Simplicity - maybe?

So I have been struggling for a long time with Anxiety and depression. I am also fairly sure it is safe to say PTSD but I haven’t been “officially” diagnosed (meaning that everyone who is working with me believes that is what we are dealing with but … I digress). I don’t know how long I have been struggling with my mental health but I have been doing a lot more reading lately and I am fairly certain that it is has been a lot longer than I actually realize. Best analogy I have is to relate this to our puppy. I am with our puppy, Halley, every single day and time goes by and you look back on a picture and you go “Wow she’s grown” where someone like my parents don’t see her every day will suddenly say “Wow she’s twice her size, she’s grown so much” and I’m sitting there going “Nah she’s the same size as when we got her…” (actual conversation happened). 

As we (me and my developing mental health team) start to wade through the very top layers of what is going on – it is almost like we are just skimming the top of the soup right now… it is interesting as we talk to look back and realize the symptoms or holds that anxiety had on me that I never grasped. There was this meme I saw the other day someone posted from Twitter

“Anxiety: I don’t want to eat anything

Me: let’s at least eat a bit of dinner.

Stomach: Ok, folks. Good Job! I’m getting pretty full now, though.

PMS: Hello Friends I’m here whats up

Anxiety: *sigh* I’ll go get the ice cream

PMS: Guys smash a chocolate bar over that shit”

I don’t know why by that meme spoke so much to me. When it comes to food sometimes in my head the conversation will be overwhelming. I have such a complicated history with food yet it has been such a passion for me. In the last year I have been working on my food journey in search of answers to the following basic questions:

-      Who am I?

-      Where do I come from?

-      What did I eat growing up?

These are such simple questions but the answer are so incredibly complicated and intertwined with my issues that we are working through. So what does this have to do with simplicity? I am not known for doing simple things – I actual find simple very hard to do especially when it comes to food lately. My thoughts will race through a million possibilities of like: things I can make; things I have read up on by haven’t made yet; things I want to learn to make but haven’t studied yet; and things that I have somewhat heard one time but I have no idea what it really is and I could learn more about. Like if we are going to have chicken and potatoes it won’t just been chicken and potatoes – it will be a three-hour journey to learn about the history and different methods for making potato pancakes because my husband once said he would like to have some. For the chicken, it won’t just be a simple chicken breast – I will research different breading, seasoning and cooking techniques to find something that is interesting and write down various versions of recipes in my book until I have some smattering of an idea of how I want to combine the different techniques. Then because you have to have some sort of sauce I will research different ways to make aioli’s until I find a lemon garlic aioli recipe I like before I start cooking. I often fail at simplicity but yet at the same time I can master simplicity in certain situations. 

My daughter and I headed up camping to Child’s Lake Yurts in the Duck Mountain Provincial Park for a week – just the two of us as husband couldn’t get time off work and bringing the puppy gave me too much anxiety. My parents were also up here staying at Wellman Lake so they are close by to lend a hand if (more when) I need it. But camping definitely forces you to go simple and back to basics. We have to boil water to wash dishes which means the less dishes the better. We have to keep the food in coolers with ice which is a 30-minute drive away to get 1 bag for… way too much money for frozen water. Lastly, I love camp fires so cooking over a camp fire is such an amazing experience. Planning the cooking for the week was an exercise in planning and preparing for simplicity. The menu:

-      Roasted cheddar sausages with beans;

-      Chili;

-      Chicken, potatoes, veggies with gravy;

-      Hot dogs; and,

-       Left over chili and cheddar sausages.

All cooked over the campfire (or in the coals for the potatoes) using cast iron pans. We also pack some mushrooms, onions and ramen in case we get a rainy day. So here is to keeping it simple.