My Life As A Vegan!

Good Evening All,

I hope everything is going well and you're having a wonderful September! I'm Ann and this is my journey with thyroid cancer. Remember, September is thyroid cancer awareness month. Be sure to check your thyroid. If you don't know how, look at my earlier post on how to do the check.

If you've been following me you know I tried traditional medicine to cure my thyroid cancer, which didn't work. My cancer is still growing. But, for now, I'm in watch and wait mode and am making the most of the time I have been given. Because my medical team couldn't offer me any help, I decided to try and help myself. That lead me to the Gerson Diet and Cellect. Gerson is basically a vegan diet which I have been following for over a year. In addition, I do not eat sugar, processed foods, coffee, or drink alcohol. Vegans can do those things, but people trying to cure cancer can not. I have been a strict vegan for some time now and it's been tough. The reason it's difficult is because I've had to learn how to try and cook tasty meals that follow the strict guidelines I need to adhere to. I do not enjoy cooking and used to love ordering fast food. Cooking takes time and a lot of work. Sometimes I feel like I part of 'Little House On The Prairie'! I have to wash, peel, cook the vegetables, and then, clean all the dirty dishes! And - I don't have a dish washer!! I've been learning a lot and do have some good recipes, but I'm hoping one day to get a little better at it. Luckily, I have a few shortcuts that have helped me.

One of the first shortcuts I leaned was an easier way to cook the steel-cut oatmeal I eat every morning. I listened to a talk from a man following the Gerson Diet. What his wife did was to make his oatmeal in a crockpot and cook it overnight. I tried that and what I made was a mess! It took me such a long time to clean the crockpot out that I almost gave up. But then I came up with a brainstorm idea. What I do is use a mason jar to cook the oatmeal. I add about a quarter cup of oatmeal to the jar and fill it the rest of the way with water. I put the jar in the crockpot surrounded by water, put the crockpot on low cook, and, in the morning I have really good oatmeal! Not only is it done when I wake up, but the mason jar is a handy way to bring the oatmeal to work with me - and it's easy to clean later!! I add a little apple, cranberry, honey and Cellect and have a healthy, hearty breakfast.

Lunch is pretty easy. I drink the 64 oz. of juice I make each morning and if I get hungry, I add some fresh fruit. I make the juice first thing so it's done for the day. The shortcut is to wash all the produce right away after purchasing it and store it in bins in the fridge. In the morning I grab the bins and take them to my juicer. This is not the typical way to juice according to the Gerson Diet, but it is the best I can do since I have to work. I still juice whatever organic vegetables I can find, but I add beets to the mix whenever I can. Juiced beets are supposed to be a super food. I've also been adding lemons - peels and all. These are really good for you too and help to make the juice taste better.

Dinner is the hardest for me. When I first started this diet I used to eat just potatoes and a variety of vegetables, but I've been trying to change it up a bit. I've been adding some legumes and practicing with different spices. Although it's processed, sometimes I use spelt noodles or sprouted grain wraps - only organic. I've made vegan lasagna, pizza with cashew mozzarella, and vegan brownies made from dates. I've eaten a few things that are not part of Gerson, like almonds and cashews, but they are organic, plant based, and have no sugar. In a later post I will add recipes.

I used to add a lot of supplements to my juices, but according to Cellect, I do not need to do that any longer. I do still take vitamin B12, Omega 3, and sometimes Vitamin D. Vitamin D is included in Cellect, but I will be having blood work done soon to check my levels. If it lower than last time, I will be adding it back in.

The hardest part about my diet is the dishes. I do tons of dishes a day - well, it feels like tons! Making supper can also be a chore, but sometimes I make enough to have leftovers. One day, I'm hoping to be able to take a cooking class to help me make tasty dinners that are a little less work. The good ones are expensive, so we'll see how it goes.

If anyone has a story about their journey or any easy recipes they would like to share, I would really appreciate it.

For now, wishing you health and happiness!