Washington, DC, Walden Pond, and Words of Inspiration

I'll bring you up to date about our garlic planting fiesta in my next post, but first I wanted to finally share a bit about my travels earlier in November.

I made a whirlwind trip with the initial stop being in Washington, DC, where I was invited to speak about my personal experiences as a cancer survivor at the annual research meeting for The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), the organization where I donate proceeds from my book (A Dietitian's Cancer Story) in order to help fund research projects focused on nutritional strategies for cancer survivors. It's an international meeting that brings together researchers, oncologists, and other oncology team members (such as Registered Dietitians) who are all passionately interested in promoting the optimal nutritional strategies for prevention, treatment, and recovery from cancer. It was an honor to have the opportunity to wrap-up the talks about cancer survivorship and lead into the panel discussion on this important area of concern for the millions and millions of cancer survivors in this country.

From there, I flew on to Boston for an annual appointment with a cardiologist who sees many patients like me, i.e., survivors of childhood cancers who have developed cardiac problems in adulthood from the cancer therapy used for their childhood cancer. My problems are what my husband likes to call "problems of success" :-), meaning that the therapy used at that time did lead to long-term success (hey-I'm still here and enjoying life!) even though I'm dealing with some additional health concerns.

My reason for telling you all this is as backdrop for the real point of this post. While in Boston, we stayed with some good friends from Ann Arbor (now living near Boston) who took us to visit Walden Pond where the well-known writer Henry David Thoreau, an American author, poet, and philosopher who lived from 1817 to 1862, conducted his experiment in "living well".

(Photo: Diana and Dick by Walden Pond, November 2009)

Henry David Thoreau's work and writings are extensive and cover many topics. After finally having the opportunity to visit his home site at Walden Pond and to feel his enduring presence there, I am inspired to share a few of his words that have been inspirational to us for many many years. Indeed, as we express our deep gratitude for this opportunity for "living well", to bring love, life, and beauty back to our farm land and house, I could feel Thoreau's spirit at Walden Pond reassuring us that we are doing the right thing at the right time (finally!) for the right reasons.

Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

Dreams are the touchstones of our character.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.

Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.

We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success.

Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?

What's the use of a fine house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?

The bluebird carries the sky on his back. (My collection of bluebird houses finally has a place to be put to use!)

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them. (Someone who is well known came up to me after one of my past speaking engagements to take my hand and tell me that he could not get this quote out of his head when listening to me speak, thinking how fortunate I was to have known deep troubles with my extensive cancer history, which clearly enabled me to both hear the song in my heart and the songs of the universe.)

I am ending with perhaps my favorite quote of all, a quote by Henry David Thoreau about the bird called a wood thrush, which is the bird we heard singing from our woods as we stepped out of our car after closing on our new home. For those who do not know the song of the wood thrush, I have also included links to several sites where you can listen to its mesmerizing song. Although the song sounds nothing like a bagpipe, the effect on me is the same. Both sounds cause me to stop what I am doing, listen with my whole being, feel goosebumps and a few tears, and then all in an instant, feel myself being transported back to someplace very ancient, someplace very beautiful, someplace I been before.

“The (wood) thrush alone declares the immortal wealth and vigor that is in the forest. Here is a bird in whose strain the story is told…Whenever a man hears it he is young, and Nature is in her spring; whenever he hears it, it is a new world and a free country, and the gates of heaven are not shut against him.”

Here are some links to the song of a wood thrush. I hope you hear one next spring!
1) BirdJam
2) AllAboutBirds
3) A YouTube video

May hearing the wood thrush sing every spring keep us all young in spirit and as vigorous as possible. There is still have lots of living to do, and I am grateful. :-)

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

400 in the ground - only ~5,500 more to go!

We finally started actually putting garlic cloves in the ground today in their freshly made raised beds that had been plowed, disked twice, planted with late summer buckwheat for some green manure, 30 yards of wonderful compost from Ann Arbor (from our city's billions of leaves!), all disked down and into the soil, 14-70 foot beds made and then raked smooth with as many grass clods, rocks, and sticks removed as possible (thank goodness for our trusty tractor!), and finally my clever husband made some multi-point garlic planting dibbles using pieces from an old wooden swing set on the property that we dismantled.

Here are some photos to enjoy:

(Photo: where the road changes from pavement to dirt on the way to the farm)

(Photo: the growing pile of rocks from our fields by the driveway)

(Photo: the 30 yards of compost delivered to spread on the field where the garlic will be planted)

(Photo: the first raised bed to be planted with garlic is the 2nd from the left - the first one just has too much grass in it yet)

(Photo: Dick starting the garlic planting process - yes on our knees and/or bottoms! It took us about 2 hours working together to plant the first 400 cloves)

(Photo - I'm the one with good knees! Up, down, up, down - eventually I realized that with the sun on my back, this was enough exercise that I was able to take off a couple of layers of shirts. Our jeans went right down to the basement into the washing machine when we arrived home. We'll be putting the washing machine in our farm house on the first floor right near the garage entrance to the house!)

Not much to report about progress on our house as the focus has been the steep learning curve for getting the land ready to plant this fall. However, it does appear that the work we have done over the summer to get our basement dry has finally paid off - whew!

A few more photos of Fall at the farm:
(Photos: Two beautiful trees with our beehive in the background)

(Photo: South side of the house - we'll have to work on getting rid of the non-native plant Phragmities - sigh)

(Photo: Looking west side from the house - this is where we will try to re-establish a small prairie)

(Photo - I'm spreading milkweed and other seeds from many of the prairie plants in our current home's front yard landscaping)

(Photo: Kaya in her new vest to let everyone know she is NOT a deer!)

(Photo: Christmas Calico Lima Beans, grown by Tantré Farms and given to me today by my friend Kim. I'll tuck them away to save in order to plant next spring. I love having things to look forward to! Does this photo look familiar? I'll bet it does. The same pose is on the front cover of the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.)

Our fall colors in Michigan have been spectacular this year, positively glowing with bright reds, yellows, and oranges even when the sun was not shining (most of the time these days). With the leaves now starting to drop, we are starting to actually see more of the neighboring homes and fields. Bit by bit, we are getting settled into the neighborhood! We feel so lucky and appreciative for this opportunity to heal this house and land. :-)

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Who is shaping the future?

I'll state right up front that even though I am not a daily reader, I am a fan of the writing on The Onion. So when a friend sent me the link to the article "Television, Processed Food Couldn't Be More Proud of Child They Raised", I figured it was a good read.

Indeed, it was a good read that did just what The Onion does best, that is, it writes a perspective that is extreme with enough truth in it to make one both laugh out loud and cringe at the same time.

I'll let you read it for yourself, but I'll make a few comments. Mostly, this article brought back memories for me of how difficult it has been to raise our two boys in a world where my husband and I have often felt like salmon continually swimming upstream against the swift current of 'pop-culture', whether that be clothing, food, music, TV, etc.

A moment that was both 'defining and galvanizing' for me was one approximately 25 years ago (my boys are now almost 27 and 32) when a friend visiting our home, looked at what I was feeding my little boys for lunch and made the following comment: "Of course you're tired, Diana, you are still growing, canning, and cooking most of your food from scratch." (the only thing I truly remember about that lunch was having made home-made tomato soup from home-grown and home-canned tomatoes - here is the recipe)

Flash forward to this week - this past weekend, my husband finished our canning for the year (grape-applesauce from apples of an unknown variety that grew on the one apple tree at our new farm that produced fruit this year along with grapes that grew wild on the fence at our community garden plus those we found on the farm's property). I was out of town during this last canning weekend, attending the annual meeting of The American Dietetic Association in Denver. After I got home and he proudly showed off the beautiful sealed jars on the counter, he packed them away in a box that was labeled "tomatoes - 1981."

I'll be the first to say that over the past 37 years of our marriage, there were times that we were unable to grow, can, and cook most of our food from scratch, primarily the years I have been on chemotherapy or recovering. I know first hand how much time and effort cooking takes, let alone growing and canning/preserving food. My family does know what boxed mac and cheese, store cookies, and delivery pizza tastes like.

However, I also believe that there has been nothing more important than the time and effort our family has spent at growing, preserving, cooking much of our own whole, organic food from scratch when we have been able to do so (in addition to also eating together). Both of our boys are now young men who are deep thinkers and very thoughtful about their values and actions. They vote and they are not afraid to speak up and speak out about important things. In addition, they both know, grow, and enjoy cooking organic, local, sustainably-raised food from scratch most of the time. As I reflect on how I have spent my time and energy as a cancer survivor (which has been my boys' entire lifetime), I hope it is not too self-indulgent to have a few thoughts that all the effort for all the food my husband and I grew and fed them while they were growing up has made a little difference. :-)

I am proud of my sons, both now young men, and in contrast to the ending of the article in The Onion (yes, please read it), I do expect to hear a lot from them for decades and decades to come as truly well-nourished citizens are urgently needed to help shape the future of our country!

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Holiday Eating Strategies - Already!

What? Holidays already? Yes, the store shelves are filled with Halloween candy, Thanksgiving decorations, Santa Claus and other holiday decorations with even more candy right nest to them! So let the feasting season begin along with the season of parties, extra food and drinks, lack of time to cook and exercise, and the sneaky addition of pounds, pounds, pounds (eek!).

Get a grip - we all know this happens every year, so take the time now to develop a goal, a plan, and many strategies to keep your healthy lifestyle during the next several months.

Over the years, I have kept a running list of recommendations and suggestions I have read in other articles, added some of my own and thought it was about time to put them all together. So before you start the slide into the quagmire of temptations over the upcoming holiday seasons, take a few minutes to read through my list, think about the many ways that you can keep your holidays as healthy as possible, and start now before the pounds start to creep on.


Holiday Eating Strategies
(starts at Halloween through New Year’s weekend)

1. Start the “holiday season” leading up to Halloween - don't wait until the pounds are already showing up on the scale!

2. Keep the Halloween or holiday candy in the unopened bags someplace very unhandy, such as in the freezer in the basement

3. Do not buy your favorite candy (impossible but worth a suggestion!)

4. If you buy your favorite candy (I do), buy the smallest sizes and decide how many you will allow yourself for a special treat that night (I eat 1 small Butterfinger and 1 small HeathBar - I slowly slowly savor them on Halloween night - that's it!)

5. Any unopened candy is returned to the store the next day (yes!)

6. Any remaining opened candy is thrown away (yes!)

7. Keep a daily weight journal (yes, I do this every day anyhow because I use weight fluctuations to determine my own diuretic dosing to manage my congestive heart failure diagnosis, but it is especially important during this holiday time to keep those additional pounds from extra calories in and fewer calories burned from adding up to "too many, too fast"!)

8. Find ways to cut calories

• drink water,
  
• unsweetened iced tea and sodas,
  
• club soda,
  
• plain coffee or tea instead of sweetened specialty drinks,
  
• smaller portions,
  
• take your lunch to work
• limit alcoholic drinks to 1/day for women, 2/day for men (maximum!)
• See #11 below for reducing calories in your favorite recipes
  

9. Find ways to both schedule exercise and increase activity

• Exercise everyday, getting up earlier if necessary (yes, even in the dark!)
• Park and walk
• Always take the stairs instead of the elevator, especially for 1-2 floors
• Clean your house more often (ha ha!)
• Volunteer to be the family dog-walker and/or snow shoveler
• If you live in snowy and icy climates, invest in decent long-underwear and shoe grippers to make outside walking warmer and safer (Take the Swedish proverb to heart: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad coats” and I will add boots, hats, gloves, etc! Don’t skimp here!)

10. Find ways to feel less hungry

• increase fiber at each meal,
  
• eat a good breakfast every day,
  
• don’t skip meals,
  
• add a small amount of healthy fat to each meal or snack,
  
• eat a small snack before parties

11. Make your favorite holiday recipes “lighter” by using:

• less sugar,
• skim milk instead of cream,
• broth or applesauce instead of oil,
• make portion sizes smaller,
• fat-free gravy,
• egg whites instead of whole eggs,
• more vegetables in all recipes,
• fat-free cream cheese
• reduce or cut out the salt sources from recipes or added salt at the table
  

12. Pay attention to food safety:

• hot foods hot >140,
  
• cold foods cold <40,>
• use small portions on buffets and
  
• replace platters on buffets after 2 hours

13. Use "intentional eating", i.e. thoughtful selection, not deprivation!:

• do not go to a party hungry,
• do not starve yourself all day before going to a party,
• drink a non-caloric beverage such as water or club soda to start,
• save your one alcoholic drink (calories, calories) for something special and after you have already eaten something,
• use a small plate,
• review all food available before choosing,
• think about how will this food or beverage nourish you (i.e., body or soul?)
• be choosy!,
• take very small portions of something new or a favorite dish,
• taste and decide if you really want to finish it,
• be prepared for pressure - it is ok to say “no thank you”!! when offered something,
• do not hang out at the food table - get your food and then mingle with and enjoy your family and friends in the rest of the house,
• always bring something to share that you know is both healthful and delicious
• choose which one food item you really want to have as a full serving - then consider taking half home to savor tomorrow, too.
  

14. Set a goal of weight maintenance, not weight loss during this time

15. Use daily (or minute to minute) affirmations - I can do this!, I can succeed!, My long-term health is worth more to me than ________ (fill in the blank), Yes, I can!

16. Each day is a new day to succeed! Don’t define or limit today or tomorrow’s success by “slip-ups” that may have happened yesterday.

17. Have fun making as many red and green food combinations as possible for dishes and/or garnishes by using:

• Red - cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, tomato sauce or salsa, red bell peppers, pomegranate seeds, red grapes, cranberries, strawberries, red onions, beets, red cabbage, red-stemmed kale or chard, raspberries, cherries, red grapefruit, red beans, red apples
• Green - all lettuces and other greens, green beans, various green cabbages, green onions, kiwifruit, limes, green grapes, green melon, peas, green apples, broccoli, green peppers, brussels sprouts, asparagus spears (some of these of course may be “out of season” or not available “locally” depending on where you live, but feel free to use them anyhow as special holiday treats)

18. When you do cook, make a point to always always always cook in large quantities so that you can have healthy food on hand to eat during the week all ready to go, either in your refrigerator or in your freezer.

19. Make an effort to have a full night’s sleep each and every night

20. Take the time for a daily stress-reduction activity that is enjoyable to you: i.e., meditation, yoga, spiritual reading, etc, etc.

21. Relax and enjoy the joys of the upcoming holiday season (family, traditions, smells, decorations, baking, gifts, etc, etc).

I doubt that most of these tips are anything new, but instead you will find that they are just a nice reminder of what we are all trying to do everyday anyway. However, I do hope that you will find something helpful in this list to cultivate the enjoyment of your life and health over the holidays!

What did I forget? Please let me know, and I'll add it to next year's list. Thank you! :-)

"Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row"

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Recipe - Ratatouille

A perfect recipe to combine those abundant end of summer veggies. This quick and easy version makes a large batch, about 10 cups, enough to eat some this week plus freeze the rest to eat later during the winter.

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small or 1 large eggplant, diced
• 4-6 large tomatoes (or can substitute 1-15 ounce can stewed tomatoes)
• 1 medium zucchini diced into large chunks
• 1 medium size yellow summer squash, dice into chunks
• 2-3 sweet peppers, assorted colors, seed and then dice into chunks
• 1-2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
• ~1-2 Tbsp. olive oil (just enough to sauté onion/garlic)
• salt and pepper to taste (not much is needed)


Directions:

• Sauté the onion and garlic until tender
• Add eggplant and tomatoes, bring to simmer
• Simmer, covered for 15 minutes
• Add zucchini
• Simmer for 10-15 more minutes until vegetables are soft but not mushy
• Remove from heat
• Stir in the herbs, season to taste


Serve over:

• Rice, bulgur, cous-cous, or any cooked whole grain
• Pasta
• Baked or boiled potatoes
• Fish (one of my favorites - just spread on top of salmon filets and put into the oven to bake together)
• Add to some plain hummus

You could also add diced chicken, sauteed firm tofu, tempeh, and more seasonal vegetables (next time I will add some fresh corn cut off the cob). The dish may be topped with grated cheese at the time of serving, or put the grated cheese into a side dish so that vegans can pass if desired.

I saved about 1 cup to cook with salmon tomorrow and froze the rest in 2-1 quart containers.

I'll end with a grace appropriate to the ending of the growing season as we contemplate all the work that has gone into the planting and tending to bring us the 'fruit of the earth' to nourish both our bodies and our spirits:

Bless, O Lord, the plants,
the vegetation,
and the herbs of the field,
that they may grow
and increase to fullness
and bear much fruit.
And may the fruit of the land
remind us of the spiritual fruit
we should bear.

~~ Coptic Orthodox liturgy (the Church of Egypt, established in AD 42)

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

A Tribute to my Friend Sue

It was a year ago that I wrote a tribute to my friend Mona who died of breast cancer. Yesterday another dear friend died of the same disease, way too young, with much too much of life still ahead.

I only learned how gravely ill Sue was on Sunday night, admitted to the ICU at a medical center where I used to work, where I trained Sue as a student dietitian 30 years ago, and where she worked for her entire career as an exemplary trauma/burn/critical care dietitian, including for as much as possible and as long as possible even after her cancer had returned. When I called the ICU on Monday morning, I learned from her nurse that Sue's out of town family had arrived the day before, death was expected that day, and her family was requesting no visitors. Respecting their wishes for privacy, I asked the nurse to tell Sue I loved her, cried most of the day, and did not make the drive down to the medical center where I had sat alone in the waiting room twice during Sue's surgeries. Later in the afternoon, I made some calls for an update and left my name and phone number to be called with further updates.

I drove to my community garden early this morning having not yet heard any news. As I picked the last of our tomatoes and some baby kale, I kept thinking about how much Sue loved her home and her gardens, remembering how much time the two of us spent in her yard and looking at gardening magazines for ideas of what else to plant or rearrange.

Sue and I also birded together and shared as many happy birding experiences as we did with gardening. Therefore, when I saw the following two birding sights while driving home after leaving my garden, I knew in my heart that my friend had passed away during the night, that she was safe, and that she was now truly on her way home.

First, while crossing the river that runs through Ann Arbor, I saw a very large group of turkey vultures circling higher and higher right next to the road I use to drive home. Vultures gather into large groups in the fall before migrating south for the winter where finding food will be easier for them during the colder months of the year. As a group, they circle on warm air thermals referred to as "kettles" because, when in this formation, the vultures give the appearance of rising bubbles in a boiling kettle of water. When seeing this kettle, I immediately wondered if Sue had died during the night and was now with a group of friends, relatives, and even former patients who were all supporting her and showing her the way to a land where she would be cancer-free, pain-free, and worry-free.

In addition, as I glanced at the vulture at the top of the kettle, I was thinking of the image of bubbles rising to the top of a boiling pot and breaking free. The turkey vulture’s scientific name is Cathartes aura, which is Latin for "cleansing breeze". I can think of no better image for a person finally breaking free of "the stink of cancer".

Suddenly, while contemplating this image of breaking free of cancer plus being supported on the next part of the journey by others who have gone before, I noticed one lone swan flying over the road just ahead of my car. As I drove closer to the swan, I had time to identify it as a trumpeter swan, watch it do an u-turn right in front of me, tilt its body toward me like an acknowledgment, and then fly back in the direction from where it had come. Back to the journey home..................

Sue knew of my love of swans and my attachment to them for both good luck and healing. The last time we went birding together at Crane Creek and Magee Marsh during the spring 2008 migration, warblers were all around us at these two famous birding "hot spots", but we stopped to soak in the magnificent view of a flock of trumpeter swans, knowing we were seeing a special sight.

So when I arrived home to have my husband tell me that I had received two phone calls with the news of Sue's passing last night, I was not surprised. I was not able to personally tell Sue "good-bye, good luck, you're free", but I know that lone swan came to tell me that my friend was now free and on her way home.

I loved to introduce Sue to both friends and colleagues as the best student I ever had, which embarrassed her no end. It is the truth, and it was an honor to have had a student who helped her teacher (me) grow professionally, and best yet, then became a life-long friend. We shared so many interests, so many thoughts, did so many things together these past 30 years. It is painful to think of not continuing to grow old together as friends.

Yes, cancer stinks, it really stinks, and I could use many more less polite words. God speed my friend. Ride those thermals high and wide with ease, in the support of those whose lives have also been cut short. Fly on to warmth, great food and wine, beauty, and true freedom. We'll meet again when it's my turn to fly home, and I know you'll be there to be one of my guides.

With friendship and much love,
Diana

(Photo: After decades of knowing that winter was finally ending by enjoying the search for migrating swans every spring resting in farmers' wet fields, one year a small flock of trumpeter swans came to me at our small neighborhood nature center in Ann Arbor, MI. I was lucky enough to get this photo of 5 out of the 6 swans in the small flock swimming toward me. The idea for the image on the cover of my book was developed from this photograph.)

Michael Pollan - Twice in one day

I found out this morning that my alma mater (The University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I did my dietetic internship and received my MS in Nutritional Sciences) has instituted their first campus wide 'common book' with their Go Big Read! program featuring In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This book was chosen by popular demand and is sure to provide considerable discussion at a land-grant university where the focus of education, research, and outreach have historically been an influential factor in the "get big or get out" direction of agriculture.

Indeed, I hope there are some thoughtful, and even uncomfortable, discussions within the Nutritional Sciences Department with the reading of this book on campus as those faculty are currently participating within a much larger effort called for by the Dean of UW's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) for all departments and faculty members to review and reorganize all of their efforts in order to best address the future sustainability of our country's food and agricultural system.

Secondly, Michael Pollan (also the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma) wrote an op-ed article printed in today's New York Times that finally calls out loud and clear, in black and white for all to read, the urgent changes needed in our country's food and agricultural systems in order to achieve the hoped for benefits of health care reform (which is currently spending 75% of all health care dollars on 'disease care' due in large part to our country's broken food and agricultural system).

Yes, the time is now. If not now, when? Have you heard the quotation by William McDonough who is noted for saying "If you want to go to Mexico, and you're driving toward Canada, even if you slow down, you're still going to Canada." Just changing anything about health care is not enough, it is only the first step, it is just "slowing down" on the road on which we are going the wrong direction with our current 'agri-business' and non-sustainable food systems.

I urge you to read Michael Pollan's article. It is short (for Michael Pollan) and to the point. It finally calls out "the elephant in the living room" that can be ignored only by averting our eyes and ears when someone finally says "but the emperor has no clothes on!" Health care reform will not bring this country back to health or wealth unless it is paired simultaneously with true prevention by changing our food and agricultural policies and providing full funding to those that promote affordable, clean, healthy, and just food for all.

Enough from me - I don't even know how to 'categorize' this post! Please go read Michael Pollan's article if you haven't already done so. :-) Then, if you are so inspired (I was!), please write President Obama, your senators, and your congressional representative to urge them to look at the very very very big picture and do everything possible to promote true health and wellness in this country. Only then will our nation truly thrive.

Diana Dyer, MS, RD