Almost half of Americans feel lonely. Whether happily coupled, perennially single, or surrounded by a family constellation the size of the Milky Way, most of us face an immense and abiding sense of being alone. Sometimes it’s more than just a sense (about a quarter of the US population lives alone)—many of us lead deeply isolated lives, made even more solitary by the time we invest in our phones and technology. As a single woman working from home, I spend more time looking at screens each week than I do talking to humans face-to-face. It’s a scary revelation, but it shouldn’t rob me of the power to shift my habits. Liz Moody’s new book Healthier Together is shedding light on a new pathway to connection—and delicious food.

“Why can’t we be together and be healthier?” Liz asks in Healthier Together. And it’s a beautiful, resonant question. It’s a query I’ve spent a lot of my single life asking, since togetherness and healthiness are two elements of relationship most important to me. But, like so many systems that are broken these days, I’ll be the first to admit that the way I cook at home doesn’t match the way dominant media seems to think I should. For starters, I’m single, which means I’m very rarely looking for a recipe for four, six, or eight people—even if I want leftovers. The last thing I need is a recipe reminding me of my singledom, and the fact that I won’t be nourishing anyone but myself.

Reminders of singledom are everywhere in a world that’s primed for coupling up, and most recently I’ve been fretting over a claim I saw on Facebook that humans need at least eight hugs a day to be well. If that were true, I thought, then I was horribly unwell—most days I receive a total of just about zero hugs, since I live alone and work from home. A cursory internet search turned up the source of this sentiment: Virginia Satir, psychotherapist and family therapy pioneer, once wrote, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”

I’m still puzzling over how to manage this hugging crisis in my life, but I definitely know I don’t want to end my days cooking up a feast for four when it’s only me sitting down to dinner. If I’m honest, I rarely cook with recipes at all when I’m not entertaining. But Healthier Together changes all that; each recipe serves two, making it perfect for hosting a friend or making a solo meal with bonus next-day leftovers.

Liz writes, “This is a book about strengthening your relationships through your healthy choices, and strengthening your healthy choices through your relationships.” She’s also quick to point out that getting Healthier Together is not specifically about mirroring her own path to health in partnership with her boyfriend. It’s equally about strengthening every other type of relationship in your life—work wives and husbands, best friends, kids, and neighbors. I am so very down for Liz’s vision of a humanity nurturing each other via soul and belly, especially if it means I won’t have four quarts of soup left over.

I’ll be honest: I’m also here for Liz’s Best Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies, a recipe that produces 6-8 grain-free, not-too-sweet, totally chocolatey, nutty, oaty, and protein-packed cookies in under twenty minutes. Sure enough, just moments after the cookies came out of the oven, I was bonding with my neighbors, whose faces grew luminous at the mere mention of freshly baked goods. Even better? They gave me a hug in return.

These cookies are soft and chewy in the center, with slightly crisp edges and just the right amount of texture throughout. I can’t wait to make them again. Purchase your copy of Liz Moody’s Healthier Together, and let me know how you’re solving the hugging crisis in your life.

Liz is also the host of the Healthier Together podcast, which I was a guest on in its first season. Listen to our conversation about grief, healing, essential oils, and more.

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