I am starting this blog today once and for all. I actually set this up a few years ago, but never got around to actually writing on it. 2017 has been a wake up call. My mother has vascular dementia and recently has been admitted to a skilled nursing facility. She seems happy to be there and is enjoying the care and company of many people coming to check-in on her. What shocking to me is how quickly she has gone from a healthy, confident woman, to one that is in constant need of care. When thinking about her own health habits I really shouldn’t be that surprised. She smoked until she was 45 years old and drank alcohol often. She likes sweets a lot too.
What I’ve learned about my own health lately is that I am gluten intolerant, casein in cheese is not my friend and I need to eat basically only whole foods. This is a real struggle in the fast-paced, processed food world that we live in. I suspect my mother should be gluten and dairy free too. It may have help her with her own health, but she won’t listen to me about the connection between health and wellness.
So, today, with the blog, I am holding myself accountable to write down the foods I am making for myself and my family that are nutritious and promote health; not achey joints, tingling toes, and twitching thumbs to name a few of the very real symptoms that I have experienced over the past decade.
Simple is best. Whole foods that hopefully are not genetically modified. I truly think that may be why so many people I know have symptoms of autoimmune disorders and food allergies. Back to my original point to this post, I am making a simple chicken stew in the crock pot today with organic chicken tenders, Vidalia onions. carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, chicken broth, Himalayan salt, pepper, and thyme from our garden.
How does this all tie into spirituality, you might ask? I think food has a direct link to spirituality. Think of Jesus and the Last Supper. Jesus broke bread with his disciples and he said “take this bread and eat of it.” The Last Supper is a wonderful example of eating in communion with others and the healing effects of sitting down with others to share a meal.
Julie Schnieders 