I have a Hero. Her name is Kris Carr. Eight years ago at 31 years of age she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma; a cancer that plagued her with 24 tumors in her liver and lungs combined. She was not a candidate for chemotherapy or radiation. Instead, she was as advised to “wait” and “see what happens”. What if this were you?

I admire her because she took this opportunity to stop, take a look around her, and seek alternative methods without hesitation. Her #1 mission was to safe her life. In her “Crazy, Sexy, Cancer” documentary, she traveled the USA to find a natural cure and simultaneously film her journey – which ended up debuting at SXSW and the TLC channel, and her accompaniying book of the same title has now leaped her into the National Best Seller category and landed her a seat on Oprah (to name a few hot seats). Her story, donned as “Crazy Sexy Cancer” has now empowered countless hundreds, if not thousands to follow in her footsteps and learn by her example.

It’s her message that has inspired me to change the books I read and way I think about food and what I consume – whether that be with items I clean my house with, how I drink my water or foods I put into my body on a daily basis. Whatever the case may be, I have learned to admire the freedom to THINK.

As shocking as this may be for some, I believe that the Western methods to “cure” cancer with chemotherapy and radiation are NOT the end-all, be-all. As much as I respect my doctors and the treatments I agreed to receive, I refuse to be a submissive sufferer. Rather, I believe it is our noble and American right (if not, human right) to be active participants in our health-care.

Here’s my new “Coca-Cola”. A green smoothie consisting of cucumber, kale, ice cubes, spinach, coconut water, wheat grass and sprouts. Out with the old, in with the new!

Regardless of the known expertise of our health-care providers, we must still seek multiple opinions. We must question. We must ponder alternatives. We have to believe that the earth has provided us with the means to heal ourselves. After all, it’s the earth that (in some cases) has caused our cancer. Does the earth not provide us with natural healing methods?

This topic for me could easily span 24.9 feet long. So for now I will spare you the details. All I can say is that I am not perfect. Neither are you. But I will say that I am “doing the best I can” and will hope that I continue to grow and hone in on this new-found knowledge and to share my discoveries with those whom are interested, along the way.

If you have read my past blog postings, you will know of the books that have inspired me and how I have been driven to try new things. Books such as Kris’s book, as well as “The pH Miracle” and “Anti-Cancer”.

Here’s my unorganized, yet newly green fridge:

Trying to incorporate a new diet at the age of 38 isn’t an easy task. But I find it fascinating and enjoying to learn new things and try new recipies and, well… learn to cook? If it weren’t for my cancer situation, I may not have been motivated to really try this. So in this case I see cancer as a blessing. It has forced me to look at things differently and consider my options and seek alternatives. If FOOD has helped others cure themselves of cancer, it can happen for me and for you too!

Here is an Elana original. This is my “Tofu Happy Meal”. Enjoy!

“Tofu Happy Meal”

1/2 pkg firm, organic tofu (drained, chopped)
1 half chopped broccoli head
1 half chopped cauliflower head
2 chopped carrots
1/2 bunch asparagus heads
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS crushed garlic
1/2 TBS Thai green curry paste
1/2 TBS spicy brown mustard
1/2 TSP coriander
1/2 TSP cumin
Eyeball of Liquid Bragg’s Aminos
Eyeball grinder of garlic sea salt

In a medium-large sauce pan, begin with stir-frying the tofu with the olive oil until light brown. Then add the chopped broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and asparagus. Mix the seasonings in a bowl (garlic, mustard, curry paste, coriander, cumin, sea salt and liquid Aminos). Then stir in the seasonings into the food mixture. Blend well. Once you reach a place of “Ok, that looks good”, remove food from the heat.

Serve!