Does Sugar Cause Depression, Make You Feel Bad

I did get the sun I had hoped for today, but it really wasn't working for me. I turned on the Christmas music again and that didn't do the trick either. I am wondering if it is because of all the sweets I've been eating. I think I feel better with less sugar. 

I was chilly this morning when I woke up. I sleep so well when it's cool, but I don't really want to get up when it's time to either. I forgot to make my baked oatmeal last night. My DD, Lindsay says she just puts it together and bakes it, instead of doing the overnight thing. She says it comes out fine. I thought about doing it that way, but then I realized I was out of applesauce and out of apples, which is what I wanted, so I decided to go with cinnamon toast and canned pears. Canned fruit is not my first choice, but it does work as a back up sometimes.

For lunch I made some cooked cabbage with a little butter, salt and pepper, to go with one of the leftover stuffed bell pepper from Thanksgiving. 

I had a piece of the pumpkin pie for dessert. The cool whip was bigger than the pie, lol. 

 In researching my theory that sugar makes me feel bad, I found this article, which supports the speculation. I should have read it before having the pie. I really need to cut back on sweets, but I am having trouble because every weekend I am surrounded by it. I also need to find alternatives to sweet breakfasts. I will continue to look for ways to decrease sugar in foods that I like, so that maybe I won't feel totally deprived and totally depressed. 

Now on to the dinner menu. It took me a little while to decide what to have for dinner and now I am regretting my choice. I fixed myself, a veggie burger on a cormeal kaiser roll , no cheese this time; just butter lettuce, dill pickles, onion and mayo with a little chex mix on the side. I thought today's cabbage would be the problem, if I had one, but it never seemed to bother me. It wasn't until after I had the burger that I had a problem. I have been tasting that burger over and over ever since I ate it. It was good while I was eating it though. 

Email subscriptions are working, so if you'd like to subscribe to this blog you can click on the link on the right and enter your email address. Blog posts will arrive vial email. How cool it that? Thanks, Lynda for letting me know it's working. 

Are you trying to cut back on sugar? What strategies are you using? Wish me luck with decreasing my sugar intake. 

I want a Gourmet Chia Herb Garden, lol; just saw it on tv.  

Creole Butter Injection & Corn In Butter Sauce Recipes

Here is the recipe for the corn we had for Thanksgiving dinner and the Creole Butter Injection we used in our Turkey. We found both recipes on Food.com. Sorry I forgot to include them as promised in yesterday's post.

Corn In Butter Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 (16 ounce) bags frozen corn ( yellow "or" shoepeg white, any brand)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut up
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

1. Add corn to large sauce pan along with all ingredients except water and cornstarch.
2. Stir corn mixture over medium heat until butter is melted.
3. Combine water and cornstarch and stir until cornstarch is disolved.
4. Slowly add water to corn in sauce pan, stirring constantly.
5. Reduce heat to simmer and stir until sauce thickens.
6. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender, about 10 minutes.

Creole Butter Injection

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt ( DO NOT USE REGULAR SALT! WILL CLOG YOUR INJECTOR)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons white pepper ( DO NOT USE BLACK PEPPER, WILL CLOG YOUR INJECTOR)
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 cup melted butter

Directions

1. Melt butter slowly as not to burn.
2. Add rest of ingredients and mix well.
3. (I place in a covered bowl and shake vigorously).
4. Inject into your turkey and allow to sit for one hour or more before deep frying.
5. HINT: We were cooking the turkey while camping, and decided to leave it in the bag to inject it, so it would not be so messy!
6. It worked great!
   
   I would just like to say this simple task has been a real pain in the butt, thanks to Blogger's stupid post editor. Sorry, I just needed to vent. 
    I personally can't tell you about the Creole Butter, but everyone who ate it loved it and none of it went to waste. I can however tell you how good the corn in butter sauce was. I personally will do a little less salt next time, but it was still very good. Some of the reviewers of the recipe also said you can use canned corn. I hope you enjoy the recipes
   I still hate bloggers post editor, lol.
   

Thanksgiving Dinner

Today there was a turkey to be cooked, but luckily I didn't have to be up early to cook it. DH, Dale was in charge of the poultry. By the time I got up, the bird was in the oven. I already had my rolls baked, my green bean casserole was together in the fridge; all I had to do was bake it and DS, Lucas was in charge of the corn in butter sauce. The rest of the meal would be at Mom's.

I had leftover baked oatmeal with half an apple for breakfast. Cinnamon is a flavor I find myself craving a lot lately. Luckily cinnamon is really popular in fall dishes, so now is a good time to be craving it.

It's really hard for me to get into Thanksgiving. I don't eat turkey, I am thankful everyday, I spend time with family every week, I usually overeat and the holiday is followed by a day of people pushing and shoving trying to get the latest product at the best buy. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a downer, I am just making a statement. I am not unhappy with Thanksgiving, I am just not thrilled with it.

Well, we got the turkey baked. Dale injected it with a homemade version of Creole Butter. I did my green bean casserole and while Lucas did the corn in butter sauce, I got a shower. Then we were off to Mom's. I will post the recipe for the creole butter and the corn tomorrow.

My sister, Cathy and Mom had been cooking up a storm and Cathy had brought some special desserts. It wasn't long before everyone was getting there turkey on (except me). I was getting my veggie fix. I could have made a meal of the salad Cathy made. I'm not sure what it's real name is, but it has been dubbed, stinky feet salad, lol, because it's made with feta cheese, which some people think smells like stinky feet. It also has spinach, red onion, mushrooms, croutons, and a dressing that is sort of like Catalina dressing.

Check out our holiday spread and tell me we don't know how to throw down on Thanksgiving.

The Creole butter bird...

Mom's bird...

A big spiral ham....

My rolls...

The Salad aka Stinky Feet Salad...

Regular greens, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce....we also had cranberry chutney, not pictured, but very good.

Stuffing and corn in butter sauce....

Meatless stuffed bell peppers....sorry, the photo is crappier than usual...

My plate...

Now for the desserts....
First up is sweet potato pie...Mom made

Pumpkin pie....I wasn't fast enough to get a shot of it before it was eaten, lol...
This one Cathy brought

Pumpkin Nut Roll which Mom made...

Tres Leche from La Patisserie, which Cathy brought
I wasn't quick enough with this one either. We had to cut it up and take it out of the box because the milk was running out of it and the box was leaking.

It looked good to begin with, but it tasted even better than it looked.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for Thanksgiving, we had a pretty good day and lots of great food and I am thankful we were able to enjoy it. I hope you had a wonderful day, no matter how you chose to celebrate or not celebrate. 

My favorite dish of the day would have to be the Stinky Feet Salad. What was your favorite Thanksgiving day food traditional or otherwise?