So many people have reached out to encourage me on my journey with writing my book and most of you understandably have questions about what it is. I’m so excited to let you in on what I’m hatching and go through this process WITH you all (because if you’ve known me for five minutes, you know I’m all about bringing people along for the ride). So what is With Heart?
Six years ago, I had a defining moment in my life; my stroke. Some of you knew me then, while others have entered my life since. There is now pre-stroke and post-stroke, and life has been undeniably different since that event.
In scripture, we see a strange word. Ebenezer. It means “stone of help” and originally is found in the Old Testament when Samuel set up a stone to commemorate God’s help for the Israelites (1 Samuel 7:12). We hear this word and forget that it is still relevant to us today, that God is still helping us and we should still create memorials of the good work he has done for us and continues to do. These moments are not to be forgotten, ignored or left in the past. “We know that God works all things together for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). I knew I wanted to write a book someday, and it turns out, the time is now.
That is what With Heart is. It is my Ebenezer; my banner declaring all of the good that God has done, rescuing me from death, from disease, from the despair and depression of that season. There was before, and there is after. And there is proof that God delivered me from those dark days. And so With Heart is my Ebenezer, my “commemoration of divine assistance.”
After I had my stroke, my neurologist prescribed the Mediterranean Diet for vascular recovery. I dabbled in the diet and tried my best to get on board with the recipes I found in the few cookbooks that are available, but in general I was completely mystified by this type of cooking. I’m a simple girl, raised on American and Italian family favorites, and cooking some of these challenging, richly complex foods from the Mediterranean Diet cookbooks I found was intimidating. Ultimately, in the years since receiving this prescription, I had to figure out ways to adapt the diet’s key principles in ways that still fit my family’s dietary preferences and allowed us to eat our traditional favorites and enjoy the delicious mediterranean meals at our favorite mediterranean restaurants.
In With Heart, you will find dozens of recipes that are both new and old, adapted for vascular health, but written and created with everybody in mind. You don’t have to follow a certain diet or have specific health issues to benefit. It is for all to enjoy. The recipes, in addition to my own creations and adaptations, are curated from loved ones and family members who not only provided healing for me during that time with the food on top of the table, but taught me how to heal emotionally around the table. This book is about my experience of healing the heart both literally and figuratively.
So is it a book? Yes. Is it a cookbook? Also yes. You will read the chronicled telling of my stroke experience, my recovery and how I healed with food and fellowship. Detailed and vibrant pictures of dishes and the family table will fill the book and recipes will be sorted into categories ranging from naturally low fat, protein-rich main courses to delicious and indulgent small bite desserts. You will enjoy American family favorites with modifications to allow guilt-free dining by eating to support vascular health.
I don’t know why the Lord allowed me to have a stroke at age 24. I certainly wish I could undo those dark days. But I will raise my Ebenezer in gratitude and glory for the one who carried me through and through whom nothing is wasted.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)