Empowered Eating

 Cancer has been a catalyst to me by opening doors to new information and the help of experts. One of those experts is my oncology nutritionist. I love this lady! She is kind, non-judgmental, eager to help, and full of knowledge. I had the great pleasure of meeting with her recently. She has given me a fresh approach to eating to improve my health and lose weight. Thanks to her (the Wings Cancer Foundation and the West Clinic's Support Services) I have a written, clear, do-able, live-able food plan will help me reach my weight loss goals, and also help my body fight and kill cancer cells. I'm excited, relieved, thankful and empowered!! Thank you, my dear oncology nutritionist!! 

I have been successfully following this new food plan for the past week. (Yes, I have lost weight!!) Of course, this new way of eating is a bit of transition for me. I'm embracing it, however, and figuring out how to make it work into my life without it taking over all my time. I'm also figuring out how to divvy up my carbs for the day, add in more olive oil and flax seeds, and eat enough protein. It requires time to plan, log my eats into SparkPeople, and- yes- prepare and cook food. I am so thankful that I already love to chop and cook!! I am also thankful for Clean Eating magazine which showed up in my mailbox at the perfect time. (I shared why I love Clean Eating magazine so much here.) 

This past Saturday I made 2 recipes from the current issue- Country-Style Beef and Green Pepper soup and Mediterranean Vegetable, White Bean and Feta Penne. Both recipes are delicious and only took me 2 hours to gather, prep, cook and clean up. I think that's a wise use of my time!! 

I didn't occur to me to share my cooking experience with you until I started on the Mediterranean Veg, White Bean and Feta Penne recipe. Bad blogger, bad bad!! 

Instead of following the recipe to the
letter by using fresh tomatoes, I
chose to use a can of undrained unsalted
petite diced tomatoes. Balsamic vinegar
and fresh garlic went into the bowl, too. It
marinated while all the stuff cooked.

Green peppers and zucchini with a wee bit of
organic extra virgin olive oil sizzled
in a medium hot skillet.

After the zuccs and peppers cooked
for about 5 minutes, the marinated
tomato mixture gets added to the skillet.

A can of navy beans gets added to

the pasta for the last minute of the

pasta's cooking time.

Then the pasta and beans get added, too.

Then the feta gets added on top with a little rosemary. I used 6
ounces of fat-free feta, but the recipe actually
calls for 8 ounces of low-fat.

Delicious!! The soup and the pasta both turned out to be deliciously clean, healthy and now ready to eat during the week. The pantry is stocked with tuna, peanut butter, fresh grapefruit, organic mango salsa, organic blue corn and flax tortilla chips, Kashi Go Lean cereal, and rolled oats. The fridge has organic baby spring mix salad, organic carrots and celery, leftover green beans, lactose-free natural cheese, organic Greek yogurt, organic lactose-free milk, organic flaxseeds, nitrate-free lean deli-style turkey, whole grain bread, and a serving of leftover Pad Thai with shrimp. The freezer's got shrimp, orange roughy, broccoli, spinach, asparagus, organic lean beef, and chicken breasts. I'm armed with healthy foods and ready for a healthy, clean, and sweaty week! 

Are you? Tell me what healthy foods you're eating this week!