ASIST

On one of the depression/bipolar blogs that I read there was a post about ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training). Carm took this training when I was first diagnosed and found it to be an excellent course, and thought that everyone should take it. Almost everyone comes in contact with someone with a mental illness, often someone in their family or a close friend. Isn’t it a good idea to be prepared?

Here’s a link to that post.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
John Wooden

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Tasty cookies with the consistency of banana bread. They are about 150 calories per cookie, so they aren’t low cal, but they are full of healthy ingredients and can stand in for a quick meal on the go. I tried both the chocolate and raisin option – I much preferred the raisins. The recipe says they are optional, but I think the cookie needs them for the sweetness. I tried freezing them as soon as they were cool and that seems to have worked out fine.

Yields: 24 cookies (heaping T of batter each)
Ingredients

3 ripe bananas mashed
1 cup honey-roasted peanut-butter
2 cups rolled oats (not instant oatmeal)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey (optional)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins (optional)

Instructions
1. Throw the bananas in the blender with the peanut-butter, vanilla and maple syrup/honey until it reaches a creamy consistency.
2. In separate bowl mix the oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Add banana mixture and stir well so the batter gets a stick consistency. The oats are what will hold the cookie together.
3. On a baking sheet, place spoonfuls of the cookie batter making table-spoon sized balls. Bake for 14-16 minutes.

http://www.eatfeelfresh.com/2012/03/sugar-free-peanut-butter-banana-oatmeal.html

It Will Be Forever

The "funny" thing about living with a mood disorder is how each mood phase is perceived. When I am depressed I am sure that it will last forever, there will never be a change and I will always feel this way. The same thing occurs when I'm in a good phase. I'm sure that it will never end, I just need to do all the things I do to manage my illness and the bad symptoms will never return.

For the last few months I've been feeling great and life has been awesome. I was thinking "I've finally found the secret! I'll be this way forever!". I was smug (and probably hypo manic and not normal at all). Then reality struck and my mood changed again. This time probably because of the change in medication, but I was so sure that everything would be fine. Oddly, it was only this morning that I realized the forever thing - I generally try not to live in absolutes, but I was. I hope that acknowledgement of  the changing nature of my moods will help me to live with them with more harmony.

We had a whirlwind father's day. It started with an 8am mass for Carm's dad. It was long, or at least seemed that way cause it was 100% in Italian. Then we picked up our groceries and raced to my parents. We stashed the groceries in the cool hall, and freezing freezer so that we could enjoy some time with them. As usual my Mom made a lovely meal for us - waffles, eggs, bacon, and a lovely fruit salad. I have to admit to a certain amount of weakness - I had all items, even the non vegan ones (can't live in absolutes, right?). After breakfast we dashed off home as Carm was meeting someone for golf.

I was nicely relaxed in the afternoon when the phone rang. It was Carm. He was bringing his friend home for supper. What!!!! OMG what will I make for supper? I was happy that it only took me a few minutes to figure out a decent dinner to serve a guest. Green beans with preserved lemon (garlic & rosemary), marinated and grilled mushrooms (lemon, garlic, hot pepper flakes), and brown rice. Everything turned out great and Adrian seemed happy enough with his vegan meal. We have been living this nutrarian lifestyle long enough that I'm getting a good repertoire of recipes. There are still some to try in the new recipe books, and the internet is just filled with great recipes.

Speaking of recipes, I made a batch of cookies yesterday using a different recipe from the last batch. This one was much better than the first (Adrian ate 2 last night), and with the raisins they are plenty sweet. As soon as I have a few minutes I'll be posting it here.