new to the forums:help desperately needed!

Welshwoofs

Fern_Merkin wrote: »

Love the tip about rosehips, gonna get out there and track some down. I take it the boiling doesn't lose the vitC? Always thort it would but until recently I foolishly believed what the media (government) told me so now am open to suggestion

Thanks for the tip. I love rosehip tea but can't seem to find the bags easily anymore. If I just dried the rosehips (ground up) would that work?

No, it doesn't lose the Vit C. Weight for weight, rosehip syrup has 20x more Vit C than Oranges! :eek: In WWII when Citrus was scarce, rosehips were used to get vitamins into the kids.

I found a recipe for you for rosehip tea - naturally you need to dry the hips first.

DRYING ROSEHIPS
To dry the fruit spread the hips out on a clean surface. Allow them to dry until the skin begins to feel dry and slightly shriveled. At this point, split the hips in half and take out all of the seeds and tiny hairs in the center. Remember not to use aluminum pans or utensils as this will destroy some of the vitamin C. After the seeds are removed you can let the hips dry completely. Don’t wait to remove the seeds until hips are completely dry or you will have trouble with de-seeding.
Store the dried hips in sealed plastic bags. Freeze for long term use or put in the refrigerator if you plan on using over a two or three month period.

ROSEHIP TEA
Rose Hip Tea Recipe

• Place 4-6 hips (prepared as noted above) in the bottom of a non-aluminum pan
• Add 2 cups of cool water
• Allow water to come to a boil
• Let simmer for about 30 minutes (less if you like a weaker tea)
• Strain and add sweetener to taste

I also found a recipe for ROSEHIP MARMALADE

• Soak dried hips in cool water for several hours
• Bring hips soaking in water to a boil for about 20 minutes
• Strain out water
• Add one cup of brown sugar or granulated sugar per one cup of the strained water
• Boil the sweetened water until it becomes thick and syrupy
• Add the previously boiled hips and continue boiling until hips are tender
• Pour into jars and seal

Hope that helps!

Fern_Merkin

That doesn't just help, that's fantastic!

Gonna get out ther this weekend and bag misel some hips!

Thanks very much for that, I am overchuffed

Wish I hadn't helped the neighbours get rid of most of their roses now. Thought I was helping

Sure there's more I can scrump within walkin distance. It's folk like thee that make being here worth it. Thank you.

FX

slummymummyof3

If your wife has PCOS and is overweight, she is at a much greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Perhaps you should consider low glycaemic index foods. If you google this you will find loads of info on the web. The way it works is you eat foods that are low gi rather than high gi - meaning you eat foods that release their energy slowly and at a continuous rate rather than those that cause rapid peaks and troughs in your blood sugar and cause you to feel hungry within an hour or so after eating. It is a fantastic start to losing weight and preventing this rollercoaster of blood sugars. For example don't eat mashed potatoe, eat a jacket sweet potatoe instead. Use pulses and lentils etc in your cooking. It might also be worth your while looking at the diabetes forum for further info from fellow pcos who have developed diabetes. With your wife's recent heart attack as well, it is possible that she already has diabetes but is not aware of it. But in any case, prevention is better than cure and for diabetes - there is no cure!!!!!

donnajt

wantingtochange08 (((((((((big hugs))))))))) to you and your wife

you really ought to start claimnig benefits - your wife should qualify for the higher DLA on grounds of mobility, this would help you massively

from your posts, forgive me if i am wrong, you sound stressed yourself due to the pressure you are under - call social services see if they can help and try where you can to grab 5 mins of "me" time

as for food - do you have a slowcooker? stews, casseroles can be thrown in first thing and you have a lovely home made meal ready in the evening, slowcookers are fab with cheaper joints of meat and any veg you have in the fridge can be used, bulk with lentils or oats

meatloaves are easy to prepare -i use this nigella recipe - it makes 12 mini meatloaves which means you could freeze several for the following week

Nigella’s Mini Meatloaves
1lb sausage meat
1lbground beef
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup steak sauce (i use ketchup and mustard but you could use brown sauce)
2 eggs beaten
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Maldon salt, kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt

*Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
*Combine all of the above in a bowl, mixing really well with your hands or a fork.
*Divide the mixture into 12 balls, and then shape them into mini loaves.
*Sit the mini meatloaves on a baking sheet with space between them and cook for 30 minutes.
*You could eat them hot, but best let them cool and keep in the fridge to slice and eat in sandwiches.

miggy

Bumping this for you... hope you're okay, and your wife too?
Take care, and as you seem to have soooo much advice coming at you, I'll add my own. Don't get overwhelmed trying to do it all at once, anything you can do is better than nothing. Just do what you can and add a bit more when you can manage more.
Has your wife come across www.flylady.net? Although the website was originally set up for people wishing to get their homes in order, it's become a huge source of encouragement for people in many different situations. If she hasn't come across it she may find it's something that gives her a lift while you're out.
You seem like one amazing couple to be pulling together when you have so many stresses. I hope we hear from you again so we can cheer you on as well as offer practical help from the vast treasure trove of knowledge and ideas that these forums seem to generate.

sandraroffey

if you havent already done so, please please put in a claim for attendance allowance and disability living allowance. if you talk to social services, and get yourself an assigned social worker, you will get all the help you need because your social worker will sort it all for you. they will even arrange for someone to come in when you arent there to help your wife with meals, personal care etc.

you dont have to do all this on your own!! the help is there but they wont find you if you dont ask!!!

all the very best to you both.xx

Penelope_Penguin

sandraroffey wrote: »

if you havent already done so, please please put in a claim for attendance allowance and disability living allowance.

You can't have both Attendance allowance is for the over-65s; DLA for under-65s..

Penny. x

sandraroffey

thanks for that. had a moment after i had posted that remembering when i helped my father in law claim attendance allowance and suddenly remembering that it was for the over 65s. sorry, its been a long day!!! but do claim everything you can. its surprising what you can get.xxx