Don’t Buy…DIY!

I’ll be honest- I’ve just started to cook again these last several days, after a horrible phase of treatment and a trip to the hospital.  Methotrexate is my biggest rival, and if you don’t know what it is, I hope you never have to. Hint #1 that it will make you feel like curling up and hibernating: the IV infusion looks like lemon-lime Gatorade is about to run through your veins. Funny, because I often count on Gatorade to make me feel better.

HOWEVER, I did make two snacks that I would normally buy from the store: popsicles and crackers. That about evens it out, right? They are so easy to make, and doing it yourself means that you only have yourself to blame when they aren’t sweet/savory/creamy/crunchy enough!

Also, popsicles and crackers happen to be the world’s top go-to foods when someone’s sick.*

*Not a fact, but probably.

My birthday was on the 4th, and my wonderful boyfriend bought me a Zoku popsicle maker. I’ve been crazy about popsicles my whole life and have fond memories of sharing one with my childhood dog on super hot days (like you never did the same thing…)  After a few discouraging tries- you really have to blend the ingredients and store the pop maker in the back of your freezer– I made a delicious frozen treat from fresh, local ingredients, and with a secret helping of protein!  The best part is, you can just use whatever’s lying around.

With just a few ingredients…

I made a wonderful peach, basil, and goat cheese popsicle!  Adding a bit of almond milk keeps it creamy.

This has been a saving grace because most store-bought popsicles have too much citric acid in it, and they irritate an already sensitive GI tract.  If you like a bit of decadence, try blending some cocoa, milk, peanut butter, a dash of salt, and your favorite sweetener.  It makes for a nice fudge pop!

Since I had chemo on my birthday, we stayed in that night and made pizzas.  Super fancy delicious pizzas because I was feeling well enough to eat something flavorful. We topped them with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, ramp leaves (had some in the freezer), mushrooms, garlic, onion, prosciutto, and truffle oil!  I ate the leftovers for breakfast.

But we still had a small ball of dough left, so I decided to make some homemade crackers!  All you have to do is roll the dough out SUPER thin and bake it at 400º until golden brown and crispy.  Keep watching them, though- those suckers can go from perfection to overdone in seconds.

Rustic beauties.

As I wasn’t too keen on protein this week, I hid some extra grams in the crackers, too.  I shredded about an ounce of cheese and folded it into the dough with some sage and thyme.  Before putting it in the oven, I sprinkled some sea salt and fresh ground pepper over the sheet.  I did cut lines in the dough, so that they’d easily break into squares.  However, the outside cooked much faster.  Next time, I will separate the squares for more even baking.

If you’re not into cheese, try adding nutritional yeast instead.  It will give you that same nutty flavor and a nice helping of protein.  In a few months, it will be pumpkin season- adding a few spoonfuls of canned pumpkin, a bit of brown sugar, and your favorite winter spices, will turn this snack into a sweet treat.

So there you have it:

• No more spending tons of money on these easy-to-make snacks.
• You can finally eat popsicles without irritating your stomach.
• Don’t want to eat tons of protein?  That’s OK- you can get protein, anyway!

Well, I shall leave you with a bit of bragging: I’m not neutropenic right now!  I have been going crazy over fresh produce.  Here’s what I had for lunch today:

Zucchini baba ghannouj with little toasts, fresh veggies, and a nectarine sprinkled with chili powder for dessert.  The baba ghannouj can be made neutropenic-friendly quite easily.  Stay tuned for the recipe!