Muffin Tuesday

I started making muffins every Tuesday about 2 ½ years ago. I never thought it would be a habit that would stick - I mean, EVERY Tuesday?? That’s a big commitment. But it did. And here’s the real story of how #MuffinTuesday came to be:

About 3 years ago, I fell into a majorly depressive state (I had previously struggled with depression, still do). My doctor suggested going to group therapy. I went. Twice. (It was an eight week class.) BUT what I did get out of one of those times, changed my life forever. They told a story about a woman that had depression and she likes to bake. So her culinary therapy was to bake a cake everyday, which involves finding a recipe, buying ingredients, baking the cake, and giving it to a friend or colleague. It take something she already likes to a meditative and altruistic process.

I thought: Well, I don’t have care that much for cake, I’m not into sweets, but I’ve made muffins before, I could do this with muffins. And every day is a little daunting, but how about once a week, on Tuesdays, since we have meetings at work anyways, I can bring it in as a treat. So, I started waking up at 5:30am on Tuesdays to make muffins and brought them to work to share. And #MuffinTuesday was born.

It’s evolved since then. I no longer work where I used to, where we had meetings on Tuesdays. But I started going to this super awesome climbing gym on Tuesdays, so I brought the muffins there. And I went to a coffee shop to work on applying for jobs, and so I brought the muffins there. And now I bring the muffins everywhere I go on Tuesdays - to work, to the gym, to a networking event, to a friend’s house, on my bike - and give muffins to friends and strangers! I’ve tried all kinds of recipes: orange cranberry (my personal favorite), ginger apricot, kale feta sweet potato, strawberry shortcake, the list goes on and on.

I recently found this article on the benefits of baking for other people which really resonated with me: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/baking-for-others-psychology_us_58dd0b85e4b0e6ac7092aaf8?utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=gn_fb&utm_medium=facebook&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000023

Baking is not for everyone (I’m actually more of a cooker than a baker), but it can’t hurt to try or find something similar that offers you mindfulness and wellbeing benefits.

So, what do I do when I’m not baking muffins to share? I rock climb, practice acroyoga, moonlight as a bike valet, advocate for green building, network with other professionals, cook healthy meals, play Settlers of Catan, travel, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, and in general try to lead an active, healthy, sustainable lifestyle.