ArcaMax

So I was beginning my exercise session with my trainer one day and I turned to her and said, “So why am I sitting and bouncing up and down on this crazy exercise ball anyway?” She answered, “You are stirring up your lymphatic system”.

I let that go and thought about it for a minute. I had heard of lymphatic cancer. You don’t want to get lymphatic cancer. Bad news.

I had a friend who had breast cancer, and as part of her surgery they took many of her lymph nodes from under her arms as part of the process. I knew that was serious. Often, breast cancer spreads from your breast area to your lymph nodes so they often remove those to prevent the spread.

So why was I sitting there, bouncing up and down, to stir up my lymphatic system?

I found out that stirring and activating your lymphatic system is sort of like telling your body to take out the trash.

Your lymphatic system carries toxins out of your system. And if you’re a desk jokey like me, and don’t get enough daily activity, you need to stir that system up and get the toxins moving out of your system. Easy. All you have to do is exercise every day. Right. Like we all do that. (Can you read the sarcasm in my writing?)

So if you’re not one of those people that exercise often enough, how can YOU stir up your lymphatic system and tell your body to empty the trash of toxins that build up in your system?

First idea is to ride a horse. All that bouncing works great to stir up your lymphatic system. Not many of us commute to work on a horse (or even own one) so we have to come up with another idea.

One idea (if you have the time and money) is to buy one of those little mini-trampolines. You can gently bounce up and down on that. You can do that and watch TV at the same time. Imagine an activity you can do to wash the toxins out of your system and prevent cancer at the same time. This is it.

Let’s say you drive long distances. If you drive an 18 wheeler for example, and you feel the vibration of the truck beneath you, that’s stirring up your lymphatic system. Just the vibrating helps. But if you can set a timer and sort of bounce up and down in your seat for 10-15 minutes that will help more.

For the lymph nodes under your arms and near your collarbone, swing one arm in a circle to stir them up. Then swing the other one. You can even bend your elbow so you look like a chicken flapping your wings. Looks a bit crazy but your body will thank you for reminding it to take out the trash. Do it for at least five minutes per arm and you’re in business.

I drive in Chicago. I have hit so many pot holes lately I feel like I am getting my lymphatic system stirred up that way. But in reality I better do more than that.

In summer, if you have a riding lawn mower and a LOT of lawn, just riding around and bouncing on that thing will stir up your lymphatic system.

When you have done a really long drive and you stop at the fuel depot, get out of your vehicle and jump up and down for a few minutes. Breathe deeply and get your belly moving in and out while you are jumping up and down. Both of those things can help.

If you don’t have high blood pressure, standing on your head will help. Most of us haven’t done that since we were kids but even just a minute or two will help. Gravity in small doses is a good thing.

Get out a hoola hoop and get your midriff moving. That will stir things up. You get the idea.

Too bad raising a beer won’t do it. You’re going to have to do better than that, but stirring up your lymph nodes and getting them to send the trash-toxins in your system to be flushed out by your liver and kidneys will go a long way to help you prevent cancer, fight off colds, the flu and more.

Chicken with a Roasted Tomatillo-Cilantro Sauce

For today’s recipe we’ll concentrate on a “green theme”. This is March and St. Patrick’s Day will be here soon. Lots of folks wear green and some like to eat something green to celebrate. This is Mexican food made with tomatillos. Tomatillos are GREEN. The sauce might be a greenish-brown when completed but it follows the green theme.

Serves 2 (can easily be doubled)

1 lb of tomatillos. Take off paper-like skins, rinse and cut in half. (Don’t be alarmed that tomatillos are sort of gooey).

3 tsp of minced garlic. (Jar garlic will work)
1/2 cup of diced onion
1 tsp of dried parsley
1 cup of chopped, fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp of chili powder
1/8 to 1/4 tsp of cayenne. Depends on how spicy you want this.
1/4 cup of whipping cream
1/2 cup of chicken or veggie broth. If you use veggie broth the sauce color will be more green
12 oz of chicken scallopini slices. (This is just chicken breast sliced thinly. Most grocery stores sell scallopini slices or you can just slice the chicken breast pieces yourself. You can also just leave them whole, but they will take quite a bit longer to cook.

This is a pretty easy dish to make but it falls in the gourmet category so I don’t want to leave anything to chance or intimidate novice cooks.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil. Place your tomatillo halves flat side down. Roast them for 30 minutes or until the edges just barely begin to brown.

When they are done, take them out of the oven and transfer them to a blender. (Be very careful. They are hot).

Add to the blender the onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, chili powder and cayenne. Put the top on tightly. (When I am blending HOT liquids I always put a towel over the top and hold it down tightly with one hand while I turn the blender on LOW. Then turn it up to whiz the mixture til smooth).

Transfer the mixture to a sauce pan. Cook seven minutes on medium and then strain the sauce through a sieve. Toss out the solids but be sure to mash them against the strainer to get out as much liquid as possible first. You might have to do this in batches if it’s clogging your sieve.

Put the strained sauce in a sauce pan and add the cream and the broth. Gently boil the sauce on medium-high until it begins to thicken. This is still a pretty thin sauce but just boil it until you can see it’s got a thickened look to it.

While the sauce is working you can cook your chicken. Lightly spray a large sauté pan with olive oil. Add the thin chicken breast pieces. Season with sea salt and pepper. Then cook them on medium high until no pink remains. This will take about 3 minutes per side. (If the chicken is thicker this might take longer).

Put the chicken on the plate and top with three tablespoons of sauce per person. (In my case I roasted peppers and put them on the plate first. Then I topped them with the chicken and the sauce. You can do whatever veggies suit you. This kept my gourmet Mexican theme intact)

(See Roasted Red and Yellow Peppers recipe)

Roasted Red and Yellow Pepper Strips (SUPER EASY)

Serves 2 (can be doubled easily)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper

Cut the red and yellow pepper into strips about 1/4-inch wide. (If you are a novice cook, be sure to remove the stem, the seeds and cut off any white pith inside the pepper. The white stuff tastes bitter if you cook it. You just want red and yellow strips.

Put those strips in an oven proof pan. Spray lightly with olive oil and toss. Season with grated sea salt and pepper.

Roast at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the edges of the peppers just begin to brown. This cooking process makes the peppers mild and almost sweet.

Serving size: 1 cup per person.

You can make these in a large batch and store leftovers in the refrigerator. They reheat well and can travel well too. Eat them hot or cold.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola