Monday, June 4, 2012

Healthline.com supports the CCFA for IBD Awareness

Hi readers! I was recently contacted by some nice folks at Healthline.com and they have some exciting news to share. From May 16 to July 1, 2012 Healthline.com is teaming up with the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) to help raise money to find a cure. I checked out the Healthline website and they have general information on various conditions and illnesses such as Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis as well as interesting articles on healthy living and various other topics. If you're in need of some information, this is a pretty good place to start! I wish a site like this was around when I was newly diagnosed, it would've saved me hours of searching for answers on my own when I had no idea where to look! Please show your support by sending a donation. Even if its only a dollar you can spare, we'll be closer to a cure! (If you can be more generous, even better!) Hooray!

Crohn's Fundraiser

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Back from hiatus and changing the format

Hey dudes! I figured it was time to start blogging again. After a long hiatus, getting some life stuff straight, and thinking a lot about what to focus on, it was time to start doing something. So... here I am! When I started this project I didn't have a clear focus on what this was about. I thought I was a food blogger, simply because I liked food. Then I thought I was an Ulcerative Colitis blogger, but I hated reliving the bad moments of my life. Without a clear idea, this project ended up being way complicated than I thought. I lost my passion. I lost my focus. But I still wanted to do good and make a difference. The only way I knew how to approach it was slowly and to track my progress and somehow make it there. Even though I was confused, I did know what I did not want for myself. I don't want to be known as "sick girl", which is what I privately labeled myself for many years. It was the negative attitude and thoughts is what kept me from moving on. Ulcerative Colitis is still a very painful topic for me. I have had this illness for eight years and it still brings tears to my eyes when I think about how helpless I was. I'm not that person anymore. Its time to move on! I want my blog and videos to be about a lifestyle change. A shift on how to become positive and become your best self through positive thought, exercise, and balance despite all of the challenges (ehem... Ulerative Colitis). I'm going to share my journey on I'll get there! Let's go!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Before and After Peanut Butter Cookies

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family. We don't usually host Thanksgiving and end up traveling to extended family. So its always nice to bring a little something :)

It doesn't have to be something complicated at all! Sometimes the simplest recipes can make a big impression too! I have chosen Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. This recipe has a big flavor for a small cookie, and plus, you can easily double the recipe so there is more to share!

Your family will love you for bringing these cookies because they are small enough that you can sneak a couple into your mouth without anyone noticing. Hey, I know I'm not the only one who likes to pick at the food before its actually ready. Its hard to resist with all the savory Thanksgiving flavors wafting out of the kitchen.

What I like about this recipe is that its very quick and simple, so if you're running around doing a thousand errands, this is one of those recipes that can be made at the last minute and you probably have all of these ingredients in your kitchen.

I modified this recipe to follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The original recipe can be found here.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
prep time: 10 minutes / total time: 20 minutes

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey (I use less, about 1/3 or 1/2 a cup, because I don't like my desserts too sweet)
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.
2. Beat together peanut butter and honey in a large bowl with an
electric mixer until smooth.
3. Add beaten egg and baking soda to peanut butter mixture and beat
until well combined.
4. Roll 1 teaspoon of dough into a ball and place on cookie sheet.
5. Place dough balls one inch apart on cookie sheet and flatten with
tines of fork making a cross pattern.
6. Bake until puffed and a golden pale, about 10 minutes.
7. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 2 minutes and then transfer with
spatula to rack to cool.
8. May be kept in air tight container at room temperature for 5 days.
9. Makes about 2 dozen cookies

And if you have room for dessert, just have one of these cookies. You won't feel excluded when everyone else is eating ice cream. :)

Friday, November 19, 2010

Fernpixel: The Come-Back Kid?



Hey guys... I'm really sorry for disappearing on you. I've had to disappear for personal reasons. Hopefully this time around I'll come back bigger and better than ever. Thank you everyone for your patience during these difficult times. Now lets explore the blogsphere together!

Friday, August 20, 2010

The CCFA has an online "library"

Hi All!

I have something exciting to share! The CCFA contacted me with some amazing news! They now have an online library of their brochures which are free PDFs to download! I've attended a couple of public seminars in the past to see some speakers talk about different issues regarding people with Ulcerative Colitis. At the end of each session, they always have a lot of helpful reading material to take home. Since everyone isn't able to attend the meetings in person, its nice of the organization to make this information available to everyone online. And if you prefer the hard copies, they're willing to ship them to you if you request them. I think this is wonderful! And guess what! Its free!

The brochures range in topics from fact sheets on Ulcerative Colitis, Crohns Disease & IBD to specific aspects of living with such conditions such as diet, emotional factors, surgery, pregnancy, guides for teens & kids... you name it! Its probably there. I have a lot of reading to do! I'm definitely going to download them!

Many thanks to Ariella Levine and the CCFA for continuing to raise awareness and build this community with grace and understanding.

Please read the press release below for more details about the library and where to download the brochures:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America Expands Library of Patient Materials. Updated brochures offer the latest on Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis


New York, New York—August 20, 2010—New information on the diagnosis of, treatment for, and research on Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is rapidly growing. These chronic and often debilitating digestive diseases affect 1.4 million Americans. To help connect the Crohn’s and colitis community with this new information, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America has introduced a new brochure, Understanding IBD Medications and Side Effects; and has updated, Living with Crohn’s Disease; Living with Ulcerative Colitis; A Guide for Teachers and Other School Personnel; and A Guide for Parents.

“We are always looking for ways to introduce pertinent information to the public,” says Kimberly Frederick, Vice President of Patient & Professional Services at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. “With the help of our newest brochures, we hope to provide patients, caregivers, and family members with the latest on Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis so they can most effectively manage life and take charge of their disease.”

Understanding IBD Medications and Side Effects helps patients learn as much as possible about life with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and goes into depth on medications that control these diseases. Since Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are lifelong illnesses, treatment with medication is the first therapeutic option.

Living with Crohn’s Disease; Living with Ulcerative Colitis; A Guide for Teachers and Other School Personnel; and A Guide for Parents; were all recently updated to capture the latest information in disease management and treatment. Both Living with Crohn’s Disease and Living with Ulcerative Colitis offer information on the diseases and allow readers to really grasp the causes, symptoms, and side effects of living with Crohn’s and colitis. The brochures discuss establishing a patient-doctor relationship; commonly used medications; disease management; and more. A Guide for Teachers and Other School Personnel provides these role models with a basic understanding of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and describes some of the challenges that pediatric patients may experience on a daily basis. It provides teachers and other school personnel with strategies that they can use to help guide children with Crohn’s or colitis so that they can achieve their full academic potential. Key points about Crohn’s and colitis and what to expect is explored in A Guide for Parents. This brochure includes valuable information on lifestyle modifications Crohn’s and colitis patients and their parents may need to make, and how to maintain a progressive relationship with their child’s health care providers and school personnel.

In addition, translated Spanish versions of the Foundation’s flagship brochures, Living with Crohn’s Disease and Living with Ulcerative Colitis, are coming soon. To access the brochures online, visit http://www.ccfa.org/info/brochures/.

About Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are medically incurable illnesses that attack the digestive system. Crohn's disease may attack anywhere from the mouth to the anus, while ulcerative colitis inflames only the large intestine (colon). Symptoms may include abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, fever and weight loss. Many patients require hospitalization and surgery. These illnesses can cause severe complications, including colon cancer in patients with long-term disease. Some 1.4 million American adults and children suffer from Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, with as many as 150,000 under the age of 18. Most people develop the diseases between the ages of 15 and 35.

About the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's mission is to cure Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases. The Foundation ranks third among leading health non-profits in the percentage of expense devoted to research toward a cure, with more than 79 cents of every dollar the Foundation spends goes to mission-critical programs. The Foundation consistently meets the standards of organizations that monitor charities, including the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance (give.org) and the American Institute of Philanthropy (charitywatch.org). For more information, contact the Foundation at 800-932-2423 or visit www.ccfa.org. Join CCFA on Facebook at http://apps.facebook.com/supportccfa/ and follow CCFA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ccfa.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Ariella Levine
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
646-943-7430
alevine@ccfa.org

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Answers to Ask Fernpixel 7.15.10



Hey everyone!

For those of you just joining, sometimes I do something that's called "Ask Fernpixel". Its a freestyle Q&A that I started. Rather than asking any questions, I asked for questions regarding the topic of "friendship". Although I appreciate your enthusiasm, not a lot of them were about friendship. I still answered the non-related questions though. I don't mind so much, but I figured that over the past few weeks I was getting emails on to the topic, I decided to broaden the topic via this Q&A session. We'll try again next time :)

I hope you enjoyed this. These videos are fun to make.

and just in case you are wondering, the coconut cupcake recipe was adapted from Elana's Pantry. She has an amazing recipe for Coconut Cupcakes. It is gluten-free, but not specific carbohydrate diet legal. I just changed the sweetener and didn't add the icing. The cupcake batter was already sweet, so I didn't feel the need to add any icing.

If you liked the Q&A session but missed out, you can also ask me questions on Formspring.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

I'm back from England!



Hey Everyone! I've been back for a little while. Some of you may have known this if you follow my Twitter. Just in case you're just joining, I vacationed in England sometime in June. I've been super busy and exhausted. Most of my projects are out of the way and I just got back from a different location: Lazytown. haha! But fear not, I'm definitely back and I miss blogging dearly.

I'm having another cool Ask Fernpixel event! I was inspired by the recent flow of messages that I've received on the topic of friendship. So I'm here to answer your questions on what you think about how Ulcerative Colitis affects the friendships in your life. Please leave your questions on this blog entry or in the comment box of this YouTube video. I will be posting a video response to this topic on July 15th!

I'm planning on making an in-depth blog post about what I ate in England. So please stay tuned for that :)
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