the naME of the gaME

Having a chronic illness is something you’ll never get used to. You would think, because you’re dealing with it every day, you’ll know how it works. Uh-uh! You’re wrong! It’s like playing a board game, of which you don’t know the rules. And whilst playing, you’ll learn them. Or so you think. Because just at the moment you think you get it, the rules change. Just like that! You can’t blame anyone. You can’t leave the game. You’re right in the middle of it and you have to deal with it.

Yesterday was a good day. Note: a good day is a day where I don’t have to lie down for 2 hours after 1 hour of being in an upright position. On a good day I can lie down for 1 hour. So it’s one hour up, one hour down. Oh, I was so happy! And it was also the day, I would take my eldest daughter to the theatre. It was her birthday present and we had been looking forward to it.

Armed with earplugs (to minimize the stimuli) we went to the theatre at the end of our street. It was so wonderful to be in that atmosphere again! Being a former stage-performer, it was so good to see and feel it all again: the vibe, the music, the joy of the actors and the audience, the storyline….OMG! Once in a while a tear would creep up . Because with every applause I gave, every cheer I yelled, every laugh I laughed, I felt my body protesting. And that reminded me that I couldn’t join. Not on stage, and not even as a spectator. “Mum, then don’t applaude”, my daughter said caringly. So OK, I applauded softly. I also tried to laugh less….but that was just impossible.

It was a great show. Afterwards they opened the floor for a disco night, but we left. With a heavy heart, but hey: I knew the rules of the game, and If I went to bed straight away I would have a good day again tomorrow.

Today…total hangover. Totally overstimulated brain. Wobbly legs, muscles aching. Left eye hardly sees anything. Deadly exhausted. Light and sound just unbearable. What have I done? Didn’t I play it by the  rules? Apparantly not.

And so…another useless day. Laying in bed. Shutting out light and sounds..Waiting for it to get better. After three hours that’s the case, thank goodness. And I post this message. Before I have to rest from that exertion as well.

ME means you have to constantly adjust to the new rules of the game. And to accept that there’s no negotiating. It is the way it is….Or it isn’t. But that “is” too…Because I am where ME is…

Recipe: Italian Stir-fry with Zuchini and Spinach

*Pantry-cooking

*Quick, affordable, healthy and nice

Glutenfree, Sugarfree, Vegan, Guthealth

Ingredients for 4 persons:

1 clove of garlic

1 red or yellow bell pepper (paprika)

½ zucchini or 1 small one

1 small onion

1 carrot

Approx.. 5 sundried tomatoes

4 large handfull of spinach

1 handfull of cashew nuts or pine nuts

Italian herbs

Side dish:

Quinoa, (spelt-)couscous, rice, or (lentil-)pasta

Coconut oil for baking

Celtic Seasalt to the taste

If desired: grated cheese. For example: pecorino, gran Padano, or matured Gouda.

Let’s get cooking!

Prepare your favourite grains according to their instructions.

Shred garlic and onion. Cut all the other vegetables (except for the spinach) in small cubes or strips.

Heat a little coconut oil in your stir-fry pan and fry garlic and onion until they glaze. Add all the other veggies except for the spinach and the sundried tomatoes. Stir fry for approx.. 5 minutes. After 3 minutes, put in the nuts and fry with.

Add spinach and stir-fry untill it’s shrunken. Then add the tomatoes and the herbs and stir. Let it simmer for only a minute or two. Now you’re ready to go!

Serve with grains to your liking and add grated cheese on the plate. For vegans: add a little bit of coarse Celtic Seasalt.

Enjoy!

Mama Sanna

This recipe is made by Sanna Jonkhart for Whole and Healthy Mum

Ofcourse you can share, but please mention the source

More recipes? Check our blog on www.wholeandhealthymum.com

recipe: powerboost!

Green smoothie with the taste of autumn...

Autumn has really begun…This is the time of year when all of us are confronted with darkness. Darkness around us (grey clouds, rain, heavy winds, less hours of sunlight) often triggers the feelings of gloom and darkness inside us. Our body also responds to this change of energy: we get a cold or catch a case of the flue. This is all part of this time of the year: nature invites us to go “inside”: inside our houses, and inside ourselves….

In the Christian tradition, this time of the year is being accompanied by the Archangel St. Michael. He slayed the dragon (devil) and banned him out of Heaven. A beautiful metaphor for what’s going on inside of us: to find our inner balance (heaven) we sometimes have to slay a dragon (or two…or ten ;) ). When nature forces us to go inside, we are bound to come across some of our dragons: hidden way deep inside. They have been asleep all summer long, but now they pop up and challenge us to look them straight in their faces! What do you want to do about it?

Look at it, as an open invitation. You are the one who decides to clean up your old pain, anger or grief, or to leave it and sweep it under the carpet! Becoming a conscious, balanced person, involves taking responsibility and making choices on a conscious level. You are free to choose, but do decide!

These old pains can hamper you in your way to inner balance. And an imbalance keeps you from

St. Michael and the dragon
(photo: internet, source unknown)

being whole and healthy. Acknowledging that these old pains are there, to respect your feelings about them can already help to restore balance. Dragons that are not acknowledged will keep popping up when you least want them to. When you decide to face them, whether you clean them up or want to keep them, the balance is already so much better. If you do want to keep these old grudges, fears, pains or grievances, make sure you put them somewhere safe. That is: make a conscious choice to keep them and find a place for them in you heart or memories. And if you do decide to get rid of them, find help if you can not face these emotions or memories alone. You are not alone out there! Every person has their own battles to fight, their dragons to slay. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

For all of you, fighting spiritual and physical dragons, here’s a wonderful green smoothie that will boost up your immune-system and spirit. In loving honour of St. Michael…

Cheers!

Ingredients:

4 bananas

1 handful of red berries

½ handful of blue berries

1 figue

2 small apples or 1 bigger apple, preferably sour tasting

1 ripe pear (peeled)

½ avocado

½ handful of Goji berries, soaked overnight in spring water

dash of lemon juice

Goji berry water (where they soaked in) to taste

Cinnamon to taste (I used ½ tsp)

1 tablet of chlorella

Vitamin C, eq. 1500 mg in tablet or powder

½ TSP Mesquite

1 handful of spinach

1 handful of rapunzel/lamb’s lettuce

1 leave of chard

Blend really well. This will fix you 1 litre of goodness. I thrive on it the whole morning, but you can also share, of course! The taste is sweet and sour, just like this time of the year: the sourness of facing your demons, followed by the sweet aftertaste of victory when you found your inner balance. Namasté!

Sanna