Brown Butter Miso Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
+ my thoughts on using a flip phone for a week
Oh hey!! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! Give your mom, step-mom, grandma, and/or other mom figure a ring today. They do more than we can ever know <3
My thoughts from using a flip phone for a week
I recently got a flip phone (as discussed in this post). I spent the last week bringing my flip phone out and about with me and only checking my iPhone morning and night. It was… interesting!! I felt a range of emotions. I’m putting them in pros and cons below:
Pros
I freaking love being untethered and not constantly checking my phone out of habit
I was very present. I enjoyed many subway rides where I didn’t even read. I just sat and noticed who was around me, noticed the little lurches of the subway, and observed my own thoughts.
I didn’t feel like I was resisting using my phone when I had quiet moments, since I couldn’t have picked it up to check if I wanted to.
I started to gain a sense of direction. As a collective smartphone society, we simply have not needed one! But without my iPhone, I exited subway stations and had to walk a bit to figure out where I was and where I needed to go. I loved feeling like I was in a foreign country without an international phone plan.
As someone who’s notoriously bad at texting, only having my phone morning and night encouraged me to respond to texts.
Cons
As someone with a touch of the ADHD, I had to remember to bring a lot more things with me out of the house than I do with a smartphone. I made myself a little Lululemon fanny pack with credit cards, a subway map, a little notebook to jot things in, and a cheap digital camera. But I still needed my smartphone to use my transit card benefits. Thinking through when I needed my smartphone and where to leave it when I turned it off outside of home, was a little tricky.
I feel annoying telling my loved ones to call or text me on a different number if they need me during the day. But maybe that’s more my problem of feeling like a burden to others!!
I lost some random productivity on my phone, like texting about logistics and plans and doing mobile banking.
Overall, I feel I’ve experienced more benefits from not being on social media anymore (something I started doing ~6 weeks ago) than I did from using a flip phone.
I took some notes on how I felt when I first started that transition, and they still hold:
Overall just happier throughout the day (the biggest pro)
I feel similar to how John Mayer described stopping drinking (ironically, you can find a video of it on Instagram). I don’t have the same highs and lows. Instead I have a stable, in-the-middle baseline. But that baseline grows with time so my baseline happiness is higher.
Feeling occasionally bored, but then I fall into a rhythm of my own thoughts and am quite entertained
Getting SO MUCH DONE since I have no social media breaks
Less brain fog / brain scramble
I’m more productive at work, and enjoying work more
Increased goofiness and creativity. I feel more like my 10-year-old self again, making random rhythms with my hands against my legs, making up songs, singing for my fiancee before bed
I’m chatting more with strangers and my stranger small-talk muscles are stronger (probably thanks to less brain fog and increased creativity)
I’m paying more attention to directions, rather than using my phone to get everywhere
Overall, I feel I’ve experienced more benefits from not being on social media anymore than I did from using a flip phone
So what is my plan moving forward?
I’m going to investigate those home phone systems that connect to your smartphone, and not keep my smartphone with me when I’m home. I’m going to delete substack from my phone, since that’s the only social media app I still have on my iPhone and the only one I scroll on the subway.
I’ll still go on social media occasionally to post for this very substack (social media is the primary way people find and make my recipes)!! I like occasionally checking my personal IG on my laptop, too. The app is far less of a time suck on desktop.
Beyond that, I don’t think I need to overcomplicate it. I’m very glad I tried the flip phone, but I don’t think it’s for me right now. And that’s A OK! If you’ve made any conscious efforts to reduce smartphone use in your life, lmk in the comments or DM! I’d love to hear what’s working for you.
And if you are looking for more downgrading resources, I loved this post from Catherine Shannon and this guide from August Lamm.
This week’s recipe
If you’ve been with me for a long time, you’ll know I posted this recipe for brown butter miso chocolate chip cookie bars back in 2023 when I had few followers and few video views. You’ll also know that I love you.
This is a bangin’ recipe. The miso adds a subtle umami and saltiness that makes you think “these are not your average chocolate chip cookies.” Baking them as bars makes them super moist and fudgy, and is far easier than baking multiple batches of cookies.
Grab some white/light miso paste and flaky sea salt (I love Maldon). The rest of these ingredients are pantry staples (though IMO miso paste and flaky sea salt should ALSO be pantry staples!!).
LMK if you make them, and enjoy :)
Brown Butter Miso Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Makes 15 large or 30 small bars
You can find the recipe on my blog, here.
Thank you for being here, I love being in this corner of the internet with you <3