FRIDAY FARE: Healthy Recipe - Veggie Quesadillas

We are happy to introduce guest blogger, Shannon Stahura. Shannon's mom has breast cancer, and she volunteered to help us out, here at Sister Survivors. Shannon will be our expert on nutritious recipes - we'll post one recipe per week. ENJOY!!

SHANNON:

The summer season is finally here!! The fruit and vegetable stands are starting to pop-up everywhere. This is the perfect time of year to start incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet.

“The easiest, least-expensive way to reduce your risk for cancer is just by eating a healthy diet,” says Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon, PhD, MPH, RD, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute.

So... this is where you have to get creative and be patient. It's hard to just go cold turkey and stop eating all of the junk and go strictly healthy. It's best to start a little at a time and be patient as your body rids itself of the cravings for unhealthy foods.

Here is one of my favorite summer lunch or dinner ideas, its healthy and quick to make. Also, it is versatile if you are cooking for those non-veggie eaters....


Veggie Quesadillas (prep time 10 min)


2 tortillas (preferably canola oil based and or wheat but any kind works)

your favorite vegetables (I prefer spinach, cucumbers, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Zuccinni, squash, onions and peppers work well, too)

cumin

Mexican seasoning

optional toppings

salsa, guacamole, cheddar cheese, sour cream or cottage cheese


Directions

1. Cut up vegetables.

2. Heat a few drops of olive oil in a frying pan then add veggies to warm them up (except spinach). Stir or toss until they become soft.

3. While veggies are cooking sprinkle them with cumin and other Mexican seasonings.

4. Remove veggies from pan and set aside.

5. Place tortillas in pan to warm. If using spinach or cheddar cheese, line your tortilla with these ingredients at this time. (about 30 sec each side or until cheese melts) After tortillas are warm, layer vegetables on top of one tortilla, add toppings, then top with second tortilla and cut into slices.

*optional- If you are cooking for those who don't like veggies, just add the usual beans and cheddar cheese.

Serve with a side of your favorite fruit and enjoy!

NEXT SISTER SURVIVORS SUPPORT MEETING

Put this date on your calendars:

June 10th - our next Sister Survivors support meeting. This will be the kick off for our summer program - "Our Road to Healthy". At this meeting, we'll be focusing on exercises you can do to increase your stamina and your range of motion in the upper body, some yoga breathing techniques, etc. We'll have two expert helping us out that night.

Hope to see everyone there - 7:00 at the Fillmore/Spencer Law Offices: 3301 North University Avenue, Provo, UT (Jamestown). Help us spread the word to all breast cancer patients and survivors. All are welcome.

See you there!

Pictures from our first meeting

First Sister Survivor Meeting

Thanks to all of those survivors who showed up at our first meeting last Thursday. The attendance was more than we hoped for. We counted 27 survivors!

Dr. Bishop shared his ideas about why a support group is needed. He introduced himself and his staff.

Dr. Tittensor also shared her reasons for supporting this group.

Kara Herron talked about the support group meetings that we'll be having. The meetings will be held monthly in the board room at the law offices of Fillmore Spencer Attorneys, located at 3301 North University Avenue, Provo. (Jamestown) Right now we will be meeting on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:00 pm. There will be a theme for each meeting. An email will go out a week before the meeting as a reminder of the time, place, and subject. Come prepared to discuss items pertinent to breast cancer. You are welcome to bring your husband, or your care-giver. ALL questions are welcome.

Colette Hansen talked about the quarterly activities, and service projects we hope to hold. Some of the ideas we've come up with for service projects include, making blankets for chemo patients, bracelets, pillows, warmers, etc. for those going through breast cancer. We also want to have quarterly activities that will be informative... we'll have guest speakers, such as doctors, nurses, and other professionals. We'd also like to have panels. In addition to these quarterly meetings, we're hoping to have activites that can involve our families - picnics, walk-a-thons, etc.

Bethanie Newby used a get-to-know-you activity to illustrate the importance of what our support group is trying to do: bring women who have had breast cancer - both survivors and current cancer patients - together to talk, have questions answers, and participate in a sisterhood of women. We all need to talk to others about what has happened, and what is happening, to each of us. No one understands what we are going through except other breast cancer survivors, right? Bethanie introduced our one-on-one mentoring group called Bosom Buddies. We had a sign up sheet for those who wanted to help with this program. Those who want to be Bosom Buddies put a star on the map of Utah Valley. The map is split into 3 general areas:
1. Lehi, Alpine, Cedar Hills, Highland, and American Fork.
2. North Orem, Lindon, Pleasant Grove, and anything east (such as Heber)
3. South Orem, Provo, and everything south.

Thanks so much to those who helped with our first meeting, including Dr. Bishop's staff, and his beautiful wife - the source of all that yummy food! It was incredible.

We are all in this together, ladies. Let's come together once a month and support each other. Breast cancer is a journey that no one should walk alone.