Thanks to everyone who left nice feedback on my first edition of Things I’m Thinking About.  I’m happy that people are interested in this kind of post every so often, because I find so many fun things online that I want to share.  This time, it was these Hasselback Sweet Potatoes that caught my eye amongst all the Christmas cookie recipes I’m seeing everywhere.  

Here’s what else I’m thinking about this Tuesday.

I have to confess, I was more excited than I should have been to read that an exhaustive review of the research by the European Food Safety Authority concluded that Aspartame is safe.  My Diet Coke habit is under control, but I still like a cold one now and then.  (And if you don’t agree with this conclusion, then by all means keep avoiding Aspartame, but please, no Food Police comments.  I firmly believe that all adults should be allowed to make their own food choices!)

I’m intrigued by these 29 Christmas Foods from Around the World from Buzzfeed.  And I’ve only tried a few of them, although #22 is one of my favorite soups of all time!Now that so many food bloggers are writing cookbooks, I’ve stopped writing reviews or sharing lists of my favorites, but this 2013 Recommended Cookbook List from my friend Elise at Simply Recipes is a good one.  I have a lot of the books on the list and also know most of the bloggers who wrote them, so if you’re looking for cookbook recommendations, check out Elise’s list. 

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that occasionally I’m awake in the middle of the night.  I don’t even mind it that much most of the time, but maybe I should just start sleeping the way our ancestors did.

I remember my mother making a Christmas mini-pastries we called Chess Pies, and these Low  Carb and Gluten-Free Mincemeat Tarts with Hard Sauce from All Day I Dream About Food look like a healthier version than the ones mom used to make! 

And just for fun, you can’t beat Ugly Christmas Sweater Cookies from I Am Baker.

I’m going to try hard to remember this 5 Minute Secret to Easily Cleaning Pots and Pans without Harsh chemicals from Gluten Free Easily.

For all the photographers and wanna-be photographers, Pam from Sidewalk Shoes took some shots in her garden to show how different lenses with different focal points can really change a photo. 

And finally, possibly the world’s worst collection of family Christmas photos.

That’s my list for this time, but I’d love to hear in the comments if you have thoughts about any of these things.  And if you’ve seen something online that made you think, please share about that as well!  (You can use the label Things I’m Thinking About to see more round-ups like this one.)
I never publish sponsored content on my blog, so any products mentioned in these posts just appear here because I am a fan of the item. 

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Categories: Recipes, Things I'm Thinking About,

originally published on Dec 17, 2013 (last updated Nov 14, 2021) by Kalyn Denny

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