As I mentioned the other day, I woke up Wednesday feeling really exhausted. The holiday weekend really drained me of my energy (even though I thoroughly enjoyed it!) and I just wanted to stay in bed as long as I possibly could. I decided I would grab my sushi rolls because on Wednesday it is $5. I just expected the rolls to be a little smaller as that is what they normally do to compensate for the price reduction. Luckily they didn't do that! I got these regular sized fresh veggie rolls for $5! That was a great deal. I paired it with my favorite Blueberry Grape Kombucha from Target and it was a great meal.
So now I thought I'd talk a little bit about what I hope to achieve next year in regards to my health journey as well as my blogging journey. The two paths cross a lot so the goals are fairly similar. I am hoping to bring you guys along for the ride! The content should remain fairly close to what I post now (I'll continue to post meals and grocery hauls and things like that) but there will be minimal processed foods and more homemade meals. My homemade meals will be simple and fuss free as I don't typically have the energy to spend hours in the kitchen anymore.
For anyone joining us here for the first time or just recently I'll just give a little context. This year I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which is a chronic illness characterized by widespread pain and chronic extreme fatigue. I've decided to minimize my processed foods intake and increase my activity to see if I can naturally manage my symptoms. This will cross over with my blogging as I will share my journey with you here along with the food I'm eating.
I wasn't sure if I was going to share this because I tend to shy away from talking about projects that I am working on or plan to work on because my follow through isn't great. There are a whole lot of psychological reasons for that (fear of success and failure, fear of people HATING what I put out, etc.) but I decided that I need to change that in 2019. So I wanted to talk about how writing an E-Book has been a goal of mine for years. I never knew what to write and I always talked myself out of any ideas that I have had in the past. I had the idea of putting together everything I learn through this process and if it works and I can get my symptoms under control I would put together an E-Book about managing chronic illness and what I did. I will never mislead anyone by promising a "cure" (it makes me absolutely nuts when people promise cures for incurable diseases) but I can share my journey and what I did. It would be less of a recipe book (even though I would include recipes - but they will likely be so simple I'd hesitate to call it a recipe book) and more of a "What I Ate" guide. As I just mentioned, my recipes will be incredibly simple as people that suffer from chronic illness can lack energy and the idea of spending an hour in the kitchen can be daunting and quite frankly it can be a complete turn off. I know that most people will likely see my recipes as ridiculous and not see the point in having "recipes" for such simple meals but I look at complicated recipes and can't fathom spending my time using 20 ingredients to make a dressing to put on the main course that already took an hour to make.
So I guess my question is are you interested in this kind of book? Do you think it would be a waste of money to buy an e-book of such simple recipes even though the concept is more about the process of healing rather than the specific recipes? Do you see value in simple recipes that take minimal effort or do you feel like you only get your money's worth from books with elaborate dishes in them? I'm having such a hard time gauging and I have a huge fear of people buying a book that I poured my heart into just to feel like they didn't get their money's worth. Any insight and opinions that you have would be so helpful and I'd love it if you shared them in the comments!
Anyway, if you read through this whole post I appreciate you sticking with me, it was definitely a long one! I'm going to do my best to get another post up on Tuesday and I should definitely be able to as I'll be settled in by then and I'll be on the tail end of a 4 day weekend that I gifted myself as a way to recharge after holiday madness! I'll see you then and I hope you have a great weekend!
11 comments:
Yes, Yes, Yes to the book! I long for simple recipes. I think also that there are a ton of people who don't know how or hate to cook, and super complicated recipes can be a turn off.And most people like to learn how to manage someone who is actually going through what they are going through. I think you should do it!!!
Loved hearing about this BOOCH! And the simple recipes are always best!!!
Two books come to mind as examples of this approach (neither are vegan, but you may want to have a look anyway):
Good and Cheap (which started as a free ebook)
Beating the Lunch Box Blues
What you need is an angle. Good and Cheap is about maximizing what you can get out of very simple, inexpensive ingredients. It has recipes, but very simple ones, and focuses on keeping costs down. Beating the Lunch Box Blues is about giving people ideas and inspiration. It has no recipes per se, but it has a lot of pretty photos and tips for simple things to whip up.
It sounds like your angle is about taking care of yourself when you're chronically ill and vegan, which is specific enough to be an angle, I would think. But you still need to hook people, either with lots of pretty pictures or some other hook--if it's like your blog, a narrative of how you came to a recipe and how it's helped, for example.
I find simple recipes in cookbooks such a relief--sometimes I just want the thinking to be done for me already.
Yay, I absolutely love your book idea and am so excited for you!!!! :D
As much as I love the big cookbooks with beautiful pictures, there's always so many recipes I end up skipping because they are too energy-intensive, so for me, a smaller book with recipes I know I'll be able to make is much more valuable.
I'm wishing you so much luck! <3
And to follow up on my random thoughts: I would LOVE a chronic illness-focused vegan cookbook. Our concerns are special. I would even appreciate it if a recipe told me to "sit down while you chop your veggies, for pity's sake."
I might not need your book, I don't have chronic illness, but I would definitely buy your book and leave a review! I think this is something that a lot of people would be interested in and would be looking for! Plus, I might learn to get the heck out of the kitchen and slow down a little, because I don't have as much time as I use to for cooking.
Ahhh yay, thanks for your enthusiasm! I definitely think I'm going to do it. While my book will be in the perspective of someone with a chronic illness, I think the recipes and meals will be helpful to anyone who is busy or short on time. I agree, it is always nice to know that you aren't alone when you are dealing with something like chronic illness.
It is so good!! I agree, simple is delicious and when It comes together quickly it's even better!
Thanks for these examples! I'll have to check them out! I definitely will be including a lot of pictures and a lot of lifestyle tips along with the meals that will hopefully help people that deal with chronic illness. I think that even though it is going to be geared toward people with chronic illness it will also be beneficial for people that are just tired and/or busy and need quick, easy meals as well as some ways to feel better and work more efficiently to get as much done with minimal effort.
I completely agree with you. Our concerns are definitely unique and I'm going to do my best to address them. Like I mentioned, efficiency and self care are other sources of inspiration for me so I think that I can use all of that to put together something unique and useful for everyone, not just people living with chronic illness.
Thank you so much, Julie! You are so sweet and I appreciate your excitement and enthusiasm! I love the big beautiful cookbooks but they all sit on my shelf unused because I just can't bring myself to spend hours on a single recipe. I'm hoping that I'll be able to create something that is simple but that people still see value in.
Thanks again! <3
Aww thank you so much, you are so sweet! I think that while the book will be focused on chronic illness other people who do not have chronic illness will still benefit from it. I will include simple meal ideas along with lifestyle tips for general wellness and also how to work efficiently so you can get maximum output with minimal energy. I think everyone can benefit from that!
Thanks again, I really appreciate your support!
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