Dear Visitor, When grief takes over and leaves no space for anything else, even opening the dishwasher can feel monumental — let alone emptying it. I used to watch my husband tidy the kitchen before he'd even think about cooking. I always wondered why this was so important to him. Why not just start cooking and clean everything up afterwards?
After he died, I understood completely. My husband lost his first wife, and this must have been one of his coping strategies. Because you see, when your brain is cluttered and trying to make sense of this new reality, you need to clear what you can around you. Decluttering your space actually helps declutter your mind.
That's why I have created little systems of my own — one by one. Not because I'm naturally organised (I'm not), but because my brain needed this relief.
While driving back from Austria recently, I filmed how these little systems work in practice. Watch how I keep my routine going even when on the move:
| | | The most unsexy system of all? My basic Lentil & Veg SoupI know. It sounds boring. Definitely not Instagram-worthy. But this soup has become my secret weapon for:
- those days when I can't think of what to cook
- days when cooking feels impossible (see my last newsletter)
- when I'm travelling and refusing to live on motorway sandwiches
There’s another very good reason why I’m so adamant about cooking even when moving from one place to the next: travelling at high speeds is deeply unbalancing for our bodies — we simply weren't designed for it.
And when you're emotionally fragile, that physical disruption can tip you over the edge. It’s why we often feel completely unlike ourselves when we finally arrive at our destination.
But having my soup ready, my things organised, my small routines in place? It keeps me steady when everything else feels, quite literally, 'out of place'.
Here’s what makes this soup different: - It's your fallback when decision-making feels hard
- It's your anchor when you don't know where to start with eating better
- It freezes beautifully, reheats in minutes, and tastes even better the next day
Most importantly, it works. When nothing else does.
|  A variation of my lentil soup - shared with a study mate in Maribor, Slovenia | | That’s exactly why I’m sharing this soup in my Culinary Grief Workshop: "Comfort, Cravings & Connection Through Food" — because sometimes the most powerful thing you can learn isn’t a fancy technique. It’s having one reliable, basic recipe that will catch you when everything else falls apart. In the workshop, we'll cook this soup together and I’ll show you how herbs and spices aren't just for flavour — they're medicine. They’re one of my secrets for keeping cravings at bay and supporting your body through grief in ways that go far beyond just making food taste good. Want to learn more of these practical secrets? This workshop is where I share the tools that have helped me stay steady, even when I had no clue how I’d feel a minute, an hour, or a day later.
There are still a few places left if you’d like to join us.
| |
| What’s your fallback meal when everything feels too hard? I’d love to know what keeps you going on the difficult days. And just a little heads-up: I’ve got plenty more planned to support you over the next few months, leading up to… the C word.😉 Watch this space so you don’t miss out. Much love, Sabine |
|
|---|
Sabine Horner
77 Millfield Lane
York YO10 3AW
United Kingdom
| |
| You received this email because you subscribed to my newsletter, signed up for one of my webinars or joined my Wellbeing Community for Bereaved Partners.
Unsubscribe
|
|
|---|
|
|
