Welcome! I’m Caitlin!

&& I’m in the process of healing, one comforting bowl at a time.

For a long time (longer than I would ever care to admit), I forgot how to take care of myself.

After more than a decade in a high-conflict custody battle over the lives of my stepsons in my personal life, and surviving an extremely stressful work situation in my professional life, I found myself completely burnt out — physically, mentally, emotionally. I was overworked, overstressed, and completely disconnected from my own body.

It took until I’d pushed myself far past my limits and began having debilitating panic attacks that I finally decided to ask for help. It was then that I was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and total burnout after years of putting other people before myself in a crazy job and intense life that never seemed to let me slow down.

In the middle of all that, I’d stopped doing the small things that made me feel human — like resting, brushing my hair, or even remembering to eat until I was so hungry that I binged anything in sight.

I thought I could just keep pushing through it, but eventually it got so severe and started impacting my health so negatively that I was put on a forced medical leave from my job, and that is really when I felt like I lost myself.

I had spent so long in survival mode that I didn’t know how to rest, or be still, or to start to take care of myself again—and I had absolutely nothing left in the tank to do all those things anyways.

But after bed rotting for an obscenely long amount of time one day…. I made soup.

Not for anyone else. Not to be productive or perfect. Just for me. Just to feel a little warmth on a cold and miserable day and to put something substantial in my stomach.

It was delicious, and I was shocked. I had never actually enjoyed cooking before. It always seemed like one more thing to add to an already overflowing to-do-list. I never really had the energy and I was always in a rush to get it over with so I could jump to the next thing.

But that small act of care—making soup—slowly turned into something bigger — a practice. A ritual. A way of reconnecting with my body, my needs, and my sense of worth.

I started to cook simple, yet nourishing and comforting meals for myself, and as I started to heal, I decided to share my journey along the way.

That is how Comfort In a Bowl was born.

If my journey is relatable to even one other person out there, and helps anyone remember to slow down, take some of the pressure off, and take care of themselves then it will have been worth it. I’m so happy you are here.

Please note: Every recipe you see on my website is cooked, tested, photographed and filmed by me (and sometimes with a little help from my family) in my own kitchen—and then eaten as a real family meal. No display food and no mystery recipes.