The Year of Cookbooks

Head, Hands, Heart Oct 2022

Head

For the coming month I’m stepping back but the newsletter will keep going with a special series of guest writers called “Mental Health and Motherhood.”

You’ll be able to hear from people on topics of anxiety, depression, regulating nervous systems, and parenthood in a mental health context. Please be sure to get your free subscription to this newsletter and share it with anyone you know who’s been feeling alone lately.

Hands

We’ve been getting in the fall spirit with some recipes that some might call cheating but I call practical.

Did you know you can buy banana bread mixes in the produce section for like $1? Winco has had them consistently and we’ve been making them every other week with chocolate chips that are free of the top 12 allergens (Brand: ENJOY LIFE). Delicious.

I also made biscuits for the first time (another bag mix) and found that you need to fold the butter into the dough for the best result. I used autumn leaf cookie cutters for fun.

I never intended this hands section to always be about food (maybe I should rename it hunger) but it seems to be the year of recipe books! Here are the top favorites I’ve been flipping through for weekly inspiration. (links in the titles)

Half Baked Harvest Super Simple has kept me going since the spring. The only downside to this lovely cookbook is how allergen unfriendly it is (Eliza is allergic to tree nuts and we all have to eat dairy-free). But let me tell you, friends, the Cleveland, Ohio girl in me drools over these hearty and EASY recipes.

Feeding Littles & Beyond just came out this fall with their giant recipe book and it’s super cool. Every recipe has tips on how to substitute ingredients for accommodate for your busy life as a parent. Although my daughter is eating solids like a pro now, the weaning tips are great for anyone with kids. (This includes an appendix that has photos of every recipe and how to serve them to little ones. Brilliant stuff.)

Yummy Toddler Food isn’t technically one recipe book but a site chock full of recipes and real-life honesty I can always get behind. I now seem to spend my nights saving all her recipes on instagram and wishing I could cook without interruptions…

Heart

I’ve been stuck in the thick of it, I told my husband before the fundraiser gala began. We were dressed up for a nonprofit event and going solo for the entire night while my daughter slept at her grandparents’ house for the first time.

“Haven’t we always been in the thick of it?” he replied.

I have trouble accepting things that seem opposing. If I say I am tired, then I’m often preluding the point with a “but” connector.

I love my job BUT I’m so tired. I love my daughter BUT I’m exhausted.

It’s hard for me to navigate my emotions, still at 30 years old. I’m learning (albeit slowly) what navigating means as I parent a little girl with big emotions she cannot express. I try not to put words in her mouth about how she’s feeling and know I can hardly describe my own emotions.

It’s another reason I asked for some help with this newsletter for November. My plate isn’t just full; I’m trying to figure out if something on my plate is negatively affecting the rest. I don’t mind being busy; I like it. But parenthood these past couple years (as well as being recovery) has made me very aware that my values must direct my priorities, otherwise I feel like I’m spiraling.

Its my hope for you this coming month to take time and figure out if your values have shifted. Then actually act for the benefit of your mental health to correct where your time is spent.