Many years ago, a friend bought us a crock pot as a thank you for helping her with her wedding. We were truly touched and were excited to make many fun recipes in it. We envisioned ourselves side-by-side in the kitchen, filling our slow cooker with nutritious food, filling the house with yummy smells, and filling our lives with warmth and comfort. We envisioned finally living the life that we had always imagined we would live: a life that had lots of unscheduled time and lots of freedom – a life where time seemed to slow down, where we were present to embrace all of the glorious space that we’d been given. We couldn’t wait for this crock-pot way of life to begin!

Well…it didn’t exactly go the way we had imagined it would (or even close). Instead, we tried a couple of recipes, got busy, got even busier, forgot about the crock pot altogether, remembered the crock pot and said that we really should use it more often, put it on the counter as a reminder, put it away when we needed to create space on the counter, forgot about it again, got even busier than before (which resulted in completely burning out), decided it was time to move to the coast for a lifestyle overhaul, prepared to move and found the now-dusty crock pot pushed way back in one of our cupboards, decided that we shouldn’t bring it because we never used it, had a garage sale and sold it with over half of our other belongings that we didn’t want to bring, and never thought about it again.

Until recently, that is. A couple of weeks ago, I was at a doctor’s appointment and she recommended that I begin to make soups in a crock pot as an easy way to get all of the nutrients that my body is craving. While I’ve been on this journey to heal my adrenals for the last three years and have made great progress, I’m still moving toward a life that’s filled with health and vitality. When she mentioned the crock pot, I realized that it was so much more than a yummy soup maker. I remembered what it had represented all those years ago for me – I remembered the lifestyle that I had been working toward embodying. And I had a feeling that getting a slow cooker and actually using it this time would help me slow down, too, and really be able to embrace the life that I have wanted to live for so long.

So I bought one. And I bought a vegetarian cookbook to give me ideas to get started. And I downloaded tons of recipes for inspiration. And I remembered something: my life now is so much different from my life when I got my first crock pot. Then, we were working around the clock – staying up until 4 am to finish everything, never taking a day off, thinking about our business all of the time. There was no balance. At all. And while I’m still working toward my ideal work-life balance, I’ve made such huge strides since then. We rarely work after dinner nowadays. We go to sleep by 12:30 at the latest (preferably earlier). We lie down each day for an afternoon nap. We sit outside together most mornings and just soak up the sun and the breeze, while listening to the birds. We take time off. We play hooky from work much more often. We have much more space than we used to have. And we’re about to have much, much more since we’ve consciously planned for our work schedule to be much more open starting in January.

So, I have no doubt that my crock-pot experience will be much different this time. I wasn’t ready then. I was moving too fast on the train of life to be able to enjoy this appliance. I know that some people use slow cookers because it’s quick and easy. And while that’s a big part of the appeal for me, too, my main reason for using it is because it represents a lifestyle that I want to embody: a slower, calmer, easier, happier life where I have time to cook and where I have space to live a life that feeds not only my stomach but also my soul.

We made vegan lasagna last night in it, which was absolutely delicious! And we enjoyed the entire experience, just like I had envisioned years ago. Time did seem to expand, and my life did seem to feel exactly how I want it to feel. Today, I’ll be making apple butter – a childhood favorite of mine that I haven’t had in many years. I’m ready for this way of life now. I can feel it. It’s time to slow down. Way, way down. And a slow cooker is the perfect place to start.

If you’re also wanting to slow down, I hope you’ll find ways that feel good for you to do so. It’s so important that we honor our bodies in this way and give them what they most need: space, rest, nutritious foods, and a whole lot of love.

Please feel free to share your favorite vegetarian crock-pot recipes below!

Hugs and love,