Friday, October 3, 2014

My first cooking demo on Youtube! Immune compromised? Eating fresh fruits and veggies is an option!


Siena and I had so much fun working on my first cooking demo for www.myelomacrowd.org! One of the hardest things about having no immune system when going through chemo is that everything eaten must be super safe and ultra processed. After a day or so of eating frozen burritos and canned soups, I was seriously going crazy. True, some people are so sick that eating anything isn't possible. But there are many who can eat and want to eat healthy food. What to do? Cooking the heck out of fresh fruits and veggies and enjoy! Of course, always speak with your doctor before doing this.

So while my video is kind of long, the really entertaining part is watching and listening to Siena. She makes me laugh every single day. So here goes - enjoy! And if you're feeling hungry, try this recipe. It really is "that" delicious.

Neutropenic and wanting to eat fruits & veggies? There is hope!

BY LIZZY SMITH

One of the hardest parts of being neutropenic is eating choices. Nausea, diarrhea, constipation and food aversions aside, simply eating healthy is a challenge. Typically, fresh fruits and veggies are not an option because of the potential for contracting food-born illnesses. Or are they? Actually, if you cook the heck out of them, they can be! Make sure that if you opt for fresh produce, you thoroughly cook, boil, steam, bake, or sauté them. And, when in doubt, cook them even more. Here is one recipe we love.

(As always, talk to your doctor before proceeding.)
Veggie, Shrimp & Chicken Sausage Pasta
-Chicken Sausage, pre-cooked
-Shrimp, fresh or frozen
-1 package of pasta (your choice)
-Extra virgin olive oil (for coating pan)
-Sea salt (for flavoring)
-Artichoke hearts in oil or canned (optional)
-Olives (optional, type of olives your choice– suggestions black or kalamata)
-Tomatoes
-Peppers (green, yellow, red, orange)
-Yellow onion
-Several garlic cloves
-Mushrooms
-Asparagus
-Spinach
-Fresh mozzarella cheese
-1 bottle of pasta sauce

Boil water in large stockpot. When water comes to a full boil, salt the water and place the pasta in the pot until it is thoroughly cooked. Drain.

Cut up all vegetables, garlic and onion. Heat sauté pan and generously coat with olive oil. Add onions until they start to brown. Add the other vegetables except the spinach. Add the entire contents of the pasta sauce, artichokes, and olives. Turn stovetop to medium and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly. Add the spinach and allow to simmer an additional 10 minutes until thoroughly cooked. Add mozzarella cheese.  Serve over pasta.

To visit the full article, click here.

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