Fascinating Food Videos and Where to Find Them

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a foodie. I like to do what I call “experimental cooking”, and I am always looking for new ideas to experiment in the kitchen. The topic for this week on our podcast was relaxing YouTube videos and nothing relaxes me more than watching a good food video whether it is on YouTube or TikTok. I can scroll for hours watching videos and getting ideas.

Banana Pudding Cupcakes

Where do I find the best food videos? We live in a time where most social media is interconnected, so one video on YouTube can also sometimes be found on Facebook or even Snapchat. I probably watch most videos via Snapchat. You can also find some great videos scrolling on Facebook, Instagram Reels, or TikTok.

Favorite Video Channels:

• ChefClub®: I like ChefClub because they make bold food videos and recreate classics. You can check out their YouTube channel here and their website here. Warning: their videos are not diet-friendly but that’s what fascinates me about them.

• Tasty®: Everyone loves BuzzFeed®! Tasty® is an offshoot of the company that compiles comfort-food recipes and recipe videos. I have been a fan of these videos for years, and I have even bought one of their cookbooks as well as cookware sets with their logo. Tasty has cooking and baking products on the shelves now. You can find their videos here and their website here.

• SoYummy®: SoYummy is another site that has simple and affordable meal videos that I like to watch. I like them because they make videos out of simple ingredients that most people have in their homes. They are very similar to Tasty®, and they also have their own cookbook on Amazon and Kindle. You can find their videos here and their website here.

• MyCupcakeAddiction®: Another channel I have been following for years is MyCupcakeAddiction. I love to bake and I love watching baking videos as well as cooking videos. One of my favorite things to bake and experiment with is cupcakes. MyCupcakeAddiction has always been a baking inspiration to me. Elise Strachan of MyCupcakeAddiction also has her own cookbook and her own brand of earrings called EarCandy. You can check out her videos here and her website here.

• AllDayIDreamAboutFood®: I have talked about Carolyn Ketchum before when I have talked about sugar-free and keto recipes. Of course, she would be another favorite of mine because I am on a journey to better myself through eating less sugar and gluten-free. I am a recent fan of her recipes and videos, but I cannot promote this woman enough. Go check out her videos here and her website here.

I could go all day raving about food videos because I simply love watching them and trying to recreate them. I want to know what your favorite food videos and recommendations are. Please comment below with suggestions. Also, go check out our Facebook Chat here and continue the conversation.

Can Relaxing Videos Really Be Relaxing?

I’ve been spending a lot of time wasting time lately. I blame it on stress. Whenever I have a deadline, or I feel too much pressure, I just have to escape into something mindless and unproductive to let off steam. I always feel guilty about it, but I shouldn’t. After all, it’s a form of self-care, and self-care is not selfish.

Over the years, the things I do to “waste” time have changed. Coloring, doodling, crocheting, even finding solace in mundane household chores (have you ever scrubbed the grout on your shower or pulled weeds in your yard?) can be a soothing way to ignore (or procrastinate) less desirable or more stressful tasks. It’s a great way to let go of what’s going on in the outside world and be fully absorbed in something very simple. It can be a meditative process. 

In the age of the internet, those time-wasters have turned from more physical distractions into passive ones like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and other online entertainment. That’s what we’ve been talking about this week, and if you listened to the podcast yesterday, you heard us mention several different things that we watch or listen to. Obviously, we barely even touched on the many resources that are now available on the world wide web, but I can’t decide if the technology helps or makes things worse. Does our addiction to soothing videos make us need to self-soothe even more? 

I have been an avid reader my entire life. Before the internet, before cell phones with Google and Instagram, I had books. I kept a book handy and would read a page or two whenever I needed a break, and then maybe a few pages more before I turned in at night. Over the years, I’ve read less and less because Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have absorbed those brief moments, leaving only my bedtime ritual for my books. But lately, I haven’t even done much of that. Over the last several months, I have been far less engaged and, dare I say, downright DISINTERESTED in reading. When I settle in for my evening routine, it’s not my book I turn to, but my iPad or my phone. And then I spend an hour, two, or sometimes even more scrolling through my Instagram feed. Mindless. Pointless. Numb. And the more I scroll, the less I want to stop.

Last night was a great example. I was tired and had planned to turn in early, but a family situation kept me up very late, so when I finally went to bed, I was so tired I didn’t think I would comprehend much if I tried to read. So, I started scrolling through Instagram instead, knowing that soon I would be relaxed enough to fall asleep. Except I didn’t. An hour and a half later, when my husband, Mark, finally came to bed, I was still scrolling, and as he turned out the light on his side of the bed, I promised that I would shut everything down shortly. But I didn’t do that either. I just kept scrolling and scrolling until sometime quite a bit later, Mark tapped me on the shoulder to tell me I was asleep and snoring while I was still scrolling! Even then, I didn’t want to stop. I just had to get in a few more posts before I finally closed the app and rolled over to sleep.

So, what is it that makes social media so addictive? I can honestly say, I don’t know. I generally scroll right past 80% of the posts, even from the hashtags I follow, and I only very rarely stop and watch the whole video or read the entire post. And ever since Facebook took over Instagram, there are so many ads that they almost outnumber the real posts. Even so, there is something that makes me keep scrolling, anxious to see just one more post, one more reel. It really is an addiction, and I’m starting to believe it’s not all that relaxing, either. Maybe it’s time to go back to my books….

Tell us what you think. Are you addicted to social media? Do you find it relaxing or stressful? Do you have any favorites? Comment below, or join us on our Facebook group, MMC Chat.

Christen's Relaxing YouTube Recommendations

 Hello! I hope your New Year has started off with a bang! I feel like I have been ticking things off my to-do list left and right, how about you? Now that the holidays are over, many of us feel like we have to get back to our regime or complete neglected tasks that were shoved to the back burner…well at least that's the way I feel. At the moment, everything seems to be going at a good pace, but before I get too “in-over-my-head”, I like to remind myself to take it slow, and enjoy the hygge season. If I get too overloaded with tasks and stressful activities, I know I will end up crashing and burning. I think everyone can relate to some extent.

There are lots of different ways that people can relax, for example, you can meditate or get away by taking a walk, reading a book, or taking a hot bath. Sometimes I just like to sit in my recliner and watch a video on YouTube. I know that staring at my phone is going against the grain, as it seems that all signs point to putting the phone down and reconnecting with nature, but I don’t get sucked into social media much these days, so I think I’m doing okay. My daughter’s 9-year-old friend jokingly says, “Girl, I need to put the phone down and touch some grass,” because she is aware of her phone usage. 

We will be discussing more on the topic of our favorite sources for relaxation on the podcast tomorrow and I hope you join us, but until then, here's a little list of my treasures I have found on YouTube that I really enjoy.

ASMR

If you don’t know what ASMR is, then you are in for a treat…or maybe you won't like it at all. The funny thing about ASMR is that it’s kind of like coffee, you either love it and can’t live without it, or you hate it. So what is ASMR anyway? It stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and to break that down into layman's, terms the sounds that you hear (or visuals) give you a little tingly feeling. These sounds are usually whispering, gentle tapping and crinkling. They are called triggers, which can calm some people but there are a small handful of people who have a severe adverse reaction to it. I can't tell you exactly when ASMR became a thing on YouTube but it's been around for a while and it seems that as time goes on the videos just get better and better. There are very basic videos where the host of the YouTube channel might have a video in which they manipulate a multitude of objects in order to make the sounds. There are even videos of the host reading or telling a story. The videos that hold my interest the longest are in-depth role-playing where scenes are acted out. 

My favorite to-this-date is linked below. Diane, over at Moonlight Cottage, takes ASMR to a whole new level. In each video, she has an entire themed set she has created, and she acts in character with scripting. The triggers are integrated throughout the video. Since Diana's from France, she has a lovely and calm French accent. I applaud her set designs as they are very charming down to every detail. You can tell that she pours her heart and soul into the design, props, and costume. 

My favorite Moonlight Cottage ASMR

Guided Meditation

If you have ever struggled to meditate then a guided meditation would be a great place to start. Guided meditation allows you to relax your mind but still stay focused enough on the act of meditating. There are many forms of guided meditation, some are simple breathing exercises and others more complex. Joe T - Hypnotic Labs is a channel on YouTube that provides videos with a detailed journey. There is a pretty picture on the video, but there is no actual video - you will want to close your eyes for these!

I have a hard time meditating if the speaker has a booming voice, or uses too much inflection. Joe T keeps his voice level and is in mid range so he is easy to hear, but not alarming. His guided meditations have just enough detail to keep me engaged, but calm enough that I can easily fall asleep if I allow it. To be honest, I usually fall asleep during his videos. 

My favorite Joe T - Hypnotic

Affirmations

Again not all of these videos have an actual video to watch. I like to put this one on in the background and just let myself hear the positive affirmations while I am working on other things, or when winding down for the night. Jason Stephenson creates videos that are long, but even if you only listen for a little bit at a time, you can get the benefit. This particular video is one that I find myself going back to again and again. The whole video is an ongoing stream of “I am” statements. 

My Favorite Jason Stephenson - Sleep Meditation Music

Music

There are a lot of YouTube music channels, some with videos and animation, and others with just a still image. And then there are performances! These two channels are wonderful performers. You can enjoy it with or without the video. Please keep in mind that anything that is labeled as a binaural beat etc, will require headphones, with left and right audio, for the effect to work properly. 

Healing Vibrations

On this particular video, Healing Vibrations uses singing bowls, and other instruments to create a calm atmosphere. The singing bowls reverberate into your ears - wear headphones for the  3-dimensional experience. The bowls are lit by a blue hue and there are candles lit around the area.

My favorite Healing Vibrations

Mei-lan

She has the most angelic voice! If someone said they heard an angel sing, they must have heard Mei-lan. She has vocalization and lyrical songs. If you need some pepping up, just scroll through the comments, there are never any trolls or hateful comments, just people spreading pure love.

My favorite Mei-lan

I hope you get a chance to check out some of the links I shared today! Let me know what you think! Did you enjoy the ASMR video or did you discover that you do not like it? What are your go-to relaxing videos on YouTube?