Green Tea & Chocolate: The Cancer Slayer Chronicles

Weekending: House Cleaning (Making Your Own Cleaners)

I'm awed by baking soda.

It can be the chief ingredient in cleaning your toilet, or it can be one of only a handful of ingredients that come together to make a easy, delicious bread. You can use it to clean your teeth, or soak in a bath of it to relieve an itchy case of Poison Oak. It can deodorize your refrigerator, or extinguish a small fire.

It is a sort of super hero around the house.

These days, I'm mostly cleaning with it.

I find the weekend to be the only time I can really get any house-cleaning done, and even then, it isn't something I want to spend the whole day doing. Fortunately I often have a small helper going bathroom to bathroom with me, or wrangling the long vacuum hose in order to clean the rugs herself.

I'm happy to include her as much as possible -- company makes these mundane tasks so much better! -- but I don't want her handling toxic cleaning chemicals.

Thus, she was the inspiration for looking into people-friendly cleaning supplies that actually work (I don't want the toilet to merely look clean!). She was the inspiration, but my own quest for a healthy, anti-cancer life was the real clincher: How can I be healthy in an unhealthy (chemical-filled) environment?

So I was delighted to find two resources that were chock full of recipes for cleaning products that:

• are fun to mix up, especially with a kid helper (science experiments!)
• work really, really well
• smell great to boot!

The first is a lovely little book called Make Your Place: Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs (awesome title that kind of says it all, right?).

The second resource I turn to frequently is a website: How to Clean Things. Their tagline is "Though we try to preach very little, we do believe that it's time to take housekeeping out of the 50s and into the 21st Century" -- via baking soda, lemon juice, citric acid & vinegar.

Here are a couple of recipes to get you started cleaning naturally this weekend, too.

Soft Scrub

1 c. baking soda

1/4 c. liquid castile soap (I love Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Scented)

3-5 drops tea tree oil

2 aspirins, powdered

Directions: Mix all the ingredients together and add enough water to make a paste. Keep in a jar or old shampoo bottle. To use, apply with a sponge, scrub & rinse thoroughly. (Works especially well on chrome & stainless steel, but also great for tubs & sinks. My sister-in-law used it to clean some pesky mold from wood, too.)

Almost All-Purpose Spray Cleaner

1 tsp liquid castile soup

2 TBSP white vinegar

1 tsp borax

1/4 tsp each: eucalyptus and lavender oil

3 drops tea tree oil

2 c. hot water

Directions: Mix all the ingredients together in a spray bottle. You can use this on anything besides glass. Spray it on, scrub and rinse off with a clean, damp cloth.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

1/2 c. baking soda

1/4 c. vinegar

10 drops of tea tree oil

Pour each ingredient straight into the toilet. Each recipe equals 1 cleaning. I like to pour it all into the toilet (getting it up on the sides) and then let it sit there for a few minutes while I clean the rest of the bathroom.

Bath & Shower Cleaner

This recipe & method works great! 

Note: I buy essential oils at Staff of Life, Whole Foods, or New Leaf. I buy castile soup in a large bottle at Trader Joe's, and I found Borax at Safeway.

Happy cleaning!

Photo credit: I thought about dumping some baking soda in a pretty bowl and taking a picture, but then I found that someone had already done that. Original source. 

 

The Cruciforms: Immune-Stimulating, Anticancer Warriors

"The Cruciforms"? New boy band? Not so much. 

Rather they are winter's shining stars of the veggie world: Brussels sprouts, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc -- and we eat them as much as we can each week, at least 3 times.

Three times a week is the magic number researchers at the Cancer Research Center of the University of Pittsburgh discovered. Vegetables containing sulforaphane (our cruciform heroes) were shown to considerably increase the action of the immune system against tumors when consumed three times a week. Second, "tumor-carrying rats that consumed sulforaphane were shown to have half as much risk of developing metastases as those that did not." (Servan-Screiber, Anticancer, pg. 135)

Note, however, that boiling cabbage and broccoli kills their sulfaoraphane molecules.

This week I discovered a new Brussels sprouts recipe that we liked so much I cooked it twice already. It's from anticancer rock star, Kris Carr's, cookbook Crazy Sexy Kitchen and she writes this intro to the recipe:

Are you ready to become a Brussels sprouts addict? This dish is redic! Whether it's a Tuesday night dinner or a holiday celebration, everyone will want a heaping serving of this stupendous side-dish. (pg. 208)

So, there you have it. Kris & I agree -- you've got to make this dish this week!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pistachios and Cipollini Onions (from Crazy Sexy Kitchen; serves 4)

Cancer-fighting powers:

Brussels sprouts ~ Cruciform vegetables contain sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinols, which are powerful anticancer molecules. They are capable of detoxifying certain carcinogenic substances. They prevent precancerous cells from developing into malignant tumors. They also promote the suicide of cancer cells and block angiogenesis. Consume 3 times a week.

Onions ~ The sulfur compounds in the alliaceous family (garlic, onions, leeks, shallots, chives) reduce the carcinogenic effects of nitrosamines and N-nitroso compounds, which are created in over-grilled meat and during tobacco combustion. They promote cell death in colon, breast, lunch, and prostate cancer, as well as in leukemia. All the herbs in this family also help to regulate blood sugar levels.

Olive oil ~ The green tea of the Mediterranean diet. Olives and olive oil contain particularly high concentrations of phenolic antioxidants. Olive oil is richer in antioxidants if it is cold-pressed, extra-virgin oil. Researchers have found that the consumption of olive oil by women taking Herceptin may increase the efficacy of the medication because the polyphenols and oleic acid in olive oil can inhibit expression of the HER2 gene.*

3 cups Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

1 cup cipollini onions or shallots, peeled and quartered

1/4 cup raw pistachios

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 TBSP olive oil

3 TBSP sherry vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Give it a good mixing.

Roast the Brussels sprouts mixture on a sheet pan for 12-15 minutes, shaking the pan about halfway through to ensure even cooking.

Serve hot. 

 *Cancer-fighting nutritional info comes from David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD: Anticancer: A New Way of Life.

 

Eating the Rainbow: Green (Chilling Out With Kale, 3 Ways)

We all need to chill out. Seriously.

Our bodies are currently in a state of hyper inflammation. Inflammation in and of itself is a good and necessary thing. It is how our bodies heal when we are hurt or sick: Specialized cells and proteins respond to the injured area, sealing it off, destroying damaged tissue, killing invading bacteria.

But an over-active inflammatory system can cause damage, like an out of control fire. 

Our immune systems are charged with keeping everything in balance: Knowing when to bring on the heat, and when to cool things off. 

Some foods promote inflammation (sugar, omega-6-heavy cooking oils, dairy, processed meats, alcohol) while others help to cool the body, like kelp, turmeric, almonds, wild salmon, shiitake mushrooms, green tea, papaya, blueberries, olive oil, sweet potatoes, and your dark leafy greens.

Chronic inflammation plays a role in many types of cancer. 

Just like immune cells gearing up to repair lesions, cancer cells need to produce inflammation to sustain their growth. To this end, they begin an abundant production of the same highly inflammatory substances seen in the natural reparation of woods. They act as chemical fertilizers promoting cell reproduction -- in this case, cancer cell reproduction. Growing tumors use these substances to help themselves develop and to make the barriers surrounding them more permeable. The very process that enables the immune system to repair lesions and pursue enemies in all the body's recesses is diverted for the benefit of the cancer cells. They exploit it to spread and reproduce.

The overproduction of inflammatory factors throws neighboring white blood cells into disarray. The natural killer cells and other white blood cells are neutralized. They don't even try to fight the tumor, which prospers and grows in plain sight. ~ Servan-Schrieber, David; Anticancer. pg. 43-44 

To this end, we eat a lot of kale around here.

Kale and other green fruits (honeydew!) and vegetables are also full of Vitamins C & K, calcium, folate and potassium. Good things in these veggies (sulforaphane, isothiocyanate, and indoles) fight numerous diseases by eliminating toxic waste from the body.  

I used to simply dunk kale in boiling water for a minute or two, and then stir it around in some hot olive oil, garlic & salt and call it good, which is great, but a little boring every night. So lately I've been experimenting with kale recipes and I've found some winners (one with coconut and another that doesn't require any cooking!). 

Kale Method #1: Massage It ~

Kale Salad (serves 6, large portions; from EatingWell Magazine, September 2012)

2 bunches of kale

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 minced garlic cloves

1 TBSP soy sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Strip the kale. Wash and dry the leaves. Tear the leaves into small pieces and place in a large bowl. 

Add the Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, soy sauce, pepper and salt to the greens.

With clean hands, firmly massage and crush the greens until the volume is reduced by about half (1-2 minutes). They should look a little darker and somewhat shiny and have a silky, soft texture.

Serve.

Kale Method #2: Roast It ~

Kale Salad (serves 4; from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

2 TBSP soy sauce

1 bunch of kale, chopped, stems trimmed, large ribs removed

1 1/2 cups unsweetened large-flake coconut

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with two racks in the top third of the oven.

In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the olive oil, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Put the kale and coconut in a large bowl and toss well with about two-thirds of te olive oil mixture.

Spread the kale evenly across two baking sheets. Bake for 12-18 minutes, until the coconut is deeply golden brown, tossing once or twice along the way. If the kale mixture on the top baking sheet begins to get too browned, move it to the lower rack.

Remove from the oven and transfer to the kale mixture to a medium bowl. Taste. Add more dressing as needed. Serve warm.

(Coconut is pretty amazing in it's own right.)

Kale Method #3: Boil & Saute It ~

Young Kale with Lemon and Garlic (serves 2 as a side dish; from Nigel Slater's Tender) (This is the version my kiddo likes best.)

2 large handfuls of torn kale

2 TBSP butter

a little olive oil

2 cloves garlic

a little lemon zest

the juice of half a lemon

Directions: 

Wash the greens and set them aside. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Salt it lightly, and cook the greens for no longer than a minute or two. They must retain their crispness and vigor. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, warm the butter and oil in a shallow pan, peel and crush the garlic, and soften it in the butter and oil. Add a little grated lemon zest (a couple of teaspoons should suffice), then, as the butter starts to froth, squeeze in the lemon juice. Lower in the greens and toss them gently in the hot, lemony garlic butter. Correct the seasoning and serve immediately.