“There is no ‘should’ or ‘should not’ when it comes to having feelings. They’re part of who we are and their origins are beyond our control. When we can believe that, we may find it easier to make constructive choices about what to do with those feelings.”
– Fred Rogers
No matter what feelings you’re feeling, if you walk into a warm cozy kitchen where the music is playing, you’re with people you love, and you have a great recipe to bake, you are destined for the warm and fuzzies. This is how my story began…
Years ago, I realized that my love of baking was just as much about the mood as it was the food. For many of us home bakers, we bake because it whisks us away from this wild world in which we live. Baking is innocent, pure, it gives us control, connects us, and nourishes the body and soul. When we bake we are free to run away into a recipe where no one can find us, and when the time is right we come back to reality with something lovely and sweet. Baking also has a beautiful way of comforting us with, and in, every sense. If you’re angry you can soothe your bubbling rage into a ball of biscuit dough. If you’re worried, you can watch your troubles melt away like warm chocolate chips. And if you’re stressed, a little baking can raise your spirits like a delicious homemade pound cake.
Even science and social media have warm fuzzy feelings about baking. Snapping photos of baked goodies is like a second hobby for many, as baking hashtags have become like huge communities of like-minded people. On Instagram alone, the single hashtag #baking currently has over 25 million posts, and #bakeyourworldhappy has almost 160,000. There are also tens of thousands of people within baking groups on Pinterest swapping their favorite recipes, daily. If that isn’t convincing enough, how about a sprinkle of scientific data to back up all this baking?
In a recent study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, it was found that spending time on small creative goals like baking was associated with a statistically significant increase in positive affect. The study evaluated 658 young adults and determined after 13 days, that the more time spent on creative activities the happier and more fulfilled the study participants felt the next day. On the inverse, less creative time was associated with lower positive affect the following day. See, you really can transform both food and mood with a little butter, sugar, flour and eggs.
In a nutshell, I bake because it is my therapy. No rules, total control, and unlimited possibilities. If you don’t think baking is for you, forget about the food and try it for the mood. We have tons of easy recipes on the blog that will surely warm you up from the inside out.
Happy baking!
Emily M.
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