Fibro and Family (new recipe!)

Ok, I have a HUGE family (5 brothers and 2 sisters, plus 2 sister-in-laws, and 2 adorable nephews) and while I really enjoy having them come and visit, let's face it, Fibro and Family do not always go hand in hand. Cleaning the house for them to come over is a must for me and that is tiring. Then there is cooking - and when you have that many family members, that requires planning too. While ordering in or going out to eat is easier, it isn't always financially possible and finding places that serve foods that meet the new Healthy standards of many of my family members is tough too. Don't get me wrong, I love that my brothers and sisters are looking to be more healthy too, but it does make eating out nearly impossible. Then there is the long hours of playing with the nephews and my child running around and then the after guest clean up. WOW, I am getting tired just reliving it to write this post and earlier this week I flat out crashed because I over exerted myself and it took THREE DAYS for me to feel normal again.

Thankfully though all my personal research into finding healthy meals that are Fibro friendly, made the meal planning of this particular visit sooooooo easy!! I work full time and right now I have an hour drive from my job to get home, so I was determined to find meals that are healthy and EASY. Mexican food is my absolute favorite so I get really excited when I find recipes that meet all my requirements - Healthy, Easy, and Delicious.

If you are looking for healthy and easy food recipes, check out www.healthyrecipes247.com - it is an AWESOME blog that has more recipes and ideas for snacks than I could ever make and the blog master is always adding new and fun food ideas.

For my family visit, I made a super easy, amazingly delicious, Baked Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Taquitos served with homemade guacamole and low fat sour cream. I was able to cook my chicken while I vacuumed the carpets and prep time was so minimal that I got to spend lots of time with my family and not in the kitchen. The 15 min bake time also ensured that everyone got to eat at a reasonable hour and the clean up was minimal. How much more could you want? So check this out!!

Baked Chicken and Roasted Red Pepper Taquitos

Yields 12 Taquitos

• 3 chicken breasts (cooked & shredded)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 6 green onions (chopped)
• 1 roasted red pepper (peeled & diced)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend)
• 12 flour taco tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Heat a large skillet to medium heat add the chicken and season with the cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt.
2. Once the chicken is evenly coated in seasonings, add the chicken broth and green onions. Cook until the chicken broth is fully cooked off (about 5 minutes) then mix in the roasted red peppers.
3. Heat the tortillas in a paper towel in the microwave until soft (about 15 seconds).
4. Fill each tortilla with 2 tbsp cheese and about 1/4 cup of chicken mixture, roll up and place fold-side down on a greased baking sheet.
5. Bake the taquitos at 425F until golden (about 15 minutes), flipping after 10 minutes.
6. Serve with guacamole and salsa.

I know that having Fibromyalgia is really tough and not everyone has the supportive family that I do, however, regardless of how supportive they are or aren't, I strongly suggest that you put forth the effort to maintain a strong family element. They are not going to always understand 100% what you are going through, how you feel, or even care, but consider that that road goes the other way too. They will experience things in life that you don't understand or agree with but I speak from experience that its not always about them understanding, sometimes its just about the relationship and being there when they need you to the best of your ability. It is heartbreaking to me when I see families that cannot support each other - mostly because my siblings and I are very close despite our very different life paths and decisions.

We may not be able to do everything that they can, or participate as long a they do, but making an effort to do what we can will go a very long way. It is hard to look past our own difficulties and the pain we are constantly in, but its better to do what you can than to sit back and later in life regret what you didn't do.

Making the changes I have in my life, the exercise, the USANA supplements, a healthy diet, even consistent psychotherapy has made a HUGE difference in both my ability to DO things with my child and my family but it has also changed my OUTLOOK on life.Yes I am able to more but I also no longer beat myself up when there are days I can't. I am not cured, I still have days of intense pain, I still struggle with fatigue, and the brain fog periodically gets more than a little frustrating, but I am loving my new HAPPY and HEALTHY lifestyle.

Please contact me if you need someone to be your Fibro support or if you want to understand how making healthy changes have changed how I live an active life with Fibromyalgia. Freedom is possible.

Have a Happy and Healthy weekend!

Rachel