A day in the life with CFS. (Part 1)

This is the first post of an occasional series about the realities of day-to-day life with CFS.

Today I'm going to tell you about how I maintain enough energy to get through the day. Or as it's also called, pacing.

Normally I sleep well, but one child woke with growing pains and my husband snores like claps of thunder, so I've had better nights! I don't zoom out of bed, that uses energy that I need for later in the day, I try and spend 15 minutes, or longer if I can, building the enthusiasm to say goodbye to the duvet.

Downstairs with my two kids for first breakfast, (yes, we are related to Hobbits!) Once I've made their toast I chill on the sofa for as long as I can while they eat and catch up on Cbeebies. Then we're off upstairs for showers and dressing. While they shower I rest, then I give the bathroom a wipe around while they get their togs on. I tend to have only a short shower as it exhausts me.

Gluten-free vegan Banana Loaf

This a recipe sent to me by MrsMittens that she enjoys as a treat, it is easy to make and tastes great. Just be careful not to eat it all at once.

Friday the 8th July, Quit day.

Today I am starting on my thousandth attempt at stopping smoking, with help I have received from Roger and the relaxation and hypnosis tracks he pointed me towards, I have renewed enthusiasm and belief that I can do it.

Okay realistically I have absolutely no will power hehehehe, but I can only try, I have to get the defeatist attitude out of my head when and if I have a slip, one cig, doesn’t have to mean another 5 years of smoking, hiccups happen to the strongest of people.

Vegan sugar cookies

These are great as an occasional treat and my friends and family that have tried them love them. I adapted the recipe from one I found online so that it was gluten free, and I use butter in the recipe as I tolerate it and am not Vegan, but if you do not eat it a good dairy free margarine does just as good a job. You can add what ever flavours you want, maybe dusting with cinnamon sugar or icing, if you're feeling especially energetic you could colour your icing.

We tried making our own 'Jammy Dodgers' out of this recipe, they tasted great but were very fragile and did not firm up, so be careful if like me, you have a habit of coming up with crazy ideas, hehehe!

CHY is a mother and a carer. She is also the moderator of the carers' section on the forum. This is how the forum has helped her.

Until I came to the forum I didn’t seriously look at myself as a care giver. I was just a mum looking after her daughter who’d been unwell and struggling for a long time.

I found the forum one morning when I was feeling really low and wondering if I could dig any deeper for the strength I needed to keep supporting my teenage daughter. I started to read through the posts and realised just how many people there were out there coping like my daughter each day, day after day. I had never joined a forum before but the warmth, humour, understanding and support that came through each post made me take the courage to join this one.

Carrie's Moroccan Style Stew.

This is a recipe that I came up with quite unintentionally. I had a lot of bits and pieces in the cupboards and in the fridge, so decided I would try and make a stew and this is what I came up with, measurements are approximate feel free to alter quantities as appropriate. This served my husband and I twice. It was really good and worth the long cooking time. If you would rather use a slow cooker I should imagine you could throw all the ingredients in together and cook for 3-4 hours until the chicken is tender and the vegetables cooked through.

Egg, Dairy and Gluten free Chocolate Cupcakes

This is a recipe I came up with after reading a variety of recipes for vegan cupcakes they are easy to make and taste great, my mum and husband enjoy them and they do not have any dietary restrictions.

They are light and fluffy and often half of one of these is enough so you may want to make them in smaller fairy cake liners, this will obviously make more cupcakes, but you can share them with friends and relatives, they will thank you I am sure.

They do not seem to last as well as the regular cupcakes do and I am yet to try freezing them. I will try that soon and let you know if it is succesful.

Gluten-free Goddess' egg, dairy and gluten free mayo

This is a wonderful recipe I found on blogger by Gluten Free Goddess for those of us who cannot, or choose not to, eat eggs or dairy and gluten. I use rice milk and my husband who is a bit of a perfectionist with food enjoys it.

It is easy to make either in a food processor or by hand. I usually do it by hand and find I manage fine but if you don't mind cleaning the food processor bowl it will take a lot less effort, just be careful not to over work it.

It is best chilled for around an hour before consuming and lasts a couple of days in the fridge, I wouldn't recommend trying to keep it any longer than that though. Click here for the full article and many more wonderful recipes, this lady is amazing and I have many recipes that I use frequently that she has been kind enough to share, have a browse of her site and you will get lots of wonderful ideas.

Egg-Free Olive Oil Mayo Recipe


-= Ingredients =-
Choose your favorite.
You'll need;
1 -2 tablespoons chilled organic raw tahini, as needed
2 -3 tablespoons clean tasting apple cider vinegar
3 -6 tablespoon cold plain rice, nut or hemp milk
1 -2 teaspoons honey or raw agave nectar, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Optional - a dab of your favorite mustard

-= Instructions =-
This recipe is a flexible template. Start with the lesser amounts and add a little more if you need to adjust thickness or for taste.

In a small mixing bowl (or food processor) place 1 tablespoon of the raw tahini, 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice, 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk, sea salt, paprika, xanthan gum (and mustard, if using) beat/process to combine (I used a good hand mixer).

While the mixer or processor is running, start pouring the olive oil into the bowl in a thin, steady stream. After you have added all the oil, do a quick taste test to see if it needs more salt, acid or sweetness. Continue to beat or process until the mixture gets creamy and starts to thicken.

Here's the tricky part- you want it to emulsify and thicken but if you beat it too long, it can fall apart. When in doubt, stop the beating and check it. It will not be as thick and gelatinous as commercial mayo- more like a thick, creamy salad dressing.

If you have trouble getting it to thicken try drizzling in more vinegar or lemon juice. Or more mustard. That usually brings it around rather quickly.

Chilling it also thickens it, one reason (besides flavor) I use a good extra virgin olive oil in my mayo. Extra virgin olive oil is a heart-healthy monosaturated fat that becomes semi solid in the fridge. So make your mayo ahead of time, cover and chill it for best consistency.

Use within two days for best taste.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2009/07/egg-free-olive-oil-mayo.html#ixzz1Id65yn2y