In Other News

It might be hard to believe but I have a life outside of running. haha! Although some days it feels like its consuming me.

This summer has been great. B and I are on a Wednesday night bowling league that has been so much fun. Frustrating at times because I'm not that good but its a fun activity to break up the week with. We bowl three games each Wednesday night, which for me is just enough. Everyone on our team but me is making improvements, I seem to be very inconsistent but I don't take it very seriously either. I believe our team is in last place or second to last, but we're having fun!

In addition, we found time to cook together. I know I've mentioned that B likes to cooks a time or two but I just love it. Its nice to have another set of hands or another someone to make a meal if I'm feeling under-the-weather. We had made a plan before the CF Cycle for Life ride that we'd make fettucini the night before and then make ravioli for the night of. We started out assembling both the night before so that after the ride we didn't have to do anything but boil the ravioli. Here is our pasta making frenzy:

Dough Making:

One for fettucini and the other for ravioli:

Preparing dough: 

Cutting fettucini:

 Fettucini final product: Blackened Chicken Alfredo 

We make a pretty good team! The fettucini was sooo yummy. The bonus is that I can add my Duocal (fat soluble powder) to it for added calories which B just gets the normal fatty goodness that is Alfredo. I failed to capture the ravioli process on camera, but its just as easy. If you've never made your own pasta I highly recommend. We've been doing for almost a year and the pasta is just so much tastier. You can add whatever you'd like to the dough for added flavor without all the crappy stuff.

So, thus far the summer has been filled with good food, good friends and a lot of exercise. We have our 7 year wedding anniversary coming up in just a few short weeks and I'm planning a hot date in downtown Portland, shhhh!

~Doodlin'

Listen Up, Not All Calories Are Equal.....

A few weeks or days ago an article about calories was floating around and I happened to take a gander at it, then upon finishing the fairly basic overview of the fact that not all calories are the same I see a young child with CF eating a famous black-and-white cream filled cookie for breakfast, because of the caloric demands CF'ers need.

Here's the thing. Most CF patients do need tons of calories per day. I mean a truck-load of them. And if we're honest all those gorgeous brightly colored fruits and vegetables at your local market do very little in terms of calories. It's not uncommon to hear CF'ers talk about eating a value meal from any of a dozen fast food chains frequently (daily even). Heck, I used to pull my beat-up car thru the fast-food window numerous times a week and I thought nothing of it, in fact I thought I was being "healthy" because my body needed and required those calories.

While growing up I would come home from school to eat an entire box of Frost Flakes. Yes, the whole sugar-loaded-zero-nutritional-valve box of garbage. My mom and I we're happy to see that I could put away so much for the sake of the calorie intact burden I was under each day. My mom would send me to school with a few bucks, because when I reached high school they began putting vending machines loaded with junk in schools, and it was an easy high-dose of calories.

I needed the calories and still need a truck load of calories.

However, and this is a BIG but, not all calories are equal. Just like anyone else on the planet we are only as good as what we put into our bodies. I, probably, better than any parent or non-CF'er understand the burden of consuming those precious calories. I'm here to tell you that as an adult all that junk plays a dangerous role later on. Hey, I'm not here to judge. I've been there, I traveled that route and I'm here to tell you its not as simple as it seems. These habits come back to bite us.

As CF'ers are living longer we're learning more about proper nutrition for us rare breeds and how to get those calories. It should NOT be from cookies, junk food machines but rather wholesome foods. Why?

Wholesome foods (fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, grains) do more than simply help us reach our daily caloric intake. Foods high in dairy promote mucous production, so finding alternatives is highly beneficial. Many foods can help with inflammation, which most CF'ers will at some point suffer from. They can help prevent Cystic Fibrosis Related Diabetes (CFRD), help prevent kidney stones, probiotics can help reverse or ease the negative affects of frequent antibiotic use. And on and on.....

Something that many don't realize is that CF'ers have chronic infections or bacteria growing at rates that the body can't control. What does bacteria eat or need to grow, sugar! So, why are we pumping ourselves full of sugar-laden foods. Not just cookies, baked goods, and candy. But what are we drinking? What about that bag of chips? You don't need to have a medical degree to find this stuff out. A simple search on the internet will give you more information than you probably want or just glancing at the ingredients.

I can tell you first hand that over the past 10 years I have slowly made changes to my eating habits. I'm not perfect. I still enjoy a Dr. P every once in awhile. I still pop a favorite cookie into my watering mouth. But, I do so because its a guilty pleasure and not something I rely on to meet my calorie demands. I make as much as I can possibly muster from scratch so that I can control the calorie levels with supplemental additives. I make smoothies from fresh fruits and add things like coconut oil. I pack along trail mixes and mixed nuts. Ever study the labels on nuts or nut-based butters? They are loaded with calories and are good for you!!! I don't buy milk and use milk based foods sparingly.

So, next time your temped buy the cookies for breakfast think about making a shake packed with fresh fruits, almond butter, a tsp of coconut oil, coconut milk or whatever fancy's you. I promise you'll feel better over-all. Your body will thank you years down the road.

because....

Not All Calories Are The Same!

~Doodlin'

Pasta Making & Impromptu Game Night

PASTA LESSON 101

In the midst of all this doing IV's business I was invited to a ravioli making class at a store in the mall. I had hoped to be done with IV's but this is an activity I could do with the PICC regardless. Let me just say that watching the instructor make a ravioli make's it appear sooo easy. When it was my turn to fill and put the ravioli together, the attempt was slightly less than disasterous. I struggled to pinch the ravioli together, not so easy. If the dough is too dry you must put water or egg wash on it in addition to getting as much air out of the center as you close it up. The fun part was cutting the edges to finish it off, thus making it look like a ravioli.

I am glad I went. The biggest reason is so that I could see just what the dough should look, feel, and taste like. For this class, the dough was already made ahead of time. But we got to "play" with a piece and it should be the consistency of play-do. During the class we were able to sample two ravioli's that were made; meat filled and ricotta filled. Yummy!

I can't wait to begin making pasta here at home. I have wanted to try this for a long time. This weekend I'll make a go at it. I have all the attachments to my mixer for rolling out the dough, cutting spaghetti and fettuccine noodles. I just hope I can get the dough right!

GAME NIGHT

In the beginning of January B and I with another couple joined a bowling league. It's so fun. We bowl two games every Sunday night for 15 weeks. It's a nice ending to a weekend. The league isn't' super competitive, thank goodness for the girl who bowls a 75 average! It's open to all ages, we have a few kiddos, who are so outgoing.

Well, having been house bound for a few weeks with the exception of doctors appointments, grocery store and getting gas I have been missing out on socializing and bowling. I couldn't bowl with the PICC line in due to the swinging motion and weight of the ball.

This past Sunday the couple we bowl with came over of dinner. We spontaneously decided to play a board game. I haven't gotten down on the floor with a board game all spread out in a very long time. It was fun. We even drank root beer and cream soda. Sort of nostalgic.

We played Pandemic. It's the type of game that requires working together to cure diseases before they become outbreaks and then epidemics. It's strategic. We enjoyed it so much so that we've decided on a game night every once in awhile.

If your in the neighborhood stop by for some homemade pasta and game!

Sunday Goodness

I just love Sunday's. The hubs and I generally spend the day together doing errands for the upcoming week or doing something fun, like golfing. But this past Sunday we decided to go to the movies with our movie tickets that we got as a gift and to make dinner together. The hubs is actually a really good cook. He does things WAY differently than I do in the kitchen and I am learning patience with that process but amongst the chaos he is able to bring amazing dishes to the table.

Homemade Mac N' Cheese with Habenero Sausage in the works:

I failed to take pictures of the finished product but I can tell you it was goooood!! I even ate leftovers on Monday.