cooking « A Guy With Crohn's

We all know Health Activists are awesome. Share three things you love about yourself, things you’re great at, or just want to share. Don’t undercut or signpost!

This is a hard post for me to write. I don’t like to praise myself and tote my achievements. I am a quiet person and keep a lot to myself. But for this, I will try to open up a little more and bring you more into my world.

1. One thing I am great at…or I like to think I am…is cooking. I took culinary arts in college and have a degree in cooking as well as management. I may not be the best but I think I can handle my own in a kitchen. Sometimes I have trouble thinking of dishes to make, but I can definitely take a recipe and make it my own.

2. One thing I love about myself is how I have been able to open up so much. Growing up I kept a lot of things to myself. I was a very closed off person. No one really knew what was going on in my head. This blog has really helped me to open up. What has really opened the flood gates to my emotions is my IBD community. Everyone I have met, whether it is in real life or on the internet, have been non-judgemental and always have an ear for me. This in turn has helped me to do the same for everyone else. I am so happy to have found my community as you have all helped me grow.

3. One thing I want to share is that even though I have grown I still want to be a better person. I want to do more to help. Throughout the years I have always felt something was missing from my life and now I know what it is. Helping others is so rewarding spiritually. One thing I still want to do is start a charity but I need a lot of help with that. The one thing I need before I move forward is a board of directors. Once I get that, I plan on moving on it. I have tons of ideas…just need the help.

Two weeks ago at my Weight Watchers meeting we were talking about recipes. We were encouraged to bring in a recipe to swap with everyone. When it was my leaders turn, she gave us a recipe…but not for food. I looked it over and thought, this isn’t just relevent to food…this is good for life. So, I decided to share the wisdom of my leader and give you…The Recipe for Success

Ingredients:

1 Cup of Vision 1 Cup Commitment 1 Cup Discipline 1 Cup Self-Control 1 Cup Sacrifice 1 Cup Conviction 1 Cup Imagination

Directions:

In a large part of your life, add 1 cup of vision. Make up your mind which direction to go and strive for it everyday. Add 1 cup commitment. Commit yourself every day to reaching your goal. Add 1 cup discipline. Discipline yourself to do what you must to keep the committment and hold on to the vision. Add 1 cup of self-control. No matter what temptation comes, remember you have a choice. Add 1 cup of sacrifice. Be willing to give up bad habits for good habits. Add 1 cup conviction.

Have the courage to stand your ground knowing that you are mixing the right ingredients together in your life. Add 1 cup of imagination. Imagine what all this cooking will achieve in the end. Bring all of these things to a boil. Now pour it all into the rest of your life and you have the recipe for success. Keep it always on simmer.

As I read this in the meeting, I was no longer thinking about food. I know she gave this to us to help us stay on course and keep up with our weight loss. But I saw a bigger picture. Living with a chronic illness will do that to you. I didn’t just see food…I saw a recipe to beat an illness. I saw a recipe for me to get through life.

I know at times life with Crohn’s or Colitis can be hard. Sometimes we want to just throw in the towel and say I quit. But that is when we need this recipe. Sometimes, we need to alter a recipe and add a little more spice to it. There are days we might need 2 cups of self-control. Maybe we need a gallon of vision because all we see is our blanket covering our eyes. Whatever the day…keep this recipe close at hand. Make it your first meal. Make it your last. Make a big batch of it on the weekend for the whole week. Whatever you do…make sure to make it at least once a week.