Living Our Best Lives – indulgences

/ simplywendi
Photo by Anna Tukhfatullina Food Photographer/Stylist on Pexels.com

I don’t need to remind anyone who lives with a chronic illness that our lives have restrictions, and for many of us, this includes not just physical ones but also what we are able to consume.

So, my question for you this month is, what food or drink do you indulge in that brings you happiness.

As always, thank you so very much for taking the time to stop by and join in the discussion. Each of you is amazing and I so enjoy interacting and learning from you.

136 thoughts on “Living Our Best Lives – indulgences”

  2. My favorites are ones I make myself, so I know exactly what’s in them. I get to enjoy peanut butter, so it’s in several of my treats. This is one I like, energy balls:
    You can add almost anything you like into these energy balls.
    No ingredient amounts are listed, as you can mix together however much you like. This recipe is a springboard of ideas.
    Ingredients:
    nut butter
    dates (pitted)
    honey or maple syrup
    raw honey
    ground flaxseed
    chia seed (ground or not)
    Rice Krispies® (find an organic brand)
    coconut
    chocolate chips or cacao nibs
    cacao powder
    adaptogenic herbs, powdered or ground (such as ashwaghanda, maca, slippery elm)
    turmeric
    nutmeg
    cinnamon
    Coconut Oil
    nuts
    raisins
    powdered bone broth, collagen, or protein powders
    Directions:
    Mix any of the ingredients together (a food processor works well).
    It works really well, if you’re using dates as a sweetener, to add the dates to the food processor first, along with the powders (i.e., ground flax, protein powder, adaptogens). Add a few dates, some powder, more dates, etc.
    Add the peanut butter afterward. Add the chocolate chips or raisins last, unless you like them chopped up.
    A nice aspect to this recipe is that it’s no-bake: you can taste it before you finish the product.
    Form into balls, or press into a pan. Balls can be rolled into additional ingredients (coconut, cacao powder, sucanat), or additional ingredients can be pressed into the top of the bars (chocolate chips, raisins). Refrigerate or freeze.

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  6. Ah dear lady, the sipping of a nice wine after an evening meal. Completes the day as you watch a sunset over the water. it’s just a pity I’m now allergic to alcohol for the last five years, sipping water just doesn’t have that same ambience 🤣
    But I can still eat a dairy free dark chocolate ice cream and yogurt mixed with blueberries and mango. It is surprising what now brings happiness after so many things I’m now allergic to 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋

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    • sounds delightful! I sure do miss wine also……and you are right, water just doesn’t have the same effect………but, dairy free dark chocolate ice cream sounds yummy and yogurt with blueberries (my favorite) and mango! I hope today is being kind to you and you can feel God’s blessings surround you today. 🙂

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      • I’m being blessed with a lovely 23C in the middle of our winter Wendi. It has been unusually cold down to 2 and 3C overnight but some lovely sunshine by day has perked us up as we are currently going through a lock down because the Delta virus decided to pay us a visit in our state. But there are blessings even among that, I’ve got so much work done on my computer 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋 😂 🤣

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      • Oh my goodness, I have said a prayer for your safety this morning………I am so happy to read that you are being blessed with sunshine in your part of the world. May your day bring you smiles, peace and calm!

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      • And you have been quiet dear lady, I hope all is well. Nice people go quiet and slip under my radar, probably don’t need my chattering in their finally found peace and quiet 🤣 Love and light your way kind lady, and a hug (its quiet) 😂 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋

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      • yes……..I have been gone for about a year now I believe………so much has happened and I just couldn’t put thoughts down in any coherent manner………..so I didn’t try and walked away from it all. But, this evening, I wanted to check in to see how others were doing – those I missed. Thank you – again – for always being so kind and thoughtful…….I hope you are as well as you can be.

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      • Thank you, I’m keeping off the streets and out of trouble dear lady…mostly 🤣 But the chocolate I still fail with…well, we have to suffer a bit to appreciate the good stuff when it comes along. Mmm, I can’t think of anything better than chocolate 🤣
        But I do hope this worlds mayhem haven’t been so bad that you feel lost from it all. We do indeed have to face so many things down here but we have to find those little pieces that share an interest, a laugh, and especially a touch of love my friend. And just in case, another hug…they touch us without a word need to be spoken, just the beauty and love that they are 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋

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      • I am glad you are keeping out of trouble and off the streets! 😉 I actually had a very major surgery and I am learning how to walk again…….it’s been a trial……but, I am out of a wheelchair now and learning to transition from a walker to a cane…….it’s been just wow awful but I am trying to keep focused on getting my life back as much as possible. The world’s state……….just absolutely nuts. Thank you for always being so kind and generous with your words and time.

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      • Oh Wendi, I hope all is going well then. To have something as tough as an operation like that truly does push those inner buttons to get through the pain. And many people don’t respond well to the anesthetics, it takes a while to get them out of your body and can actually make you feel like your functioning in a field of molasses, all gluggy, gluey and tired from even taking just a step, let alone from the actual operation. It will go, and the only thing I can suggest is plenty of fluids to flush the system and movement, which is obviously restricted at the moment. I’m a Remedial Massage Therapist and the one thing they always taught us was…use it or lose it. With one exclusion, when recuperating it can be painful to stretch something out, but do not take it too far ‘into’ the pain or it will just inflame it and restrict it even more, and then take longer to heal. There’s a middle ground. My mum had a knee replacement and it was a cow of a thing, the slightest touch from me blew it up like a balloon. I could only stretch the muscles either side so she could ‘gently’ stretch the knee joint itself back out. And this worked so well that she still does 30 min a day on her exercise bike even now…she’s 94 🤣. So regardless kind lady, best of luck, much love and light and lots of energy to whichever part of you needs it most…oh, and another hug, it’ll fix anything.😂 🤣 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋

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      • Thank you so very much Mark for your encouragement and your kindness……man, if we lived on the same continent I would book some sessions with you………..I am slowly healing and I keep moving…….I hope today finds you well and I loved reading about your mom……….she sounds like a hero!
        I hope to be her in the future

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      • Just have faith in you dear lady, self love will heal anything. It took me a long time to find that within myself. And we go through so much so that we can in fact find us among it all.
        As for the sessions…I’m a terror, all healing I do with another sends them to sleep 🤣. Years ago when I was doing the massage’s I would finish, walk out and close the door so that they could get up and get dressed…only to have to go back and knock on the door because they had crashed…and sometimes 2 or 3 times 😂. I think I allowed ‘them’ to let go into that inner healing and just let go life for a while. And my mom is a trooper, still does all her own stuff, even with a set of stairs front and back of the house. She has had a fall and ended up in hospital but nothing bad, just the shock more than anything but I think God was trying to tell her she isn’t bullet proof and ask for help 😀
        Whatever you do dear lady, do it gently and with love. Sending lots of healing energy your way, you should be out in the fresh air somewhere watching nature and daring yourself to go for a jog…you would be surprised in the signals it sends to your parts that are healing 🤣❤️🙏🏽

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      • Mark – thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words and wisdom you have shared with me so generously.

        Your healing sessions sound absolutely amazing and if you were in this country I would drive to you!

        Thank you for sending healing energy 🙂 I am slowly getting back to walking better. May God bless you as richly as you bless others.

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    • what a perfect way to end a meal, thank you so very much for sharing………I need to now see if I can find this somewhere around me! 🙂 Hope today is treating you well and brings you a smile or three!

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  9. I don’t, have chronic illness. But, my heart does (my wife). If I said, two or three, that would be just a starting point. Consuming, one of those. Fighting to keep it down, winning the day. Where the happiness, makes it my heart… feeling profoundly elated. Seeing, the strength of her courage, to face another day! Blessings to you, my friend! Enjoy, your best life!

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    • Oh Ryan, thank you so very much for sharing this here. I have never heard of this but I am definitely going to search for this. I hope today is treating you and yours well and you can feel the love of God surround you this day.

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  12. I just love baked apples.. I do them in the oven cut into halves with some apple juice or water and cloves, I sometimes add some frozen blueberries.. If I bake them for 30 minutes they turn into a lovely sweet treat to have with icecream, cream or my latest favorite : coconut dairy free yoghurt..

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  14. I don’t have a particular food item in mind, but anything that hubby and I prepare together, that is top quality but cost effective and tastes great would probably be my favorite food item. Lately he and I have been drinking wine spritzers. We found that combining 5 ounces of Italian cabinet savingon (?) with grapefruit flavored seltzer is a near perfect summer drink. Inexpensive and nice to sip out on our back deck on a warm summer night. Who knew?

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  15. You know they say good and healthy food is important to have a fresh and happy soul. For me, I love exploring all kinds of food but with my dietary restrictions( for instance I don’t consume red meat) but having that home meal( the signature indian food rice and yellow lentils with vegetables) beats them all

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  16. My weakness is chocolate. I try to get dark chocolate which is usually low calorie. But sometimes I indulge in chocolate truffles too. It is a mid elevator and like Harry Potter, it makes the sadness go away!

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    • I love that you have certain foods that sooth your mind………so important that we think about our mental health too…..thank you so very much for sharing and I hope today is being kind to you in all ways.

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  20. I am so blessed to not have any dietary requirements but my choice to be a vegetarian for most of my life sadly disturbs others. My treat is the filtered water from my tap and any food, I see it, I eat it , yum 🙂

    Really love the range of answers your questions solicit Wendi … what’s your treat?

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    • I am so sad to read that your eating choices upset other people, that makes no sense to me and good for you for sticking to your values! (not that I would expect anything less 🙂 ) I love that you included filtered water because that is one of my main treats too. We live on a well and when we had our water tested we found out it was non potable so we bought a Berkey filter and now I am so thrilled to be able to have clean water to drink – something I don’t take for granted!
      Thank you so much for stopping by Kate and I hope today is kind to you in all ways………..

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  23. Food and drink. The eternal struggle. There are so many foods that I should not eat and cost me dearly if I do. I gave up sodas more than 15 years ago because they made my legs cramp up and found it’s the carbonation that causes it. So I have found mineral water to be a lovely substitute. I can add lemon or other flavors to it as it’s a bit flat on it’s own. When a friend comes to have a glass of wine with me, I’ll splash a tiny bit in the mineral water and it looks like I’m having a real drink. No one is the wiser. 😉 When I eat anything no longer on the list of allowed, I start coughing almost immediately. Bread, pasta, cookies, anything with sugar. How are we supposed to have any fun? I guess it’s apple slices and almond butter now. Oh well. Have a wonderfilled weekend, Wendi. Keep taking care of yourself. Hugs.

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    • I love that you wrote……food and drink the eternal struggle because that is exactly what it feels like. 🙂 Thanks for the tip, I think I need to go purchase some mineral water. I hope you are not working too hard……

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  24. I don’t know if it counts, but my indulgence during these hot summer months is watching my chickens enjoy a big hunk of watermelon or cantaloupe. I don’t have any of it myself other than maybe just a little taste. But watching them enjoy it helps me to live with pain.

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  25. Pingback: Living Our Best Lives – indulgences — Guest Blogger Simply Chronically Ill

  26. I am not a big foodie, Wendi, I am an eat to live sort of person and the baking I do is either mainly for my family or for the look of it. I do enjoy cheese but I have to be very careful eating it as it upsets my digestive system. The pulmonologist wants to test Michael for an aspirin allergy, but she said that as aspirin is in so many foods and Michael is so young, he cannot cut it out completely even if the test is positive.

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    • I am so very very sorry Roberta that your son is being tested for an aspirin allergy……and I had no idea it was in so many foods. I have said a prayer for your son this evening……..and I hope today is being kind to all of you.

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  27. Thank you for sharing!!… yes, life indeed puts challenges before us in some manner, but as the saying goes “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain”. (Author Unknown) and we learn every day!… 🙂
    Don’t have a favorite food but I do have a weakness for banana bread… 🙂

    Until we meet again..
    May flowers always line your path
    and sunshine light your way,
    May songbirds serenade your
    every step along the way,
    May a rainbow run beside you
    in a sky that’s always blue,
    And may happiness fill your heart
    each day your whole life through.
    (Irish Saying)

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  28. Hello Wendi I love ice cold ginger ale with a few different water enhancers bought at the C0-Op Food Market or Buy Low. I spoil myself with these way to much at times. God bless you my dear friend. I know exactly how we all feel so having to pleasure our sweet tooth or just our ordinary food tooth is required. LOve and support coming your way.

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  30. Wendi, I got your beautiful card today. I could feel your gentle hug surrounding me. Bless you for your kindness and thoughtfulness — you are such a treasure in this world — I hope you don’t mind if I thank you online after the first. Thank you again for the brightness and warmth, dear heart ❤️

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  36. Wendi, am finally joining your club, under the sub heading: simply, chronically tired. …That aside, find eating eggs the simplest. at times eating even three a day, and i don’t know what it does to my insides! Wish You alla best and love.

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