Well, this has been a year of doctors, surgery, tests and got the big news the other day.
The Big C.
I will be having surgery to remove it in a little over a week.The first thing the Doctor said was to drop a few pounds. That never hurts!
For several years now, I have followed friends who had special recipes for cancer patients and surprise surprise… you take sugar and carbs out of your diet. Life changing.
I decided to adapt a KETO diet for tips and also add Intermintent Fasting. Over the past few years I stopped eating pasta, breads and drinking. Nothing written in stone, but I felt better when I cut them out. So adapting to this way of eating wasn’t that big of a jump.
I miss potatoes and fruit the most.
Today I decided to make a layered meat casserole. First I was thinking to make an eggplant parmigiano and pump up the cheese to increase the protein, then remembered the delicious Moussaka I had when living in Greece back in the late 70’s.
I looked at a lot of recipes online and saw it didn’t take much to make it keto. Don’t add potatoes which the trattoria did where I worked in the Plaka in Athens and don’t use flour in a bechamel sauce. I used an Italian ricotta flan sort of recipe to top it off.
I simply oven roasted 2 eggplants and I made a simple meat sauce.
Ingredients
- Meat Sauce
- 1/2 pound 50/50 blend of pork and beef
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- Greek seasonings, oregano, dill and cinnamon with some salt.
- Layer it all and top with my ricotta sauce which I used instead of a bechamel sauce, which uses flour
- 2 eggplant,sliced
- My ricotta sauce :
- 250 gram- 1/2 pound tub of ricotta ( I could easily have used double the amount)
- 1/2 cup of grated parmigiano
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 egg
- nutmeg
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Brown the meat in a skillet with olive oil.
- Add in the chopped onion and the garlic and let cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce and let cook for 40 minutes
- Season with salt to taste and the herbs.
- Let cook for 40 minutes.
- While sauce is cooking, oven roast two eggplant sliced not too thick.
- Sprinkle them with salt and brush with oil.
- Roast until they change color and start to brown.Flip once while cooking.
- Make the ricotta sauce but simply mixing all the ingredients together.
- Start to layer.
- A spoon of the meat sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan
- Layer the eggplant.
- Cover with more meat sauce and then with more eggplant.
- Final layer is meat sauce.
- Make the Ricotta sauce and spoon and top and then spread with a spatula.
- Heat oven ro 350 and roast for 20 minutes or until golden.
Love to hear from people that have done the same.
Leave me comment.
If you make this tag me!
@divinacucina on instagram
or #divinacucina
Let’s do this!!!
Ciao, Judy,
You are not alone in this. We all hear and support you. You are doing all the right things to take care of yourself and have the strength to thrive now and after this speed bump.
Hope to see you sometime soon in Firenze.
Hugs,
Bob
thanks bob! would be lovely to see you here!
Judi you will ace this surgery. You have been cutting out all the right things. Good luck 🍀
Jennifer D’Auria
Hope your surgery goes well and that you have a speedy recovery!
grazie!
My best wishes for your full and quick recovery . A positive attitude backed up by sensible and healing nutrition is your greatest asset
Ciao Judy – hubbie diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in January 2016 a week after suffering a heartattack & subsequent angioplastico- has had all his treatments here in Florence at Careggi- he has been clean now for 4 years – great healthcare in Italy – he is a difficult case too as has diabetes. You sound ready to fight & we are all behind you 😘
thanks. my husband had cancer 5 years ago. he is clear now! I am going to the same hospital and am calm and ready for it. I found it early and its malignant, but non invasive!
Big hugs and good thoughts
All best wishes to you Judy. I’m looking forward to a celebratory recipe from you in quick time.
Hi Judy,
I started keto in august because nothing else worked for me. I have dropped 30 pounds and still at it so I am thrilled you are posting recipes for keyo.
I have been doing cancer research for 5 years at Duke University. A far cry from being a chocolatier. The advances are amazing but your attitude and perseverance counts a lot. I know you will come out stronger. Best Wishes for a quick recovery
thanks for checking in.. I can’t wait!!! 30 pounds would be perfect.. i want to be a thin old lady,not a fat one!
I’m so sorry Judy! Stay strong and positive! I’ve never had cancer, but for years I suffered from terrible, debilitating headaches and stomach problems but no doctor could tell me why. I finally figured it out myself. It was my diet, so I stopped eating carbs, sugar, red meat, some dairy, etc. Now I live on grilled & roasted veggies, salads, chicken, fish. I’m never hungry, and I feel great! Of course, I fall off the wagon now and then, occasionally on weekends and when I visit my beloved Italy, but for the most part I stick to this diet (some people know it as the Dash Diet). I also, without even trying, lost around 30 pounds over the course of a year – another bonus! Good luck to you. It might be hard at first, but you will begin to feel better and better, and that will be your motivation to stick with it. Praying for you and hoping very much we might meet some day in Firenze, as I love your teaching style and writing and am always amazed by your vast knowledge about Italy, food & cooking. Sending you warm wishes for good health!
Grazie!
Best wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery! You got this beat.
Prayers and blessings. You are in the best place. Italian health care is now #1 in the world, surpassing France.
Been there, done that, and keep in mind this too will pass! Look forward to the keto recipes and to seeing you again in Italy. Lori Faget
Sending prayers and healing thoughts your way for a successful surgery and full C-free recovery. Keep us posted when you can, but above all take good care of yourself. Un’abbraccio
🙏🙏
Sending you healing thoughts! Cutting out sugar is hard but necessary. I just don’t think this Italian could live without bread though 🥲 all the best ! Keep us posted 🙏🏼
I am not Italian… If Tuscan bread was a lovely sourdough like from San Francisco or a French baquette, then I would be missing something!
Hi Sweetie,
glad to hear about this positive transition to Keto and that our beloved Ricotta cheese is still in your repertoire! I have been on intermittent fasting since the beginning of Covid and it has done wonders for me. I’m glad they have found this early, it’s non invasive and your attitude is wonderful! Thanks for posting this to encourage yourself and others, we are all behind you- your peeps and tribe!! Sending love from Oaxaca to you and Andrea!!
Judy, I feel for you! Please keep your friends updated about your journey, so we can offer you comfort and encouragement.
You’ve already had good luck: The tumor was caught early. Now you’re serious about losing “a few pounds” in advance of surgery. You will succeed.
Trust your surgeon, and then you can relax. Wishing you an uneventful surgery and a speedy recovery!
Judy,
Being a cancer survivor and much older than you, I am sending you this message “You are fierce, you got this one!” Wishing you all the best, Dianne P
Sending you love and prayers for your recovery
Best of luck in your battle, and a speedy and complete recovery.
Hi Judy! Thinking of you non-stop! This looks like a very interesting way to replace a béchamel. I will prepare this along with you – got all the items on my shopping list today.