June 17, 2014

Bits of Bites

June 17, 2014/ sherri d'alessandro

So many of you have been kindly asking how Stacy is doing since her surgery on Friday so I will provide you with a brief update. Her surgery was 6 hours long and everything went very well and according to the doctors' plans. She was in severe pain on Saturday, but, by the afternoon was feeling a little better. Stacy came home yesterday and is happy to be out of the hospital. I want to thank everyone who has reached out since reading the blog post last week. I have no doubt in my mind that the positive thoughts, vibes, and prayers that you sent through helped her get through this very difficult procedure. It is greatly appreciated by our entire family.

This blog post is going to be a bit disjointed, but, I have a lot to talk about!

The other big, big thing that happened this weekend was Jenn & Brett's wedding! It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and could not have gone more perfectly. It was truly incredible and I could not be more excited for Jenn & Brett! They are an amazing couple. I'll post a "life lately" post soon and update more photos, etc.

So, I'm starting a new series tonight "Bits of Bites". I've been asked so many times (especially since the Sugar-Free Challenge) to post meal ideas besides just dinner. Most health/fitness bloggers do post "weekly eats" or something similar, but, I didn't think you'd all want to look at my ugly food pictures. Well, I'm caving. The pictures won't be as attractive as my perfectly lit dinner posts, but, hopefully it will provide you all with some food ideas for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and super-fast dinners that can be made on the fly. Oh, and I won't show every meal, don't worry.

Locally grown strawberries I ate in about two sittings. (I eat a lot of fruit, especially berries)

This "smoothie bowl" consisted of raw peanut butter (about 2 tbs), frozen organic berries (cup or so), ground flax (tbs or so), chia seeds (tsp or so), shakes of cinnamon, and water (enough to blend). This was a breakfast last week.

This was a Saturday morning breakfast consisting of organic buckwheat berry waffles from Whole Foods topped with a little bit of organic butter (no syrup even though I love syrup). Sliced kiwi and mango-ginger juice -- I just blended frozen mango with ginger and cinnamon with a lot of water. I don't own a juicer.

Lunch: Organic egg, organic raspberries, sugar snap peas, avocado, and goji berry nut mixture from Whole Foods.

Dinner: lettuce from my garden, sliced radishes, organic grape tomatoes, feta, sunflower seeds, grilled organic chicken, grilled peaches, avocado, topped with extra virgin o/o and lime juice.

Another typical lunch: half an avocado, 2 organic eggs, organic raspberries, sugar snap peas, pecans/cashews, and I think I ate that entire bag of GMO free popcorn by the time work was over, whoops!

Dinner: Chicken, Broccoli, artichokes, and Quinoa gluten-free pasta, meh.... I'll go back to Barilla Protein Plus. The pasta wasn't terrible, but, it wasn't great either. Oh and a glass or two of vino.

Lunch: I got creative at work and mashed together a half an avocado and leftover grilled organic chicken and put it on a toasted gluten-free english muffin with some salt and grapes. Pretty good!

Ok I think that about does it for tonight. My shopping list always has avocados, organic eggs, fresh and frozen organic fruit, and organic chicken. Right now, I'm loving my garden veggies!

Hope you all have a great week! xo

June 10, 2014

Update...

June 10, 2014/ sherri d'alessandro

Recently, I've mentioned that there's been something going on that I haven't been ready to talk about. I wasn't sure if I'd ever discuss what has happened to Stacy on the blog because it is very personal and it was and is ultimately her decision if it should be shared. Many of you now know, as Stacy shared it yesterday. For those that don't, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 6th. She is a beautiful, VERY funny, smart lady who is also a wife, mom, daughter, sister, niece, and friend to many.

Since the diagnosis, she's been extremely positive and her family and friends have rallied around her. Big time - it's been awesome to see! Within hours of the diagnosis, many of us were together and we all agreed - it's time to go on the "cancer diet". For those that know us, we went right to work! Research and articles galore. I immediately emailed Krista because I knew that her father-in-law, Milt, is an expert on clean eating and sends Krista research on almost a daily basis. In addition to that, Krista's dear friend was recently diagnosed and I know they had been article-sharing like crazy.

Since that day, Stacy has blown me away with her diligence with the cancer diet. It's incredible to see her strength and positivity... truly inspirational.

And so, why am I sharing all this? I spoke to Stacy on Saturday and we want you all to know what we have learned in this very short 1 month and 4 day time period. In addition to that, I'm going to bring back article-sharing on the blog. I haven't been doing it much lately, but, this will now be a zone where you can find multiple articles on clean eating, sugar-free diets, food, recipe ideas, anti-oxidant rich foods, and much more. The first thing you need to know: Sugar feeds cancer. Cancer can't survive without glucose. So, if you cut glucose out of your diet... guess what happens? It starves the cancer. Told you sugar is the devil...grrr.

Isn't it kind of strange that just a month or so before Stacy's diagnosis I had started the sugar-free challenge and was already getting used to eating more healthy than ever before? Interesting how things work out sometimes. The reason I am saying this is... as healthy as I've been for years, it's still been really hard to cut out the after-dinner frozen yogurt, cereal, jam, yogurts, and chocolates. For Stacy to stop cold-turkey, is amazing. (oh and PS she looks amazing)

So to kick off the article sharing... here's a few goodies to get you started:

1. Ketogenic Diet May Be Key to Cancer Recovery

This article explains how a ketogenic diet (diet based on healthy fats & proteins ((aka NOT Atkins, peeps)) can starve cancer. It also discusses the importance of Vitamin D, sleep, stress reduction, and exercise.

2. Is there a way to exploit the Metabolic Quirk of Cancer?

This article provides definitions for those of us not in the medical field and then goes on to explain and show images of how starving cancer cells of glucose, actually does starve the cancer.

3. The 12 Most Chemically Ridden Produce Items you Should Buy Organic.

Short article - the down and dirty. This list provides the 12 dirtiest veggies/fruits that you should buy organic and the 15 that are considered more clean. This article is a great place to start on a path to a cleaner diet.

For some "Simple Sherri Advice"... see the above two labels? Remember them. USDA ORGANIC means it is ORGANIC. The word "natural" means absolutely NOTHING to the government and pretty much anything can be labeled "natural". The NON GMO Project means that it does not contain GMOs. I've been getting the following questions a lot lately so I'm going to repeat it here:

QUESTION: If something is labeled USDA Organic does that also mean it's also GMO FREE? Answer: YES

QUESTION: If something is labeled GMO FREE does that also mean it's also ORGANIC? Answer: NO

That's all for tonight, my friends. I have a lotttt more articles to share so stay tuned! And, if you're religious, spiritual or if positive vibes are your thing... please send them to Stacy this week. Surgery is this Friday.

Thanks so much and make it an awesome, less sugary, week! xo

June 06, 2014

Friday Favs_6.6.14

June 06, 2014/ sherri d'alessandro

Yay, Friday! A short edition of Friday Favs is back! Last weekend, Rob, Rachael, Chris, Kim, Billy and I went to the Cape for a couple days. It was the perfect quick getaway and I can't wait to go back. This weekend, I'm looking forward to some sunshine and getting organized before a couple of busy weeks. Summer is upon us, my friends! Soak it up!