Survivors who had chemo etc and are into Complementary medicine

Oh god I miss Cheetos.  If I buy them, I eat the whole bag, so I try to refrain. But when they're around, look out, I'm on them!

DeRox I have read that about raw veggies and chemo but I was on Nuelasta during chemo. I was told I could eat everything and I did, including sushi. The only thing I did not do is sample the raw cookie dough when baking. I never had a problem in the past but on chemo I didn't want to risk  it.

Caerus-Sunflowers Where in Western MA? I grew upSE of Boston but went to summer camp in E. Otis, worked in E. Longmeadow for 3.5 years (lived in Springfield for a while) and went to UMass Amherst my 1st 2 years of college. I still have some friends in western MA.

V8 fusion does have a low cal but they replace the sugar with nutrasweet. Personally I feel to get the roughage benefit from veggies and fruit it's best to eat them whole. I personally feel the less processing the better but of course V8 is might be better than nothing at all.

Some veggies are better when cooked: Steaming helps preserve their antioxidants and makes them easier for your body to absorb. This is true of carrots, zucchini, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, cabbage and tomatoes. In fact, tomatoes are better for you when processed than raw because it releases the lycopene, which has been shown to have anti-cancer properties.

I will be spending tomorrow canning tomotoes.  I love having my own stuff to use.

I use mostly olive oil too. Last night, I made vegetarian pannini sandwiches: fresh veggies roasted with garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs from the garden, about a tablespoon mixture of low-fat cheese, toasted on sourdough English muffins.

What do you guys use for salad dressing? 

Claire_in_Seattle, I agree I enjoy vegetables sauteed in a bit of olive oil. I've been experimenting with grilling them in the oven with a bit of oil as well.

pejkug3, I use extra virgin olive oil for my salad dressings. I add apple cider, red wine cider, or one of the other ciders to the oil just to add I use a bit of water to cut down on the calories.

lago, I love the idea of adding salsa, never thought of it. It would bump the nutritional value with the tomatoes.

Glad I missed what ever the spam was, and thank you to all for reporting it, and keeping this thread such a wonderful resource.

Lago - in the "hilltowns" with all the good rural country follks Farms galore...my sugar snap peas are blooming

I LOVE those, Claire   Buy them at farmer's markets cuz I don't want to use my own vines   I use them raw in salads - nice sweetish balance to the mustard greens I also use.  I also love Nasturium flowers.

I really enjoy this thread. So much information and so healthy for you, We need to stay health concious. I wish I did better at this when I was  younger. Making the change now is better than not making the change at all. Thanks for all the wonderful advice and for the recipes they sound wonderful will be trying them.

Patzee, thanks for passing that on, never heard of it, can you keep us updated on how much you like it?

Anyone recommend a good probiotic? I used to use this one type of nutra flora that worked great but the site I used to buy it from is gone. It worked great. I had been using it for 3+ years.

I like it in powder from not in the form of a pill.

Lago I use NOW and buy it at the health food store but it is in pill form.  I do remember seeing that they carried one in powder form as well but it was a different brand.  I'll be going on Tuesday if I remember I'll check out the brand for you

On the subject of salad dressings... my favorite is Trader Joe's Champagne Pear Vinaigrette.  It's mostly pear juice/pear puree with bits of gorgonzola cheese.  Just 45 calories for 2 Tbs., and it's so good!   Deanna