When You Are A Skosh Better

Today's post is dedicated to optimism.  I LOVE Papa's attitude.  Each day when I ask him how he is doing, rather than giving me a laundry list of complaints, Papa focuses on the bright side of things and tells me that he thinks he is a "skosh" better.  If he is not a "skosh" better then he is a "mouse-foot" or "half a mouse-foot" better.

Not only have I enjoyed Papa's quaint vocabulary but I find the kind of optimism he shows in the face of illness down right irresistible.

What I have noticed most as I have observed Papa's recovery over the past few weeks is that Papa's appetite and digestion improve each day. There is definitely a correlation between Papa's ability to eat and digest wholesome food and his recovery from illness.

That is one of the reasons I have placed so much emphasis on preparing foods that are light, nourishing, and easy to digest.  I do not want to overtax Papa's digestive system and overburden him when he needs all the energy he can get for healing.

Protein, which is vital for maintenance and repair, is classically one of the harder foods to digest. Protein-rich foods are particularly problematic for those that are digestively challenged such as the elderly or those recovering from illness and surgery.

The first day I cooked for Papa I brought him a bowl of beef stew which I made with local grass-fed beef and organic vegetables.  I noticed that he could not swallow the meat.  He would chew on it and spit it out.  As Papa's dietician and cook I was challenged to find a way to make the essential nutrients found in meat more bio-available during this time of convalescence.  I referred to Paul Pitchford's tome "Healing With Whole Foods" and re-read the section on dietary suggestions for vitality in the elderly.  I revised my cooking preparations accordingly and with very good effect I might add.  I began preparing soups and broths and pureed food for Papa.  Soft cooked eggs were also well tolerated.  Eventually as Papa grew stronger he graduated from broths and purees to soups that had chunks of vegetables and bits of chicken or turkey in them.  I have been careful to prepare small digestible portions of protein that are served to Papa in a warm and soothing broth or soup.

Last night I made him a bowl of Thai green curry prepared in a nourishing broth of coconut milk and homemade chicken broth.  He enjoyed it very much.