Mind over Batter

February 1, 2023
Hazan, a psychotherapist, introduces readers to baking therapy: a way for people to work through their feelings with baking, which can be done in readers' own homes and with items they may already have. Sharing stories of his Syrian Jewish family, Hazan offers lessons from his own life and encourages readers to embrace all parts of themselves. Each section focuses on something the reader might be feeling or needing and offers recipes to go along with it. Need self-care? Try self-care in a cupcake. For mindfulness, there's lemon ginger bundt cake.Woven among recipes are tips and advice for help with managing anxiety, creating good boundaries, and finding mindfulness. There are also practical baking affirmations throughout the book, which can be helpful for those who tend to panic in the kitchen. Yes, there are problems baking can't solve, but there's no shortage of stressed-out people in need of a little comfort--and sometimes, baking can help with that.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 6, 2023
Therapist and baking enthusiast Hazan (JackBakes) offers a guide to embracing baking as therapy in this confidence-inspiring outing. According to Hazan, “you can start baking your way through tough feelings,” and to that end, he organizes recipes around therapeutic goals: self-care, mindfulness, finding comfort, dealing with stress and anxiety, defusing frustration, connecting with others, and finding joy. Self-Care in a Cup Cake, a microwave mug confection, satisfies body and soul, while pumpkin donuts go a long way toward treating seasonal blues. As well, one can find comfort kneading and braiding rich dough for Jack’s Famous Challah, or destress with cardamom-laced Feeling Peachy Galette. Pesto Pull-Apart Bread, meanwhile, brings people together. (Recurring sidebars offer overviews of therapeutic techniques and dispense empowering affirmations.) Perfection is not the goal, the author notes, as pleasure comes as much from the baking and sharing as the eating. Hazan’s sunny disposition shines as he gives permission to bake, enjoy, and heal. Experienced and beginner bakers alike will agree with Hazan that “true joy can’t be bought. It can, however, be baked.”

March 1, 2023

Readers may be more familiar with art or music therapy, but this book introduces baking as therapy. Hazan, a licensed psychotherapist, Food Network contributor, and owner of challah products bakery JackBakes, draws upon the kitchen lessons he's learned from his nurturing Syrian Jewish family, whose acceptance of his differences made the life he has possible. Recipes from that tradition are offered in chapters with titles representing areas of healing: Self-Care, Mindfulness, Dealing with Stress and Anxiety, Finding Joy, etc. The intro to each chapter is not baking-oriented but rather a small "therapy session," and each of the recipes has a "baking affirmation" or "food for thought" appended. Many of the recipes are drawn from Middle Eastern and Jewish traditions with a modern twist, such as tahini blondies and marbled rye breadsticks. It's not always clear why a recipe is in one chapter instead of another, and the criteria for selection are not readily apparent, but the real meat of Hazan's book is the therapeutic message rather than the recipes. VERDICT Hazan's point of view is simple, comforting, and helpful for those in need of some talk therapy, with the added bonus of baked goods.--Danise Hoover

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.