Cookies and Cheesecake

What a busy last few days. Yesterday we had a breakfast sale benefiting the Integrative Medicine Club at school. I managed to pump out some granola bars, muffins, steel cut oatmeal, and iced green tea. And our VP made some amazing carrot applesauce muffins, oat bars, and trail mix bars. We did pretty well and I'm so thankful of everyone that came and donated. I really really appreciate it. The club was not very active last year and we are working hard to change that. We are really trying to get the word out about integrative medicine and get people interested in it. I cannot tell you how many people have asked me "What is Integrative Medicine?" It is a difficult question to answer, but I think it is very important as future physicians to be aware of it. Many patients embrace and practice some form of integrative medicine, and that means we need to be educated on it.

A lot of people consider integrative medicine synonymous with alternative medicine and have these visions of people trying to cure cancer by drinking an elixir of herbs or poking needles in their body. They see integrative medicine as just plants, acupuncture,mystical chanting, and a lot of hocus pocus. It's frustrating because integrative medicine is exactly what the name says: integrative. It is not an alternative to replace modern allopathic medicine. Rather, it works to combine other therapies to complement the modern treatment. I am in allopathic medical school, so of course I believe in modern drugs and published research. But I think there is a lot to say about items not .marketed by pharmaceutical companies.
I agree with the philosophy that doctors should work to treat the whole person rather than solely focusing on curing a disease. I think a lot of doctors and medical students have the mindset that drugs are the only answer to fixing a person, when in reality, many of the drugs we use today are derived from plant sources and have been staples in traditional practices for centuries. There is a view that taking some pills or injecting this drug will make you better. But what is wrong with adding an integrative approach and using supplemental treatments to help ease the pain? We live in a society now that makes it okay for a person to take 10 different pills in the morning and another dozen at night, this almost seems like the norm. It's like the iphone and apps: you have high cholesterol? there's a pill for that. you have hypertension? there's a pill for that. you have a headache? there's a pill for that too. Why don't we try to prevent these things before they even happen. Let's focus on nutrition to help your cholesterol, let's work on stress management techniques to prevent headaches, let's look at dietary supplements to help your hypertension. This is what integrative medicine is and that is what I want people to embrace.

And then there is the lingering image of Dr. Weil. My stance on him: I think he is a great public speaker and a great businessman. He says interesting things that I would like to learn more about. I think people should take his words with a grain of salt and use what he says as a beginning of a new learning experience. Not everything he says is true and not everything is says is a lie. I do respect that he has been able to introduce the field of integrative medicine to the public, but that has downsides as well. I haven't read any of his books, I don't take his vitamins, I don't use his face products, and I don't always follow his diet recommendations. But I do love True Food Kitchen, great restaurant. Those are my thoughts on him, take it or leave it.

Enough on my rant about integrative medicine. Let's get to the food. I was commissioned by JC to make dessert for a Societies get together. I have been eying this recipe for a while and now was the perfect time to finally try it out. As integrative and healthy as I try to be, these little guys are anything but healthy. But they are definitely very delicious. I am a huge fan of cookies and cream ice cream, so mini oreo cheesecakes sounded excellent. I have actually never attempted cheesecake before because I don't have a spring pan. These are so cute with the oreo cookie on the bottom and the cheesecake is perfectly rick and creamy. These go perfect with a nice cold glass of milk. They are so simple, yet so elegant. Just ask Brian how many he ate at the party and he can attest to how yummy these are!

Oreo Cheesecakes
from Handle the Heat

• 42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
• 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.