From time to time, we all get sick. Some of us don't notice at all while others become totally bed-ridden. Sadly, there are many people who suddenly discover they have a disorder that isn't going away. If you already have a supportive family then you likely came here for just one or two tips.If you are like most people, your family or friends are completely in denial and either can't or won't help out. I am here to tell you, not matter what your situation, it is not your fault.Yes, we all have things we could have done differently but feeling guilty and blaming yourself is a waste of energy during a time when you need all the energy you have to help your family and yourself. In this blog, I will share a few tips to help you ask for help as well as become more self-sufficient in the area of home meal preparation. First, I will share my tips for how to do things on your own.
You need to start by recognizing how much you can do right now. Do you just have a tickle in your throat, do you already feel sick or are you totally wiped out? No matter which stage of illness you are in, you want to create a menu. You may need to order some delivery food this one time in order to have time for this. Do not stress yourself out or shoot too high. Simply list the days of the week down one side of your paper, leaving room for notes. Across the top of the paper, list "breakfast", "lunch", "dinner" and "snacks".
Starting with dinner, list the 3 easiest dinners for you to make. By "easy" I mean you've made it several times so you are an expert. Also, these meals should take 30minutes or less to prepare and 45 minutes or less to cook. That takes care of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. For Thursday, Friday and Saturday, list the same three meals but change one major ingredient in each meal. For example, let's say you listed spaghetti with Swedish meatballs for Monday. You would list spaghetti again for Thursday and write "turkey" meatballs or "tomato meat sauce" as an alternative to the original Swedish meatballs. In place of spaghetti noodles, consider bow tie pasta or even risotto.
Sunday will be left over day or take-out day if your budget allows. That is the easiest way to make sure you have a meal planned for you kids and / or significant other. If they are the type who demand extravigant variety well, just remind them you are not feeling well and this is a time to practice patience, gratitude and
generosity with their time.
Moving on to lunch is even easier than dinner. Just ask yourself: "Do I need my kids to fall asleep and take a nap after lunch or will my kids be helping around the house/going out to play after lunch?" If your answer is nap time, fill the week with items like dumpling soup and brown rice with fish. If your answer is work, then give them energizing foods like spinach salads with figs and sunflower seeds.
Next on your menu is breakfast. Breakfast can be the same thing. Again, you are trying to conserve energy, there is no need to wake up each morning and pressure yourself to make a perfect breakfast. For variety, just change simple things like oatmeal toppings or the drink you choose to go with it. For instance, Monday will be strawberries, Tuesday will be cinnamon. Monday will be skim milk and Tuesday will be lemon water. That takes care of what you write down on paper. Coming up soon is organization and how to plan ahead for two weeks. But for now: energy level.
Lets say you are wiped out and all you can do is muster the strength to make your menu.Well, put the list down and call someone for help with this next part. Hopefully you have already seen a doctor and you know what your limitations are as specified by a physician. This next part will require you, or your helper, to use large pots and as many zip lock or hefty food containers as you can fit on the bottom shelves of your refrigerator. It also helps to have a deep freezer or ask your family or neighbors who don't have kids if you can borrow the extra space in their personal freezers. I think most people fail to plan ahead for things like illness, childbirth, operations and long trips due to a lack of space to keep all the extra food. So, please take advantage of which ever technique works best for you.
Check your menu, look for all the staple grains (Whatever you will need the most of) like pasta, rice and quinaoi. Cook enough plain, unseasoned grains for your whole family for the total number of days you will need it within the next two weeks. Store in the largest containers you have on the second-to-bottom shelf of your fridge. It should not matter if the containers are clear or opaque. As long as there are lids, you can label them so you don't forget what's inside. The hefty sandwich size boxes with the snapping lids are really great for portioning out raw meat and dairy. This week's meat should go on the bottom shelf to avoid contamination. Next week's meat can go in the freezer (with labels). The top shelf is reserved for milk, cheese and other dairy products that don't fit in the door.
Check your menu again, this time looking at all fresh vegetables you will need. Soak, wash, peel, slice and chop all the veggies you will need for the next week to two weeks and place in large salad bowls while you get out your zip lock bags. Use large freezer bags for veggies that won't get ruined in the freezer i.e. corn, lentils, brocoli and squash. Also, use freezer bags for items that you will be cooking anyway i.e. spinach leaves needed for spinach soup and chopped fruits for smoothies. Last, put your individual salad portions in smaller bags and store in the refrigerator crisper drawer.
Let's not forget about snacks. We all know that snacks can be the difference between a smooth day and a day full of cranky kids. What is a good way to control the snacks when you are not feeling well? One way is make a snack basket. In between meals, if they get impatient, they can ask your permission first then grab whatever they need. It helps if you've raised your child with some restraint up until this point. What if my kid eats like a hoover vacuum? Well, just fill their basket with healthy things that are not really a first choice but if they are desperate, they will still eat it. Even if your kids are older, it's not wise to include anything they can choke on like peanuts or microwave popcorn bags which tend to be full of kernels.
Lastly, how do you ask for help? Whether you are embarrassed or you family is just cranky and rude, this is a tough subject for a lot of people. Some of you have taken communication or debate classes in college and have found that it only made things worse when speaking to certain people. Start out by letting your family know you would like them to set some uninterrupted time aside to speak with you. Let them know it's urgent and you'd like to speak this afternoon, evening and it concerns your health. When sitting down to speak, great them with as much happiness and warmth as possible. State exactly what the problem is and DO NOT sugar coat it, whatever you do. Just let them know before you start that neither of you should say anything negative and they you are open to hearing any concerns that they may have.
Let them know you need help and let them know exactly how much help you need WITHOUT mentioning any names. You are not assuming they will do it and you should not give them that impression. Now, here's the moment of truth. Tell them you appreciate them very much now and you'd appreciate anything extra that they'd be willing to do for you to PREVENT the situation from getting worse. After all, you have kids, if anyone suffers, it would be them. Now, some of you reading may tell yourselves, "this is rediculous, why would I ever have to talk to my family this way?!" This is not advice for people with close bonds with their friends, family and neignbors. This is communication advice for people who are warm and accepting (after all, you do have kids whom you adore!) but their family members are quite calloused. It's sadly a fact of life.
There you have it. A few of the best tips for planning ahead when you are ill. At the most, the ideas in this blog should buy you some time and confidence. At the least, I hope you've gotten some good ideas from what you read. No matter what adversity you are facing, just know it gets better. Please start each day with the knowledge that you are loved and you have a lot more options than you think.
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