The broken cookie halves are calling again

2026-10-11 12:39

I knew the quiet appetite wouldn’t last forever, but I didn’t expect the old kitchen grazes to come back this fast now that my support is easing. I run a small cafe, so my danger isn’t a whole slice of cake.

It’s the six broken cookie halves I eat standing at the prep sink, plus the cold latte I sip while closing. Last Tuesday I caught myself scraping frosting out of the piping bag like it was a personal challenge.

Not hungry, just old habit looking for a door. I’m trying to pack a real lunch and sit down before the rush, and keep water on the counter instead of another taste. It works maybe half the time.

For anyone who’s been through this stretch: what did you replace the little kitchen tastes with?

2026-10-27 21:46

I run a spreadsheet too, and broken-cookie math lies. I tracked my old bakery’s “sample bites” for 14 days: avg 118g, ~510 kcal, and the trendline only turned up on days I skipped lunch.

Six halves sounds tiny until you count six separate events—do you log them as one cookie or six line items? I split them at first, got annoyed, then started putting them in a ramekin and sitting for 5 minutes.

Weirdly, that cut the standing graze more than willpower did. The cold latte at close would be my next variable: is it sweetened? That’s often the sneaky 200+.

2026-10-28 15:44

The standing-at-the-sink detail got me. Mine was crusts while breaking down boxes, and when my support eased it was the ritual that came back first, not real hunger.

What helped was changing the location, not just the food: if I want a closing bite, it has to be on a plate at the little table, not in my hand by the sink. Half the time I don’t bother once I have to sit down.

Do you think it’s the cookie itself for you, or the five-minute decompression at the end of service?