Getting Better

I know I am getting better with this whole loss, grief, and self-pity thing because I am cooking again.  I started with salads, because of the last couple of heat waves.  I have not had a salad as a meal since I met Ry.  For some reason we always ate salads, but only as an appetizer.  Ry always liked to eat more substantial, heartier meals.  Something Ry loved to eat that was super hearty was hot cereal.  He swore by it as a miracle cure for constipation and he ate it everyday during his cancer treatment since most of the medications he was on from the chemo to the morphine seemed to cause that very problem.  When he could not chew and so much trouble swallowing, he would still eat it, he just blended the heck out of it until it was liquified enough to be more easily consumed.

Although it worked great for him, I was a skeptic.  Oatmeal and other hot cereals alone just did not seem to work for me.  So when I finally went to my doctor to discuss my Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) problems (I have decided to start taking care of myself, and this particular problem I am becoming increasingly fed-up with) and she prescribed oatmeal for breakfast, I confess that I was disappointed.  Every backpacking trip I have ever been on we had oatmeal for breakfast, and I had rather inconsistent results.

Anyway, I started eating oatmeal with the addition of chia seeds, about 1 tablespoon full, and I think I can safely say that this is my miracle cure for my IBS.  Ry had me buy chia seeds last Fall because he loved that the seeds are so rich in omega-3’s and they are high in fiber.  I used the chia seeds because there was the open bag of them in the fridge and I thought, “Well, they are here and if I don’t use them I should throw them away.  They seem pretty healthy and they are lower in fat than flax.  I don’t want to waste them.  Maybe they will taste better than flax.”  You see, I think flax can sometimes taste fishy.  I have to admit that I was really uncertain about the chia seeds.  They get this slimy coating when wet and I was worried that would gross me out.  I found that the seeds will get that slime on them, but it totally works in hot cereal.  It kind of thickens the cereal while adding a bit of crunch.  It’s an odd yet pleasing texture.

Here is one of the ways I now make hot cereal:

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Uncooked instant gluten-free hot cereal with 1 tbsp of chia seeds

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Cooked cereal and chia with fresh berries, almond milk, and a dusting of maple sugar as a sweetener

If you think there are more seeds than cereal, I think you are correct.  I don’t care, those things work magic on a GI tract.  Maybe it’s the slime or the fiber or both, but I don’t want to question it too much.  It works.

By-the-way, that trip to Alaska I was thinking about, well I am on my way there for a 2 week adventure I know Ry would have loved.  I know he will be there with me and cheering me on, encouraging me to have fun and challenge myself every step of the way.

Quick tip for anyone with dysphagia issues and may have problems with food particles getting stuck in your throat or feeding tube:  I am not sure if chia seeds will go down so easily.  They are tiny and I am not certain if they can be broken down more with an ordinary blender.  There are some chia seed meals (a ground-up version) coming out on the market though.  I recently spotted some at my local Whole Foods.

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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.