Darla Nagel
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Lightening the Shadow

Easy Dairy-Free Baking Recipes Tried for 2021

5/3/2021

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Can you bake on a dairy-free diet? Can you bake on a vegan diet? Yes and yes. Baked goods will still turn out without eggs and milk with a few substitutions. Here are three recipes I’ve made a few times: cranberry orange muffins, maple granola, and unbelievably vegan brownies.

Cranberry Orange Muffins (Vegan)
Makes 6 jumbo muffins. Adapted from Healthy Living Market.
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2/3 cup sugar (or a mix of granulated sweetener and sugar)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1/3 cup applesauce with 1 Tbsp oil
  • 2 Tbsp orange zest
  • 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1.5 cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped (or 1 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup diced orange)
Heat oven to 375. In large bowl, mix dry ingredients (except cranberries). Make a well in the center and add liquid ingredients. Mix just until wet ingredients are moistened. About halfway through mixing add the cranberries.
Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake 23-25 minutes, until lightly browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Maple Granola (Vegan)
Makes 8 cups. From Cookie and Kate.
  • 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free granola)
  • 1 ½ cup raw nuts and/or seeds (I used 1 cup pecans and ½ cup pepitas)
  • 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (if you’re using standard table salt, scale back to ¾ teaspoon)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
  • ½ cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Later:
  • ⅔ cup dried fruit, chopped if large (I used dried cranberries)
  • Totally optional additional mix-ins: ½ cup chocolate chips or coconut flakes

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and/or seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
  3. Pour in the oil, maple syrup and/or honey and vanilla. Mix well, until every oat and nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan and use a large spoon to spread it in an even layer.
  4. Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway (for extra-clumpy granola, press the stirred granola down with your spatula to create a more even layer). The granola will further crisp up as it cools.
  5. Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed (at least 45 minutes). Top with the dried fruit (and optional chocolate chips, if using). Break the granola into pieces with your hands if you want to retain big chunks, or stir it around with a spoon if you don’t want extra-clumpy granola.
  6. Store the granola in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks, or in a sealed freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. The dried fruit can freeze solid, so let it warm to room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

American Girl Brownies (Yes, Vegan!)
Yes, they’re soft in the middle! Makes a 13 x 9 pan. Adapted from American Girl.
 
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1.5 cups sugar (or a mix of granulated sweetener and sugar)
  • 1 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 T baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup oil
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup dairy-free milk (unsweetened)
  • 1 T vanilla
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
 
Heat oven to 350. Whisk dry and wet ingredients separately, and then put the dry into the wet. Mix until just combined. Fold in chips. Pour into greased pan. Bake 34-36 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
 
Why do I care about vegan baking? The reasons are both for health and the environment.


Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Melissa Blake Is a Model for Disability Advocacy

4/5/2021

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Melissa Blake’s disability is visible, and so is her pride about it on social media. An Illinois resident living with a genetic bone and muscular disorder, she has made her voice heard in publications such as Psychology Today, the Chicago Tribune, and HealthyWomen as well as her blog, So About What I Said. Her core message is simple: listen to people with disabilities. Blake sees that as the way past ableism. As she wrote in HealthyWomen this year, “My hope for a brighter, less ableist future is the reason I continue to be so visible and vocal, especially on social media.” She is an honest, down-to-earth woman with a love of TV and pop music. She is a true friend to the disability community.

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Where Can I Send Cards to Patients? A Card Swap

3/12/2021

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Since July I have been involved with the monthly Chronic Warrior Card Swap, in which people with chronic illnesses send one card to a recipient whose name and address are emailed to them. I enjoy making cards and brightening people's days, so this is a win-win for me. I always include an uplifting handwritten message in my cards. Then again, with these recipients, store-bought or printed-off cards are welcome as well. We have some understanding of the difficulties of daily life with illness. There are backup systems in place if you're not able to send a card in a given month.

​This card swap is an easy way to help and meet other patients. It's not a chain letter system. I recommend joining. Get started by visiting ChronicWarriorCollective.com.
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Don't Let the World Weigh You Down

3/4/2021

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Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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What’s the Point of Illness Memoirs? A Review

2/19/2021

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I read an article that is part reflection on the cultural or philosophical purpose of illness memoirs and part review of What Doesn’t Kill You: A Life With Chronic Illness by Tessa Millerby. The article, “The Consolation of the Illness Memoir” by Anna Altman at The New Republic, caught my attention as the author of an illness memoir. Some intriguing quotes from the article:
  • “They each have to navigate an extortionate, elaborate, and emotionally draining private health care system. Miller connects her own experience to the American health care industry as a whole, from a several-billion-dollar wellness industry peddling dubious cures and therapies to a medical system in which doctors typically give their patients 11 seconds to explain their symptoms before they interrupt them.”
  • “‘Chronically ill people grieve two versions of ourselves: The people we were before we got sick and the future, healthy versions that don’t exist (or, at least, look much different from what we’d imagined),’ [Miller] writes. She introduces the idea of ‘ambiguous loss’ a type of grief that arises when there is no clear outcome. That ambiguity, Miller acknowledges, can prevent resolution.”
  • “Whether because there are so many different diseases and conditions without a unifying experience, or due to our inability to truly understand another body’s experience of pain, the fact that millions of people in the United States live with chronic illness, many of them invisible, remains opaque in our cultural imagination.”

The article’s author notes that she has chronic migraine. Even if illness memoirs so far have failed to revolutionize American health care and cultural treatment of people with chronic illnesses, I believe the books are well worth writing and reading, for the benefit of patients and those closest enough to them to truly listen. Have you written one? If so, let me know, and I'll read it!

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Best New Hand Warmers of 2021

2/1/2021

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As a person with Reynaud’s disease, I frequently try new ways of warming my fingers and toes. The two solutions I’ve tried this year are affordable (and available in pink, among other colors). I detest that they’re made in China instead of the USA but like their effectiveness enough to share them with others with cold fingers.

AmazonBasics Desktop Space Heater
This ceramic 6 x 6 x 3 space heater heats fast and well when aimed at my right hand. With only one button, it’s the easiest space heater to operate. It’s just heavy enough not to tip over and just loud enough to prompt me to turn it off during video calls. It cost me $26 on Amazon in January 2021.

Beskar Hand Warmer
I’ve managed to get this hand warmer to work for 7.5 hours (1 hour on medium and the rest on low) before recharge, which is longer than any electric hand warmer I’ve had. It’s easy to operate and a little larger than many other models. It cost me $25 on Amazon in January 2021.

See a previous review of warming products here: https://www.darlanagel.com/blog/winter-warmer-product-reviews-for-feet-and-hands.
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Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Why to Hire People with Disabilities (and Retain Disabled Employees)

1/22/2021

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Companies shouldn’t hesitate to hire qualified job candidates who have disabilities or chronic illnesses. These employees, overall, strive not to be burdens but instead to succeed. They are used to solving problems related to access, inclusion, and productivity, often in creative ways or with a team. See how many useful soft skills are mentioned in that sentence? Imagine the increased profits that could be realized through just one employee with these skills and work ethic. Disabled employees have plenty to offer, so offer them the job!

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Should We Use Person-First Language among the Disabled?

1/6/2021

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My first-ever blog post promoted person-first language when discussing people with disabilities, but some disabled people are advocating for identity-first language. We can embrace our disabilities as part of our identities in this way. It’s important to ask the people, when possible, the language they prefer to be used to describe them. If you’re curious about the reasons for the recent resurgence in identity-first language, here’s a summary of “Yes, You Can Call Me Disabled” by Anjali J. Forber-Platt, assistant professor at Vanderbilt University.
 
Disability can be something to be proud of, but person-first language minimizes that point of pride. This pride could lead to positive changes for disabled people, such as improved access to resources and higher employment rates in more rewarding careers (thanks to reasonable accommodations). Forber-Platt says, “Intentional avoidance of the term disability sends the message that there’s something inherently negative or bad about having a disability. And disabled people are tired of non-disabled people telling us what they think is best for us.”

Watch for further discussion of the benefits of hiring disabled employees in a future post.


Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Reasons to Celebrate This Month

12/21/2020

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We did it! We made it through 2020! We did what it took to keep one another safe and stayed alive. We’re ready for 2020 to be over and a bit apprehensive about 2021, but we’re all here. That is worth celebrating.

Christmas is worth celebrating, too, even if it’s by ourselves where we live. Jesus came to this earth and did what we could not do: lived a perfect life, then gave up his life for the forgiveness of all our sins. Through him we have eternal, perfect life in heaven!

The news can’t get any better than that! Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Christmas
Photo: JLS Photography - Alaska, Flickr Creative Commons

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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Book Review for Healthy Eaters November 2020

11/14/2020

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Did you know a plant-based diet could decrease cancer risk by 13% and heart disease risk by 20%? Did you know animal agriculture causes even more greenhouse gasses than all forms of transportation combined? These are just two statistical findings reported in OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program by Suzy Cameron, wife of screenwriter and director James Cameron. While the bulk of this book reports the environmental and health benefits of eating more plant-based (aka vegan) meals, there are also personal anecdotes of the pleasures of eating this way and recipes. An alternative title for this book would be “No More Beef.” Some subtle promotion of the school the author founded is included but does not detract from the message of the book. Unlike other vegan lifestyle books I’ve read, this one doesn’t pressure you to become 100% vegan but strongly encourages changing just one meal per day. That is a very doable change, especially with Cameron’s product recommendations and suggested meal plan.

Without knowing about this book, I began making my breakfasts and often my lunches vegan in February. I remain committed to eating one vegan meal per day. Although I haven’t noticed any obvious health improvements from this approach, my body is prone not to recognize what’s good for it (thanks to a case of ME/CFS). Plus, I trust the benefits will be seen later in life when I have fewer age-related conditions, such as heart disease. I also like not worrying as much about the maltreatment of animals that I’m encouraging by consuming their products or worrying as much about my impact on greenhouse gasses and water consumption.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in taking a small yet powerful step to improve their health and the environment. 
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Photo: Stefano Corso, Flickr Creative Commons

Darla Nagel is a biomedical copy editor who has an invisible chronic illness. She wants to educate healthcare professionals and encourage patients. If you want to receive quarterly updates from her, email darla.nagel{a}gmail.com.
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    Author:
    ​Darla Nagel

    Darla copyedits biomedical research and writes natural health magazine articles while living with an invisible chronic illness. She has a big appetite for chocolate despite being a health nut.

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