Things to Eat, Read, and Consider - June 2024

A list of small joys that have saved me during a pain flare up

Did you know I’m the Marketing Coordinator for a nonprofit called The Coffee Oasis? I have a lot of cafe related pictures on my phone.

Sometimes, I get a hankering to share a ton of random delights that have been in my life, but I have no desire to commit to weekly listicles. I like reading these recaps from other writers, but it feels like a big time commitment I can’t manage for myself.

That being said, it’s been a bit of a hellish two weeks in the world of me, Mrs. Mom Dealing With Too Much On Her Plate During A Fibro Flare Up. Now feels like a great time to brain-dump those delights. Let me know if you look into any of these!

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Sweet Potato Brownies + Other Favorite Things

A few months ago I had to make the difficult decision to cut out dairy, gluten, corn, and sugar from my diet. Long-term, this has significantly reduced parts of my daily pain that I’ve had since last July, but it has been really hard at times all the time.

Thankfully, some experimentation led me to discover that I can manage small amounts of wild honey. (It's strange that it doesn’t affect me like any other sugar ingredient, but I’ll take it!) With absolute delight during last week’s pain flare, I found this recipe by

Amy Palanjian

!

• “Favorite Sweet Potato Brownie” recipe https://www.yummytoddlerfood.com/favorite-sweet-potato-brownies/

I modified it by using a 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour, reducing the honey, and using a small amount of sugar-free chocolate chips. They were just glorious and my family said they were a great fudge-like brownie.

• EGG-FREE AIP/PALEO BREAKFAST MEATBALLS from Heal Me Delicious have been super helpful for getting breakfast in me. One hard part of this food plan is feeling lost when food is not prepped. If I have very low energy, I need foods that are easy. Once a week, I make these with ground turkey, apple, and sweet potato (plus spices), and I freeze them for an easier protein solution.

• Egg Roll In A Bowl is a recipe I’ve been using a lot. There are many versions out there but I basically stir fry some meat with tamari sauce and fresh ginger (you can buy this in a tube for easier prep). Remove the meat, add a bag of shredded broccoli and coleslaw mix with sesame seed oil and tamari (or soy) sauce. I like to mix this with a small amount of sriracha mayo in a bowl when we eat.

Things To Read

• “The Garden Within: Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins” by Dr. Anita Phillips has been a very slow and interesting read for me. Slow, because I want to take my time processing her proposed ideas, look into the scripture, and reflect on the questions she’s asking me about my life.
  
  If you are a Christian and value topics of mental health, emotional processing, and want to know how to accept your emotions to handle life better, I would look into this book. I think her scientific background and references here are fascinating, especially with the garden metaphors. My only raised eyebrow is from the marketing line “powerful life” because it feels like a very worldly call to action. But the content is good and I have a feeling she may have had a strong hand from the publishing world to use that almost randomly dropped terminology. (It’s an odd word thrown in once a chapter without a fluidity that’s found with all of her other thoughts.)

• “A Family Legacy: A Couple’s Guide to Defining Your Family’s Vision & Building a Life of Impact” by

  Yelena Sheremeta
  is finally here!
  
  I’ve known Yelena for ten years now through her ministry. First she created Tirzahmag.com and then moved into writing books and blogs about the single seasons, waiting, and now building a family legacy. I hope to write more on this book later but I had to help promote this new project written by herself and her husband. I’m proud of the work you do to glorify God, Yelena!

• Last but not least, this newsletter “Who Supports You” by

  Mindful Mom in the Mud
  is now saved as a hub of mental health resources!

Things You May Have Missed

Thank you to everyone for being here at Motherhood Minute. I’m celebrating 2 years of writing on Substack and this month I climbed over 200 subscribers, 326 followers, and 1.14k people read my words. Despite the potential eye roll responses, I truly don’t focus on the numbers here. I generally have an idea of who subscribes but didn’t realize I’d reached so many people.

I follow you, too. When you comment on a piece of writing, I wonder what else you’ve read that resonated with you. I wonder what your experiences might be like in the world beyond a screen. I read your notes and read those authors too. Every person who quotes me makes me feel like I’m the biggest celebrity despite the reality of this situation. I feel loved here and held by a community of curious and empathetic readers and writers.

If you have read something here that stuck with you, please let me know. Feel free to reach out.

Thank you for being here. It’s truly incredible what’s happening. Now, here are some links you may not have seen.

Yours, Chanel

P.S. if you made it this far, tickets for the 2024 Mental Health and Motherhood conference go on sale July 1st ❤️

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Movement For Mental Health with Naomi Gottlieb-Miller