This blog is now officially signed on for VeganMoFo 2013 under the Healthy Foods category.
I've already started a list of recipes I want to cover. Well, 2 lists, actually. One is all recipes from Dr. Esselstyn's book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, and the other is a mix of recipes from other heart-healthy specific books, as noted in my previous post on VeganMoFo.
I'm glad the commitment is for only 20 posts within the month, because the way my husband's appetite is, I may not be making 20 main dishes the entire month. Even today, for lunch we finally finished off Matt Moore's Enchiladas that I made last week, and dinner tonight is leftovers of the pasta I added spinach and garlic to that I made on Saturday. This will be our fourth meal out of it and I'll still have a container of it left for another meal. We've been averaging between 800 - 1200 calories a day, with most on the low side of that range.
At least eating this way has caused me to drop 10 pounds this past month. All it took was a near-starvation diet! Wow! At this rate I should make my goal in a year and a half. Then again, we all know about plateaus and metabolism slow-downs and even weight gains when on a low calorie food plan, so I won't hold my breath or even dare to dream that I'll ever make my goal. It's a weight I hadn't seen since I was in eighth grade back in 1967, and that was after 2 years of 1000 calories and 2 hours of exercise a day just to lose 30 pounds. I'll be happy just to lost another 40 right now to take me back to a weight I was 30 years ago, before my son was born.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
Engine 2 - Matt Moore's Enchiladas
Well, my own messed up but still delicious version of the enchiladas, anyway.
The recipe appears on the Engine 2 web site in the Recipes section.
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The recipe appears on the Engine 2 web site in the Recipes section.
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My changes all came out of necessity. With my husband home and unable to be left alone yet, my son and I have been tag-teaming it to the grocery store. Mistakes were made, items on lists weren't purchased or the wrong items were. Menus were changed at the last minute, too, so not all the ingredients needed were on hand so I had to make do.
Originally I was going to make Mary McDougall's enchiladas from the McDougall Made Easy DVD, but I had no chilies and the can of refried beans I was going to use looked awful. I always mixed a can of refried with pintos and used to buy a popular ethnic brand, but lately have been buying a more expensive organic brand that was lower in salt. When half the beans in the can are blackened and the rest light pink, you just toss the whole shebang in the garbage and start over. I've used that brand before and knew this is NOT what it was supposed to look like! Unfortunately, I had no other cans of refried beans or and only 1 can of pinto beans. Back to the cardfile and I found this recipe that required no beans, but since I already opened and rinsed my pintos, I added them in, anyway, especially since my husband needs the protein and other good stuff to help his recuperation.
No store around here has no fat whole wheat tortillas, so I put corn tortillas on the grocery list for my son earlier this week. He's bought them before and knew what to get. Or so I thought. When I reached for the package yesterday I saw that what he bought contained only corn meal and salt and looked very much like fat tortillas, the package actually contained arepas. I had to look on Wikipedia to see exactly what they were, and although they're supposed to be fried up, I just used them as fat tortillas and layered them as directed in the recipe. There were only 6 so I broke them into quarters and spread them around in the casserole dish, but as you see in the photo above, the coverage was acceptable.
Mushrooms - no fresh on hand so used a can of no-salt added mushroom pieces.
Spinach - I had only 1 one-pound bag in the freezer, and that turned out to be a good thing, because already this made a huge amount of filling! Any more mushrooms or spinach and it would be overflowing the lasagna pan!
Chilies - had none so didn't use any. I don't know where they went. I usually keep about 4 cans on hand at all times, but when I went to grab them last night they were just gone!
Enchilada sauce - I never use it, even in Mary McDougall's recipe. I just open up a jar of low-sodium pasta sauce. Once I used just a box of Pomi crushed and shook some garlic and onion powders into it. Tasted fine.
And the final difference between the two recipes - I microwaved it for 15 minutes instead of heating up the house by lighting the big oven.
The results? As mentioned above, delicious! With hubby's poor appetite lately we now have a tremendous amount left over, but that's fine. That's one (or more!) less meal I have to make next week.
I look forward to the next time I make it, that time using the right ingredients that the recipe calls for.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Now Chef AJ Shops at Whole Foods
First it was Jeff Novick,
and now Chef AJ does a video that shows her shopping at her local Whole Foods Market.
Shopping for Healthy Food with Chef AJ from Lifestyle Medicine Institute on Vimeo.
It's only 10 minutes long and doesn't go into the detail that Jeff's does, but it's nice, nevertheless.
and now Chef AJ does a video that shows her shopping at her local Whole Foods Market.
Shopping for Healthy Food with Chef AJ from Lifestyle Medicine Institute on Vimeo.
It's only 10 minutes long and doesn't go into the detail that Jeff's does, but it's nice, nevertheless.
Monday, August 5, 2013
VeganMoFo for September in 2013
Yikes!! Not much of a warning, but at least this year I already know what my theme will be - Heart Healthy Recipes form various vegan docs' heart books/web sites. This will include Dr. McDougall's The McDougall Program for A Healthy Heart, Dr. Fuhrman's Cholesterol Protection for Life, Dr. Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Dr. Pinckney's Healthy Heart Handbook, and Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease. Too bad Dr. Fuhrman's new book, the one replacing Cholesterol Protection, isn't coming out until early 2014.
Dr. Neal Pinckney - Healing Heart Foundation
Since he's home, my husband's appetite has been poor. Granted, before all this he would rarely eat breakfast - maybe once a month, lunch at work consisted of a white flour potato roll and a slice of yellow American cheese (usually) or a slice of seitan (once in a blue moon) or leftovers on weekends. Dinner was always our big meal for the day and aside from his weekly cheese & pepperoni pizza, would be WFPB, no SOS (Whole Foods Plant Based, no sugar, oil or salt). I think I already mentioned his evening potato chip habit.
None of the old tried and true meals appealed to him this past week, and he's just been picking at everything. He would eat most of his breakfast, but some days skipped lunch and just had some applesauce. At dinner, if he ate about a cup of the meal offered that was it. As a result, the weight is dropping off of him. He's also weak and fatigued probably more than other post-op CABG patients because this is on top of his expected post-op fatigue and anemia. Add to this the effect of being on both a beta blocker and ACE inhibitor so his blood pressure is hovering around 86/50. Unfortunately, I suspect his cardiologist will be happy with the weight loss, even if it does mean he's too weak to even walk around the apartment without feeling like he's about to pass out. My husband's BMI was officially in the overweight category, but he's been at the exact same height and weight since he graduated high school back in the 1960's. The only time he lost was when he had the "Martian Death Flu" back in the early 1970's, before we started dating, when he and his mom were both so sick neither had the energy to get dressed to buy food so they went hungry and slept all day until it was over. As soon as they were both well, the weight came back on within days.
So I went looking through my cardfile for different recipes to make. I looked through Susan V's recipes, Jan Tz's, all the Esselstyn's and McDougall's, the nutritarian ones, Marla's and Sandy's and Jeff's, the EDTV ones, HH and the people she first ripped off, the PPK.
Then I came across a row of recipes that had been neglected for a while, those from Dr. Neal Pinckney's Healing Heart Foundation web site and his book, The Healthy Heart Handbook (available in its entirety at the web site). As I looked over the recipes I realized I hadn't made some of these in ages, that maybe that's what hubby needs to whet his appetite. I went back to the web site's recipe page to see what else is there, and was pleasantly surprised at how many I had passed up in the past that now look appealing! I spent over an hour just copy/pasting recipes, and will most likely spend even more time there later gathering more.
So now I have a list of meals I'm going to be trying as the weeks go on. For this week, hubby already warned me not to make anything fancy, in fact, not to plan on making anything at all, that he has no idea what he'll feel like until the time comes to eat. Really makes it hard to shop and prepare, you know! I do have a container of Jeff's Longevity Soup in the fridge we've been working on, and my freezer is full of veggies and the pantry filled with a variety of grains and pastas, as well as several forms of tomatoes, so most meals I can make up with no notice. For instance, today I hope to make Ann Esselstyn's Potato, Pea and Couscous Hash for dinner, but I won't know until it's time to start cooking if that's what I wind up making. But by next week his appetite should be back and I plan on making a menu to stick to, and I know a number of Dr. Pinckney's recipes will be included on it, like Lima Linguini Diablo and maybe even Okonomiyaki if I feel adventurous. Well, if the doctor eases up some of the sodium restrictions, that is. I'm sure that sauce is pretty high in it, even if I do use only the lower-sodium version. If I do wind up making some new dishes, I'll be sure to pop fresh batteries in the camera and take photos and notes on them.
None of the old tried and true meals appealed to him this past week, and he's just been picking at everything. He would eat most of his breakfast, but some days skipped lunch and just had some applesauce. At dinner, if he ate about a cup of the meal offered that was it. As a result, the weight is dropping off of him. He's also weak and fatigued probably more than other post-op CABG patients because this is on top of his expected post-op fatigue and anemia. Add to this the effect of being on both a beta blocker and ACE inhibitor so his blood pressure is hovering around 86/50. Unfortunately, I suspect his cardiologist will be happy with the weight loss, even if it does mean he's too weak to even walk around the apartment without feeling like he's about to pass out. My husband's BMI was officially in the overweight category, but he's been at the exact same height and weight since he graduated high school back in the 1960's. The only time he lost was when he had the "Martian Death Flu" back in the early 1970's, before we started dating, when he and his mom were both so sick neither had the energy to get dressed to buy food so they went hungry and slept all day until it was over. As soon as they were both well, the weight came back on within days.
So I went looking through my cardfile for different recipes to make. I looked through Susan V's recipes, Jan Tz's, all the Esselstyn's and McDougall's, the nutritarian ones, Marla's and Sandy's and Jeff's, the EDTV ones, HH and the people she first ripped off, the PPK.
Then I came across a row of recipes that had been neglected for a while, those from Dr. Neal Pinckney's Healing Heart Foundation web site and his book, The Healthy Heart Handbook (available in its entirety at the web site). As I looked over the recipes I realized I hadn't made some of these in ages, that maybe that's what hubby needs to whet his appetite. I went back to the web site's recipe page to see what else is there, and was pleasantly surprised at how many I had passed up in the past that now look appealing! I spent over an hour just copy/pasting recipes, and will most likely spend even more time there later gathering more.
So now I have a list of meals I'm going to be trying as the weeks go on. For this week, hubby already warned me not to make anything fancy, in fact, not to plan on making anything at all, that he has no idea what he'll feel like until the time comes to eat. Really makes it hard to shop and prepare, you know! I do have a container of Jeff's Longevity Soup in the fridge we've been working on, and my freezer is full of veggies and the pantry filled with a variety of grains and pastas, as well as several forms of tomatoes, so most meals I can make up with no notice. For instance, today I hope to make Ann Esselstyn's Potato, Pea and Couscous Hash for dinner, but I won't know until it's time to start cooking if that's what I wind up making. But by next week his appetite should be back and I plan on making a menu to stick to, and I know a number of Dr. Pinckney's recipes will be included on it, like Lima Linguini Diablo and maybe even Okonomiyaki if I feel adventurous. Well, if the doctor eases up some of the sodium restrictions, that is. I'm sure that sauce is pretty high in it, even if I do use only the lower-sodium version. If I do wind up making some new dishes, I'll be sure to pop fresh batteries in the camera and take photos and notes on them.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Unbelievable!
Hubby is home. Still running a low grade temp (between 99 and 100), is puffy, has low potassium, and is slightly anemic, but he's home.
Dietary instructions? "Go home and have a big, bloody steak. You can use the iron and protein. Eat plenty of red meats."
His first meal home was a salad with the Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing and a bowl of Tinkayada pasta with homemade sauce, mushrooms, kidney beans, and plenty of spinach. Later on he had a nice ripe banana. Next time I make the dressing I'll use blackstrap molasses instead of the maple syrup and when we have the pasta leftovers tonight I'll toss in some more spinach and a ricotta cheese made with tofu (This recipe, minus the salt and oil, from Isa's first book.). Bloody meat, my fat ass!
Now comes the healing and recuperating. If I try any new recipes I'll post about them, but for now, only tried-and-true until he gets his appetite back. Thanks again for all your well-wishing and prayers.
Dietary instructions? "Go home and have a big, bloody steak. You can use the iron and protein. Eat plenty of red meats."
His first meal home was a salad with the Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing and a bowl of Tinkayada pasta with homemade sauce, mushrooms, kidney beans, and plenty of spinach. Later on he had a nice ripe banana. Next time I make the dressing I'll use blackstrap molasses instead of the maple syrup and when we have the pasta leftovers tonight I'll toss in some more spinach and a ricotta cheese made with tofu (This recipe, minus the salt and oil, from Isa's first book.). Bloody meat, my fat ass!
Now comes the healing and recuperating. If I try any new recipes I'll post about them, but for now, only tried-and-true until he gets his appetite back. Thanks again for all your well-wishing and prayers.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Hubby Update
Yesterday (7/22/2013) morning he had his by-pass surgery, with 4 arteries grafted. The surgeon said they were positioned in a great place, that they didn't need to put him on the heart-lung machine, avoiding the "post bypass surgery cognitive dysfunction" that Dr. McDougall spoke of about Bill Clinton. No pump, no heart stoppage, no problems. Also, because of this, his surgery was completed in 2 1/2 hours instead of the 4-6 hours we were originally quoted.
He was awake and looking around within a half hour of the completion of the surgery while in the CTICU. The nurses didn't want him ripping anything out so sedated him again.
When I called this morning I was told he was off the respirator since last evening and the breathing tube was removed this morning. Later today not only will they get him out of bed but will make him walk a few steps at the bedside. He can't go far because he's still connected to chest tubes, IV's and other assorted tubes and wires.
The doc said he'll be home in 5 to 7 days.
In the meantime, while all of this has been going on, one car developed transmission trouble, the other had a dead battery while parked on the roof deck of the hospital parking garage on the day it hit 102 (Heat index 110), and my son wound up in the emergency room with an asthma and anxiety attack 2 days later. Oh, and today we have flood warnings out, and 2 of the roads between here and the hospital always flood, so my husband already directed me the other day NOT to come visit him if thunderstorms were even predicted. It's already been raining all night, so those roads are probably flooded already. My son and I will use today to do the laundry, some shopping and cooking, have three meals for the first time since last Tuesday (Heck, ONE hot meal that wasn't leftovers!), and generally decompress. If it's not too hot later (Ha!) I may even make some muffins with the very brown bananas in the refrigerator. I have the phone number to a direct line to the nurse caring for him (ratio is one on one in the Cardiothoracic ICU) and can call any time, day or night and speak directly to her, and when hubby is strong enough, to him, too. The nurse at 5am said he may be strong enough to talk to me later, that his throat was too sore from the trache tube to talk when I called, but he did give a thumbs-up when he heard we may not be coming because of the storms. That did help relieve some of the guilt I was feeling about my decision. :)
So, off to do the first Richard Simmons video for a few days, a nice hot breakfast, a long hot shower, then off to the laundromat with 2 weeks of laundry.
Thanks again for all those good vibrations and prayers.
He was awake and looking around within a half hour of the completion of the surgery while in the CTICU. The nurses didn't want him ripping anything out so sedated him again.
When I called this morning I was told he was off the respirator since last evening and the breathing tube was removed this morning. Later today not only will they get him out of bed but will make him walk a few steps at the bedside. He can't go far because he's still connected to chest tubes, IV's and other assorted tubes and wires.
The doc said he'll be home in 5 to 7 days.
In the meantime, while all of this has been going on, one car developed transmission trouble, the other had a dead battery while parked on the roof deck of the hospital parking garage on the day it hit 102 (Heat index 110), and my son wound up in the emergency room with an asthma and anxiety attack 2 days later. Oh, and today we have flood warnings out, and 2 of the roads between here and the hospital always flood, so my husband already directed me the other day NOT to come visit him if thunderstorms were even predicted. It's already been raining all night, so those roads are probably flooded already. My son and I will use today to do the laundry, some shopping and cooking, have three meals for the first time since last Tuesday (Heck, ONE hot meal that wasn't leftovers!), and generally decompress. If it's not too hot later (Ha!) I may even make some muffins with the very brown bananas in the refrigerator. I have the phone number to a direct line to the nurse caring for him (ratio is one on one in the Cardiothoracic ICU) and can call any time, day or night and speak directly to her, and when hubby is strong enough, to him, too. The nurse at 5am said he may be strong enough to talk to me later, that his throat was too sore from the trache tube to talk when I called, but he did give a thumbs-up when he heard we may not be coming because of the storms. That did help relieve some of the guilt I was feeling about my decision. :)
So, off to do the first Richard Simmons video for a few days, a nice hot breakfast, a long hot shower, then off to the laundromat with 2 weeks of laundry.
Thanks again for all those good vibrations and prayers.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Thanks, everyone.
As it turns out, he has 9 blockages in 3 of the major arteries, one 100%, and a few smaller blockages in other ones. He was immediately admitted after the cath and the doc made arrangements to have him transferred to a larger area hospital this morning for further tests during the weekend while the Plavix gets out of his system, and is scheduled for his surgery Monday morning. The doc told me this is the worst case he's ever seen, the extensive blockages, which is why he wants this taken care of ASAP by the best guy around. One of my husband's uncles had similar blockages in his carotid arteries back in the 1970's, long before all these miracle meds and treatments were developed. Another uncle, with no prior history of cardiovascular disease, dropped dead while riding the snowblower, and each of these guys had completely different lifestyles than we do, so there must be some genetic component to this.
The surgeon doing the procedure is the Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery for Barnabas Health and a former head of a similar unit in Cleveland Clinic, so hopefully he believe in the Esselstyn way of eating, or at least heard of it, as opposed to every doctor here.
His first meal after the cardiac cath, while still having to lie flat on his back, was a turkey sandwich with chicken noodle soup. At dinner, his tray contained a chicken cutlet coated in congealed globs of some yellow sauce, 6 (I counted) green beans, mashed potatoes with the butter already congealing on top of the mound, tomato soup (again, with congealing grease goblets on the surface), and chocolate pudding. Both meals were served with a can of ginger ale soda and contained salt and extra butter with the silverware and condiments pack. (sigh) I'm glad I had my container of rice and veggies on me!
So, today I'll arrive at the hospital around 8am to catch the doctors and await the ambulance that's transporting him. My husband said he doesn't want us to go to the new hospital today because 1) the heat (It hit 102º yesterday, heat index 112, and the same is forecast for today), 2) traffic is a bitch in that area of Newark, NJ, 3) He doesn't want MY heart over-stressed (My BP is up this week, no surprise), and 4) they'll probably keep him busy with those other tests as soon as he gets settled in. Whether we honor that request or not is still up in the air. Ditto tomorrow, when thunderstorms so severe have been warned of since Tuesday of such intensity that The Weather Channel has had a red warning box around the day in its 10 day forecast. We do know the roads between us and the hospital flood severely in any rain, so as much as it pains me I may have to listen to him and not visit. At least we'll have all day Sunday together, and you can bet your bippy that I'll go with a bag full of already-cooked potatoes, some already cooked veggies, and a few pieces of fruit to munch on, because I certainly don't trust any hospital cafeteria and know the only places to eat around there are fast food joints.
Scribbles, I was so surprised yesterday just going to the stores to get him some PJ's and slippers at how many people we ran into, that either they or their spouses had bypass surgery, one guy as young as age 42! I don't know how all of you (spouses) survived the stress! I know this is just the beginning of a long road ahead, and it's beginning to feel over-whelming already. And this heat!! Not even 5am and it's already 85! I'm stressed enough over just that because it affects my asthma and BP, causing me and my son (also asthmatic) chest discomfort! Now add my husband's situation on top of that?!?!
As it turns out, he has 9 blockages in 3 of the major arteries, one 100%, and a few smaller blockages in other ones. He was immediately admitted after the cath and the doc made arrangements to have him transferred to a larger area hospital this morning for further tests during the weekend while the Plavix gets out of his system, and is scheduled for his surgery Monday morning. The doc told me this is the worst case he's ever seen, the extensive blockages, which is why he wants this taken care of ASAP by the best guy around. One of my husband's uncles had similar blockages in his carotid arteries back in the 1970's, long before all these miracle meds and treatments were developed. Another uncle, with no prior history of cardiovascular disease, dropped dead while riding the snowblower, and each of these guys had completely different lifestyles than we do, so there must be some genetic component to this.
The surgeon doing the procedure is the Chairman of Cardiothoracic Surgery for Barnabas Health and a former head of a similar unit in Cleveland Clinic, so hopefully he believe in the Esselstyn way of eating, or at least heard of it, as opposed to every doctor here.
His first meal after the cardiac cath, while still having to lie flat on his back, was a turkey sandwich with chicken noodle soup. At dinner, his tray contained a chicken cutlet coated in congealed globs of some yellow sauce, 6 (I counted) green beans, mashed potatoes with the butter already congealing on top of the mound, tomato soup (again, with congealing grease goblets on the surface), and chocolate pudding. Both meals were served with a can of ginger ale soda and contained salt and extra butter with the silverware and condiments pack. (sigh) I'm glad I had my container of rice and veggies on me!
So, today I'll arrive at the hospital around 8am to catch the doctors and await the ambulance that's transporting him. My husband said he doesn't want us to go to the new hospital today because 1) the heat (It hit 102º yesterday, heat index 112, and the same is forecast for today), 2) traffic is a bitch in that area of Newark, NJ, 3) He doesn't want MY heart over-stressed (My BP is up this week, no surprise), and 4) they'll probably keep him busy with those other tests as soon as he gets settled in. Whether we honor that request or not is still up in the air. Ditto tomorrow, when thunderstorms so severe have been warned of since Tuesday of such intensity that The Weather Channel has had a red warning box around the day in its 10 day forecast. We do know the roads between us and the hospital flood severely in any rain, so as much as it pains me I may have to listen to him and not visit. At least we'll have all day Sunday together, and you can bet your bippy that I'll go with a bag full of already-cooked potatoes, some already cooked veggies, and a few pieces of fruit to munch on, because I certainly don't trust any hospital cafeteria and know the only places to eat around there are fast food joints.
Scribbles, I was so surprised yesterday just going to the stores to get him some PJ's and slippers at how many people we ran into, that either they or their spouses had bypass surgery, one guy as young as age 42! I don't know how all of you (spouses) survived the stress! I know this is just the beginning of a long road ahead, and it's beginning to feel over-whelming already. And this heat!! Not even 5am and it's already 85! I'm stressed enough over just that because it affects my asthma and BP, causing me and my son (also asthmatic) chest discomfort! Now add my husband's situation on top of that?!?!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Dangers of Moderation - My Husband's Stress Test Results
For those who bothered to read my post regarding my husband's chest pains the other day, here's a follow-up.
He failed his stress test.
He got extremely short of breath within seconds, his blood pressure spiked and the nurses said he showed EKG changes which indicated cardiac damage and he needs a cardiac cath done ASAP, so it's scheduled for tomorrow. He has the same cardiologist as I had back in 2009 and he and one of the same nurses who assisted in my cardiac cath back then explained that there most likely is some blockage, that the cath will will show how badly and where. If it's in a not-too-bad place and less than 75% blocked the doc said he can first try lifestyle changes, meaning 100% adherence to the food plan of Drs. Esselstyn and McDougall and a strict, strenuous exercise program; but if the blockage is in another area or too solid, he may need an angioplasty, with or without a stent, or even bypass surgery as worst case scenario. The doc & nurse both said that the whole foods, plant-based, no SOS food plan for dinner, his biggest meal of the day, certainly helped and may have prevented this from happening sooner, but those cheese and pepperoni pizzas and cheese sandwiches and potato chips did their own share of the damage.
In either case, my husband is now committed to 100% (Dr., not Rip) Esselstyn/McDougall, and as soon as he's allowed to, a steady exercise program.
We plan next week on packing a box of all the cheat foods that are still in the house and finding a food pantry to donate them to. I'm sure those folks in need would love to have jars of natural peanut and cashew butter, boxes of macaroni and cheese, maybe even bags of potato chips (Unless our son refuses to give them up himself and hides them in his room). We may have a jar or 2 of marinara sauce that have a tiny bit of oil in them, so those will have to go, as will the semolina pastas we have left (only 2 boxes right now because I already stocked up on Tinkayada brown rice pasta when the store had a sale a few weeks ago). Of course, his "emergency" cans of SPAM will have to go. I've been tossing them out as they got outdated (and when they started to swell on the pantry shelf. No kidding!) so there are only 2 of those left, too. Those cans have been here since long before Hurricane Sandy so that tells you how long they've been around.
Of course, if they feed him after the cath tomorrow they'll give him a typical hospital tray of SAD food. After mine they gave me greasy breaded veal parmesan coated with at least a half inch thick layer of mozzarella cheese, as well as very salty broth and ice cream for dessert. I have a cooker of rice going right now and plan on bringing a container of it with veggies to eat for my own breakfast at the hospital tomorrow while he's having the test done. I brought brown rice krispies today but never had a chance to eat them. I'll bring another container for my husband to eat instead of the crap food they give him after the test. Our hospital dietary department has no idea what even "vegetarian" means, much less "whole foods plant based no sugar, oil or salt!"
I hear him stirring about in the kitchen so I guess his nap is over and it's time for lunch. I'll reheat that Awesome Almost All Orange soup for us. It was delicious, BTW.
Keep your fingers crossed, candles lit and rosary beads humming tomorrow around 7:30am, okay? Thanks.
He failed his stress test.
He got extremely short of breath within seconds, his blood pressure spiked and the nurses said he showed EKG changes which indicated cardiac damage and he needs a cardiac cath done ASAP, so it's scheduled for tomorrow. He has the same cardiologist as I had back in 2009 and he and one of the same nurses who assisted in my cardiac cath back then explained that there most likely is some blockage, that the cath will will show how badly and where. If it's in a not-too-bad place and less than 75% blocked the doc said he can first try lifestyle changes, meaning 100% adherence to the food plan of Drs. Esselstyn and McDougall and a strict, strenuous exercise program; but if the blockage is in another area or too solid, he may need an angioplasty, with or without a stent, or even bypass surgery as worst case scenario. The doc & nurse both said that the whole foods, plant-based, no SOS food plan for dinner, his biggest meal of the day, certainly helped and may have prevented this from happening sooner, but those cheese and pepperoni pizzas and cheese sandwiches and potato chips did their own share of the damage.
In either case, my husband is now committed to 100% (Dr., not Rip) Esselstyn/McDougall, and as soon as he's allowed to, a steady exercise program.
We plan next week on packing a box of all the cheat foods that are still in the house and finding a food pantry to donate them to. I'm sure those folks in need would love to have jars of natural peanut and cashew butter, boxes of macaroni and cheese, maybe even bags of potato chips (Unless our son refuses to give them up himself and hides them in his room). We may have a jar or 2 of marinara sauce that have a tiny bit of oil in them, so those will have to go, as will the semolina pastas we have left (only 2 boxes right now because I already stocked up on Tinkayada brown rice pasta when the store had a sale a few weeks ago). Of course, his "emergency" cans of SPAM will have to go. I've been tossing them out as they got outdated (and when they started to swell on the pantry shelf. No kidding!) so there are only 2 of those left, too. Those cans have been here since long before Hurricane Sandy so that tells you how long they've been around.
Of course, if they feed him after the cath tomorrow they'll give him a typical hospital tray of SAD food. After mine they gave me greasy breaded veal parmesan coated with at least a half inch thick layer of mozzarella cheese, as well as very salty broth and ice cream for dessert. I have a cooker of rice going right now and plan on bringing a container of it with veggies to eat for my own breakfast at the hospital tomorrow while he's having the test done. I brought brown rice krispies today but never had a chance to eat them. I'll bring another container for my husband to eat instead of the crap food they give him after the test. Our hospital dietary department has no idea what even "vegetarian" means, much less "whole foods plant based no sugar, oil or salt!"
I hear him stirring about in the kitchen so I guess his nap is over and it's time for lunch. I'll reheat that Awesome Almost All Orange soup for us. It was delicious, BTW.
Keep your fingers crossed, candles lit and rosary beads humming tomorrow around 7:30am, okay? Thanks.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Jeff Novick MS, RD, LN, LD. Director of Nutition-what-is-the-best-diet
Great interview! I learned a lot about Jeff I didn't know before.
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