Fast & Delicious Comfort Food Recipes B&W - Paperback

by Samantha Leiter (Illustrator), Anita Miranda (Author)

During my pre-teen years, I found myself having to fend for my brothers and myself when they were living with us. My mom was in the hospital getting her medications stabilized, or she was home, living like a zombie. I learned how to grocery shop before my 8th birthday and how to prepare easy meals. These are my favorite recipes. They are quick, and you should have the ingredients in the cupboard - always buy the staples. These recipes will never make it in the Good Housekeeping magazine or the Eat Healthy for Your Heart books, but they were satisfying, yet comforting to me during the lean years. What I mean by comfort is not to make me feel better, but to make me feel full with flavor. That is my interpretation of comfort food. Chef Nana Knows PTSD offers a quick and delicious comfort food with a helping hand. To those who suffer from PTSD and who love us, I dedicate my favorite recipes. Take something old and make it something delicious.

Author Biography

I live with PTSD. Anyone that has constant contact with me including my loved ones has to deal with it. My priority is to use the resources and tools I have access to. Every day I have to reach into my tool belt and choose which method will work best. I have searched for a productive, non-destructive way of handling my stressors that lead to triggers. Something that wasn't drugs, alcohol, or over-indulging in anything to feel numb and distracted. Working with my support team for my maintenance, I found that I needed more. While perusing the internet one day, I came across the topic of art therapy and adult coloring books. Art therapy has been found by researchers to be beneficial for stress relief from a variety of sources, including PTSD. However, some people are admittedly not the best at creating their own works. I am not an artist, nor do I do anything intricately. As a child, I enjoyed my coloring books yet never imagined that coloring would be back in my life as an adult. This is where adult coloring books come in. But I didn't just want any coloring book. I had no desire to lose myself in just the action. I wanted to think, feel and connect. I needed to let my thoughts flow as well. To feel inspired. Thus, the Coloring Book for Adults with Journal allows me to do just that. In Nana's Helping Hand with PTSD, Anita Miranda, a Ward of the Court, Job Corp Graduate, United States Sailor, Veteran, mother, grandmother, and educator, skillfully weaves an illustrated story on the importance of truly seeing through our children's eyes. While raising her children, she knew something was terribly wrong. Believing she was truly broken, she tried to move on. But when the world saw the horrors of 9/11, Anita was struck by her first flashback. Her diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) finally made sense. Shortly after, she lost everything she had worked so hard for, including her sense of duty. For the first time in Anita's life, she could not take care of herself or her children. Even armed with a Master's degree, she felt hopeless. Anita created Nana Knows: Nana's Helping Hand with PTSD, which was inspired by the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She draws from her life experiences to build a new series that helps both children and adults understand PTSD. Her goal is to reach out to families and their children, as well as to educate and motivate others to learn from her journey, generation to generation, because Nana Truly Knows.