How Mind Body and Spoons Started:

Mind Body and Spoons was born from a discussion relating to how we can support and nourish our bodies whilst coping with a chronic illness – whether that’s through mental health, or with food. This spawned further talks about how difficult it was to find good food, tasty food, and the lack of decent recipes and knowledge on the internet.

How the ‘Mind’ deals with a barrage of issues in relation to chronic illness is a marvel. The daily challenges that come with balancing mood, of coping with physical and mental health reactions, the anxieties and low mood effects can be unsettling to say the least. Mind, Body and Spoons looks to offer guidance and resources to aid in promoting healthy mental practices, and ways to improve your mood whilst on your chronic illness journey.

In terms of the ‘Body’ part of Mind, Body and Spoons, this relates to providing what’s been missing online: whilst there are many, many websites offering advice, very few offer actual achievable recipes or problem solving when it comes to cooking. There’s a general lack of understanding of how cooking can enhances diet, how it improves mood and general mental health, and how the use of herbs and spices can aid or hinder in the development of flavour. We won’t even mention the lack of comprehension around Low Histamine diets, and the physical reactions that can be inflicted on diners who eat the wrong foods.

All of our recipes are based on the recommended ingredients listed on the SIGHI (Schweizerische Interessengemeinschaft Histamin-Intoleranz) list, arguably the most comprehensive list of low histamine foods that are recommended for those with MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome). Many of these recipes can be modified to be shared with non-MCAS dinner partners, or can be prepared in bulk and frozen for later consumption – a huge factor for those with a chronic illness who need to manage their energy.

When it comes to managing energy levels and preparing food, those with illnesses such as CFS/ME, Fibro, and Long Covid can suffer from missing nutrients, and be subjected to bland food owing to a lack of time/energy to cook with appropriate ingredients. Discovering tips. tricks, and cheats that professional chefs use can be a revelation to many, and applying them in this context can be a game changer!

As for ‘Spoons’ it of course relates to the well-known Spoon Theory, and how measuring out your daily energy in terms of ‘spoons’ can be a useful way to keep within our limits. But, is there more to spoons than a measuring tool? Well, check out our other resources – exercises, online tutorials, mindful moments, etc and helpful suggestions on how to get your spoons replenished.

Who’s Behind Mind Body and Spoons?

Handling all things to do with the ‘mind’ is our in-house Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Alice. You can read all about her here on her page.

Meanwhile, handling the pots, pans, and content creation is our ‘body’ manager, Chef Kit, and you can read about her here. Not content with just creating edible content, Kit is also our in-house writer and narrative therapy specialist, to discover more about her writing background, click here.