Feeling this deeply 💛 Between back-to-school chaos and life’s everyday busyness, I’m also navigating prolonged grief after losing my mom earlier this year, with the one-year mark of her diagnosis approaching. Some days my emotional bandwidth feels like a rubber band—stretching, snapping, stretching again. I like the challenge of simplifying something within my control - and not (trying not to?) feel guilt about it.
I love the concept of paring down. Maybe I'll make it a tee-shirt. Nope, nope, that's too much extraneous work. Instead I'll sharpie the words on sticky note over my desk: 'PARE DOWN'. I do like the idea of only cooking twice a week. Thank you, Abby! PS I hope you won't stop baking :)
I don't understand the Emily Henry obsession either? I think maybe it's like rewatching a fave romantic comedy - comfortable/enjoyable every time??
TRTTH is amazing and fabulous and i'm so excited to see the book get more love!
I also enjoy cooking and don't mind-to-enjoy the planning/prep aspects as well, BUT also can't do ALL the THINGS.
Some things that have helped decrease my load:
-Meal Rotation: monday is breakfast for dinner, tuesday is loaded baked potatoes, weds is pasta, etc. there can be variations within the framework, but still centered on fairly simple things.
-Bougie grocery store prepared foods: usually cheaper than takeout, and easier to get a little bigger quantities to stretch for more meals.
-Julia Turshen's cookbooks and substack to help you simplify some of what you are still doing.
I LOVE Julia Turshen's stuff -- took her class for YEARS. And I have all her cookbooks. I love the day of the week idea and prepared food! We did that a lot when we lived in Cambridge and it was so wonderful! xx
I absolutely second the impulse to simplify. Last year I started making massive vats of soup on the weekend and then freezing in dinner and lunch sized containers. I also make double the protein for meals that freeze well and tuck it in the freezer with—this is key—a clear list on the side of the fridge indicating what’s in the freezer. I can pull out an extra frozen glass container of chicken and rice, then add salad and a cooked frozen veg and call it a night. This has been saving me in the busy season.
I love this. I'm a teacher and my back-to-school season is always *hectic* at my job. So my husband and I decided back-to-school was the right time to experiment with Factor (delivered meals fully made) and it was a great decision! Sometimes you just need support for a season, and there is nothing wrong with that. <3
Abby, do you have Ali Slagle’s cookbook, I Dream of Dinner so you Don’t Have To? Her recipes are stupid easy and most require no more than 30 minutes to pull together. Also, is your husband no longer vegan?
Do less god bless !!! It’s really hard to do in practice so dumb catch phrases can sometimes help.
I'll let you know if I'm about to pull it off!!! x
Feeling this deeply 💛 Between back-to-school chaos and life’s everyday busyness, I’m also navigating prolonged grief after losing my mom earlier this year, with the one-year mark of her diagnosis approaching. Some days my emotional bandwidth feels like a rubber band—stretching, snapping, stretching again. I like the challenge of simplifying something within my control - and not (trying not to?) feel guilt about it.
I love the concept of paring down. Maybe I'll make it a tee-shirt. Nope, nope, that's too much extraneous work. Instead I'll sharpie the words on sticky note over my desk: 'PARE DOWN'. I do like the idea of only cooking twice a week. Thank you, Abby! PS I hope you won't stop baking :)
I'll NEVER stop baking!!! And I want this T-shirt. xxx
HOORAY! I'm currently writing at a café in The Beaches (Toronto, y'all) and nibbling a sub-par scone and thinking of you longingly on both counts. Looking forward to breakfast club.
I don't understand the Emily Henry obsession either? I think maybe it's like rewatching a fave romantic comedy - comfortable/enjoyable every time??
TRTTH is amazing and fabulous and i'm so excited to see the book get more love!
I also enjoy cooking and don't mind-to-enjoy the planning/prep aspects as well, BUT also can't do ALL the THINGS.
Some things that have helped decrease my load:
-Meal Rotation: monday is breakfast for dinner, tuesday is loaded baked potatoes, weds is pasta, etc. there can be variations within the framework, but still centered on fairly simple things.
-Bougie grocery store prepared foods: usually cheaper than takeout, and easier to get a little bigger quantities to stretch for more meals.
-Julia Turshen's cookbooks and substack to help you simplify some of what you are still doing.
I LOVE Julia Turshen's stuff -- took her class for YEARS. And I have all her cookbooks. I love the day of the week idea and prepared food! We did that a lot when we lived in Cambridge and it was so wonderful! xx
I absolutely second the impulse to simplify. Last year I started making massive vats of soup on the weekend and then freezing in dinner and lunch sized containers. I also make double the protein for meals that freeze well and tuck it in the freezer with—this is key—a clear list on the side of the fridge indicating what’s in the freezer. I can pull out an extra frozen glass container of chicken and rice, then add salad and a cooked frozen veg and call it a night. This has been saving me in the busy season.
omg YES, I've been wanting to make a list of what's in the freezer bc I always lose track. Always. SUCH helpful suggestions. xxx
I love this. I'm a teacher and my back-to-school season is always *hectic* at my job. So my husband and I decided back-to-school was the right time to experiment with Factor (delivered meals fully made) and it was a great decision! Sometimes you just need support for a season, and there is nothing wrong with that. <3
Abby, do you have Ali Slagle’s cookbook, I Dream of Dinner so you Don’t Have To? Her recipes are stupid easy and most require no more than 30 minutes to pull together. Also, is your husband no longer vegan?
He is, and I used to own it but found very little that worked for our family in it, sadly!