By now, I expect most people know that a nutritious, healthy diet is an essential part of any treatment plan for any ailment, and it’s no different for the iodine protocol for fibromyalgia. Feeling unwell and eating poorly are two things that will always feed off each other and make you feel even worse. Your body needs good, healthy, nutritional food to help it function properly! We used to have an old Ford Mustang, and it was very fussy about what type of gas we put in it. If we gave it premium fuel it worked like the sports car it was, but low grade fuel made it cough and sputter like it was going to conk out at any second. Your body’s no different. Feed it well and you’ll help it work well, feed it poorly and it will work poorly.
We need to stack the deck in our favour as much as we possibly can, however feeling too tired and worn out to prepare a big meal is a very common thing. But, not every meal needs to be a feast. We all get run down for one reason or another, and being sick or having a tough day at work often makes us not want to cook. But, you can always choose to do something simple. Or, if you’ve planned ahead, you might have something tucked away in the freezer.
A well stocked fridge and pantry with good quality ingredients can often help you out in a pinch when you don’t feel up to cooking. Some days supper here is a sandwich on toasted whole wheat bread with sliced ham, mayonnaise or grainy mustard, tomato, lettuce, and cheese. Or, if I have leftover chicken I might make a clubhouse sandwich. If I have Romaine lettuce in the fridge, I might make a salad to go with my sandwich, or maybe homemade soup if I have some in the freezer, or even a can of organic soup from the cupboard. A grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup is always tasty, as well as quick and easy.
Meals should ideally be nutritious and made from whole foods whenever possible, but they don’t always have to be big or fancy – that’s unrealistic and just not practical. But if I do plan to cook a big meal, I always plan to have leftovers, that way, instead of having to cook 7 nights a week, I might only have to cook 2 or 3 times. And besides, something like stew or chili always tastes better a day or two after it’s made. You need to be getting better and enjoying your life, and you can’t do that if you’re stuck in the kitchen all the time.
Below is a quick and easy recipe for a chicken salad with cranberries and pecans that you can either eat by itself, or use as a sandwich or wrap filling. It’s good for using up leftover chicken (or turkey) and tasty as well, and if you don’t feel like making the dressing, maybe try Renee’s Classic Ranch dressing instead.
Recipe for chicken salad with cranberries and pecans
Mix all of the following ingredients together in a bowl:
2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped up (should yield about 3 – 4 cups cooked, chopped meat)
1 cup pecans, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries (could substitute grapes cut in half if you have those instead)
4 green onions, chopped (or 2 stalks celery, finely chopped)
Make the dressing by mixing the ingredients below in a separate bowl:
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp runny honey (or brown sugar)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp poppy seeds, optional
Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning to taste (maybe a bit more salt, mustard, or honey, depending on your taste preferences). Try the dressing with a little bit of the chicken mixture to make sure you’re happy with the flavour of everything mixed together. Next, add most, but not quite all, of the dressing to the chicken mixture and combine, adding more dressing if you prefer a wetter mix. You can always add more dressing, but it’s harder to take it out once it’s mixed through.
This mixture is really good just by itself, or as a filling for a wrap made with either pita bread or a tortilla, or between 2 slices of fresh bread. If you have any Romaine lettuce on hand, that would also be tasty and would add a nice crunchy texture, and bacon would also be a nice addition because everything is always better with bacon.