Meet Fluffy Chix Cook's Up-coming Guest Bloggers!

The lymphedema saga continues and Fluffy Chix Cook is pleased to announce the theme of this treatment round #3 for our little Susie T. Gibbs is, “I get by with a great deal of help from my lchf, keto, paleo and primal friends!” So in advance, we thank each and every one of you who responded to Susie T’s open invitation to guest-blog aka guest-post. And here are some of the Guest-Bloggers you can expect in the coming 4-6 weeks at Fluffy Chix Cook. And, there might be more guest bloggers to come!

Now Accepting Applications for Volunteer Guest Blogging Posts For the Next 5 Weeks!

Fluffy Susie T. with her lovely 24/7/30 companion--
aka lymphedema bandages.

This is what I get to do the next 4-5 weeks, 24/7. It's called manual lymph drainage (massage) and lymphedema wrappings. As you can imagine, it's extremely difficult to maneuver around the kitchen and takes even longer to type one-handed--or rather, 1 handed and 1 pointer-finger. So this is an opportunity and a favor I'm requesting, from all my buddies in the blogosphere! Lymphedema is a huge inconvenience and takes life-long attention, but I am blessed that the surgeons were able to get all the nodes out of my left arm, because there were 14 of the little bastages out of 34 that had active cancer in them, and they've given me a longer life. Sure it has it's moments, but I live to love my family and friends and I'll take that.

Mashed Cauliflower, Rutabaga and Turnips – 2 Ways

Low carb winter mash gives starchy potatoes the heave “hoe”!

Roasted Winter Mash - Low carb roasted cauliflower,
rutabaga and turnips by any other name is perfect with
creamed gravy and low carb Wienerschnitzel.

Fall is upon us all and you know what that means, doncha? (Well, except for us…we're in coastal Texas, remember? We're still locked in summer's death grip and 90 degree weather.) But for most of the country, fall is synonymous with soups and stews, and crock pot roasts and slowly baked meats of all kinds, and pan gravies and well, umami out the ying yang!

Comfort food dude and dudette! 

Fall = Comfort Food

And before we know it, Thanksgiving will be upon us and everyone will be scrambling to decide the side dishes that let’s face it ARE the stars of the really big Thanksgiving Show.

I figured we could get started early with a few Thanksgiving sides and Fall/Winter Classics that will free you from the demon starch monster – ol’ Idaho Ike himself, the tyrannical potato. I don’t know how many low carbers’dreams have been squelched by falling off the low carb wagon and having those rusty wagon wheels

Eating to Beat Breast Cancer - Part 2 and 3 of a 3 Part Series is Up at CarbSmart

Nutritious and delicious bone broth a la Dr. Mary Enig
and Sally Fallon was one of the items I ate while undergoing
treatment for Stage IIIC Breast Cancer.

Whooooooo doggey. Seems like I'm always apologizin' for bein' away. I leave you guys sittin' there wonderin', "Why don't she write?"

You'd be forgiven for thinking I mighta gotten shot by an arrow and fell dead, plumb off my wagon as I was headin' west - like that poor fellow in Dances With Wolves. But I haven't. Sadly, my time at the puter is limited these days as is time in the kitchen. I have to rebuild the muscles in my back because they get very fatigued, which sets off a huge storm of pain.

You see, I had my angels' wings clipped as part of the reconstruction surgery 1 of 3-4 on Ginger and Mary Ann 2.0. Smaller, stronger, perkier and best yet, the replacement pair are not supposed to conspire to kill me like the original pair tried to do last year.

WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!
Graphic images of angel wingectomy (Latissimus Dorsi Flap Procedure) ahead. Look away if you can! I cannot be responsible for makin' you hurl.

Eating To Beat Breast Cancer _ Part I of 3 at CarbSmart Magazine

Happy October everyone. I pray that fall finds you hail and hearty and firmly in the Group of 7.

What is the Group of 7, you ask?

Well, the latest facts and figures on breast cancer indicate that 1 out of every 8 women will be intimately affected by breast cancer in their lifetime. 1 of every 8 will hear, "I'm sorry, you have breast cancer."

I invite all of you to join me over at CarbSmart for the three part series Eating to Beat Breast Cancer. You'll learn that having cancer is no easy feat. You must learn an entirely new language as quickly as possible in order to make treatment decisions and understand odds and outcomes. You're faced with conflicting information everywhere you turn. And you have no idea if you should be juicing or going vegan or eating low fat or do you gamble on low carb nutrition.

It's confusing and scary and maybe one of the most ghoulishly garish (hat tip to Halloween) trips you will ever take if you are that unfortunate 8th woman out (or man, since men are a quickly growing breast cancer population).

Join me please for the October Breast Cancer Awareness month. Remember to Coppafeel at the same time, ok?

I do wish I had a donate button on the site. I would like to collect and contribute toward funding nutritional studies. Maybe next year...

I hope to be back here soon with a tempting fall treat - Poor Man's Beef Stroganoff with Buttery Cabbage Noodles.

Yummy!

What a Difference a Year Makes! Breast Cancer 0 - Survivors 1





October 2, 2012 Update

What a difference a year makes. This pic
was taken in September 2011. Knee deep
in the middle of chemo. Bald, no eyebrows,
all my upper lashes gone. Oh my. I
was starin' down the barrel of a double
mastectomy loomin' on the horizon.

One week ago today at this very moment, I was listening to Pink Floyd playing Comfortably Numb over the OR's airwaves and floating on a cloud of phentanyl-induced euphoria.

I'd arrived at the hospital at 5:30am and had spent the early morning stressing about how I would possibly make it through a surgery where a large amount of the surgical time would be spent with my ginormous Texas behonkus face up in the air as the surgeons removed the donor flaps from both of my lower shoulder blades.

Luckily I have no memory of them flipping me over, nor of said behonkus hangin in the air, large and in charge. The surgeons assured me that what happens in the OR stays in the OR.

The surgery went very well. I can't say enough about the professionalism and compassion of my surgical team, anesthesia team and all the health care professionals who were part of my care. I was able to leave on Friday and probably could have come home Thursday, except my family care team felt like I needed an extra night of great pain meds in order to spare their sanity.

I've had wonderful family help. The patience of my sweet sissy Khakki and my gracious Denny approaches saint-hood. My other sissy Nannie has also been a god-send and has patiently applied love and solace with equal stint. I truly don't know how I would have managed without their love and support. Khakki and Denny have taken turns with 3am "feedings". That's code for 3am pain med time where they have to get me out of the deep recesses of the recliner chair and help me to the potty and then help reposition drains and dressings.Finally, returning me to the recliner and settling me in for the next 4 hours.

I can't report yet on the status of Second Base. I'm pretty sure Team Save Second Base were victorious. I just haven't seen the "new girls on the block" yet in order to report. I do know that I have two speed bumps between my shoulders and navel and so am hopeful!

The prayers from many sectors, including my online family have also helped so much! Thank you! Each and every one of you who have offered prayers on my behalf - thanks to you and thanks be to God. Without God at the helm, I have no doubt things would have been completely different. In total, things have gone amazingly well and I look forward to seeing the doc tomorrow and having a few of the eight drains removed.

I look forward to getting back to business next week some time and giving you a new recipe of tempting low carb fare.

Thanks for sticking around and checking in!

MUAH!

********************************************


I thought very hard about whether to interrupt the regularly scheduled program to put something non-food related on the front page again. (I don't count giving you updates about articles being published elsewhere, because those too are usually food related or diet related.)

But I'm going to be away for a few days. Don't know exactly how long. I'm having the first of 3 or 4 breast reconstruction surgeries on Tuesday morning. Many of you already know this from hints that have been dropped or comments from Facebook, so it won't be a big surprise. But a few of you may not know this and may wonder about my absence.

In fact, this month as I've prepared to be away for surgery and recovery time, I've been very slow to post new blog posts. I generally try to get up 6-8 new posts a month or more sometimes! Apologies for leavin' ya hangin'!

Here's hopin' for more fun and yummy low carb recipes soon! I just didn't want any of you wanderin' away or sittin' there worried say, "Why don't she write?"

Prayers and well-wishes appreciated!!!

Leading Low Carb Guide, Carb Smart Magazine Makes SusieT a Contributing Writer

Hey y’all! Watch this!

Fluffy Chix watching this...

I believe Jeff Foxworthy described that command as, "The last words you most often hear comin’ out of a redneck’s mouth." (Ahem, you might be surprised to hear this, but Texas has our fair share of rednecks, and quite a few still perch on the limbs of my family tree…) 

In Texas, you hear those words a lot. I mean a lot. A LOT! In fact, you hear those words from Fluffy Chix Cook, a lot!

You also hear me say, “This is a true story.” Cuz right before a Texan is apt to tell a tall tale, he or she will preface it by informing you in solemn honesty, "This is a true story. I 'Caint' - Texan for 'can't' - MAKE this stuff up!"

But, it is.

A true story. Swearsies.

Hand to heart, I just up and wrote Dana Carpender one day! Yep, just up and wrote her. Turns out you increase your odds of success by asking. You should write that down. It’s important. (Oh, I’ll get to what I asked soon…be patient!)

Home From The War

My new luxurious growth of curly black 'n white hair!

Hi Honey, I’m home! Sorry to be MIA for so very long! I simply can’t believe my last post was in October. Thank you for your patience and hope some of you have remained followers despite my reprehensible lack of upkeep here at Fluffy Chix!


I wanted to title this post, “What’s Black ‘n’ White and Red All Over?” (In honor of my salt & pepper locks and the radiation burns left on Ginger’s remains. Just look at that picture! I have little tiny hairs growin’ out mah head, my eyebrows and eyelashes are growing in again, too! Praise God!)

D Day or Should I say De-B Day Is Upon Me!

A few of you astute readers may have recognized that I have been conspicuous by my absence!?! I thought I could do it all: have breast cancer, go through chemo, work as much as my body lets me, deal with complications from chemo (i.e. infection), run this blog, and have a life. Sheesh! What's a girl to do, I ask you? I apparently dropped more than a few balls

Fat, Dumb, And Bald

Is no way to go through life, or so Dean Wormer says in Animal House



This is as much skin as the WPP (Witless Protection Program)
allows me to show. Funny, even though I have her haircut,
I still don't look like Sinead O'Connor. Wahhh.

 Ok. Enough!!! Let the veil of silence be shattered! Time for an update. And a recipe.

No. Recipes will have to wait till I don't feel like hurling toes or blowing chunks.

Update will have to do for now. Please continue your patience for a day or two longer?

Well, so here's the poop.

Breast Cancer

Sorry to everyone to be less than current on posts.

I've had some unexpected test results come in and it looks like I'm going to be battling breast cancer in the future months. I don't mind telling you that fear has me in its nasty grip and I'm up and down faster than a rollercoaster.

Waiting to get into the doctors and see what they have to say and how they want to attack this beast. And I can truthfully tell you its the wait of my life. I'm not feeling very motivated to work or post right now. What little sleep I'm getting leaves me in a state of unrest, anxiety and exhaustion.

So sorry to let you all down and hope you will hang in there for a bit and let me get my sea-legs with all of this news. I believe I will be posting more than ever once I find balance. I believe in the way I'm eating (well maybe "brown" will have to take a bit of a back seat in favor of green, but I believe I will still pursue a low carb way of life and will still pursue fats in favor of carbs and excessive proteins).

I will be back in touch soon to post a new flavor packed, sassy, Texan thread.

Blessings all around!