The Post-Holiday Burnout

Cooking When You’re Surviving on Borrowed Spoons

The Christmas Season is officially over, and chances are you’re now dealing with a giant post-holiday burnout. Surviving on borrowed spoons.

As a spoonie, I know just how that goes. I’ve been there too—and far too often to my liking. If ever there was a time to slow down, it’s now.

And yet… we still need to eat.

On the Menu

Surviving on Borrowed Spoons

Winter has truly arrived. Snow makes the world outside feel quieter. Softer. The cold draws us to the comfort of our warm homes. All we want is to spend hours on the couch with a good book, a hot drink, and a fluffy cat (or maybe a dog if you’re more of a dog-person).

And you know what?

When you’re struggling to overcome your post-holiday burnout, this might just be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Even so, we do need to get back to normal. Slowly. At a pace our minds and bodies can actually manage. That’s easier said than done, but let’s give it a try anyway, shall we?

The Emotional Hangover

First, we need to take care of our emotional needs.

Maybe you grieve the days when you were little, and the winter holidays were filled with magic. Or you just feel cold and empty now that the holidays are over. Overstimulated. Exhausted.

Maybe the holidays didn’t go as you hoped or expected, and that meal you prepared (you know, the one that cost all your spoons) ended up as leftovers in the freezer, because your guests fell ill and had to cancel last-minute.

That is real life. And it sucks.

How do you deal with that?

Honestly, I can’t give you a roadmap. I can only share what works for me (most of the time).

These are the three little things that help me most:

Books. I love reading. I love writing. Books provide me with the complete package: I can read my favourites, or write my own.
Music. If anything gets me through tough times, it’s music. As a passionate amateur musician, I love to both listen to music and make music myself—though the latter can often be too physically demanding.
Cats. Honestly, there’s nothing better than just lying on the couch with my three cats by my side. Even better when they decide they want to lie on my chest. Their loud purrs are both comforting and healing.

Two cats, one orange and fluffy, the other dark and long-haired, sit on and beside a white piano with sheet music. The room is softly lit, and the cats appear relaxed.

A wooden tray holds two gingerbread biscuits, a silver spoon, and a white mug of hot chocolate with pink and white marshmallows. Next to it rests a fantasy novel titled Death and the Maiden. — Two cats, one orange and fluffy, the other dark and long-haired, sit on and beside a white piano with sheet music. The room is softly lit, and the cats appear relaxed.

As a general rule, I’d say, focus on doing things you love and that don’t gobble up all your spoons.

Low-Energy Kitchen Recovery

But what about our kitchen needs? We still need to eat, don’t we? Even though winter is eating up all our reserves. Even though we’re surviving on borrowed spoons. Stressed and exhausted from the holidays.

The answer lies in simplifying. This time asks for even simpler meals than usual. And yet, they need to be even more nourishing. Easier said than done.

Low-energy kitchen recovery means we need quick and easy meal options, and 5-minute meal prep ideas that make our kitchen life easier.

I intend to share some of my favourite spoonie-friendly winter meals in the weeks to come. To help you overcome your post-holiday burnout.

A hearty, nourishing Dutch Boerenkoolstamppot (Kale Mash), and a soft and comforting Slow Cooker Polenta, for example.

But also: this is a good time to replenish your Spoonie pantry with shelf-stable food that needs little to no prep. Tinned beans and soups, frozen fruit and veggies, for example. Anything that helps you regain your balance after the holidays is fair game.

Post-Holiday Burnout Recovery in Real Life

So here I am. Trying my hardest to get this blog written so I can post it on schedule. And feeling like I’m drowning.

There’s so much I still need to do. A photo shoot. Photo editing. SEO-optimisation. Social media captions and accompanying photos or reels to promote this post. Pins. All while surviving on borrowed spoons.

To make things worse, we’re having actual snow here in the Netherlands. Lots of it (to Dutch standards, anyway), and I can’t leave the house. Not even to take out the garbage. My caster wheels get stuck in the snow, and if I were to try and wheelie my way to the collection containers, I’d only slip. Every. Other. Metre.

A snow-covered garden with a wooden planter box and plants, surrounded by bushes and a snowy garden path leading to a street with tire marks in the snow.

I most certainly can’t shop for groceries, and I’m going to have to be creative with my meals.

But thank goodness, I’ve still got some homemade ready-meals in the freezer. And enough veg for another couple of days. It will have to do.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s just as well that I can’t go anywhere. No rushed trips to the supermarket to get some last-minute ingredients. This forced low-energy kitchen recovery gives me more time to read. I find myself dozing off on the couch, listening to music, with my big, fluffy Norwegian Forest Cat on my chest, purring contentedly.

I feel the stress ebb away; my muscles relax.

Maybe, a few weeks of real winter are exactly what I need to recover from this post-holiday burnout.

This post is part of the mini series The Gentle Art of Winter Cooking, a celebration of spoonie-friendly, easy, and nourishing dishes that provide warmth and comfort on cold days.