Feeling Down?

I think I might have a solution, well two actually

Okay, it’s almost the end of January and I’m assuming you might feel a bit depressed from lack of money, sunlight, joy, you know, general January blues. I have two solutions for you that I can almost guarantee will make you feel a little less glum. Want them?

First off I have a spicy chicken soup recipe for you. I’ve been feeling pretty unwell over December and now January too. Finally I saw a GP last week after wondering when the plague might leave the house and was prescribed some antibiotics. They’ve already worked their magic. The throat scratching pain has gone, the shaking in the middle of the night has waned. The masked and quite unwell looking GP (female) suggested I might be burnt out and stressed and this could be key to why this illness has lingered for so long. Ha! Takes one to know one I’d imagine. I assured her I would supplement her prescription with self-medication of rest, ginger, honey and chicken soup.

This recipe is my version of an excellent Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference spicy jerk chicken soup. I hesitate to describe mine attempt as ‘jerk’ so I will just call it spicy. It’s good and it has definitely helped my stuffed up nose. Here is a not very good photo of it, and yes I know my boyfriend is a food photographer but he hasn’t got time for my non commercial soup. He’s busy taking pictures of UPFs.

Spicy Cold Busting Chicken Soup

Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 1 tsp ground allspice

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 7 cloves of garlic (look, I have the plague okay?) peeled and chopped

• large thumb of ginger, peeled chopped

• 1 red chilli, roughly chopped

• 1 x 400g tins good quality tinned tomatoes (I used cherry tomato ones from Lidl)

• 3 carrots, peeled and diced

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and diced (I didn’t have any sweet potatoes and would have used these in preference of squash, but hey, life is adaptation huh)

• Leftover roast chicken

• 400g tin of cooked beans (turtle beans if you have them), drained and rinsed

• A handful of long grain rice

Heat the oil in a large pan on a very low heat, add the onions and salt, fry for 20 minutes until really soft and starting to become translucent. Add the rest of the dried spices and herbs along with the sugar and stir well. Blend together the garlic, ginger, chilli and tinned tomatoes with four tomato cans worth of tap water. Add to the pan along with the carrots and squash. Stir, add a lid and simmer on a medium heat for 40 minutes. Add the chicken, beans and rice, stir well and heat for a further 15 minutes, add more water if you prefer a thinner soup. Check the rice is cooked through before serving with a spoon and some tissues.

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Second up I have more of a social prescription. Ready? Come on, it won’t take long and then you can happily ignore it if you wish.

It’s something that I warn you, might make you feel a bit ‘nope’. Hear me out before you dismiss it. So, recently I began my Homestart training and in just one whole day of sitting in a too-hot, strip-lit room, learning about what Homestart does and who it helps and why it’s important, it came to me! (Actually, it came back to me, a muscle memory from previous volunteering experiences). If you’re feeling a bit rubbish, what you really need to do is help someone else.

It’s hard to write about this without sounding trite, but the times in my life I’ve helped the local community have been when I’ve felt most connected, most lucky in my own little life, most useful. I’ve always gotten more from it than I’ve given. Volunteering is never wholly altruistic. That’s not to say it’s ever been a perfect experience, on some level it’s frustrating and that’s okay, it’s part of the process. I think it’s good for everyone to be annoyed. If life is devoid of obstacles and irritations you tend to look for them in places where they don’t exist. That way unhappiness lies.

I think volunteering is seen (at least in the UK) as a bit of a privilege. The past-time of the busibody retiree, of a certain class, poking their noses into other people’s businesses, with certainly not enough to do. I think maybe that reputation comes from the face of volunteering mainly being charity shop assistants. Many folks simply don’t come into contact with volunteers otherwise. Last week I counted only one retiree in the training group. There was a real cross section of society in the room. One single mother living in social housing and on benefits, another a carer of a disabled child. One person had grown up in care and been referred to Homestart when she became pregnant herself as a teen.

Now maybe you’re thinking you don’t have time to volunteer. I hear you. Life is busy and costly. Who has time to ‘work’ for free? But you do, you do. I bet you do. Maybe not 2 - 3 hours a week commitment (that’s what Homestart ask of you) but perhaps an afternoon a month? What about that? Or even one day every few months? Think about it. Could you give away some of your scrolling time or TV time? What if you were promised it would make you feel full in the pit of your stomach, more satisfied than a roast dinner and even make you sleep better for a week? A re-frame from work to a salve.

Here are some ideas:

1. I have to start with Homestart of course. For those with parenting experience, you’ll be paired up with another parent to offer a couple of hours a week to help. It might be that the Mum (it’s usually a Mum) needs a wing-woman to attend a playgroup with, it might be that she needs help playing with her toddler whilst she feeds her baby, she might just need someone to make her a cup of tea and listen, or help tidy the kitchen, or just be there. The type of support you give is broadly at your discretion.

2. Perhaps visiting a child living in care might suit you? Did you know that every child in care should have their own ‘independent visitor’ (IV), someone who wants to see them (usually once a month) because they enjoy their company. (A previous child in care described their IV as the only person in their life who wasn’t paid to hang out with them). There’s a budget available to take the child for lunch/swimming/to the zoo etc. One statistic I found stated only 5% of children who should have an IV actually had one. The time requirement is 3 -4 hours per month.

3. Have you heard of ‘gleaning’? I hadn’t until my younger pal F enlightened me. It’s basically where volunteers harvest crops for farmers that would otherwise go to waste. These crops are then redistributed to the community, with the volunteers usually getting to take home what they might personally use too. There’s more info here. Highly seasonal as you might imagine.

4. If children and onions aren’t your thing maybe marshalling a Parkrun might work? Perhaps you’re a dab hand with a knot or a camp-fire? Or maybe spending time with those who’re needing a hospital stay? Or for history buffs there’s the National Trust? Or perhaps you’re excellent at being a friendly non-judgemental face to a family needing a food bank? As always, google has more ideas.

Anyway, there you have it, soup and soul on a Friday afternoon.