, along with some kefir. 


If you aren't familiar with kefir, it is a cultured milk drink, and a great source of probiotics.  Probiotics are helpful for digestion, as well as for the immune system.  My favorite brand of kefir is Nancy's Organic Low-fat Plain kefir.  This particular brand contains 13 live culture strains.  I don't tolerate normal milk products, but cultured milk products are entirely different. Like yogurt, the live cultures in kefir are helpful for digestion and I need all the help I can get.  


But as I sat on the deck in the warm sunshine sipping this delightful smoothie, I wasn't thinking about it's nutritional and digestive merits.  I was simply savoring the moment.  

Ingredients:
1 cup plain low-fat kefir  (or less if you like a thicker consistency)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
About 6 -8 fresh mint leaves


Preparation:
Process it all together in a blender, making sure the blueberry skins and mint leaves are completely pulverized.


Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 1
Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup
Calories: 180
Total Fat: 4 g
Cholesterol: 20 mg
Sodium: 151 mg
Total Carbs: 26 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 11

The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation

First daffodil of 2012

I have one single daffodil blooming in my front garden today midst the fog and the 45 degree weather.  It signals hope and persistence to me, as it pokes its way through the brown downtrodden soil, appearing in its cheerful bright yellow.  The encouragement for how to live is apparent.   There are also peony stalks heralding the coming of full beautiful blooms several weeks from now.  Patience, persistence, and cheerfulness - attributes I need to cultivate further in my life. So many of life's challenges - cancer, finances, remodeling projects - provide opportunities for growth if I am open to them and trust the process for awakening, rather than for particular outcomes.    

In my quest for more insight into living well with my type of neuroendocrine tumor, I discovered another fabulous organization, the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation.

Emerging Peony

The website for the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation includes comprehensive and up-to-date information about the varieties of neuroendocrine tumors, as well as information about physicians who specialize in these types of tumors.  It also provides information about support groups, treatment, clinical trials, national conferences, and a wide variety of other resources. Access to professional presentations on this site has been a great source of education and intellectual invigoration for me. Ah, yes, hope, persistence, patience and cheerfulness  can be found in many and varied forms.