Want to Reduce your Risk of Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Recurrence?
Maintaining an ideal body weight and active lifestyle is protective against breast cancer and/or breast cancer recurrence.
Whilst I'm obviously not at much risk of breast cancer myself, I try and practice what I preach. I'm not perfect. But as I get older (and hopefully wiser), I'm trying to improve my diet. I've also made a couple of big changes to my fitness regime in recent years.
Rather than donating my gym membership fees to Kew Recreation Centre, I now actually go! I actively participate on the gym floor, have joined the Running Group and love our Swim Squad sessions on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Apart from the obvious fitness benefits I see, it's been a great way to involve myself in the local community and I've made many friends.
What else? Breakfast. I have some! After morning workouts, I love a coffee and steel cut Bircher muesli (see recipe below). The recipe looks complex, but it only takes around five minutes to prepare a batch which lasts me through the week.
What are steel cut oats? Well the oat kernel is called a groat. The groat can be rolled (rolled oats) or cut. Steel cut oats take longer to cook when making porridge (ideally they should be soaked beforehand) and "steel cut" Bircher needs to be prepared the night before. That said, it creates a more delicate, nutty flavour and doesn't turn into slush; the steel cut oat holds it's texture better than it's rolled brothers and sisters. Also, the nutritional benefits are said to be greater.
Sounds expensive? Not necessarily. For those in Melbourne, I buy my oats at Terra Madre Organics in Northcote. I'm not really into health food stores, but this one is amazing - and reasonably priced. A kilogram of steel cut oats is only three or four dollars.
My Bircher Muesli
(Five minutes preparation time and will last a week in the fridge)
1.5 cups Steel Cut Oats
1 cup each Milk, Coconut Water and Apple Juice
Generous splash of Lime Juice, Chia Seeds and Goji Berries
Dried Cranberries for sweetness - as few or as many as you like!
1/2 cup roughly chopped Raw Macadamias and Almonds
1-2 grated Granny Smith Apples
Refrigerate overnight and serve with a sprinkling of Coconut Flakes +/- Yoghurt and Fruit. Yum!!