As many of you know, one of my favourite things to do in life is to cook and bake for my family and friends. There are so many tasty foods out there, that if I tried all of the recipes I pin from Pinterest or post off of Facebook, I’d be as big as a house. I absolutely love trying new recipes though. As I’ve tried new recipes or adjusted ones that I’ve made before, I started to write down some of the things that I do. For years now, I’ve sneaked vegetables and fruit into recipes to try and get my very very picky daughter Alicia some nutrients that I know she was missing. She still does not enjoy vegetables or fruit, but will eat them, albeit very reluctantly. ( and she’s an adult!)

About six years ago, a very dear friend of ours was diagnosed with cancer. He was given a maximum of 10 years to live, but told that there was no treatment for his type of cancer- chemo and radiation would not work. Of course we were all devastated to hear this news. He and his wife were and continue to be, very proactive in his treatment. They went to a wellness clinic in California and learned all they could about natural and alternative treatments. For these past six years, they have been sharing their knowledge with us. Many of our group of friends have taken what they have taught us to heart, and have changed how we eat and care for ourselves too. I’ll try and share some of what we’ve learned from them, and from reading about natural alternatives. I am by no means an expert, and if you really want to learn about eating healthy, my girlfriend Tracey is the one to talk to!

Our friend has been doing all kinds of natural alternative treatments, including hyperbaric oxygen treatments, but he and we, truly believe that his change in eating is what is keeping him healthy and helping his tumours to not grow, and in fact, to shrink. We are very grateful for our friends’ guidance in helping us all eat better, and live better. I’ve always thought that I cooked healthy, but now I have learned even better ways!

The very first, and probably most important thing we’ve learned is that sugar feeds cancer, and causes tumours to grow. Sugar is probably the worst thing that people who are fighting cancer can eat. or drink. There are many alternatives to sugar, but the one I’ve found to be the best is Xylitol. I know, it sounds very chemical, but it’s not. It is a product that comes from birch trees ( so if you have an allergy to birch, probably best you don’t use it.) Xylitol does not affect your Glycemic Index the same way that honey or maple syrup or sugar do. Even if you are using natural substitutes like honey or maple syrup, it does affect your blood sugar levels, which helps cancer to grow( and is bad for people with diabetes or heart disease too).I switch sugar to Xylitol on a one for one basis, unlike Stevia which is also very good and natural, but very sweet, and can leave a funny after taste. Using Stevia takes about a 1/4 of what you would use for sugar or Xylitol, but I don’t care for the taste of it, where as Xylitol doesn’t give me that funny taste.

Vitamin D is probably the next thing that we’ve learned is so important. Most Canadians are very deficient in Vitamin D. We have such long winters and most of us spend our days looking through windows, not out in the bitter cold. Doctors are recommending we take vitamin D, but they usually don’t tell us that we can take double, triple or even up to 10 times the amount that most of us take. We have upped our daily vitamin D to about 3000 iu, but I know our friend takes 10000 iu. (international units).

Eating clean, whole foods is also incredibly important. Fresh vegetables,fruits, and lean cuts of meat are so delicious and so much better for us, but I don’t know about most of you, but I LOVE FOOD! I love sauces and gravy and breads and butter and cookies and cake and chips and meat and, and, and… it just goes on! I truly love almost all foods, and most of them are not good for me!( now ask me about mussels or sardines or liver or kidney or gross stuff like that, that is another story!) But give me anything that is smothered in gravy or butter, I’m in. When I’m asked what my favourite food is, my answer is… food! My mom’s Christmas dinner comes to mind first, and every thing that entails. My mom is a fabulous cook, so yeah, my mom’s Christmas dinner is my favourite food. For me, learning how to take some of those absolutely delicious recipes my mom has, and change them into a healthier version has been fun and challenging, especially because I didn’t want to lose the flavour of them. Learning what some of the food substitutes are and what they are used for has been interesting. Most recipes can easily be changed to Gluten free, or dairy free, or vegan just by changing some of the ingredients. I can admit that not everything turns out the way I think they should, and sometimes the taste is no where near as good as the regular foods, but with each try, I learn something about what works and what doesn’t.

Below are two recipes for banana bread. The one is what I used to use all the time, and the other is my alternative recipe that makes it Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free, but not taste free!

Regular Banana Bread

3/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp salt

3 frozen bananas 1 tsp baking powder

4 Tbsp melted butter 2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour optional 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts

To thawed bananas add sugar and eggs. Mash until smooth, then add melted butter. Fold in flour, salt and soda ( and chocolate chips if wanted). Bake in a greased loaf tin for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Jackie’s Banana Bread

3/4 cup Xylitol 1/4 tsp sea salt

3 frozen bananas 1 tsp baking soda

4 Tbsp melted vegan butter, or I use avocado oil

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour 2 flax eggs

optional – 1/2 cup GOOD LIFE chocolate chips ( these are gluten free, dairy free, nut free)

I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free flour because it is a straight conversion from regular flour to gluten free.

To make a flax egg, it’s 1 tbsp of ground flax meal to 3 tbsp of water. Mix together and let sit about 2 minutes, then add to the bananas. You do need to let it soak for a couple of minutes or it doesn’t allow the mixture to raise and bind properly.

Follow the same directions as above to mix and bake. To grease the pan, I also use vegan oil. I find you may have to adjust the amount of time baked, but I start with the same time, and go from there.

The Gluten free, dairy free vegan version does not raise quite as high, but the flavour is the same, and won’t raise your Glycemic Index quite the same way.

There are so many ways to make recipes a bit healthier. Change from using dairy based milks and creams to using coconut or rice or almond milks. Use Avocado, olive or pure vegetable oil. Use brown rice, whole grain pastas ( unless gluten intolerant), and make your pasta sauces using fresh tomatoes and other vegetables. Switch from regular to lean cuts of meat, especially ground beef, or use ground chicken or turkey, and use spices instead of barbecue sauce. I like the Epicure brand because most of them don’t contain salt either. Switch from white potatoes to sweet potatoes. Use mashed bananas or flax for eggs, or tofu for ricotta cheese. Drink lemon or lime in your water or if you need the bubbles, drink carbonated mineral water with some fresh fruit. Some take a bit of getting used to, but if you are going to try to eat healthier, or if food allergies drives you to have to take a new and different road when cooking, there really are some great alternatives that can help us all be healthier and live longer. And after all, it’s still Mmmmmm,FOOD!