Shaking Off The Grumps

Shaking off the Grumps

I want to be clear, I'm not talking about depression, sadness or grief in this context. Just the grumps or the blahs. We all have days like that. Sometimes we even wake up grumpy, for no apparent reason. We have those mornings that everything seems to go wrong. Nothing big - breaking a glass, spilling the coffee, keep dropping things. The other living creatures around you aren't doing anything wrong, but they are annoying you. Sometimes we are just dehydrated or hangry. Maybe we had a bad sleep, or hayfever is acting up. Could be hormones or we're fighting off a cold. Maybe we aren't the one with the grumps, it's another person in the house. 

This morning I woke up to a screeching bird (forgot to close the blinds, early sunrise now). She is not a pleasant alarm, and I have a hayfever sinus headache. I realized that I forgot to run the dishwasher last night. I slammed my finger in a drawer. I kept knocking things off the counter. This was all before coffee.

Start by eating something and hydrating - just in case that's the culprit. Eat something healthy, junk food makes us feel like junk. Brew your morning beverage of choice. Savour it, there's no rush. Put on some music that make you want to sing along or dance.

My mom had a parenting technique that was genius - chores. I'm serious.  She noticed that if she gave my brother and I some chores first thing in the morning, we were so much better behaved for the rest of the day. It didn't even have to be big or long. My boys prefer if I write out the list, so they know exactly what is expected. They find it frustrating if I give them another chore as soon as they finish one - it seems like it will never end that way. I will add fun things or silly things to the list too, like play with the dog or eat a cookie. I add basic things too, like eat breakfast, get dressed, brush your teeth. When they can cross a bunch of things off in a short time, it's motivating.

And it doesn't just work on our kids, it works on us too. Getting a few things crossed off the list gives you a mental boost. Make the bed, tidy the kitchen, clean out one closet, it doesn't matter. If you do it early in the day, your whole day will go better and if you are suffering from the grumps, the accomplishment will definitely help. At the very least, when you are binge watching Netflix or scrolling through your phone, you feel like you've earned a break. Having chores that we know we should get done hanging over our head make us feel lousy. 

I developed a strategy when I was in school, mostly to boost my confidence. When I had a big exam, I made a point of dressing nice, doing my hair, etc. The mental and emotional lift isn't about looking nice, it's about feeling you are worth putting some effort in. How can you feel motivated and confident if you didn't even have enough motivation to get out of pyjama pants and brush your hair?

There is nothing wrong with the occasional jammie day. Having our daily lives disrupted makes it temping to have ongoing jammie days. It's important to have a routine. It doesn't have to be the same as your routine from before, but there should be something. Lists don't have to be work. They can be of the books you want to read, people you want to get a hold of, recipes you want to try, or hobbies you want to get to.

The most important thing - if you do something that you hadn't written on the list - write it on, and cross it off. 

Cooking From Scratch: Condiments

There are a few reasons why I make mustard from scratch. It only takes 5 minutes and reduces packaging waste. Bulk mustard powder has a longer shelf life and doesn't take up fridge space. I like having ingredient control, how vinegary or how spicy. We don't really eat yellow mustard as a condiment, so I rarely have it on hand from the store. But it is an ingredient for many of my crock pot recipes. My pulled pork requires a whole cup, so I can just make half the recipe, then add my other sauce ingredients. In this case, there is no reason to add the flour, it doesn't have to stay on a hot dog! 

An interesting tidbit about mustard, which I didn't know before I started making it. I noticed that my first batch had a horseradish-esque flavour to it. We looked it up and the chemical that makes mustard spicy is the same chemical that makes horseradish spicy, which is different from the capsicum that is in hot peppers. 


Yellow Mustard

1 c Mustard powder
1 c Water
2/3 c White wine vinegar
2 tsp Flour (optional, for thickening)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Turmeric
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Garlic powder

I do love an interesting jar!

Whisk together in a sauce pan, over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Cover a let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a jar or squeeze bottle and refrigerate. This recipe makes about 2 cups of mustard. Try substituting other types of vinegar or smoked paprika for a different flavor.  Try using white wine instead of vinegar. It would be easy to cut this down to a 1/3 of the recipe, so you can experiment with all sorts of ingredients.

This is stronger than store bought mustard because it is fresh, so taste it before you alter it. It may separate a little in the fridge, give it a quick stir before using.

Gavin's Dijon Ketchup

Remember the song, "If I Had $1000000"? There is that line about eating mac & cheese with Dijon Ketchup? My son loves ketchup, and one day, when he was about 10, we were all out. He studied the label on the ketchup bottle and came up with his own recipe. To the best of my memory for the amounts, here it is.

Dijon Ketchup

1 can Tomato paste
1 T Corn syrup
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Garlic
1 tsp Onion powder

He was 10, so no cooking is involved in this recipe, just mix and dip!