Great Snack Ideas for CF Nutrition

These snacks taste great and are also high in calories, so try them out

1. Guacamole and Chips
2. Cheese and crackers or cheese sandwich
3. Peanut Butter (sandwich, cookies)
4. Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, cashews,almonds)
5. Nutella (Hazelnut spread) on crepes or crackers
6. Cheese sticks, jalepeno poppers, pizza puffs,fries
7. Caramel or chocolate dipped fruit
8. Cookies, brownies, chips, cheese nips
9. Chocolate bars 
10. Baked potato with butter and sour cream

These are only suggestions so please consult with your CF nutritionist to make sure these snacks are right for you.

Vacationing with CF

Palm tress, beaches, beautiful oceans, spectacular views, mountains, exotic animals, national parks, adventures, fun, parties, cultures, foods, etc are many of the phrases that describe great vacations. If you are like me, you probably enjoy taking vacations to relax and get away to adventurous locations. But let's face it, it is very difficult to take vacations with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and still have fun as the treatments and medications may be overwhelming. Well, I have some great suggestions that have worked for me in the past and will make your next vacation not only fun and enjoyable but CF accessible. If you plan your trip well then you will not have to do a lot of work to stay healthy on your trip and you will definitely enjoy yourself more.

TO DO BEFORE TRIP

1. When planning your trip , choose a location that works for your health meaning if you are fit to climb mountains go right ahead but if your lungs are too weak, perhaps you should take a beach vacation instead
   
2. During the planning, make sure the hotel that you plan to stay with will have working outlets, refrigerator, clean space, air conditioning, etc to allow for medication storage and proper treatments
3. Pack the appropriate amount of medications in a plastic bag for the duration of the vacation and keep them in your carry on. If the medication needs to be refrigerated, bring a cooler or ice packs. You may need to bring a note from the doctor if you are traveling out of the country to carry medications
4. I would also recommend bringing a list of your medications, allergies, important health information and insurance card in case of emergency in your wallet or purse.
5. If taking a trip outside of the U.S. or a very adventurous trip, consult with your CF doctor to make appropriate changes to your medications and treatment regimen

TO DO DURING THE TRIP

1. Make sure you take all your medications as you normally do so you do not get sick. Make sure to refrigerate medications, if needed, right when you get to the hotel
2. Write your treatment schedule into your daily itinerary meaning if you need to do breathing treatments twice daily then wake up early and do a treatment before you leave the hotel room and upon returning to your room at night, do another treatment. If you miss treatments, YOU WILL get congested and feel sick for the rest of the trip, so DO NOT SKIP treatments if you want to enjoy your trip
3. Take breaks during the day to relax and rest your body as traveling can be tiring at times for even normal people
4. Make sure you eat at least three full meals every day so you don't loose weight while you are running around and having fun
5. Enjoy your vacation to the fullest so it will relax you and help you heal faster all while keeping your CF under control. Easy does it.

As you can see with just a few planning steps , you can truly have a great vacation and be normal even with CF. So go out and have fun this year. Ciao!

Orzo Primavera

Ingredients:
Cooked Orzo Pasta (any pasta will do)
Frozen Mixed Vegetable
Chopped onion,bell peppers (any color)
Finely minced garlic and jalepeno pepper (optional)
Vegetable Oil
Sugar, Salt and Pepper, Pepper Flakes
Chopped cilantro
Preparations:
Take 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add as much of the onions, bell peppers, frozen mixed vegetables, garlic and jalepeno peppers as needed for the amount of pasta. Let the vegetables cook until they are cooked through; this should take 10-15 minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, add 1 tbsp of sugar to the mixture and mix well. Then mix in the cooked orzo pasta with the vegetables. Add some salt, black pepper and pepper flakes for heat. Mix everything well and serve with some chopped cilantro on the top for extra fragrance. Enjoy this easy pasta vegetarian or with any meat of your choice. It's very easy and delicious. Enjoy!

The Lovely Bones

THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold 

Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones is a well-crafted novel of how the rape and murder of fourteen year old Susie Salmon on December 6, 1973, changed the lives of her beloved family members and friends. Despite the ever-present pain, sadness, and frustration of never seeing Susie face-to-face on Earth, Susie’s family and friends begin to move forward from living a painful past after they receive the greatest gift of all: Susie’s love.

Susie’s love for her family, friends, and first crush is so powerful and full of life that her love reaches beyond the borders of heaven to her beloved on Earth. Through time, struggles, and supernatural events, Susie’s love unites her family and friends: “I knew one of the things that heaven meant. I had a choice, and it was not to divide my family in my heart” (154). 

Sebold’s mysteriously peaceful novel captures the power of a fourteen year old girl’s love for the living and reminds us all that our hearts are always where our treasures are.

Happy reading!
Seika K.

Have You Tried Edamami?

Have you tried Edamami? Soy beans, also known as EDAMAMI, are a great snack. They taste slightly nutty and delicious. You can find these pods in the frozen section of your supermarket. Just boil them in salted water for 15-20 minutes, drain and cool. Then enjoy them with a sprinkle of sea salt as an appetizer or a healthy snack. Edamamis are full of omega 3 fatty acids, protein, iron and lots of other great vitamins and nutrients essential for a healthy lifestyle. You can also use soy beans to make burgers or include them in your stir fry. I just love this snack. They are affordable , healthy and very easy to make. Try this 15 minute healthy snack the next time you feel hungry. Enjoy!

Top Ten Romantic Restaurants In Chicago

Make your reservations at one these fabulous spots for that special some one for Valentine's Day.

1. Signature Room: www.signatureroom.com
   
2. Gene and Georgetti's: www.geneandgeorgetti.com
   
3. Geja's Cafe: www.gejascafe.com
   
4. Tango Sur: www.tangosur.qpg.com
   
5. Mon Ami Gabi: www.monamigabi.com
   
6. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba: www.cafebabareeba.com
   
7. Murphy Mrs & Son's Irish Bistro: www.irishbistro.com
   
8. Rosebud: www.rosebudrestaurants.com
   
9. Park Grill: www.parkgrillchicago.com
   
10. Raj Darbar: www.rajdarbar.com
    

HELP my computer is messed up (Slow/Stuck/Etc.)

Well your super fast, thousand dollar computer system is running slower than computers you used ten years ago. That window is calling you and telling you it will be alright if you throw your computer through it. The "Geek Squad" wants to charge you and arm and a leg and $150 to look at and fix your computer plus any additional charges that they can't tell you of now cause they haven't looked at it yet. You have tons and tons of pictures and important documents on it that you are having trouble accessing and don't want to lose.

What a way to start off the New Year!

Fret not my friends cause help has arrived. First off take a deep breath and make sure you have a couple of hours to spare and a good book or movie before implementing my advice.

1. Try to make a backup of all important stuff you need from your computer. You can use a backup drive, memory stick, or even most ipods. Just plug in and then drag and drop your files into the device. If you can't cause your computer is so messed up then you are out of luck with all your old data unless you want to pay someone a lot of money to save it. Hopefully you have made backups somewhere.

2. You now need to restore your computer to original factory settings. Make it like it's brand new again. To do that go find your restore disks that came with the computer. Many newer computers do not have them go to step 5. If you lost the disks, call the manufacturer and order them. Some charge like around $20 and some don't.

3. Put in disk 1 and restart your computer. The instructions are pretty easy so just pay attention and follow them. * The most important choice you want to make if given the option, is to erase and reinstall or format and install or something like that.

4. Voila your computer is brand new again.

*5. Hidden Partition (No backup disk came with your computer). Different computer models might have slightly different variations of how to restore from the hidden partition which can usually be found out by calling them or doing a search on the internet. Keep in mind that it is possible for a virus to destroy the recovery partition. In this case you will have to call the manufacturer and order the restore cd. Below are 3 of the top ones.

HP/Compaq: HP PCs that ship with Microsoft Windows XP and Compaq Presario Desktop PCs made in spring of 2003 and later already come with a hidden preloaded recovery partition. This hidden partition can be used to recover all of the original software in the event of a major problem by pressing the F10 key repeatedly when the computer is first started and follow the steps.

Dell XP: Turn on the computer and when the Dell splash screen appears during the computer startup process, press and hold and then press . Then, release both keys at the same time. VISTA: Turn on the computer. As the computer starts, press on the keyboard until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen. select Repair Your Computer. Click Dell Factory Image Restore. Dell Restore Info

Gateway
System Recovery can launch Microsoft System Restore or allow the computer to restart into the System Recovery interface. To use System Recovery, follow these steps: From the Start menu, point to All Programs, System Recovery, and then click System Recovery. Note: If System Recovery is not listed, from the Start menu, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type: C:\Windows\Sminst\Start.exe /run. Click OK. In the System Recovery window, select the appropriate option.