Salad Days

I’m reading a book very, very slowly: Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis by Professor George Jelinek. It’s quite dense in new vocabulary and new information for me, with a lot of science-y discussion of various trials in diet changes and their effects on folks with MS. This is the first of what I foresee being a long journey in changing lifestyle patterns to get me back to as close to 100% as is possible

So far, being ⅓ of the way through the book, I have already learned a ton about a lot of topics surrounding MS. The most pertinent and interesting information is, of course, about food. Here’s the really short version:

-Saturated fats are BAD. Like, kill-you bad.

-This means you, Omega-6s.

-Food that comes from land animals contains this stuff.

-Having only a little is still no good.

-Unsaturated fats in moderate amounts are good! Hooray!

-All hail Omega-3s.

-Fish is good.

-Vitamins A and E, when taken in supplement form, are bad.

-Get these vitamins from food instead.

-Do, however, take B vitamins, some of which are missing from no-meat diets.

-The proteins in dairy products might also be bad. Science isn’t sure yet, but maybe.

-*insert sad face here*

Any questions? Oh, about a million. After another two hundred and something pages, I hope to have some of them answered, and I’m sure I’ll have added another million to the queue. I’m keeping in mind that this is just one theory, albeit one scientifically tested around the world for many years. There are other theories and books and websites that I’ll be reading too. Do you know of a book or website you’d like me to read? Feel free to suggest it in comments below.

In the meantime, let’s talk about food and good company.

A dear friend came to visit this past weekend. We’ve been friends for years, and back when I owned a catering company, she worked with me in the kitchen for several big events. I was very much looking forward to cooking with her, and eating, talking, and visiting with her all weekend. It was a positive, rejuvenating time. When I thanked her for bringing me her healing friendship, she reported that, in the three days she’d been there, my walking ability had drastically improved! It's amazing what having fun can do for one's health. 
Status update: I’m now walking around the house using two canes, pretending to be snowshoeing in order to work on my steps and my gate. I am still using a walker outside the house, though in most places, that walker gets in the way more than it helps. I’d love any suggestions as to how to carry around two canes while using a walker, so I may alternate their use.

While my friend was visiting, she taught me how to make her favorite salad dressing, which will make the big pile of veggies my diet is about to become more pleasant:

Honey Sherry Vinaigrette

1c oil of your choice (Pick one with as little saturated fat and as much unsaturated fat as possible, like olive or a few kinds of vegetable oil. Welcome to being a super-nerdy label reader! I am now one too.)

1/2c sherry vinegar

1/2c honey

1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 pinch each salt & pepper

Throw it all into a blender. Blend until the shallot has been sufficiently pulverized and the dressing looks creamy.

Tossing this dressing with raw kale or other tough greens, letting it wilt the kale while you make the rest of dinner, makes you an instant rock star. Bonus points if you top your salad with yummy things like this:

Wilted kale and rainbow chard topped with pear, apple, 

red bell pepper, pecans, and goat cheese. 

I obviously made this salad before I got to the part 

in the book that talked about dairy and saturated fat. Sigh.

I use about half of this recipe's amount of dressing on a large dinner-for-four-hungry-foodies salad bowl full of green things. In this salad, we used a bag of kale and a bag of rainbow chard, which I can’t believe I’d never used in a salad before!

Refrigerate any unused dressing, which you know you’re gonna use tomorrow for an encore.

Bon appétit, et a votre santé!