Roasted Tomato Salad

I've done a number of these roasted tomato salads over the years, but this is the one I featured in Near & Far. I introduced it by saying, the next time you think of making a caprese salad, consider this instead. And I meant it. It's a bit of extra effort (not much), but the combination of both raw and roasted tomatoes is special. And the bright harissa oil brings an element of the unexpected. You can roast the tomatoes and prepare the harissa oil ahead of time. Keep the roasted tomatoes in a jar covered in oil, bring to room temperature, and drain before continuing with the recipe.

Continue reading Roasted Tomato Salad...

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Feathering the Empty Nest

Early this Spring, I became a follower of the live streaming of the Decorah Eagles on the UStream app. The camera is in Iowa aimed at the nest 80 feet in the air 24/7 where 2 “toddlers” and one un-hatched egg, live with Mom and Dad in their huge nest. They are a “good looking” family, although their nest is a mess probably because the parents are so busy finding food, sitting on the egg, guarding their home and feeding hungry birds day and night.

I was fascinated since I’m experiencing the Empty Nest phase of life myself. I began to see the actions of the eagle parents as a metaphor and wondered what they would do after their babies learn to fly. Unlike some humans, adult eagles are mated for life (up to 30 years) until one of them dies, so they are “committed” to each other with or without children.

I noticed as I watched that the couple hardly spent any time together, only a few minutes a day. Dad sits on a branch watching out for predators in the same tree as the nest when he isn’t hunting and delivering dinner. Mom fusses over the egg, covering it with hay and sticks, poking at it now and then when she isn’t feeding the kids and fixing up the nest. She also hunts and feeds her little ones when she gets a chance.

To further stretch the metaphor - I imagine the eagle mom worrying when the kids start to jump up on higher branches as they learn to fly in preparation to leave the nest. Is she wondering as we might - Where are they? Are they hungry? Who are they hanging out with? In my imagination the mom eagle is probably obsessing while dad may be relieved to have less stress without the duty of protecting his eaglets from predators, but he also experiences occasional worry.

Does this sound familiar to you? If you have children but aren’t yet an empty nester, do you wonder what it would be like to have a marriage without the responsibility of children? Will your marriage/relationship be better after your kids are launched? Research says that committed relationships improve in middle age with more enjoyment between partners once their children leave.

I have worked with many couples who are in the middle of raising teenagers, paying bills, building careers, caring for a home, and spread very thin with children’s activities. In their relationship, they struggle to communicate, find time to be supportive of one another or have a satisfying sexual relationship. Through their fatigue they could not visualize a future of closeness and intimacy without the daily stress of family life. They need help to visualize and plan for the good experiences ahead and see their stress as the enemy rather than their partner.

According to a long term 18 year study of women in middle age, (Gorchoff, S; Helson, John U of CA, 2008) relationships improved because of the quality of connection rather than simply having more time together. This was true in both first and second marriages.

Why and how do Empty Nest relationships improve?

Couples who were able to maintain their connection through the child rearing years will have a smoother transition into empty nest years. Those who focused solely on their children and careers will have to take some time to get to know their partner again. Many seek counseling to do that.

These are some of the positive factors that bring empty nest couples closer:

Attunement – Having shared and survived the highs and lows in life, couples learn their partner’s soft spots, habits, gifts and weaknesses. They are able to offer comfort, nurturing, forgiveness and joy. They sense when the other is hurting, afraid, happy or sad. They are more able to overlook annoying habits knowing that they both have many imperfections and that doesn’t have to change for love to continue. This is the result of a secure attachment.

Gratitude - One study about gratitude in marriages (Cameron Gordon, U of NC, 2011, “Have You Thanked Your Spouse Today? Felt and Expressed Gratitude among Married Couples,” November 2011, Personality and Individual Differences) found that “individuals who reported feeling higher levels of gratitude had spouses who were happier with their marriage.”

The amazing thing about this is that one person can make another feel good about the relationship just by thinking grateful thoughts.

The same is true in reverse. When we think critical thoughts, our partner can also feel that. Focusing on what you like about your partner creates an atmosphere of acceptance and love.

Privacy and Intimacy – It may take a little while to adjust to being alone with each other more frequently but it is something most couples have longed for and with practice it is a welcomed change. With time and privacy, frequent intimate conversations, gestures like holding hands, slow dancing, eye contact, and lingering hugs and kisses are more likely to occur spontaneously.

The nature of a middle age sexual relationship may change but attraction and romance are still there. Intimate touch becomes more about loving contact without the pressure of performance. Staying active, playful and healthy can help couples to continue a passionate and satisfying sex life for years to come.

Laughter – Having shared history and a sense of humor makes life more enjoyable. Private jokes, time with peers, sharing adventures, new activities and for some the joy of grandchildren, are all bonding experiences.

Reduced Stress – Downsizing or moving from the “big house”, retirement or the freedom of beginning a new career gradually make life simpler and expand choices. Without the expense of children there are fewer financial responsibilities. Those who planned for retirement years will have fewer financial problems.

Things that may negatively impact the Empty Nest relationship

Addiction – Dependence on alcohol or other substances can begin or worsen in middle age and beyond often due to significant life changes, creating serious problems for the individual and family. Signs of addiction among seniors can be mistaken for signs of aging, making substance use problems among this population often difficult to detect. They also may be more likely to receive multiple prescriptions from doctors that may increase the risk of misuse.

Depression and anxiety often accompany addiction. There are many programs and facilities that specialize in treating addiction and co-occurring disorders in seniors, that are specifically designed to fit their needs. Seniors and their partners, as many people, are ashamed to admit they have an alcohol or drug problem and are often reluctant to seek treatment. Their adult children may also want to avoid such a sensitive subject with their parents. The good news is that treatment may give the couple many happy years they did not expect to have. It is never too late to seek help.

Adult children who are not thriving – When addiction, mental illness, relationship problems, or financial issues occur in their grown children, it is a heavy burden for some empty nesters. In some cases it may require helping grandchildren as well. It is important to seek help for yourself early on to be effective in your approach and to preserve your health, relationship and finances. Some parents do not know how to set boundaries with their adult children and spend their later years supporting and enabling their adult children, contributing to their own decline. They will most likely need counseling to learn more effective ways to interact. [I strongly recommend the book “I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better” by Gary and Joy Lundberg.]

Health issues – Caring for each other can be a positive or a negative factor depending on the length of time, seriousness of the illness and its’ impact on your ability to enjoy life. Caretakers need a support system of friends or professionals to prevent long term consequences of neglecting their own well being.

Aging or ailing parents – With today’s longevity it is possible to have parents in their 90’s and beyond. Making decisions and caring for parents may strain a relationship. Couples who have a strong attachment will be better at facing problems together and sharing the responsibility of their parents’ needs.

Adjustment to retirement is usually a temporary challenge. Some individuals may want to begin new careers while their partner is winding down. Roles may reverse with household responsibilities and earning. Again, if the connection is strong and secure couples can work through the change by compromising and being conscious of each other’s needs.

If you are in a committed relationship, ready or not, you will eventually be face to face with your partner. The outcome will depend on how much you prepared. If you want to have a great relationship in the future you will need to start now.

• Children become independent and responsible over time. If you hover over them you may be neglecting your marriage/relationship. It is possible to be a very good parent and have a great relationship. Part of parenting is teaching your children about healthy relationships by the example you provide.
• Tend to your relationship by carving out private time, affection, talking about your future together, having fun, and saving for retirement.
• Seek help for your relationship early on if problems arise. Your children are much better off if your relationship is healthy now and in the future.
• Remember that your life as a couple matters too.

Sadly, some couples may not be able to stay together and choose to separate or divorce once children are gone due to domestic abuse, mental health issues, infidelity or ongoing conflicts. That is a difficult and painful choice to make but is sometimes best for all concerned. With help and time people do recover and can turn the loss into a positive life changing experience.

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Hand-Eye Coordination Training

As a coach, I strongly believe that all athletes should strive to improve their hand-eye coordination. Unfortunately, very few take the time to challenge their coordination with new or different drills. It is much more common for athletes to seek improvements in other physical qualities such as strength and power. As I’ve said before, we currently live in what could be described as the strength and conditioning era. Never before has so much time been directed towards improving an athlete’s strength, power, and endurance.

Yet, while it’s certainly useful to become stronger and more enduring, a more coordinated athlete can better apply these physical attributes. An athlete who lacks coordination will always be limited. With that in mind, it only makes sense to actively work to improve hand-eye coordination. Don’t just take my word for it though. In the videos that follow, you will see three world class athletes who make a point to challenge and enhance their hand-eye coordination.

Hand-Eye Coordination Drills

First, you will see world champion Vasyl Lomachenko show off his juggling skills with three tennis balls. As you can see, you don’t need anything fancy to improve hand-eye coordination.

Next, you will see fellow world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux perform a tracking drill where he must move and quickly catch a ball that is tossed by his trainer. Once again, no fancy equipment is needed to challenge this world class athlete.

Lastly, you’ll see an old video of former world champion Anderson Silva. Once again, nothing but a ball is required to perform this challenging and effective drill.

Beyond Sports Practice

Whenever I discuss hand-eye coordination drills, my inbox typically fills with questions related to actual sport practice. For example, I’m often asked why an athlete wouldn’t just spend more time practicing his sport as opposed to performing hand-eye coordination drills.

The answer to that question is quite simple however. There’s only so much time that you can spend practicing or performing a sport before you run yourself into the ground. Boxing offers a prime example. There’s only so many rounds that you can spar before your body begins breaking down.

Therefore, rather than simply practicing the sport, we can supplement our training with some brief hand-eye coordination drills. Such drills are not physically taxing, thus can be practiced regularly without interfering with your primary training.

Final Thoughts

Those who are familiar with this blog have likely seen me discuss hand-eye coordination training before. My goal with this brief entry is to simply highlight a few examples from athletes other than myself. It should also serve as a reminder that you don’t need fancy or expensive equipment to improve.

Lastly, I’m certainly not suggesting that hand-eye coordination drills should take precedence over your sport training/practice. It is feasible though that you make time to perform these drills along with your primary work. If you regularly commit to a few minutes of practice each day, you’ll be surprised at the improvements that begin to accumulate over time.

Related Entries:

• Hand-Eye Coordination Drills
• Hand-Eye Coordination + Fatigue

+++++

“If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.” – Joseph Campbell

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Bipolar Diagnosis May Take Up to 6 Years

Bipolar Diagnosis May Take Up to 6 Years

Researcher calls delay a 'lost opportunity' for treatment

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- People with bipolar disorder may face a long wait from when their symptoms start to the time they get a proper diagnosis.

In fact, a new study reports the average delay is six years.

That lost time can result in greater frequency and severity of episodes of the psychiatric condition, the researchers said.

"While some patients, particularly those who present with psychosis, probably do receive timely treatment, the diagnosis of the early phase of bipolar disorder can be difficult," study leader Matthew Large, a professor psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, Australia, said in a school news release.

"This is because mental health clinicians are sometimes unable to distinguish the depressed phase of bipolar disorder from other types of depression," he added.

The new research reviewed the results of 27 past studies. Those studies included more than 9,400 patients.

Many patients had distressing and disruptive symptoms for many years before they received proper treatment, the researchers noted.

The delay in diagnosis and treatment was often longer for young patients because symptoms such as moodiness can sometimes be mistaken by parents and doctors as just part of being a teen, the study authors said.

"The diagnosis of bipolar disorder can also be missed because it relies on a detailed life history and corroborative information from careers and family, information that takes time and care to gather," Large explained.

He recommended that doctors look more closely at a patient's history of mood symptoms, especially distinct changes in mood and mood swings caused by outside events, such as overseas travel or treatment with antidepressants. He also suggested a closer look at mood symptoms in people who have a family history of the disorder.

A long delay in diagnosis and treatment is "a lost opportunity because the severity and frequency of episodes can be reduced with medication and other interventions," Large said.

The study was published July 25 in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry .

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Induced Labor Won't Raise Kids' Autism Risk: Study

Induced Labor Won't Raise Kids' Autism Risk: Study

Large study should allay fears that procedure might play a role, researchers say

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Inducing labor won't raise a pregnant woman's risk of having a child with autism, a new study suggests.

"These findings should provide reassurance to women who are about to give birth, that having their labor induced will not increase their child's risk of developing autism spectrum disorders," said senior researcher Dr. Brian Bateman. He's an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

One 2013 study had suggested a possible link between autism and induced labor using medication, such as oxytocin, the researchers noted.

Labor induction is sometimes recommended when a woman's labor stalls and her health or the health of her baby are endangered. Since the 2013 study, many pregnant women may have had fears about being induced. So, Bateman's team of American and Swedish researchers, led by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, decided to investigate the issue.

They used a database on all live births in Sweden from 1992 through 2005, and looked at child outcomes for more than 1 million births through 2013, to identify any children diagnosed with a neuropsychiatric condition.

They also identified all the children's brothers, sisters and cousins on their mother's side of the family. The health of the children's mothers was also taken into account.

Labor induction was performed in 11 percent of the deliveries. These births often involved complications, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and preeclampsia. The researchers noted that 23 percent of the induced pregnancies were late deliveries (after 40 weeks of pregnancy).

Nearly 2 percent of the babies in the study were later diagnosed with autism during the follow-up period.

When just looking at unrelated children, the researchers did find a link between induced labor and a greater risk for an autism spectrum disorder. This association disappeared, however, once they also considered the women's other children who were not born from an induced labor.

"When we used close relatives, such as siblings or cousins, as the comparison group, we found no association between labor induction and autism risk," said study author Anna Sara Oberg, a research fellow in the department of epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School.

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How To Make Classic Eggplant Parmesan — Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn

5 Sweet Snacks to Eat Right Now — Snacks with a Purpose

Are you team salty snack or sweet snack? I fall squarely on the latter. Sweet snacks are always my craving between meals, after meals, and at midnight. There are some obvious favorites (looking at you, dark chocolate bar) but here are five sweet snacks you should try next time your sweet tooth strikes.

1. Apple Slices with Almond Butter and Chocolate Sprinkles

Crackers smeared with cream cheese and topped with sprinkles is one of my crunchy snacks. This sweeter version is perfect for a late-afternoon pick-me-up. Slice the apples thinly across the core to make rounds. Almond butter is a classic for pairing with apples, but any nut butter will work here too.

2. Nutella and Dried Mango

Maybe this combination sounds strange, but chocolate-dipped mango is a super-satisfying sweet-tooth snack. Instead of melting chocolate, dipping your own dried mango slices, and then waiting for the chocolate to set, take the easy way out and enjoy a little Nutella with dried mango for dipping.

3. Kettle Corn

Popcorn is the serious snacker's BFF, but you might forget that making your own kettle corn at home is fast and easy — and you probably have all the ingredients on hand already.

Get the Recipe: How To Make Kettle Corn at Home

4. Instant Strawberry Cake

Aw, mug cakes — you continue to dazzle us with your tastiness and ease. This strawberry shortcake is both. Top it with a dollop of Greek yogurt for an equally filling and flavorful sweet snack.

Get the Recipe: Strawberry Shortcake in a Mug

5. Date Smoothie

Dates are super sweet on their own and great for eating out of hand when your sweet tooth strikes, but pairing them with a frozen banana and some spices will make their snack power last even longer.

Get the Recipe: Banana-Date Smoothie

What is your favorite sweet treat for snacking?

New Snack Ideas for When the Munchies Strike

New snack ideas for when the munchies strike is a series where we show you how to satisfy all your snack cravings — salty, sweet, crunchy, and spicy. We encourage you to embrace snack time and calm your cravings with these fresh ideas and out-of-the-box combos.

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Match Your Snack to Your Zodiac Sign — Snacks with a Purpose

Your zodiac sign gives insight into your personality, career path, and love life. It's also extremely helpful in determining your go-to cocktail. Who's to say the stars can't also point you in the right direction in other culinary pursuits? Let's see what the stars have to say about the snacks you should be stocking up on.

ARIES (March 21 to April 19): Wasabi Peas

Impatient Aries doesn't have time to wait for cookies to bake or nacho cheese to melt. When she feels a snack craving coming on, she wants her snack now! (Actually, five minutes ago would've been even better.) That's why wasabi peas are the perfect snack for fiery Aries. They're spicy and irresistable — just like she is.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20): Homemade Brownies

Patient Taurus doesn't mind following a lot of steps, so when she's in the mood for a snack, she's happy to whip up a batch of homemade brownies. Since Taureans love the finer things in life, she's going to spring for the fancy chocolate and fancier salted caramel to swirl in the brownie batter. Save us a square!

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20): Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Geminis are mostly known for having two personalities, but they're also known for loving to do things with their hands. They're happiest when knitting, drawing, or playing Candy Crush on their cell phones. That's why mini peanut butter cups are their ideal snack. One personality will go gaga for the smooth chocolate, and the other will dig the salty peanut butter. Popping a few in her mouth whenever a craving strikes will keep her hands happy.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22): Cookie Dough

Empathetic and moody cancer loves all kinds of comfort food. Anything indulgent, creamy, and decadent gets a thumbs up. That's why her favorite snack is cookie dough, straight from the tube (or bowl). Funny how it always tastes best when she's snuggled under a blanket watching her favorite movie.

LEO (July 23 to August 22): Caramel Waffle Cone Frappucino

Confident and domineering Leo loves drama and attention. Her ultimate snack would be something over-the-top. What's more attention-grabbing than walking into a room sipping a venti caramel waffle cone Frappucino? With sticky caramel and mounds of whipped cream-dotted waffle cone shards, it'll turn heads — which Leo loves to do.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22): String Cheese

Analytical and practical Virgo tends towards the healthier side when reaching for a snack, which is why she loves string cheese: It's portable, pre-portioned, and if she grabs the low-fat version, relatively healthy. And she finds great pleasure in methodically separating the cheese into strands and gobbling 'em up one by one.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22): Fair-Trade Dark Chocolate

Balanced Libra has a sweet tooth, which is why she loves eating fair-trade dark chocolate. Not only does it support a worthy cause, but she gets to indulge in a sweet chocolate treat. It's a win-win situation for her!

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21): Hot Wings

Mysterious and social Scorpio's favorite snack is a heaping plate of hot chicken wings. Not only are wings spicy, like her, but she also gets to share 'em with her friends, which makes her feel good both inside and out.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21): Roasted Seaweed Snack

Adventurous Sagittarius is known for being impulsive, which is why she loves noshing on a package of roasted seaweed snacks. The crispy sheets of roasted seaweed are salty and a little sweet, thanks to a few drops of sesame oil, a flavor combination which drives her wild.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19): Raw Almonds

Disciplined Capricorn is an earth sign, so her favorite snack is something grown in the ground. That's why she digs raw almonds — a handful or two will satisfy her. Maybe she'll occasionally opt for honey-roasted almonds or roasted salted almonds, but she always comes back to the raw variety. Simpler is better. To her, they're the perfect snack.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18): Cheese Plate

Wise, independent Aquarius loves being sociable, so when she's ready to snack, her number-one choice would be a robust cheese board brimming with artisanal cheeses, spreads, jams, and jellies to share. Not only does she get to taste a lot of different flavors, but she also gets to chow down while having a great time with friends. That cheese board puts her in a happy place, for sure.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20): Chips and Guacamole

Dreamy and romantic Pisces loves nothing more than swirling her tortilla chip in a mound of freshly made guacamole. She daydreams about being on the beach with her one true love as she swirls her chip around the creamy guac. Pisces, chips, and guac are a match made in heaven.

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Snacking Tips from Road Warriors: Flight Attendant — Snacks with a Purpose

(Image credit: Courtesy of Jana Kopova)

Snacks are an essential part of travel. They keep hunger — and impulsive, hanger-driven decisions — at bay, sustaining long days on the road (or on your feet). They also offer a tiny piece of home, whether it's the familiarity of a pack of peanut M&Ms when you're in a foreign country or the knowledge that you've got your go-to granola handy for breakfast.

With snacks and travel on our mind this month, we reached out to five road warriors, people who are away from home as often as not. They've got snacking down to a science — and they're sharing their tried-and-true tips.

Emirates Airlines cabin crew member Jana Kopová knows a thing or two about being on the go, and her strategy for in-flight eating and snacking is simple: Be prepared for anything. "It's better to be ready than to rely on what you will get in the aircraft," she says. "Emirates has added healthy options for the crew — stuff like miso soup, cans of tuna, and muesli. They've made the casseroles, the hot meals, a little more healthy, but in general, it's still plane food."

We talked to Jana to find out how she manages to eat well, even on a 16-hour flight. If you're serious about food, too (and we suspect you are), read on.

Jana's Snacking Tips

1. Mix and match.

Jana begins her travel prep by asking herself a few simple questions. Before each flight, Jana says, "I just think, 'Okay, we will fly at night, so how many meals do I need? What will I eat?'" She then packs her bag with simple foods, like pre-cut vegetables, cans of tuna, or fruit, and uses the food available on the plane to supplement.

"If I can find something better — for example, business class often has something to spare — I'll eat it and I'll keep my food for later," she says. She also likes to combine the food she brought with her with what's available on the aircraft. "For example, I take a salmon fillet from the food on the plane and put it on the salad I brought from home," Jana explains.

2. Make your own porridge.

Jana also brings a porridge mixture that she can "cook" with hot water once she's in the air. "Basically it's a mix of flakes: rice, millet, buckwheat, seeds, with some protein [powder] and some seeds like chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower — whatever I have," Jana says. "I add banana on the plane; we always have some bananas and apples."

3. BYO water bottle.

"Sometimes I do not understand why [passengers] do not take water with them," says Jana. While you may need to ditch your bottled water before you go through security, she recommends purchasing a big bottle to bring on the plane or, better yet, investing in a reusable bottle that you can fill up from fountains in the airport or aboard the aircraft.

Jana likes to spruce her water up with lemon slices and to make tea from sachets she brings from home. It's an easy way to keep yourself hydrated (and make your fellow passengers jealous).

4. Take it easy on the booze.

That can be a hard one, Jana says, explaining that "some people just keep drinking." And she sympathizes: "I actually understand why. Because sometimes it's so boring."

What snacks do you bring on flights? Share in the comments!

More posts in Snacking Tips from Road Warriors

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Our Number-One Pick from IKEA's 2017 Catalog Preview — IKEA Shopping Guide

IKEA's new catalog for 2017 is almost here — start the countdown! Luckily we got a sneak peek to tide us over as we eagerly await its arrival on August 8. While there were many new product lines and one-off items to geek out about, we're most excited about this versatile pick.

Our #1 Pick: SUNNERSTA Cart, $29.99

Designed by Henrik Preutz, the $30 SUNNERSTA Cart seems poised to be this year's RÅSKOG cart. Sleek and streamlined, the cart is easy to tuck away and can hold a wide range of kitchen pantry items and appliances. It's also designed to provide additional prep space for those with itty-bitty kitchens. And for $30, it's a steal.

The cart is part of the larger SUNNERSTA line, designed for a transient lifestyle or small spaces. Shown above is the Mini-Kitchen, which includes a sink, prep space, "backsplash" storage, and space for a small refrigerator.

See the Top 10 Products from IKEA's 2017 Catalog

What do you think? Will the SUNNERSTA be the new RÅSKOG?

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An Investigative Report: What Makes Movie Theater Popcorn So Good? — Summer Blockbusters

(Image credit: Courtesy of Giphy)

Is there anything better than movies and popcorn? They go together like Luke and Lorelai. When you think of one, the other automatically pops into your head. And movie theater popcorn, in particular, is a special breed. As soon as you walk into the theater, it hits you: the buttery, salty smell of popcorn.

It beats the microwaved version every time. When you make your own at home, or buy bags that claim they're the "movie theater" version, they're just never quite as good. Even when the stuff in the theaters isn't perfect — too dry or too buttery — it just works.

So, why is movie theater popcorn so dang good? It may just be part of the movie magic; however old we get, there's still something mystical about the movie theater. Almost everyone can remember seeing a movie they loved, and they probably had a bag of popcorn on their lap while they saw it.

But is there something more? Is the secret in the sauce? Is there a special popper? A flavored salt? We decided to investigate.

The Theater of Popcorn

The movie theater experience is definitely a factor. "Popcorn and the big screen experience go hand in hand," explains Terri-Lynn Woodhouse, who has worked in movie theaters for 15 years. "A lot of it is nostalgic, remembering first dates and enjoying the taste and smells of the theatre as kids," she says, but there's something else, too. "The theater of popping the popcorn is a big draw. You can watch, hear, and smell it while in line."

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter

Of course, you can't forget the butter — or rather, butter flavoring. More often than not, "butter" is really butter-flavored oil, which helps keep the popcorn from getting soggy. Kristi Weimerskirch, who worked at the Marcus Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, for two years in high school, says she and her coworkers were always told to refer to it as butter flavoring instead of butter.

But just because it's not real, doesn't mean it's not delicious. "I still loved it, though! I munched on it all the time," Weimerskirch says. "But it was definitely not butter on there."

Haute Popcorn

These days, movie theaters are going beyond the butter (or butter flavoring). Woodhouse says her Toronto movie theater offers powdered seasonings like ketchup, white cheddar, sour cream & onion, and BBQ.

And then there are places like iPic Theaters in Westwood, CA, outside Los Angeles. Sherry Yard, the James Beard award-winning chef and senior vice president of Culinary Brand Development, rattles off flavors like pickled beet with rosemary and sea salt and buttermilk dill with smoked salt. And her preferred pairing isn't a Big Gulp, but a glass of bubbly.

No matter what that X factor is, people can't get enough of the stuff — employees included. "I couldn't imagine watching a movie without it," Woodhouse says. "And that says a lot considering all the theater cleaning and spilt popcorn I've dealt with over the years!"

Pop(corn) History: There's a Reason Popcorn Is Our #1 Movie Snack

How do you take your movie theater popcorn? With butter or without?

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Easy Mango Green Smoothie

Hello! Have you eaten a mango this week? You should. I found a few at the store that were perfectly ripe and tasted like magic and happiness and fairy dust all rolled into one. Seriously they were the BEST mangoes I’ve ever had. Plus, they were super cheap. Boom.

So after I ate devoured a few mangoes while standing at the counter cutting them, I went back to the store for more and created a super easy Mango Green Smoothie Recipe. This smoothie is so sweet from the mangoes you don’t need anything extra (like sugar, protein powder, yogurt, etc). Just throw a few ingredients in the blender and enjoy!

 

Easy Mango Green Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients: 1 heaping cup frozen mango, handful of spinach, 1 cup almond milk, few ice cubes.

Blend. Sip. Repeat.

Tip: I cut up a few mangoes and froze some in baggies overnight, but you can use frozen mango from the store if they’re not in season near you. When I frozen the fresh mango I portioned it out in individual baggies so it would be easy to throw in a blender for a smoothie.

Speaking of mango enjoyment… I actually interrupted my long run yesterday morning to have a lil snack.

Here’s the deal – it’s hot and I needed to bust out a long run Sunday morning. So, I planned to make it a little more pleasant by running out and back 10 miles, stopping at home to change my shirt /  reapply sunblock / hydrate  and then head back out for another 8 miles or so.

The first half of my run flew by as I listened to a new-to-me podcast about a random mystery about a couple who went missing on a boat in Michigan. I don’t know the name offhand but I’ll look it up if you are curious.

The weather was nice and mild compared to Palm Springs! It’s all relative I guess!

Halfway through the run I stopped at home and did a quick change-a-roo and ate some mango because it’s amazing and refreshing. That powered me through for another 8 miles for 18 miles total.

18 mile run done and done.

Overall it was a good run but a little slow. I definitely need a lot more training and conditioning before I’m in great shape to really do well in a full marathon. I can go the distance, but I want to feel strong while doing it. The tight area in my leg didn’t really bug me until after the run. I need a good stretch session today.

Bonus: This lil sign looked like it was from SkinnyRunner – I spotted it on the path! I’m convinced she flew down from Alaska just to leave me this note that implies I should run 2 extra miles today.

After my run I stretched and had a green smoothie with a ton of toppings.

Then, headed to church. But my church plan was a tweaked a little when I passed by the food pantry and saw they were super busy and needed help. So, I ended up staying there for a few hours. That time flew by too! And before I knew it we were done and I was ready for some FOOD. Ben and I went to Mimi’s Café and got a little excited ordering muffins and cinnamon rolls. It’s kind of a last supper since I need to get back on track with eating clean for my thyroid again, I can feel myself dragging when I slip.

Their seasonal muffin is a pineapple upside down muffin, it’s good but the cinnamon roll was amazing.

Question: Have you had a mango recently? Did it change your life?

The post Easy Mango Green Smoothie appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

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Skepticism Surrounding Sex

"It's a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies; the only variable is about what"

One of my favorite shows from years ago was House; a show centered around a brilliant but troubled doctor who frequently discovers the causes of his patient's ailments through discerning what they - or others - are lying about. This outlook on people appears to be correct, at least in spirit. Because it is sometimes beneficial for us that other people are made to believe things that are false, communication is often less than honest. This dishonesty entails things like outright lies, lies by omission, or stretching the truth in various directions and placing it in different lights. Of course, people don't just lie because deceiving others is usually beneficial. Deception - much like honesty - is only adaptive to the extent that people do reproductively-relevant things with it. Convincing your spouse that you had an affair when you didn't is dishonest for sure, but probably not a very useful thing to do; deceiving someone about what you had for breakfast is probably fairly neutral (minus the costs you might incur from coming to be known as a liar). As such, we wouldn't expect selection to have shaped our psychology to lie about all topics with equal frequency. Instead, we should expect that people tend to preferentially lie about particular topics in predictable ways.

Lies like, "This college degree will open so many doors for you in life"

Source: Flickr/Jacob Roeland

The corollary idea to that point concerns skepticism. Distrusting the honesty of communications can protect against harmful deceptions, but it also runs the risk of failing to act on accurate and beneficial information. There are costs and benefits to skepticism as there are to deception. Just as we shouldn't expect people to be dishonest about all topics equally often, then, we shouldn't expect people to be equally skeptical of all the information they receive either. This is point I've talked about before with regards to our reasoning abilities, whereby information agreeable to our particular interests tends to be accepted less critically, while disagreeable information is scrutinized much more intensely.

This line of thought was recently applied to the mating domain in a paper by Walsh, Millar, & Westfall (2016). Humans face a number of challenges when it comes to attracting sexual partners typically centered around obtaining the highest quality of partner(s) one can (metaphorically) afford, relative to what one offers to others. What determines the quality of partners, however, is frequently context specific: what makes a good short-term partner might differ from what makes a good long-term partner and - critically, as far as the current research is concerned - the traits that make good male partners for women are not the same as those that make good females partner for men. Because women and men face some different adaptive challenges when it comes to mating, we should expect that they would also preferentially lie (or exaggerate) to the opposite sex about those traits that the other sex values the most. In turn, we should also expect that each sex is skeptical of different claims, as this skepticism should reflect the costs associated with making poor reproductive decisions on the basis of bad information.

In case that sounds too abstract, consider a simple example: women face a greater obligate cost when it comes to pregnancy than men do. As far as men are concerned, their role in reproduction could end at ejaculation (which it does, for many species). By contrast, women would be burdened with months of gestation (during which they cannot get pregnant again), as well as years of breastfeeding prior to modern advancements (during which they also usually can't get pregnant). Each child could take years of a woman's already limited reproductive lifespan, whereas the man has lost a few minutes. In order to ease those burdens, women often seek male partners who will stick around and invest in them and their children. Men who are willing to invest in children should thus prove to be more attractive long-term partners for women than those who are unwilling. However, a man's willingness to stick around needs to be assessed by a woman in advance of knowing what his behavior will actually be. This might lead to men exaggerating or lie about their willingness to invest, so as to encourage women to mate with them. Women, in turn, should be preferentially skeptical of such claims, as being wrong about a man's willingness to invest is costly indeed. The situation should be reversed for traits that men value in their partners more than women.

Figure 1: What men most often value in a woman

Source: Flickr/Mike Burns

Three such traits for both men and women were examined by Walsh et al (2016). In their study, eight scenarios depicting a hypothetical email exchange between a man and woman who had never met were displayed to approximately 230 (mostly female; 165) heterosexual undergraduate students. For the women, these emails depicted a man messaging a woman; for men, it was a woman messaging a man. The purpose of these emails was described as the person sending them looking to begin a long-term intimate relationship with the recipient. Each of these emails described various facets of the sender, which could be broadly classified as either relevant primarily to female mating interests, relevant to male interests, or neutral. In terms of female interests, the sender described their luxurious lifestyle (cuing wealth), their desire to settle down (commitment), or how much they enjoy interacting with children (child investment). In terms of male interests, the sender talked about having a toned body (cuing physical attractiveness), their openness sexually (availability/receptivity), or their youth (fertility and mate value). In the two neutral scenarios, the sender either described their interest in stargazing or board games.

Finally, the participants were asked to rate (on a 1-5 scale) how deceitful they thought the sender was, whether they believed the sender or not, and how skeptical they were of the claims in the message. These three scores were summed for each participant to create a composite score of believability for each of the messages (the lower the score, the less believable it was rated as being). Those scores were then averaged across the female-relevant items (wealth, commitment, and childcare), the male-relevant items (attractiveness, youth, and availability), and the control conditions. (Participants also answered questions about whether the recipient should respond and how much they personally liked the sender. No statistical analyses are reported on those measures, however, so I'm going to assume nothing of note turned up)

The results showed that, as expected, the control items were believed more readily (M = 11.20) than the male (M = 9.85) or female (9.6) relevant items. This makes sense, inasmuch as believing lies about stargazing or interests in board games aren't particularly costly for either sex in most cases, so there's little reason to lie about them (and thus little reason to doubt them); by contrast, messages about one's desirability as a partner have real payoffs, and so are treated more cautiously. However, an important interaction with the sex of the participant was uncovered as well: female participants were more skeptical on the female-relevant items (M = about 9.2) than males were (M = 10.6); similarly, males were more likely to be skeptical in male-relevant conditions  (M = 9.5) than females were (M = 10). Further, the scores for the individual items all showed evidence of the same sex kinds of differences in skepticism. No sex difference emerged for the control condition, also as expected.

In sum, then - while these differences were relatively small in magnitude - men tended to be more skeptical of claims that, if falsely believed, were costlier for them than women, and women tended to be more skeptical of claims that, if falsely believed, were costlier for them than men. This is a similar pattern to that found in the reasoning domain, where evidence that agrees with one's position is accepted more readily than evidence that disagrees with it.

"How could it possibly be true if it disagrees with my opinion?"

Source: Flickr/CollegeDegrees360

The authors make a very interesting point towards the end of their paper about how their results could be viewed as inconsistent with the hypothesis that men have a bias to over-perceived women's sexual interest. After all, if men are over-perceiving such interest in the first place, why would they be skeptical about claims of sexual receptivity? It is possible, of course, that men tend to over-perceive such availability in general and are also skeptical of claims about its degree (e.g., they could still be manipulated by signals intentionally sent by females and so are skeptical, but still over-perceive ambiguous or less-overt cues), but another explanation jumps out at me that is consistent with the theme of this research: perhaps when asked to self-report about their own sexual interest, women aren't being entirely accurate (consciously or otherwise). This explanation would fit well with the fact that men and women tend to perceive a similar level of sexual interest in other women. Then again, perhaps I only see that evidence as consistent because I don't think men, as a group, should be expected to have such a bias, and that's biasing my skepticism in turn.

References: Walsh, M., Millar, M., & Westfall, S. (2016). The effects of gender and cost on suspicion in initial courtship communications. Evolutionary Psychological Science, DOI 10.1007/s40806-016-0062-8

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The 'A' Word

Work done by Jerome Schultz, Ph.D. suggests that when people who have ADHD (in his case, children) and who don’t understand the label ‘ADHD’ take on the negative stereotypes often associated with the condition rather than see themselves as a greater 'whole.'  This isn’t a huge surprise.  All you have to do is stand around for a while in a school hallway before you hear “Oh, that’s so ADD!”  It’s not a compliment.

Adults with ADHD know this all too well – they’ve lived it.  For years people told them they were inadequate, ought to try harder, never learned, or were stupid (because they didn’t test well or had problems with memory)…this list goes on and on.  Sadly, many of them believed it because they didn’t have another explanation.  Take ‘stupid’ – a child with ADHD might be exceptionally smart yet test poorly because s/he reads slowly (a common issue with ADHD) and runs out of time.  Or perhaps she did her homework and learned the material but forgot to bring it to school, getting a “0” for her effort.  Or was distracted and didn’t even know she had homework – even though she was perfectly capable of acing it.  Perhaps the ADHD child had a co-existing math learning disability, such as dyscalculia, which kept him from doing more than 5 problems on that 25-problem math quiz in 2nd grade.  That brain that can’t calculate might be amazing with words or pictures…but this gets lost in our ‘teach to the test’ school environment and the taunts of other school children.

People diagnosed with ADHD as adults are often relieved to hear about their diagnosis.  Finally!  A reason for all that has happened to them!  And, if they do some research and tackle the task of treating the ADHD, their lives most often change for the better*.

But over time, if both partners don’t really learn about ADHD and how to live with it, ADHD can morph into a curse – ‘the A word’ as one woman told me.  Having a label – and particularly the label of ‘ADHD’ – can translate into ‘because you have ADHD, our relationship problems are all your fault.’  The woman with ADHD who normally stays on top of things isn’t just deciding that she doesn’t ‘feel like doing a chore right then’…no, she’s ‘not controlling her symptoms well enough’ and gets corrected by her partner.  The man who has ADHD who stays on his computer too long to finish reading an interesting news story ‘has a computer addiction.’   The man who thrills at arriving at the airport just in the nick of time is judged ‘inconsiderate’ and to have an ‘issue with time management’ by his more anxious, and less adrenaline-driven partner.

One frustrated ADHD man told me “I think of this as ‘the leeway conundrum.’  My wife, who does not have ADHD, can change her mind and everything is okay.  I, on the other hand, must never change my mind because if I do, it means I’m ‘ADHD unreliable.’”

This is part of the parent/child dynamic that is so destructive in ADHD-impacted relationships.  The ADHD partner, in the child-like role, has little autonomy and is critiqued on an ongoing basis by non-ADHD and ‘other ADHD’ partners who believe their way – sanctioned by the neuro-typical world – is ‘better.’  Sometimes they have a point…but not as often as they think.  And ADHD isn’t always the reason for differences of opinion, either.  As a non-ADHD partner I may prefer getting to the airport early so that I don’t feel stress.  But as long as my ADHD partner makes it on time, is my way really more successful (‘better’) than his?  Objectively, no.  We do things differently.  Viva la difference!

I’m not one who thinks that ADHD is a gift.  I’ve seen it play a role in the suffering of too many couples.  Research backs me up.  Having ADHD can wreak havoc with your life.  But…and this is a big but…it’s not all about ADHD, either.   Using the label of ADHD without empathy or compassion is simply cruel.  The dysfunction in the couples I work with comes from their interactions and attitudes about ADHD as much as from the ADHD symptoms themselves.  Using ‘ADHD’ as a criticism – as ‘the A word’ if you will – is one of the bigger problems.  It signals disrespect, and a willingness to label another in a way that allows the other partner to ignore his or her own role in their joint problems…leading to much-less-than-optimal healing.

Non ADHD partners, teacher, parents and anyone who loves someone with ADHD would be well-served to think about the undertones so many read into the label of ‘ADHD’…and to remember it’s not just about ADHD.  A person with ADHD is much more than his or her ADHD symptoms – and deserves autonomy and respect for his or her different way of being.

*Research done by Dr. Russ Barkley and Dr. Kevin Murphy suggests that the majority of adults with ADHD who use medications see significant improvements in symptom management.  See Barkley’s book, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD for more information. 

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CDC Updates Zika Guidelines for Pregnant Women

CDC Updates Zika Guidelines for Pregnant Women

Any sex partner, male or female, has potential to pass the virus on, agency says

WebMD News from HealthDay

By HealthDay staff

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials on Monday updated their Zika virus guidelines, saying that pregnant women could contract Zika from a sex partner of either gender.

The virus can cause serious birth defects including microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains.

The new update follows news last week of the first recorded female-to-male transmission of the virus during sex.

While mosquitoes are by far the most common form of transmission, cases of sexual transmission can occur, either male-to-female, female-to-male or female-to-female.

For that reason, experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the new guidelines "include the possibility of sexual transmission from an infected woman."

"CDC recommends that all pregnant women with sex partners (male or female), who live in or traveled to an area with Zika, use condoms during sex or abstain from sex for the remainder of their pregnancy," the agency said.

"Sex includes vaginal, anal and oral sex, and may also include the sharing of sex toys," the CDC clarified.

These precautions now include either straight or lesbian couples where one partner could pass the virus on to her pregnant partner.

Any pregnant woman who suspects that she may have been exposed to Zika -- either through a mosquito bite or sexual contact with an infected person -- should also be tested for the virus, the agency stressed.

The CDC also pointed out that "new information has indicated that some infected pregnant women can have evidence of Zika virus in their blood for longer than the previously recommended seven-day window."

Because of that new data, the agency now recommends that the time frame for blood testing for Zika be lengthened to 14 days.

The vast majority of cases of Zika infection and associated microcephaly have occurred in Latin America, especially Brazil, where thousands of cases have been reported.

However, Zika may be making inroads into the United States. Late last week, Florida health officials said they were investigating a second possible case of locally transmitted Zika infection.

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Edible Pot Sends Toddlers to Colorado ERs

Edible Pot Sends Toddlers to Colorado ERs

Cannabis-laced candy, baked goods look irresistible to kids, doctors warn

WebMD News from HealthDay

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Young children in Colorado are winding up in the emergency room after ingesting pot-laced goodies left out in the open by adults, doctors report.

In 2014, Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana. Shortly after, a sharp increase occurred in the number of Colorado kids younger than 10 who fell ill after being exposed to pot, researchers found.

Edible products -- cannabis-laced brownies, cookies, candy and the like -- were responsible for about half of these cases, said senior study author Dr. Genie Roosevelt, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist with the Denver Health and Hospital Authority.

"Edible marijuana products look very much like a regular food product, and so they're very attractive to kids because it's candy and baked goods, and also very palatable," Roosevelt said.

The average rate of marijuana-related visits to Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora nearly doubled following legalization. The rate two years after legalization was 2.3 children per 100,000 population, compared with 1.2 per 100,000 population two years prior to legalization, the study found.

The regional Poison Control Center that serves Colorado also saw a more than fivefold increase in reported cases of children made ill from marijuana -- from nine in 2009 to 47 last year, the researchers said. And the average increase in calls to poison centers statewide was nearly twice that of the rest of the country.

Most kids became very sleepy after their exposure to marijuana, or experienced a loss of balance or coordination, Roosevelt said.

But, Roosevelt added, "we have seen some very sick children who have been put on a ventilator and admitted to the ICU. It sedates them so much that it interferes with their ability to breathe."

Parents were the most frequent source of the pot, the investigators found, along with grandparents, neighbors, friends, babysitters and other family members.

People have become more careless in how they store their marijuana following legalization of recreational use, said Dr. J. Michael Bostwick. He is chair of consultation and hospital practice for the Mayo Clinic psychiatry and psychology department in Rochester, Minn.

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How Thinking Before You Speak Can Save Your Relationship

Source: charles taylor / shutterstock.com

The emotions of people invested in irrelationship are all over the map and are often poorly managed. As seen by an outsider, those affected often display a jumbled up mélange of potentially destructive impulsivity mixed willy-nilly with overly tamped-down, or even dissociated emotions and ideas that seriously complicate trying to come to a healthy place of healthy give-and-take (what we call relationship sanity).

In impulsive and dissociated styles of relating, “subcortical” brain activity dominates higher cortical functions (“executive control”) which are unable to adequately inhibit deeper brain regions (Morien-Zamir & Robbins, 2015). This is common in people with addictions, but is also an aspect of brainlock associated with the automatic defenses of irrelationship even in situations which do not include substance use disorders. Typically those affected suffer from poor frustration tolerance as well as excessive denial of feelings, both of which mechanisms are implicated in managing disturbing feelings (Bion, 1962).

Dysregulated relationships don’t survive the transition from the passion of the honeymoon period into a mature, profound, and sustainable commitment that includes mutual caregiving and effective communication necessary for jointly navigating life challenges.

Poor frustration tolerance can be especially damaging during an argument since it easily gives way vicious attacks that may be regarded as unforgivable later, even if made only once. But other, less vitriolic attacks can be just as devastating if they’re repeated over and over. On the other hand, keeping one’s feelings firmly bridled over a long period can bring about the slow death of a relationship.    

Dominick was thrilled and hopeful that his newly born insight into his wife Subrina’s personality would be a turning point in their relationship. His excitement, however, didn’t take into consideration the possibility that Subrina not only might not buy into Dominick’s insight, but that she’d find it threatening and confrontational.  

As it turned out, much of Dominic’s excitement was unconsciously inflamed by the prospect of retaliating against his wife for her day-after-day criticism of (it seemed to him) everything he did. He’d tried in the past to express to her how vulnerable and uneasy this made him feel, but her response was to tell him to “stop acting like a little girl.” Finally, during an ugly argument, Dominick flung his newfound “insight” at his wife: “No wonder Josh (Subrina’s ex-) just walked out one day. You’re totally stuck on being ‘smarter’ than everybody else—and you don’t let anybody forget it for a minute! You know what you’re really doing? You’re making sure everybody keeps the hell away from you. Then when things go wrong, you can play innocent with your ‘nobody tells me anything’ routine. Of course nobody tells you anything! All you do is blame them—just like you do to me! How many times have you told me that when your father bothered to come home, it was just to beat up your mother? Well, that’s just how I feel: every time you open your mouth, it’s to put me down! And If I say a word about it, you tell me to just suck it up!”

As soon as he’d gotten his “insight” off his chest, Dominick could see from Subrina’s face that he had opened a door that might never close. Even as he was doing it (and as he could feel it snowballing out of his control), he knew he’d hit below the belt. But his accumulated frustration at being brushed aside won out, and he unloaded every ugly feeling he had against Subrina.

Though Dominick was able genuinely to express his sorrow afterwards, their old pattern continued: Subrina repeatedly brought up the incident until Dominick was provoked into blowing up again. Despite this, however, Dominick still believed he had stumbled onto something important about their life together. But whenever he tried to talk about it, Subrina reframed it as “just another example of how men always betray me,” thus ensuring that their old pattern was kept alive. Despite Dominick’s hope that somehow things could change, this recurrent conflict became the defining characteristic of their relationship.

It sounds bad, but Dominick and Subrina had a lot going for them. Even though a lot of times Subrina said they had nothing in common (sometimes walking out the door or running away down the street saying she wasn’t coming back) these kind of impulsive comments and behaviors (based on an all-or-nothing take on the relationship as being either all good or all bad, but not both) gave the impression there wasn’t anything there, anymore. But at the same time, this was clearly not the case.

In fact, they liked each other quite a bit, they shared most if not all of their core values, and they had accomplished a tremendous amount together. Most of the time, Dominick felt like he was holding all the good in the relationship, remembering and reminding them of it, while Subrina’s job was to destroy and deny all goodness. This gave Dominick a chance to redeem himself. But it came at the cost of eruptions of aggression, until he was able to do the personal work required to deal with the broken up parts of himself and start to bridge them together with better internal communication. It was a lonely place to be, without much tenderness or affection.

Irrelationship theory tells us that when we look past the surface, there may be more there than meets the eye—people who want to be close cannot acknowledge their fear of closeness with each other, and to make matters worse, don’t know how to relate with one another to foster and deepen closeness once they’ve discovered what they’ve been doing together, and what they’ve been missing—together.

Reference

Bion, W. R. (1962) Study of thinking. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 43, 306-310.

Morien-Zamir, S., &Robbins, T. W. (2015). Fronto-striatal circuits in response-inhibition: Relevance to addiction. Brain Research, 1628, 117-129. 

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Cut Stress From Family Mealtime: Answers for 4 Common Problems

What's dinnertime like at your house?

Maybe "dinner" consists of lukewarm takeout, eaten in front of the TV, while you also surf the Internet, or answer e-mail. Or perhaps the eat-and-run dinners you share with your kids barely leave you time to say "hello" and "good-bye" to each other. Or maybe your kitchen is starting to resemble a fast-food restaurant, with family members coming in and going out and grabbing a bite between activities.

Although the dinner hour once represented a calm oasis from the day's storm, experts say today it's often anything but relaxing.

"We're hurried, we're harried, we've turned up the volume of our lives to such a high number that we often can't even see how stressed we are. And we almost never see how we bring that stress to the dinner table, a place where traditionally we sought relaxation and comfort," says Mimi Donaldson, a stress and time management expert.

With blaring TVs, ringing cell phones, and e-mail alerts chiming in the background, in some homes, the dinner hour is every bit as stressful as the rest of the day, says Donaldson, co-author of the book Bless Your Stress: It Means You're Still Alive.

"When you add in sibling rivalry and a dose of parental discipline, mealtime can quickly become a combat zone that nobody wants to enter," Donaldson says.

If you're thinking all this doesn't matter much, think again.

How Family Dinners Help Kids

Recent research at Columbia University found that children who regularly had dinner with their families are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, and more likely to do better in school. In fact, studies show the best-adjusted children are those who eat with an adult at least five times a week, says Ann Von Berber, PhD, chair of the department of nutrition sciences at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

"Many studies support the importance of family mealtime in decreasing the incidence of teens who smoke, drink alcohol, participate in sex at a young age, start fights, get suspended from school, or commit suicide," says Von Berber.

This may be because families that eat together more often probably also communicate more often. Family mealtimes are a way to increase the time you spend talking -- but making a point to just hang out and spend time talking can help even more.

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What’s the Right Sport for Your Child?

Sports are a big part of Mike Wilber’s life. He’s been a youth sports coach for more than 30 years, and today he coaches high school track, football, and swimming in Olean, NY. He’s also the father of four athletic kids.

He says he decided early on to get his kids involved in sports.

“Young children who are involved in sports have a healthier lifestyle integrated into their lives at an earlier age,” Wilber says.

And experts agree that sports can be good for kids, “not only for the obvious health benefits that 60 minutes of daily exercise gives you, but in social ways as well,” says Jennifer Shu, MD, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Lessons in working with your teammates, sharing, and the importance of making and keeping commitments are valuable skills on and off the field or court.

But many kids aren’t born knowing that they want to play soccer or be on a cheerleading squad. So parents have to help them find an interest and figure out the sport that fits them the best -- without pushing them into an activity they dread. How can you find the balance? Here’s what to keep in mind.

Is my child ready for sports?

Around age 6 or 7, most kids have the physical and mental skills they need to start joining in organized sports. Shu says you can get your child moving as early as she shows interest, and start with easier activities that won’t be hard to master -- playing catch, kicking a ball, swinging a bat, or going for an easy swim. As she gets better with hand-eye coordination and physical activity, then you can introduce the idea of a team sport.

“You may want to try less-competitive team sports at first -- for example, recreational level rather than travel ball -- so novices don't get intimidated by more seasoned players,” says Shu, an Atlanta-area pediatrician.

It’s also a good idea to think about the physical traits that a sport requires before you sign her up for one. Is she tall enough? Strong enough? Talk to the coach to find out what you should look for.

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Weight Loss Tips for Busy Parents

Your alarm goes off at 6 a.m. -- just enough time to get yourself and your kids out the door. You log 8 hours at work (including 5 minutes to scarf down your lunch), then you rush to get kids to practice and make sure homework’s done. Maybe you top off the day with a dinnertime swing past the drive-thru. Once you get the kids to bed, you step on the scale to see your weight slowly creeping upward as your energy level goes the opposite direction.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Some small changes you can sprinkle throughout your day will help you get to a healthy weight without throwing off your schedule. Even better? You’ll have the chance to show your kids that there’s always time to make healthy choices.

Attack Fat First Thing in the Morning

Scientists have had a hard time proving a clear link between breakfast and slimming down. Some studies have found that people who eat a morning meal do lose weight, and others say it doesn’t make a difference.

But there is a reason breakfast earned its “most important meal” title. It can help you make healthier choices later in the day. If you skip it and you’re starving by lunch time, it’s harder to choose that salad over a cheeseburger. Plus, if you get energy in early, you have more time to burn it off during the day.    

“Breakfast should be your largest meal,” says John Meigs Jr., MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians. “When you load calories at the end of the day, you don’t have time to burn them off. When you go to bed with a full stomach, it’s all packed into storage called fat. You don’t sleep well and then don’t function well the next day.”

You have to eat the right things, though. Powdered doughnuts and a diet soda won’t help. You can get something healthy together no matter how much time you have:

• If you’ve got time: Scramble some eggs and serve with turkey bacon, fruit, and whole-grain wheat toast.
• If you’re in a rush: Toast some English muffins for ham-and-low-fat-cheese sandwiches. Make breakfast tacos with corn tortillas. Or top unsweetened cereal with some fruit.
• If you’re running out the door: Microwave some eggs, toast a whole-grain frozen waffle, or even peanut butter sandwiches will do in a pinch. Or at least grab a banana.

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No Marijuana Chemical in Colorado Town's Water

No Marijuana Chemical in Colorado Town's Water

WebMD News from HealthDay

July 25, 2016 -- A Colorado town's water supply is not contaminated with the chemical in marijuana that makes people high, officials say.

Laboratory tests showed there is no THC in Hugo's water, contrary to what earlier field tests suggested, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, CNN reported.

Saturday's announcement that the town's water was free of THC ended a two-day advisory for its 700 residents, who were told not to drink, cook or shower with the tap water.

"We are happy to announce that the water advisory is canceled immediately," the sheriff's department said, CNN reported.

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Flavor Corn on the Cob with Furikake — Oh So Corny!

If you've never tried furikake, you've been missing out. The Japanese seasoning is crunchy, salty, sweet, and savory all at the same time, thanks to a mix of seaweed, sesame seeds, sugar, dried fish, and salt. Your corn on the cob won't know what hit it.

Why This One Topping Is Enough

Furikake can be found at Asian grocery stores. It's such a unique topping for corn — it's rich in umami, but also salty, sweet, and crunchy. Be sure to sprinkle it over each and every kernel for maximum enjoyment.

How to Cook Your Corn

Before you can utilize the furikake, you of course have to have some perfectly cooked corn on hand. Here are three ways to make it happen.

1. Boil it.

The most classic way to cook corn — boil for three to five minutes in a big pot of salted water.

2. Microwave it.

This mostly hands-off method calls for leaving the corn in their husks and microwaving them on high power for four to six minutes.

3. Grill it.

If you already have the grill going, toss your corn cobs on for about 15 minutes, turning frequently for smoky, charred results.

One-Ingredient Upgrades

This series shows you how to use a single store-bought ingredient — one you often wouldn't expect — to liven up your food. To celebrate the sweet summer corn that's taking over the market, we encourage you to go beyond butter and use one of these ingredients to give your corn on the cob a jolt of flavor.

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Author Ramona Ausubel's Midnight Writing Snack — What Writers Eat at Midnight

When you're burning the midnight oil and your stomach starts to grumble, what should you reach for to fuel you through the night? We decided to go directly to the source. We mean writers, of course. After all, who knows better the pain and pleasure of the midnight munchies than the literary set?

This month, we asked 20 authors, past and present, to share what they snack on in the wee hours.

Ramona Ausubel's new novel, Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty, is the story of a family sent into a tailspin when the seemingly bottomless well of money they took for granted runs dry. Described as a modern-day fairy tale, the book recently made Vulture's list of the Best 100 Beach Reads ever – putting Ausubel right up there with Edith Wharton and Philip Roth.

Of course, the award-winning writer already had plenty to brag about: She is the winner of the PEN Center USA Fiction Award and the VCU Cabell First Novel Award for her No One Is Here Except All of Us.

Here are the late-night treats that feed her genius.

(Image credit: Teo Grossman)

Ramona Ausubel's Favorite Midnight Snack: Popcorn and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Like almost every writer we spoke with, Ausubel is partial to popcorn, but she likes to chases the cheesy, salty goodness with a hint of something sweet.

I have two small children, so until a few months ago I was the midnight snack. But if I ever find myself up late and I'm the hungry one, my dream foods are popcorn with lots of butter and nutritional yeast (northern New Mexico hippie upbringing!) followed by mint chocolate chip ice cream. And then a little more popcorn for salt, and then maybe one more tiny bite of ice cream — just to be sure it's still good.

Is ice cream your midnight snack, too? Tell us your favorite flavor.

Find Ramona's Book:

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10 Cooking Tomes to Read When You Can’t Sleep — Summer Evenings

It's 1 a.m. You've been tossing and turning for the last two hours, unable to fall asleep. Maybe it's the fact that it's sweltering outside and your box fan just isn't cutting it, or maybe you finished reading The Girls and now your mind is racing.

Enter: cooking tomes. You know, those massive books you proudly display on your bookshelf; the ones that sit up high, out of reach, because you never actually read them. Turns out, these weighty wonders come in handy when you're battling a bout of insomnia. Dig into these books and you'll either learn something new to up your cooking cred, or be lulled right to sleep — either way, it's a win-win.

Need some inspiration? I polled my fellow Kitchn editors to find out their favorites.

10 Cooking Tomes to Read When You Can't Sleep

1. Larousse Gastronomique by Librairie Larousse
2. The Professional Chef by The Culinary Institute of America (CIA)
3. The Essential New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser
4. The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt
5. On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
6. The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
7. Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet
8. The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion by Ron Herbst and Sharon Herbst
9. La Technique by Jacques Pépin
10. The Silver Spoon by The Silver Spoon Kitchen

Did we miss any? Share your favorites in the comments!

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