Wake-Up Pizza

Make this the night before, so it’s ready to warm and savor when you wake up. Modeled after a breakfast pizza at Whole Foods Market, this one features a good-for-you crust and ingredients you might find in an omelet. And there’s no zingy tomato sauce to startle your taste buds this early in the day. It’s a carpool or in-flight dream meal; no need to heat, just eat. For a time-saver, pick the vegetables from the grocery store salad bar, wash thoroughly, and proceed with the recipe.

Serves 4 . . . or 1 hungry person • Prep Time: 10 minutes • Cook Time: 15 to 20 minutes

 

1/4  cup cornmeal, for sprinkling

1  pound Whole Wheat and Flaxseed Dough (see here) or prepared whole wheat pizza dough, or 1 prepared whole wheat pizza crust

All-purpose flour for dusting

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon milled flaxseed

1 cup chopped green onions, with some green

1 cup thinly sliced red, green, and/or yellow bell pepper strips

1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms

1 cup thawed frozen or drained canned artichoke hearts, chopped

1 cup finely chopped kale, Swiss chard, or baby spinach

1 cup shredded aged Gouda or Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)

  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal.
  2. Place the dough on a floured surface, dust the top with flour, and roll or pat into a 12-inch oval. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan, then re-form it into an oval. Brush the olive oil over the crust and dust with the milled flaxseed. Top the crust with the green onions, bell pepper strips, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and kale, then sprinkle on the cheese.
  3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges of the crust and the cheese are brown. Transfer the flatbread to a cutting board, cut into pieces, and serve.

Calories 197 • Total Fat 8g • Saturated Fat 4g • Carbohydrates 19g • Protein 14g • Dietary Fiber 5g • Sodium 573mg

DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?

Feel the benefits of bioenergy healing.

 

According to Laura Mead, Certified Bodywork Therapist and bioenergy practitioner,bioenergy healing is the practice of transferring life force from one person to another in order to benefit that person. This transfer of energy can aid an individual’s physical, emotional, and mental states. Mead cites research by Juliann G. Kiang, John A. Ives, and Wayne B. Jonas, published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry in March 2005 as an example of the ongoing studies involved in bioenergy and healing.

 

WOULD SOMEONE JUST TELL ME . . .

Q: I love that these foods have a positive impact on my immune system, healthy cells, muscle and joint function, bones, and heart health. But don’t I need to boost my health with high doses of supplements?

A: Incorporating a wide variety of foods, preferably fresh ones in season, will naturally enrich your body with the nutrients it needs to maintain a strong immune system and fight off disease.

Researchers tend to focus on certain nutrients in breast cancer prevention. They include omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and calcium, as you are reading about throughout this book. This book is full of recipes that include foods that contain these nutrients, and we like them because they also taste fantastic! And our book contains research that demonstrates populations who have healthy levels of these nutrients in their blood and diets have a lower risk of breast cancer and a better prognosis if they do get it. That said, we eat food, not individual nutrients. Studies have shown that high doses of supplements, as a general rule, do not protect against cancer. See your own health care practitioner for your individual nutritional needs.

 

TREAT OF THE DAY

Massage . . . not just a feel-good story.

 

Now it’s official: People who undergo massage demonstrated measurable changes in their immune and endocrine response, according to findings of a study in the Cedars-Sinai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, published in the October 2010 issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. In addition, randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that massage reduces pain and anxiety.

“This research indicates that massage doesn’t only feel good, it also may be good for you,” said Mark Rapaport, MD, the study’s principal investigator. “More research is ahead of us but it appears that a single massage may deliver a measurable benefit.”

Deep tissue massage is not advised during active treatment, according to Jennifer Klemp, PhD, MPH, managing director of the University of Kansas Breast Cancer Survivorship Center. She recommends following these precautions from the American Cancer Society before receiving a massage:

 

CompassionateCare

 

It’s helpful to have a compassionate and caring person focused on making you feel relaxed and reconnected to yourself, and more connected to your body. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of taking these two steps before getting a massage: Receive permission from your health care provider, and work with a trained professional who has experience with massage for breast cancer survivors.

 

By Jennifer Shideler, LMT

 

Here’s a brief case history: “Cathy” comes in for the first time after finishing her last chemotherapy treatment and getting the go-ahead from her doctor to have a massage. She has been told that her tissues and her lymph nodes are clean of cancer. She has physical scars on her chest from the several surgeries that she’s had over the years that it’s taken to fight the breast cancer battle. Her hair is still growing back, so she is wearing a sassy wig that looks like her own hair.

I could tell she felt awkward, self-conscious, and perhaps a little uneasy about lying on my table and being in public without her hair. I explain that I am working the cells through her body, but she can be at ease to be free of disease. I say that it’s just the two of us in this dimly lit room; it’s not her wig or her breasts that make her beautiful, it’s her strength and courage that brought her into my office.

I suppose that having someone (a virtual stranger) touch you in such a caring, loving way after such a fight is a transition, but an important one. The muscles have memory beyond being accustomed to being overstretched or overshortened. They also remember trauma. Although Cathy may feel or think she has worked out all of the emotional scarring from her trauma, the muscles have their own healing cycle. It may take years. Be patient and kind to yourself, I tell her. Don’t miss the benefit that massage can provide in the “back in the swing” process.

 

Jennifer Shideler is a specialist in therapeutic massage. She has focused on areas of recovery after illness to help people improve mood, increase relaxation and flexibility, and experience a mind-body connection while decreasing anxiety, respiration, and heart rate.