Tickling my Taste Buds!

In recent times as I have been through medical emergencies and dramas, one of the side effects has been a loss of interest initially in food altogether and then a lack of motivation in cooking for myself – after being finally able to do so after my broken shoulder! You couldn’t make it up!!

This situation had to be tackled. I now have severe Aortic Stenosis – and if I have any chance of being given surgery I have to get as fit as I can. That of course means healthy eating and as much exercise as I can manage in my breathless state!

Just living on snack food and sandwiches was not an option. And so, I set out to investigate the ready meals food delivery services. Probably best known is Wiltshire Farm Foods that has been going for many years. Many favourite traditional dishes cooked and frozen, delivered to your door to go straight into the freezer. Good reliable food to have by me. 

But, I found after a time I needed something a little different as well and so I started researching. There are some very interesting companies producing really healthy food with imaginative dishes. So far, I have tried The Mindful Chef, that produces a range of frozen dishes as well as ingredients and recipes – that may be for the future! I love the frozen smoothies – bags of frozen ingredients, different mixes and all you have to do is add coconut water or whatever you want and put them in the blender. I have tried two different ones and they are delicious. 

I am looking forward to trying meals from Tastily and also Love Yourself. Love Yourself is very interesting to me because they produce a range of different diets. I am going to try two of their 800 calories a day diets so that I can do Dr Michael Mosley’s 5.2 diet with the aim of reducing my blood sugars. Somewhat inevitable I suppose that my blood sugars went out of control when I wasn’t eating properly and not doing any exercise at all. Tough lesson but I am trying to put things right. 

After all, if I have the support of the World-class Royal Brompton Hospital for my care – heart and lungs – I must do my bit! The hospital is quite remarkable. I saw a presentation recently, virtual of course, of what the hospital has been doing throughout the Covid 19 crisis – not only in maintaining the vital work it does normally but also in research and treatment of covid patients and co-operation in research with hospitals and institutes around the world. Outstanding and brilliant! I also have an exceptional GP surgery in Stanhope Mews West in Kensington, another reason to ‘do my bit’. I don’t want to let any of them down!

To all these wonderful medics and their support teams, ‘your mission is, should you choose to accept it, keep me going for a lot longer! I have things to do, lots to write, books to read, people to meet and who knows, even places to go to again’.