Rest is a Recipe Too

by Alisha M. Smith | Grief to Gratitude Chef

You don’t always have to be baking. You don’t always have to be producing. You don’t always have to be doing anything at all.

Rest is a recipe too.

And like any good recipe, it starts with ingredients:

• Silence

• Softness

• Non-doing

• Trust

In the rhythm of ritual healing, rest is not the absence of creation. It is the space that makes creation possible. It is the cooling rack. The proofing bowl. The moment of stillness where magic does its quiet work.

Inside The Joyful Baking Community, we remind each other that rest is productive. That stepping away from the kitchen is just as sacred as showing up in it. That a blank page, a quiet oven, an untouched whisk—these are not signs of failure. They are invitations.

So here’s your permission slip:

Do less today. Rest more. Let joy find you in the in-between.

Try This Simple Rest Recipe: Lemon Balm Tea Loaf

• 1 cup plain yogurt

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 2 eggs

• 1 tbsp dried lemon balm (or lemon zest)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 1/2 cups flour

• 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp saltBake at 350°F for 35-40 mins. Slice and rest.

Because even rest has a recipe. And you, beloved, are allowed to follow it.

You don’t have to be a good baker. You just have to be willing to show up.

Joy will meet you there.