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What if something happened to you tomorrow? Would your loved ones know where you keep your important papers, information about accounts, how to access your phone?

Join Oncolink TODAY at Noon ET for a webchat about planning for the unexpected.

There is more to consider than just the legal aspects of getting your affairs in order.

Get prepared! You never know when you or your family may need it.

Register for this OncoLink webchat here. 

The evidence is clear that maintaining a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes/beans plays a large role in cancer prevention. Unfortunately, on cold January days a salad or a homemade smoothie can seem less than appealing, which is why I propose making your own soup.

One cup of soup can provide 1 to 2 servings of cancer-fighting vegetables that can help you warm up from the cold and fill up, which helps to prevent overeating and weight gain. I recommend making your own soup, the canned, frozen, or packaged varieties found in the grocery store can often have as much as a 700 mg of sodium per serving. This is a ¼ of your daily recommended intake of salt in one cup of soup!

There are low sodium varieties on the shelves as well as low sodium vegetable or chicken stock if sodium is a concern of yours. If you have an immersion blender, vegetable soup can be a one pot production that requires little chopping ahead of time, which is my kind of cooking!

This is one of my favorite soups to make; all you need is one pot, 5 ingredients and an immersion blender! Make sure you subscribe to this blog, and "like" our Facebook page for more cancer-fighting recipes.

Roasted Cauliflower Curry Soup

• 1/4 cup raw sunflower kernels (optional)
• 3 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, divided
• 3 teaspoons mild curry powder, divided, more to taste
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 cups (about 1 pound) cauliflower florets

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, toss sunflower kernels with 1 teaspoon almond milk and 1 teaspoon curry powder. Spread out on a small parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake, tossing once or twice, until toasted and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1/2 cup almond milk in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add cauliflower, remaining 2 teaspoons curry powder and almond milk, cover and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, about 40 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning with more curry powder if you like. Use an emulsion or handheld blender to puree until smooth, or transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.

Garnish each bowl with sunflower seeds and serve.

Nutritional information per serving: 140 calories, 7g total fat, 200mg sodium, 6g dietary fiber, 5g sugar, 6g protein

When I first looked through River Cottage Veg Everyday after getting it as a gift from my best friend for Christmas, I knew immediately which recipe I just had to make:

Sweet Potato? Peanut Butter? Hell yes! However the main ingredient in this after sweet potatoes is double cream, not exactly vegan friendly, so I decided to do a Laura version of the recipe. I changed up some of the flavours adding ginger along with the garlic and extra chilli instead of the lime, using silken tofu to replace the cream and because I’m such a fan of the sweet potato and almond butter combo, switching up the nut butters.

While this is still a rather rich recipe, the omission of the oil and cream from the original recipe reduces the amount of fat, and the inclusion of the tofu brings some protein to the party to balance out the carbs from the potatoes. A healthy makeover indeed!

Spicy Sweet Potato and Almond Butter Gratin (Adapted from Sweet Potato and Peanut Gratin: River Cottage Cook Veg Everyday, vegan, serves 2)

• Approximately 500g of sweet potatoes
• 1/2 block of mori nu silken tofu
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp of finely chopped red chilli (I used lazy chilli from a jar)
• 2 tbsp of almond butter (add a little salt if your nut butter is unsalted)
• salt and pepper

Pre heat the oven to 190c. Begin by making the tofu cream – blend the silken tofu in a food processor or blender with 1/2 a cup of water and combine with the ginger, garlic and chilli. Peel the potatoes and slice into thin rounds about 2-3 mm thick. Add the potatoes to the tofu cream along with some salt and pepper and mix well.

In a separate bowl mix the almond butter with 2 tbsp of hot water until smooth.

Grease a baking dish (I used two individual ones) and fill half full with the sweet potatoes. Spoon the almond butter on top:

Layer on the rest of the sweet potatoes pouring on any remaining tofu cream in the bowl.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes then remove the foil and bake for another 40 minutes. The potatoes should be tender and browned on the top. Serve!

This is rich, sweet and spicy with a lovely hit of salty creaminess from the almond butter. The topping becomes slightly crispy and caramelised, so good! Due to the ginger, garlic and chilli this has quite an Asian flavour and would go really well with some stir fried veggies like broccoli or a fresh green salad. Obviously this isn’t as creamy as the original recipe would have been, but you could add more of the tofu cream if you wanted a more creamy result.

Delish!

Are you a fan of the sweet potato and nut butter combo?

I mentioned in last Friday’s post that I’d had one of those days where I’d done a lot of deep thinking. I thought about what my priorities in life are, which direction my life is going in and ultimately what is going to make me happy, you know nice light hearted topics like that ;-)

I’ve found that a couple of times a year I get these occurrences of very intense deep thoughts which at the time can feel quite uncomfortable (usually because I’m facing some home truths), but ultimately are very positive and help me to move my life forward. I have a bad habit of putting big changes into effect and then gradually starting to let them slide, forgetting about them and coasting along until the shit hits the fan.

Strangely enough I’ve had a lot more of these ‘deep thoughts’ since I’ve become more healthy. I think that since I’ve lost weight, improved my diet and achieved things I never thought I’d physically and mentally be able to do, its made me more confident, ambitious and determined to follow my dreams.

Last week I had some major realisations. I won’t bore you by going too in depth into them, but here’s a few things I discovered:

• No matter how much I want to be I am not Super Woman and can’t do everything
• I need to prioritise my time according to what is ultimately going to make me happiest and help me to achieve my goals
• I really need to sort my finances out once and for all
• Deep down, a big part of me is scared I’m just not good enough to achieve my goals
• Deep down, a big part of me is flicking the V’s at the other part of myself that thinks I’m not good enough because I can achieve anything I set my mind to god damn it!

The upshot of much of this is that I’m considering handing back the keys for the allotment because I don’t realistically have the time or money to put into it, cancelling my organic veg box delivery because I can’t afford it, and generally giving myself a kick up the arse when it comes to spending money (ironic I know considering what I spent in Brighton). I’m also determined to make some major progress with my business plan for my holistic health coaching for communities ideas no matter how scared I am that I might ultimately fail, because remember, I can do anything I set my mind to right?

Like I said, although uncomfortable to begin with, I need to have these deep thoughts to push me forward because they help me to focus on following my bliss.

source

‘If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are—if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time’

I truly believe that by pursuing the things in life that light me up and make me happy I’ll be ok in the end. Sometimes though, you need to be able to identify those things that make you happy. Here’s some things that have helped me:

• Writing this blog!
• Journaling – sometimes I just write. I don’t set out to write about anything in particular I just get a pen and some paper and write whatever comes into my head.
• Using mind maps – I like them to help sort out my thoughts and generally organise myself!
• Yoga – I guess it sounds a bit clichéd that yoga helps with enlightenment but because I’m useless at meditating its one of the only things I can do that helps to quieten my mind.

How good are you at following your bliss? Do you use any tools to help you think?

Basser Research Center for BRCA Director Susan Domchek, MD was quoted in a recent Marketplace report on drug shortages. Dan Gorenstein reports on shortages in the supply of drugs for cancer and other conditions, quoting Dr. Domchek who says that this lack of medication puts patients at risk.

“It is a very difficult thing to explain to a patient, why you can’t get a very standard chemotherapy regimen because you don’t have access to the medication,” she says.

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope your all having a great day, Sunday’s are the best aren’t they :-) I’ve had a really great weekend just so chilled out and relaxed. This morning I got in a great workout at the gym. I hadn’t been looking forward to running on the treadmill (and although it was bright, it was freezing outside!) so I made up a really simple relaxed treadmill workout:

5k treadmill workout

• 0.25 miles: 6.2mph
• 0.25 miles: 6.7mph
• 0.25 miles: 7.2mph
• 0.25 miles: 7.7mph repeat x 3 (to reach 3 miles)
• 0.1 mile sprint: 8.2mph (to reach 5k)

This was a great little run getting in 5k in just under 27 minutes. The regular speed changes stopped me getting bored and the speeds I used challenged me a bit, but left more than enough energy for my 15 min bike and 45 min Kettlebell class afterwards.

Yesterday I didn’t quite end up getting my intended lie in but I did have my lazy breakfast! Usually I know what I’m going to have for breakfast before I get up, but yesterday I decided to just see what I fancied. I really wanted something a bit bready that I could smother in nut butter but we don’t buy bread very often. Instead I decided to make a fat socca bread! I mixed half a cup of gram flour with half a cup of water, cinnamon, vanilla extract and a touch of stevia then fried the batter in coconut oil in my small frying pan. When it was cooked on both sides I topped it with with cashew butter, fresh blueberries and lots of maple syrup:

Perfection! This was just what I had been craving and was absolutely delicious. I decided to stick with the breakfast theme later in the day and made some oats in a jar for a snack after returning home from seeing friends and family:

I needed warming up as we’d been out for a walk and I couldn’t think of anything better than oats! I filled a near empty sunflower seed butter jar with oats cooked with water in the microwave and a heaping tbsp of Clearspring naturally sweetened blueberry jam.

This mornings post workout breakfast was a raw protein buckwheat bowl with vanilla sun warrior, chopped apples, raisins and cinnamon:

Yum! I enjoyed this with an Indian Chai tea with coconut milk, delish!

Other tasty bits and pieces this weekend include my usual weekend green juices, however as I was going out I didn’t think just juice would hold me over so taking inspiration from what I’ve been reading in Crazy Sexy Juices and Smoothies I made a smoothie with cucumber, celery, parsley, basil and orange blended with water, ice, maca powder and a little stevia to sweetened it up, all drank in a pretty mug of course:

This tasted very refreshing and nourishing!

Last night’s dinner was based on my Roast Broccoli, Brussels and Chickpea and Cranberry Couscous recipe – I roasted some broccoli, and for the first time some savoy cabbage (delish by the way) in coconut oil and then topped with the chickpea and cranberries but made with quinoa instead of couscous:

For dessert I tried one of my new chocolate almond puddings on top of frozen cherries with some peanut flour sauce swirled on top:

Heaven in my mouth!

This afternoon I’ve been having a party in my kitchen, I’ve had the radio blasting while I’ve been cooking and doing the laundry and I’ve even had a bit of a dance ;-) I’ve cooked up some brown rice for the week, made a special dish (which if it works will be incredible – will blog the recipe) and a giant pan of Lentil soup – based loosely on this recipe but I added some celery and left out the spinach because I didn’t have any. I had a huge bowl with some organic blue corn chips on the side for lunch:

Proper lush, I dipped the chips in the soup for extra noms :-)

Please don’t tell me I’m the only one that dances in my kitchen? Hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend and have a great week ahead!

February is Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. Here at the Abramson Cancer Center, we are committed to providing outstanding comprehensive cancer care and cancer information including ways to prevent cancer. Further, cancer researchers at Penn are at the forefront of learning new ways to prevent and detect cancer.

In this article, we discuss colonoscopy, and how a colonoscopy can actually prevent cancer. 


Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the few cancers that can be prevented with screening. In the United States, it is recommended that everyone over the age of 50 be screened for CRC. If you have a family history of colon polyps, cancer at an early age or certain chronic medical conditions you may be encouraged to be screened starting at an earlier age.

Although the incidence of CRC and cancer-related deaths is decreasing, colon cancer screening remains underutilized. Consequently, CRC remains the third most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer deaths.

One of the main barriers to CRC screening is the lack of awareness of the disease. CRC tends to not be discussed as openly as other conditions such as breast or lung cancer. Furthermore, the thought of undergoing a colonoscopy is not appealing to anyone. This is compounded by the fact that there is a general misperception about the study.

Colonoscopy can detect early tumors, and more importantly pre-cancerous growths of tissue called polyps. Polyps can be removed at the time of the procedure, thereby preventing you from ever developing cancer.

Know What to Expect at a Colonoscopy

Preparation for a colonoscopy involves using a prescription laxative the day before the procedure to clear the colon. Prior to the study, anesthetic medications providing “twilight” sedation are given through an IV. You are able to follow commands under twilight sedation, but remain comfortable if not asleep during the entire exam.

Once sedated, a long thin flexible tube with a light and a high-definition (HD) camera at the tip is inserted through the rectum and advanced to the end of your colon. The total length of the exam is typically 20 to 30 minutes.

For most patients, the hardest part of the exam is the preparation the day before the procedure. Many patients wake up from the sedation unaware that the test has already been performed. At Penn the preparation has been improved so the standard laxative solution is no longer a gallon of fluid, but is a more palatable combination of Miralax® dissolved in Gatorade®.

Roughly 80 percent of CRCs can be prevented with adequate screening and colonoscopy screening saves lives. I encourage everyone to begin the dialogue about CRC screening with their physicians. While no screening test is 100 percent perfect, colonoscopy remains the best method of screening for most individuals.

Are you 50 years old or older? Make an appointment at Penn Medicine for your routine colonoscopy by calling 1-800-789-PENN (7366).

Learn More About Colorectal Cancer Prevention

Register for a free conference about colon and rectal cancer prevention.

The CANPrevent Colorectal Cancer conference is FREE and open to the public. Come and learn the latest information on colorectal screening and managing the genetic risk for you and your family. Gain knowledge and take action by getting important information from our experts. Breakfast will be provided.

Date: Friday, March 22
Time: 7:30 am to 10:30 am
Location: Hilton Hotel, 4200 City Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, PA

Register for this free event here. 
 

February is Cancer Prevention Awareness Month. Here at the Abramson Cancer Center, we are committed to providing outstanding comprehensive cancer care and cancer information including ways to prevent cancer. Further, cancer researchers at Penn are at the forefront of learning new ways to prevent and detect cancer. 

Exercise and maintaining a healthy weight is one way a person can decrease their risk of cancer and aid in the prevention of chronic disease.

A person’s risk for developing cancer is based on several risk factors for cancer. However, just because someone has one or more risk factors for cancer does not mean they will develop cancer.

Exercise, Prevention of Chronic Disease Including Cancer

While cancer research has come a long way to help identify ways in which people can prevent certain types of cancer, cancer researchers are still looking for new, effective cancer prevention strategies.Obesity, or being overweight has been shown to increase cancer risk. Cancer researchers at Penn Medicine are testing to see if women who are at higher-than-average risk of developing breast cancer during their lifetimes may be able to reduce their risk with exercise.

Research has already proven that female athletes have reduced estrogen levels as a result of exercise. There is also evidence that lower estrogen levels can reduce breast cancer risk over a woman’s lifetime. The hypothesis of the study is that if estrogen levels can be reduced through exercise, the risk of a future breast cancer diagnosis may be lower as well.

February is Cancer Prevention Month, and this month we are featuring blogs all about cancer prevention. "Like" the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania on Facebook to get cancer prevention tips, cancer education and cancer research news throughout the whole year.

Happy Friday! How has your week been? Mine has been good although I’m really ready for the weekend now. I had a weird day yesterday where I ended up doing a lot of deep thinking about things. Do you ever have those day’s where your thoughts are just all over the place? Anyway it’s all good, I’ve had some big realisations and reached some major conclusions that have been a long time coming, onward and upward!

Here’s a recap of my workouts for the week:

• Sunday – 5k relaxed treadmill run, 15 min bike set at random, Kettlebell class
• Monday – 5 min cross trainer warm up, strength workout A from Base phase of Female Body Breakthrough, 10 min HIIT step machine, 10 min HIIT bike
• Tuesday – AM Yoga for Runners 20 min podcast, PM 10 min HIIT cross trainer, 10 min HIIT bike, Body Pump class
• Wednesday – 5 min cross trainer warm up, strength workout B from Base phase of Female Body Breakthrough, 10 min HIIT step machine, 10 min HIIT bike
• Thursday – New yoga class! (1hr 15 min)
• Friday - 5 min cross trainer warm up, strength workout A from Base phase of Female Body Breakthrough, 10 min HIIT step machine, 10 min HIIT bike

I tried out a new yoga class last night and as I suspected it was another slower paced Iyengar class. It actually wasn’t too bad and I did find some of the poses more challenging than I had expected, I certainly got an excellent stretch. I have another class to try on Tuesday and then I’ll probably make a decision about which of them I’ll continue with or if I’ll go for DVD’s and podcasts instead. I’ve also increased my strength workouts this week from two to three which has been great!

Its been a bit of a busy week where I’ve need to start work early so a couple of breakfasts have had to be eaten on the go. For this I’ve been making green smoothies and storing them in a jar in the fridge ready to drink as soon as I get back from the gym. This one contained kale, spring greens, frozen banana, strawberry hemp protein powder, maca powder, ground flax, midori greens, ice and water:

Luckily I did have time to enjoy one in my usual ‘in a bowl’ style. This contained kale, frozen blueberries and strawberries, chocolate sun warrior protein powder, berries powder, maca, ground flax, water, ice topped with Dorset Cereals Simply Muesli and sunflower seed butter:

I’m doing well with not needing to add any additional sweeteners or gums to them at the moment, they are certainly turning out thick enough on their own! I also enjoyed another late breakfast nut butter plate of banana, apple, roast kabocha squash and raw almond butter:

This was eaten later in the morning at work after a green juice first thing. I have to say there’s nothing quite like starting your day with a green juice although I don’t think I’ll be making a regular habit of it, I like my breakfast foods too much!

For lunches I’ve been back on the salads, firstly topped with Gourmet Raw beetroot crisps…

…and then topped with home made high protein hummus:

I also remembered to sprout some alfalfa to add in, I just love hummus topped salads!

Today I made myself some raw wraps by wrapping a mix of grated carrot, raisins and raw tahini in spring green leaves:

So delicious, I haven’t made raw wraps in forever and these tasted wonderful, I’m crazy for the tahini and raisin combo! For dinner the last couple of nights I’ve had a massive portion of veggie chilli with a baked sweet potato and steamed greens:

This has been perfect warming meal, I love that chilli it really is such a simple recipe and so easy to throw together!

For desserts / evening snacks I’ve had big bowls of frozen berries with some home made sunflower seed milk. This bowl had frozen raspberries, apple and some almond butter:

I also treated myself to some sharon fruit the other day and enjoyed a few of them chopped up and accompanied by some raw chocolate covered raisins:

Those raisins are seriously addictive, it took a lot of will power not to eat the entire bag!

Well I’m sitting here feeling nice and relaxed ready to start the weekend. I’m going to make a big bowl of popcorn later as me and James are having a movie night and I can’t wait to enjoy a lie in tomorrow followed by a relaxed breakfast and a giant mug of coffee!

What have you got planned for the weekend? What are your favourite on the go breakfasts? I like smoothies as I can drink them while I’m getting ready, not sure what else I could have for breakfast that is quick to make and eat? I might start experimenting with just having a small snack and then something bigger once I’m at work. Any ideas would be much appreciated! Hope you all have a great weekend whatever your up to! :-)