Cooking With A Dysautonomia.

[Ash]

So after getting sick my husband and I were eating a few too many frozen pizza's (which prior to getting sick if we had pizza it was a homemade one) so it has been a struggle for me to cook while being sick especially after a full day of working (which I am sure I am preaching to the choir on this topic )... but the last few months I have found a few things to help make cooking easier while staying healthy and thought I would share. I would also love to learn any tips any of you have as well : ) so if any of you are on Pinterest I am sure you have seen the freezer meal ideas...well I decided that would be a great thing to do, I mean spend four hours cooking for 28 or so meals easy right?...ummmm well not with POTS well at least for me. I decided one day I was going to tackle it all when I felt good, I barely made it through the grocery store, I am actually pretty sure that we wasted a lot of food that week since I was too tired to cook all the extra stuff I had bought.....so I have learned to well do my own thing. I work tues-Thursday so usually Monday (if I am feeling good) I do a few things to prepare for the three days I work, because come Thursday night I look like death!so Monday I make mason jar salads, some weeks if I feel good they have lots of yummy things, weeks I am maybe not feeling so great it is maybe just some salad dressing in the bottom of the jar, a few different types of veggies, some frozen Tyson chicken (I know not the healthiest option, but its quick) and lettuce, I make enough for my husband and I to grab for all three days, I also make a few over night oats in a jars to grab for breakfasts, or chia seed pudding and if feeling up to it will cut up some fruit and put it into a mason jar to also go into lunches...this isn't the whole lunch (well not for the hubby) so a lot of times I will try to make a sandwich to go along in his lunch the night before because in the morning I am lucky if I can make it through the shower...okay so for my freezer meals I am on a much smaller scale, if I am making say a pot roast, I will cut up enough veggies to fill 3 bags, so two will go in the freezer and one will be used during the week, some times I cut veggies and do a few different types of meals on a day I am feeling good, or if I am cooking dinner one night and am feeling good enough I will make a little extra to fill up a couple ziplock baggies for the freezer. I also have 10 little ziploc bags of banana chunks, some fruit that i had on hand when i made the baggies, and spinach all in one bag that I can pullout and just add some juice to, to make smoothies (its funny because before getting sick, it was nothing to throw together a smoothie before work, now i don't even have the energy to peel a banana) I have also learned that not every week we are going to eat healthy or homemade, some weeks I am entirely too tired to cook or make lunches and that is okay, but it has helped me a lot to have a few extra meals in the freezer to pull out and throw in the slow cooker or set out to dethaw and cook on the stove. I would love to hear any cooking or lifestyle tips you may have I am always looking for something to help make my day/week easier (oh I am also sorry about not having paragraphs, I still haven't figured out how to do that one yet )

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Hi Ash, great topic! I love the mason jar salad idea. Cooking is certainly a challenge. I am so blessed with a great hushand who has stepped up to the plate for me.

When it comes to shopping, if we can't go together, he will go for us. ( mostly he does it )

I try to make a weekly menu, and shop accordingly. Whatever I cook, I always make it for at least two meals, and one lunch for hubby.

Example: baked chic, and rice, and frozen veggies or salad. Prep time is only about 10-15 min. ( on bad day- instant rice)

The crock pot is also good. Plop raw meat in, out comes something great in 5-8 hrs.

For breakfast, I found a great recipe for " breakfast cookies" that I tweaked to make them healthy. Ten min prep, twelve min in oven, two wks breakfast.

Becau

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Sorry I messed up something. Still trying to get used to posting.

Just so you know, I also use my I pad for this, and I don't think there is anyway to space paragraphs. I've tried different thing to no avail. Maybe someone will come up with something.

[corina]

I've asked another moderator who uses an iPad but she doesn't know how to fix. Could it be somewhere in your settings?

Anyway, I got a stool on wheels (that can go up and down) to use in my kitchen. We also made our kitchen "Corina-proof" some years ago so that I can do the preparations while seated (have an awesome worktop to work on while using my stool on wheels), I can fill and unload the (new) dishwasher, I can do the cooking and use the oven and microwave all while seated. It's not that I actually do all that, but I can if I want to. We got rid of all high cupboards (raising my arms caused problems) which works great too!

We taught our kids how to cook at an early age (I think they started cooking under supervision at age 12) and both our boys like cooking now (now that IS a bonus!)

Happy cooking everyone!

[Joann]

For my daughter I cook a huge bunch of pancakes one day a week when I am feeling good. Then I put wax paper between them and freeze them. For school mornings they just need to be microwaved and she has a hot breakfast. I also try to cook something that will last us another meal. For example chicken one night with potatoes and veggies. The next day chicken can be added to a salad, or put into tacos. A roast can become a meat pie the next day and sometimes we eat the leftovers as is.

But we still fall back on take out or healthy frozen meals at times. Like tonight, my husband is out of town and I am feeling terrible. My daughter is having a friend over, which helps so they can entertain each other and I told them we would order pizza or subs because they can be delivered. Our intial plan was to go out to our favorite spot but I decided that wasn't the best idea.

[boymommy3]

This is a great topic because I have been having an absolute terrible time getting dinner on the table and if I can actually get it made there is no way I am cleaning because I am exhausted.

I use to do once-a-month cooking (pre-POTS) with a friend. Well, we actually did it for 6 weeks at a time. We did breakfast, lunch and dinners for 6 weeks! I can't do if for a day now!

My husband is great about going to the grocery store and he's been really good about helping with supper lately but I can tell he's a little frustrated with how things are right now. I makes me feel bad for him and me!

[Ash]

Thanks for all the tips

Mydoggylovesme2- I would love to try your healthy breakfast cookies, if you don't mind sharing

Corina- I love that your boys cook, I have already told my husband countless times that if we are ever blessed with boys, I am gonna make sure they all know how to cook it is such an important thing to know. I too use my kitchen stool but I am thinking after reading your comment I might have to switch it out for one that has wheels and can move up and down! I think that would be very handy.

Joann- I love the idea of making a batch of pancakes and freezing them. Do they reheat well? I agree despite all my efforts there are some weeks when it is all fast food and frozen meals, but it helps for me to know that at least on the weeks I feel semi okay that I am trying to be a little healthier

Boymommy3- it is great that your husband is helping some. I also used to tackle cook days with friends pre pots....and now with pots I have just slowly learned to adapt and make a couple extra bags of meals to go in the freezer when I cook on the days I feel good. If there is anything I have learned from being sick it is how to adapt well slightly anyways

[Joann]

Ash,

The pancakes taste like they were just made. I nuke them about 20 seconds on each side, if more is needed I will add another 10. I add mini chocolate chips to the batter. I know not very healthy, but hey I need to gain weight, so I will even add whipped cream to mine. My daughter is a pure maple syrup kind of girl (expensive tastes).

[Mydoggielovesme2]

Ash, sorry I did not see this sooner. Here is the recipe: Breakfast Cookies--- 1 1/2 cups wheat or oat flour ( or some of each), 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/4 tsp salt------- 2 tbs butter, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, 3 tbs raw sugar------- 1 egg, 1 carrot, 1/4 cup pumpkin or applesauce, 1 tsp vanilla------- 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup bran cereal flakes or rice crispier, 1/4 cup wheat germ (optional), 1/3 cup raisins or other dried fruit( optional) 1/3 cup walnuts( optional).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in bowl. In food processor place carrot, process until almost liquid, and butter, oil, sugars, egg, pumpkin, and vanilla. Process. Gradually add dry ingredients. Dough will be slightly sticky. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, or just spray with Pam spray. Use 3 to 4 tbs of batter for each cookie. Flatten cookie dough down. Bake 12-15 minutes, until fragrant but still soft. Cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy! ( sorry this is all bunched up. I'm on a I pad, and can't do paragraphs.

[Ash]

Thanks Joann for the info I tried it and it worked great thank you for the recipe mydoggielovesme2 I have it written down and plan on making them as soon as I get a little energy. And don't worry about the spaces I am on an iPad too, and even though it will show spaces as I type it bunches it all up when I submit it, thus my excessive use of smiley faces to help break things up

[bebe127]

Ash,

I too, like mydoggie, am blessed with a wonderful husband that has stepped up to the plate. Quite frankly, he has taken over the kitchen!! I really think he just wants me to save my "spoons" for him Anywho, he usually cooks meals over the weekend, sometimes I help and sometimes the kids help him. He usually makes about 4 meals that can be divided in half either before cooking or after. He freezes what's left for another night. He meal plans too and does all the grocery shopping. On today's menu is pork stew. He usually makes one pot meals and puts them on the stove in the morning before leaving for work and I just have to stir throughout the day. If it is something that needs to be baked, I just take it out in the afternoon and bake it.

While I am so thankful and grateful that he does this for me and the family, I can't help but miss working in the kitchen. I do however sometimes cook, just rarely these days. I can make some mean mini banana muffins though