Bake Away The Blues

Well, it's still January, and I still hate it.

I've written my resolutions, and I'm plugging along, persistently, yet patiently, in the direction of those goals, but I need something more to get me through this long and gloomy month. 

I'm pretty sure that a brownie, or a giant piece of cake would cheer me up, but unfortunately, I just made a resolution not to eat those.  Baking, however, is the perfect choice for beating the January blues.

                                                                             ("I Love Baking", foxnews.com)

Baking can make you happy.  It's true!  But, believe it or not, it's not so much the indulging on cookies and cupcakes when the timer goes off, as it is the process of baking, that can help to bring comfort and peace, when we're feeling low.  There's something beautiful and innately cheerful, about the simple act of combining the flour and the sugar, or cracking in the eggs, or punching down the dough, and shaping it into the perfect loaf. 

I read a fantastic article called, "5 Reasons Baking is Good For Mental Health" (www.goodnet.org), that highlighted some of the reasons why baking  is so effective at boosting your mood.

1.  "Cooking is Meditative"

When you're baking, your mind is so focused on measuring out exactly 1 cup of flour, or a Tablespoon of cinnamon or vanilla, that little room is left for negative thoughts to linger.  Kneading the dough or measuring out the muffin batter into the pan, helps keep our minds busy and engaged. 

2.  "Baking Stimulates the Senses"

Baking is definitely an activity steeped in smells and sounds and tastes and textures.  Smelling the cookies baking in the oven, mixing the cold butter into the flour with your fingers to make a pie crust,
and even the sound of the mixer beating the egg whites, all help to awaken our faculties, and "increase feel-good endorphins".

3.  "Nourishing Activities Feel Good"

Knowing that the effort we're making to bake something yummy for someone we love, something to nourish their body, or in the case of brownies, their soul, brings us joy. 

4.  "Baking is Creative"

I'm a big believer that, as this article points out, there is a "strong connection between creative expression and overall wellbeing."  Creating something beautiful feels amazing!  Think how proud you'll feel when your loaf of bread looks just as perfect as the loaves you saw lining the shelves of a French Patisserie on your vacation, or when you master a perfect buttercream rose on the top of your cake. 

5.  "Make Other People Happy"

Now that you've spent your day happily whipping up batch after batch of tasty treats, if you still want any shot at keeping those resolutions, most likely you give away some of those tempting treats to your friends or coworkers, or neighbors.  Who wouldn't love being surprised by a homemade cinnamon roll, or a loaf of Banana Bread?  And as we all know, inevitably, when we give a little bit of love to someone else, we end up feeling amazing ourselves.

Just 19 days left of January to endure.  We've got this!  Just break out the bread pans and the mixing bowls, and you'll be making Valentines cookies before you know it!

Happy Baking!  Literally.

Today's a new day;  let's make it purposeful!
Kara