One of the things I love about Cooking Therapy is that the kitchen can sometimes tell us exactly what we need to hear.
Take pie dough.
When you’re bringing it together, there comes a point when you have to stop.
You mix.
You gather.
You roll.
And then you leave it alone.
Because pie dough doesn’t reward us for endlessly working it.
In fact, too much handling can change the very thing we’re trying to create.
I think about that sometimes when we keep working on something in our minds long after we’ve done everything we can reasonably do.
We reread the email.
We revisit the conversation.
We question the decision we made yesterday.
We turn the same worry over and over again, hoping that if we just examine it one more time, something new will appear.
But sometimes nothing new is coming.
We’re simply overworking the dough.
It’s a Cooking Therapy metaphor worth keeping nearby.
There comes a point when continuing to work on something doesn’t make it better. It simply makes it harder to handle.
As The Sous Therapist, I spend a lot of time looking at ordinary kitchen moments through a different lens so I can create Cooking Therapy sessions and share the recipes with you.
Today the lens is all about self satisfaction.
This Week’s Cooking Therapy Recipe:
Self Satisfaction Sandwiches
The kitchen gives us something talk therapy can’t always provide.
Something tangible.
You can hold it.
Spread it.
Layer it.
Taste it.
And sometimes, while your hands are busy making something simple, you’re given a different way to think about yourself.
This week’s Cooking Therapy exercise is built around a sandwich - and the many layers we carry with us.
Because self-acceptance doesn’t necessarily mean pretending we don’t have imperfections, difficult habits, or things we’d like to change.
It means understanding that those things are not the entire recipe.
You are not one ingredient. You are the whole sandwich.
And as you build this one, each layer gives you an opportunity to consider another part of yourself.
And yes, you’ll end up with lunch.
Unlock this week’s full Cooking Therapy Session below.
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