If an apple pie met an apple crumble and had a cookie baby, you’d get these apple crumble cookie bars, which feature an easy press-in oat crust, a layer of spiced apples and a buttery crumble topping (they’re also gluten-free, egg-free, nut-free, and can easily be made vegan).
Hello my dears!
As I shared in the video above, when I started making these Apple Crumble Cookie Bars to shoot for today’s newsletter, I was tired, grumpy, and full of resistance. To be honest, it felt like work, not just in a literal sense (as in, this is my job) but in a deeper sense—“work” feels heavy and constricting, tethered to obligation and results.
I realized I could bring all of that heaviness into the process, or, I could try to shift (by the way, making the decision to “try to shift” is often the hardest part—sometimes being grumpy feels good in a masochistic kind of way!). While we often hear in the wellness world to “just look on the bright side,” or “find something to be grateful for,” these are hard places to jump to when we’re feeling low. It’s often like throwing a rainbow colored blanket over a pile of sludge. The sludge is still there.
Instead, I’ve found that it helps to simply soften. Soften into what you’re feeling. Soften into what you’re doing. Don’t try to resist it or change it, but rather, soften into it.
There’s so much I want to say—about how softening allows our emotions to rise but then also to unclench and release; about how softening requires vulnerability; about how it takes courage to be soft when life and/or the world feels overwhelming or scary; about how learning to soften our physical bodies can help us learn to also soften internally; about how softening towards ourselves is perhaps the biggest gift we can give ourselves and others—but those are big topics, and space here is short.
Instead, let’s talk about softening in the kitchen. What does it mean to “soften” when cooking?
In the kitchen
Imagine, for a minute, that you’ve had a shit-pile of a day and it’s time to make dinner. What if you paused, just for a few seconds, to take two deep grounding breaths, starting at the top of your head and going all the way down to the ground at your feet, calming your nervous system. What if, instead of denying the way you’re feeling, you simply set an intention to soften… to soften. Can you feel your shoulders unclench, even if just by a bit? Can you feel your breath deepen, perhaps by a hair?
I’ve found that if I hold the focus to soften while I cook, bringing my mind back to the intention when it runs off (which it will), I slowly start to shift from “doing” to “tending.” In her book, Returning Home to Our Bodies,
states,What if, instead of fix, we speak of tending?… Tend, coming from the Latin tendere: “to stretch,” “to move toward.” Tend is the language of movement. It has love in it, being so closely related to the word tender… Tending is a word of relationship as we extend care to ourselves and others.
(p.s. I had at the immense pleasure of leading an in-person discussion with Abigail about her book last night at Split Rock Bookstore—more on that soon!)
While Abigail is speaking in terms of our bodies, we can apply the same concept to cooking. When we “tend” to our recipes instead of “doing” them, we form a relationship with them. Instead knocking off steps on autopilot, we can engage with the foods we’re preparing in a deeper, softer way. And, in doing so, perhaps we can also tend to ourselves, allowing the emotions we’re feeling to bubble and release, gently.
This isn’t a perfect practice, and it will look different every time (and sometimes, it might not work at all, but the potential is there). We can soften in the kitchen, tending to the meal we’re cooking, engaging with the foods we’re preparing, and tending to ourselves as well.
This week, if it feels good to do so, my invitation is to practice softening. Perhaps you can do this while you make the cookie bars below, or maybe you start with a simple breakfast, or even when eating a plate of carry-out. Set an intention to soften. Tend to the food in front of you, and tend to yourself as well.
One-on-One Sessions!
If you’re looking for support in tending to yourself or your cooking practice, I’m here to help. I’ve received such beautiful feedback about the new one-on-one sessions that I’m offering and am deeply grateful and incredibly excited to start working with some of you!! After feeling into my heart I decided to reduce the rates from the initial pricing on Tuesday in order to make the sessions more accessible while still honoring the amount of time and effort the calls will require on my part. Also, I’ve added two new free sessions for paid subscribers!! *THESE SESSIONS HAVE FILLED
In the one-on-one sessions, we will go deep, helping you unblock the challenges that you have around food and cooking, but we will also have fun, diving into human design and the joy that’s available to us when we tap into our bodies and senses. You can learn more and sign up here.
Apple Crumble Cookie Bars
Last week I shared my favorite apple recipes (including a game changing slow cooker applesauce), and today’s new recipe is now at the top of the list.
These apple crumble cookie bars are cozy and rustic, featuring a press-in oat and cinnamon crust, a layer of tender baked apples and a buttery crumble topping. The crumble topping and the crust are actually the same dough (made with just oat flour and rolled oats), making this a streamlined cookie bar that’s reminiscent of pie but a million times easier (and more nutritious too). The bars aren’t too sweet, but an optional two-ingredient apple cider glaze gives them some dazzle.
Today’s recipe is for paid subscribers, whose financial contribution of just a few dollars a month makes all of this work possible. Not only do paid subscribers keep the lights on over here, but they also have access to the full recipe archive, bonus posts, the ability to comment and request recipes, and more. If you’d like to hop over, click the button below! Thank you for your support. ❤️
Listen to this episode with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Mind, Body, Spirit, FOOD to listen to this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
