Spring has sprung finally. I live high in the hills of the Scottish Borders and Spring doesn’t arrive here until a little bit later than in other places. My daffodils have brought some colour to my garden. They make me smile. There’s been a chilly breeze, but the sun has been shining some days so I have wrapped up and gone outside for some fresh air. I have also been baking this month. Baking and pacing have to go together when you have chronic pain but, afterwards, I high fived myself and enjoyed some delicious cookies.
Baking and Pacing
I love baking but, because of my pain, I need to remember some pacing rules. I try my hardest to get it right – I only bake on a ‘better’ day, I take lots of rest breaks, I get hubby to help – but still, by the time the baking is done, so am I. I normally suffer for several days afterwards. I love eating my home-baking, but sometimes I wonder if it’s really worth it.
For me, it is worth it. I have coeliac disease and there’s not a great deal of choice of gluten-free goodies in shops, and the choice we do have is so expensive. So if I want a nice raspberry and white choc-chip cookie or a slice of gingerbread, then I need to bake.
Okay, ‘need’ is the wrong word, isn’t it? Nobody needs cookies and cakes but I do have a sweet tooth. And let’s face it, when you’re living with pain, you deserve a little guilty pleasure, don’t you? (Please someone say yes.)
What Happens When I Ignore My Own Pacing Rules When I Bake
I run out of spoons – that’s what happens.
At the start of the month, we had some eggs that we needed to use, so I decided to make some cakes. I made gingerbread and a lemon drizzle cake. But, while they were in the oven, I decided to make some cookies too. That was my downfall. I turned a better day into a bad day very quickly. If I’d stopped after making the cakes, I would have suffered more than normal, but would have recovered quickly. But I had pushed way beyond my limits and I soon regretted it.
My husband wasn’t at home otherwise, he’d have helped. He’d also have told me off for pushing my limits. Once I’d started, I was committed to keep going. By the time everything came out of the oven, I was exhausted and in so much pain, then dealt with payback pain for several days. So silly. I should have known better. I do know better. It’s not like I’m new to this kind of life. But sometimes, I forget all the advice that I’d give to other people and push my limits.
Pacing Better Means The Baking is Also Better
When I don’t pace myself, I normally have disasters. I miss a vital ingredient so my biscuits at crumbly or my cakes won’t rise. Or I take something out of the oven too early because I am so desperate to finish. But most often, I leave something in the oven too long resulting in burnt offerings.
Years ago, I was in so much pain that I took cakes out of the oven and put them onto cooling trays then had to go straight to bed. My back was so sore that I could hardly walk. I took some pain meds and managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours. When I hobbled back into the kitchen I discovered my cat sitting on the table enjoying the cakes. She must have thought it was her birthday.
I’ve Finally Figured it Out
The other day, I decided to make batches of cookie dough, but didn’t bake them that same day. I wrapped the dough in clingfilm and put it into the fridge. A few days later, I baked cookies. It meant that I had the fresh cookies without all the hard work and there was no big clean up needed afterwards.
So from now on, I’ll try to do this. If I’m having a better day, I’ll make batches of cookie dough and store it in the fridge or freezer. I really don’t know why I’ve never done this before. It takes pacing to another level and will let me enjoy baking when I feel up to it.
Just to tease you, here are some pics of my rasperry and white chocolate chip cookies. They were very yummy.
What’s Happening in May?
I am a wee bit excited here but almost scared to tell you in case I jinx it – in the middle of May, we will be getting full fibre broadband (FTTP). For the last fourteen years we have had to rely on satellite broadband which is extremely expensive and pretty unreliable especially when the weather is bad. There was no other alternative though. But that’s about to change. I can’t wait.
As well as that, May is awareness month for a few health conditions:
Arthritis Awareness Month
Arthritis Foundation
Lyme Disease Awareness Month
Lyme Disease Charity
Coeliac Disease Awareness Week: 9th – 15th of May 2022
Coeliac UK
Fibromyalgia Awareness Day: 12th of May 2022
National Fibromyalgia Association
ME/CFS Awareness Week: 9th – 15th of May 2022
ME Association
What have you been up to this month? And are you looking forward to anything exciting in May?
The cookies look lovely and yes, you deserve a treat.
Daffodils are lovely to look forward to in spring.
Its my birthday in May. I will be on my own with exception when I pop onto Twitter on and off, in between what I want to do.
What date in May is your birthday? I hope you treat yourself to something nice.
18th May. I treated myself to a couple of early birthday presents, as I bought a waterproof jacket and a couple of t-shirts.
But on the day, I will do a little something for me, before having most of the day at home and continuing with what I have planned. 🙂
“Okay, ‘need’ is the wrong word, isn’t it?” – No, Liz. No it’s not. We do NEED baked goods. Cakes and cookies are like air for some of us (me!) 😂
I’ve never tried doing dough and storing it before baking. I don’t do part-cooking or whatever it is people do to be able to reheat a meal stored in tuppaware either. I don’t know enough or trust myself for it to not result in food poisoning, but I really do want to look into doing such things. It would really help with pacing and being prepared. Sounds like you nailed it with splitting the dough-making and cooking. Great idea.
I’d forgotten about a lot of these awareness days/months for May so thank you for the reminders.
How will you celebrate the mid-May broadband bonanza? That will be huge after the problems you have with getting the internet. I hope it all goes as smoothly as possible 🙏 xx
Yes, we need treats, don’t we?
Caz, we bulk cook almost everything then freeze it in containers so that we have homemade ‘ready meals’ almost every day. I normally just need to cook pasta, rice or veg and reheat a defrosted meal. It does make life easier.
We can’t wait for our super fast broadband. We are counting down the days now. The first thing we will be doing is a whole load of updates on the computers. Everything on my laptop is so old. Those updates are normally huge and our satellite broadband just couldn’t cope with them. Then…Netflix, Catchup TV, iplayer….I guess I’ll have no time for anything else.
Yes! I say yes to the “need” baking. But yes to pacing as well. 😀