Month: December 2017

Categories
Nosh

7 Things That Chefs Hate

We all know not to make our servers mad (unless a spit garnish sounds tasty), but what upsets the most important person in the restaurant? Though we’re all used to seeing celebrity chefs yell insults at wannabes, it’s rare that we ever really get to know what makes them tick in an average restaurant.

Turns out that chefs have a wide variety of pet peeves. From little customer habits that would annoy anybody to outrageous requests most people wouldn’t believe, we’ve compiled all the things that chefs hate most.

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Before you read any further, please remember that chefs work hard. Really hard. It’s not all yelling at prep cooks and serving celebrities like TV shows would make it seem. According to KQED Food,

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In 2013, the owners of an East Bay restaurant emailed the San Francisco Chronicle for advice about latecomers. The restaurant had recently dealt with three people that came in three minutes before closing. When the diners were still enjoying dinner a full hour later, the waitstaff politely told them the restaurant was closing. Sadly, the diners freaked out, harassed the staff, and left a bad Yelp review. The chef wasn’t pleased.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, it takes at least an hour for the kitchen to clean up. So, if you show up right before closing, you’re forcing the chef to stay an hour after your last course is served.

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But this is not always the fault of the customer. The magazine advised the East Bay establishment to let late diners know that the restaurant will be closing soon. Sure, this might make some customers mad, but it’ll also ensure that the whole staff isn’t sticking around for hours on end.

In this situation, the chef gets mad at the servers and the customers for poor communication and wasted time. No matter who’s at fault, here’s the most important take away: Don’t show up three minutes before a restaurant closes.

2. Brunches

Anthony Bourdain is now an incredibly famous chef known for his love of daring international cuisine and hosting a million shows about food. But the thing that started it all was his no-nonsense book about the world of restaurants, Kitchen Confidential. In it, Bourdain spills a lot of secrets about life on the prep line. But one of the things that he, and other chefs, hate the most is brunch.

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“Cooks hate brunch,” Bourdain wrote in his chapter on the in-between meal. According to the chef, the best cooks are employed on Friday and Saturday nights, since that’s when restaurants are the busiest. So, that automatically means you’re getting the B-team on Sunday morning.

If low level cooks (who usually don’t like working that early, according to Bourdain) isn’t bad enough, the brunch menu itself is a little shady. Bourdain said brunch tends to be made of cruddy scraps that the restaurant wants to use up by the end of the week. So, that Instagram-able plate is full of leftovers ready to go bad.

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Oh, and even if Eggs Benedict sounds like a good choice, don’t order them. “Hollandaise is a veritable petri dish of biohazards,” Bourdain wrote. The sauce is never made fresh, and it’s concocted from leftover butter. Yeah, butter from other dishes gets heated, and all of the extra food or dirt particles get strained out for the decadent brunch dish, according to the book.

After hearing Bourdain’s brunch tales, anyone might hate the midday m
eal just as much as chefs do.

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3. Hot Sauce

In general, all chefs don’t hate hot sauce. Some probably like it a lot. But many chefs don’t like a customer drenching their perfectly prepared dish in cheap, spicy flavoring.

In Fresh Off The Boat, chef Eddie Huang talks about his hatred for hot sauce. He prepares his food with great detail, perfect seasonings, and an ideal balance of flavor. So, when a customer asks for extra sauce, it’s an insult to the chef!

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Huang was especially annoyed by these condiment requests, so he started a “no hot sauce” policy at his restaurant Baohaus, according to his book.

Diners weren’t pleased. He got negative Yelp reviews left and right. But Huang didn’t care. He took pride in crafting a balanced dish, and he wasn’t going to let any hot sauce-loving customers ruin it. In fact, he starting posting his own negative reviews on Yelp just to make fun of diners’ hot sauce requests.

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All chefs aren’t as hot sauce hostile as Huang. But if you’re at a nice restaurant, the chef probably isn’t excited when a customer asks for ketchup for your steak.

4. Abusive Bosses

Most of us have had an aggravating boss or two in our lives, and nobody finds it enjoyable. But when chefs have a bad boss, it can get to some next level abusive behavior.

Author, chef, and catering company owner Rossi wrote The Raging Skillet to talk all about her tumultuous time in the restaurant world. And she detailed one particularly abusive boss: Jim.

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Jim was a loud, angry cowboy who frequently screamed at the chefs and front of house staff. In the restaurant world, according to Rossi, it’s not rare for head chefs to communicate only through screaming (Gordon Ramsay, anyone?), but Jim was especially hostile to nearly everyone that worked for him.

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Some of the chefs would shout back (like Rossi), but the waiters took out their anger a little differently—on the food. “If Jim only knew what the waiters he mistreated did to his food, he would have dropped dead,” wrote Rossi. Those waiters were constantly gross with the food to give Jim a bad reputation. Even though Rossi wound up admiring Jim for his some of his non-screaming qualities, at the time, she and the rest of the staff did not appreciate his angry ways.

So hearing a screaming boss might be a cue to pick another restaurant.

5. Anything Slow

From a diner’s point of view, a restaurant usually seems like a friendly space filled with dutiful staff and servers. But behind the scenes, it’s a crazed, fast-paced world where there’s little room for patience.

Author Jenny Oh described her one night with Chef David Chang at the famous Momofuku Noodle Bar.

At the time, Momofuku had just opened and hadn’t become the renowned restaurant it is today. So, when Oh saw an ad looking for prep cooks, she decided she’d give it a try—despite having no restaurant experience.

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Her first lesson—go fast. As she tried to chop some scallions, Chang looked at her work and screamed, “NO, NO—you’re going too slowly. Do it like THIS.” His knife flew through the vegetables, and Oh tried her best to go even half that speed.

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When Oh was tasked at making the family meal (the meal made for the restaurant staff), she was again chastised for going too slow.

It wasn’t just Chang who had a need for speed: All the cooks in the kitchen chopped fast, cooked fast, and worked fast, all shift long.

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In the end, Oh quit after her first night. The restaurant business is tough work and no chef can tolerate any slow moving parts to their crazy, but well-oiled, machine.

6. Outrageous Last Minute Demands

As we found out in the hot sauce section, chefs make their food in a very particular way on purpose. So, if someone has a bunch of outrageous demands for their food, they get mad.

Customers contact me and say things like, “I want a replica of the White House by tomorrow.”

Pastry Momofuku Noodle Bar


chef Charlise Johnson gets hit extra hard by special requests. She prides herself on her work at her boutique bakery Intimate Eats. “Because I design and create very intricate specialty cakes, I really hate last minute requests,” Johnson says.

Now, Johnson’s not talking about people wanting their grandma’s name on a Happy Birthday cake or any such simple request.

“Customers contact me and say things like, ‘I want a replica of the White House by tomorrow,‘” Johnson says. Yes, a customer actually thought it was completely appropriate to ask for a cake version of the most famous building in America with less than a day to make it!

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Johnson won’t shy away from a challenge, but she finds it very rude for customers to expect her to work miracles overnight. So, super special requests are doable, but make sure the chef has plenty of time for a potentially difficult dish.

7. “What’s the recipe?”

Johnson admits she has another big pet peeve: when customers ask for her special recipes. “This drives me crazy!” Johnson says. “I wouldn’t mind sharing if this wasn’t such a niche business. I only sell made from scratch baked goods. My recipes are essential to how my business makes money.”

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This is true not only for Johnson and boutique bakeries, but for any chef with a signature dish. When a customer asks for the recipe, they’re asking for the chef’s livelihood. Hey, if everybody started making their meals at home, they could potentially go out of business.

Now, I totally get that this simple request doesn’t seem that offensive to most diners. In fact, I’ve sadly done this myself. But I’ll never do it again!

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Categories
Nutrition x Advice

From Supplements To Safe Home Recipes, Here’s What You Need To Know About Probiotics

Your gut doesn’t just tell you swiping right on Tinder after 2 a.m. is always a bad idea. Your gut is your body’s entire digestive tract. Its work begins the moment you open your mouth to take a bite and ends in the bathroom (where, let’s be honest, most Tinder swiping takes place).
The gut is actually a pretty complicated system: Food moves from your mouth through the esophagus into your stomach, where digestion occurs. Once food is digested, the contents of your stomach move into the small intestine, where amino acids, fats, and sugars are broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream. Any material left over is sent to the large intestine, where unabsorbed sugars and proteins are turned into energy. From there, what’s left in your large intestines solidifies and is excreted as your so-called morning constitutional.
Living inside the gut are probiotic bacteria, which help the digestive tract do its job.
But what exactly are probiotics?
Kara Landau, gut health expert and founder of Travelling Dietitian, explains:
“Probiotics are live microorganisms that line our gut and have a symbiotic relationship with us, the host. We have evolved together over the years, and require a healthy balance of good to bad bacteria in order to maintain a strong immune and digestive system.”
Grace Derocha, a registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator, and health coach at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, elaborates: “Probiotics help control the growth of harmful bacteria in the gut and help restore the balance of good bacteria affected by antibiotics and poor diet. They aid in the proper digestion of food, preventing issues like gas, bloating, cramps, diarrhea, or constipation.”
Gut microbes, like probiotics, are ultra-important to our overall health.
According to a resource hosted by Harvard Health Publishing, not only do gut microbes metabolize nutrients from food, protect against infection, and help prevent blood clots, they can also help prevent certain diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease from developing.
“What the science has shown is that the more diverse our gut microbiome is, the better,” says gut authority Mahmoud Ghannoum, PhD.

So how do probiotics play into gut health?

Jaimi Jansen, a holistic nutritionist, breaks it down this way:
“The human body has thousands of bacterial cultures that live in the large intestine, the stomach, the skin, and the urethra amongst other places. Probiotics help promote good health and proper function in each of these areas. Communities of microorganisms found in parts of the human body are known as flora. The gut flora, for example, refers to the many microorganisms that live in the digestive tract.”
Jansen goes on to say, “Some antibiotics—which kill gut flora—can disturb the microbial balance and leave the body prone to infections. Maintaining a well-balanced microbial environment is extremely important to good health.”
In addition to overall wellness, probiotics can also play a significant role in weight management.
“When it comes to weight loss specifically, while we aren’t aware of probiotics specifically proven to reduce weight, there is a growing body of evidence showing that people that are overweight have different levels of different germs than people who are not overweight. That seems to indicate that our microbiome does play some role when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight,” says Ghannoum.
Problems in the gut can often arise because the ratio of good to bad bacteria gets out of whack.
According to an article by Rebecca Lee, a registered nurse from New York City and founder of the natural health resource RemediesForMe.com, “At times our beneficial microbes are accidentally wiped out by external factors that are intended to get rid of only the bad bacteria.”
Lee breaks down the most common culprits of bacterial imbalance in the gut as follows:

Antibiotics

Antibiotics can be introduced into our systems both as prescriptions and from animal food sources since antibiotics are sometimes used to treat animals—giving them an opportunity to find their way into milk, meat, poultry, and fish products.
Antibiotics are used to combat a bacterial infection, hence their name. However, once they’re in the body, antibiotics can’t tell which bacteria are good and which are bad, which means, depending on the dose, the antibiotics in your system may wipe out all the bacteria your system needs to function properly.

Recent Surgeries

Not only are gut-disrupting antibiotics routinely given during surgery, but anesthesia can also have a negative effect on gut health. That’s because anesthesia can paralyze your digestive track, which stops probiotic bacteria from doing its job and allows the bad bacteria to take over.

Colon Cleanses

Unless you’re scheduled for a colonoscopy, a colon cleanse is never a good idea. Not only is it like the worst diarrhea of your life times a million, but it wipes out the good and bad bacteria from your gut, wreaking havoc on your digestive system.

Too Much Fiber

Yes, you need fiber as part of a well-balanced diet. Fiber can help control weight and prevent certain health conditions like heart disease and diabetes. But too much fiber can be bad for your digestive health. According to the website GutSense.org, when you get too much fiber in your diet, “the intestines are colonized with symbiotic bacteria (normal intestinal flora), which are essential for many health-sustaining functions. Normally, mucin—a component of mucus—provides bacteria with the nutrients they need. But when fiber—soluble as well as insoluble—reaches the lower intestine, the bacteria go wild, ferment everything in sight, and multiply prodigiously.”

Stress

It’s no secret that mental health plays a huge role in how you feel physically. The physical manifestations of stress, like muscle aches, fatigue, and an upset stomach can then exacerbate the stress you’re feeling, leading to a terrible cycle. An estimated 90 percent of serotonin is created by good gut bacteria, so when you’re stressed, the amount of serotonin (the feel-good hormone) that the body releases is drastically reduced, and bad bacteria can take over.
Osteopathic physician and cofounder of DrFormulas Bryan Tran says that boosting probiotic intake not only helps manage stress, but can aid in weight management as well:
“Through their effect on mood, probiotics may have a role in weight loss. Differences in diet also change the composition of probiotics in the gut which can then affect mood and appetite. Obese individuals also have a higher level of inflammation in the body. Probiotics …  are able to lower systemic levels of inflammation and dampen the inflammatory response, which could support weight loss.”

Where can I get these magical micro-organisms?

Ideally, probiotics will come from your regular diet rather than probiotic supplements.
One of the best ways to get your daily dose of probiotics is through fermented foods, which naturally contain probiotic bacteria.
“Fermented foods were some of man’s first probiotic supplements and are still effective choices today for helping introduce healthy bacteria into the body,” says Elizabeth Trattner, an acupuncture physician.
That’s because [linkbuilder id=”6838″ text=”fermented foods”] often contain lactobacillus, a common probiotic strain of lactic acid bacteria that can help alleviate diarrhea and fight infection.
If you feel your gut health isn’t up to snuff, you can change your diet to make sure you’re getting right amount of probiotics in your system.
Tran recommends these probiotic-rich foods:

Brine Cured Olives

Olives are a great source of probiotics because the brine, which is simply a saltwater mixture, ferments the olives, loading them with lactobacillus probiotic bacteria. Not only are olives great for gut health, they are also one of the most nutrient-dense foods available, full of antioxidants and healthy fats.

Cultured Veggies

Similar to olives, cultured vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi are fermented using a saltwater process, which allows lactic acid bacteria to multiply naturally. In addition to probiotics, sauerkraut and kimchi are great additions to your regular diet because they are full of vitamin C. Kimchi in particular has been used for centuries in Korean culture as a regular menu staple and is now readily available in many grocery stores.

Cultured Dairy Products

Kefir, a fermented milk drink, contains thousands of probiotics as a result of the fermentation process. In addition to its probiotic benefits, the fermentation process involved in making kefir helps break down lactose, so even if you have a lactose intolerance, you may be able to enjoy kefir.
Yogurt is another cultured dairy product that contains probiotics, but you have to be especially careful when purchasing yogurt in the grocery store, as not all yogurts contain probiotics. When shopping for yogurts containing probiotics, look for packaging that includes a seal from the National Yogurt Association. If yogurts claim to contain live probiotic cultures but do not have the seal, read the ingredients on the back. If the yogurt contains probiotics, they will be listed there.

Kombucha

Kombucha is a black tea and sugar mixture that has been fermented using a bacteria and yeast culture. As the tea ferments, the bacteria and yeast grow thousands of probiotics. While kombucha is having a moment right now, it’s definitely an acquired taste as the sour flavor make take some getting used to.

Tempeh

Tempeh is a meat substitute made of fermented soybeans, but unlike many of the other foods Tran recommends, it has a rich nutty taste. Tempeh is different from its cousin tofu because it derives its probiotic goodness from the fermentation process it undergoes. Tofu, unlike tempeh, is a [linkbuilder id=”6839″ text=”processed soy”] product that does not contain probiotics.

Opting to Supplement

If you’re a picky eater or you have dietary restrictions that prevent you from eating some of the probiotic-rich foods on this list, you can still get beneficial gut flora from probiotic supplements.
Before purchasing a probiotic supplement, do your homework. There are thousands of different strains of probiotics, and some are better than others at helping to manage certain gut issues. For example, a probiotic that helps alleviate diarrhea may not the be same probiotic that will help relieve constipation.
Additionally, Lee recommends “buying from a reputable brand that contain[s] strains like bacillus coagulans, lactobacillus rhamnosus, lactobacillus acidophilus, saccharomyces boulardii, bacillus subtilis, or other longer-surviving probiotic[s]. You want probiotics that will survive past your stomach.”

Can I make my own probiotics?

Absolutely!
Making your own fermented probiotic foods is easy, especially since the fermentation process kills most harmful organisms that might otherwise contaminate food. Still, contamination can happen, so make sure to practice good food safety, which means washing all fruits and veggies, sterilizing storage containers prior to use, and allowing food to ferment at the right temperatures.
Ready to make your own probiotics at home?
Lee shares her two favorite probiotic recipes:

Kombucha

You’ll need:

  • A large pot
  • A coffee filter
  • Large glass jars for storage

Ingredients:

  • 2 gallons of water
  • 8 black tea bags
  • 1 ½ cups organic sugar
  • SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Yeast and Bacteria)*

Instructions:

  • Heat 2 gallons of water in a big pot with 8 black tea bags.
  • Add 1 ½ cups of organic sugar to the tea and boil about 15 minutes on low heat.
  • Turn the heat off and let liquid cool completely.
  • Once it’s cooled, carefully pour the tea into a glass jar that contains the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Yeast and Bacteria).
  • Place a coffee filter or paper towel over the top of the jar and keep closed with a rubber band.
  • Let the jar sit somewhere in the kitchen that is warm and not in direct sunlight for seven to 10 days.
  • Pour and enjoy!

*It’s easy to make your own SCOBY from scratch. Here’s a great tutorial from Emma Christensen at The Kitchn.

Yogurt with Active Probiotics

A note from Lee: “This type of yogurt is good for people with slight lactose intolerance. The majority of the lactose (milk sugar) is converted into strong probiotic cultures. Make sure to mix or scoop out the curd with plastic spoons and not metal spoons.”

You’ll need:

  • A bowl
  • Saran wrap

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbsp. curd or dahi—also known as Indian yogurt
  • 1 cup organic milk

Instructions:

  • Add the milk to the curd in a bowl and cover gently with saran wrap.
  • Let the mixture sit on the kitchen counter undisturbed and out of direct sunlight for 6 to 8 hours. After a few hours, if it is still not as firm as soft yogurt, let it sit out for longer.
  • Enjoy your yogurt!
Categories
Sweat

Accidentally Awake In The Middle Of Surgery: How It Happens And What You Should Know

Imagine going in for a low-risk operation that requires some general anesthesia, and everything seems to be going according to plan—when suddenly you wake up.
The surgery must be over, right?
Then you hear the words “scalpel, please,” and you realize you’re awake in the middle of the operation. It’s called accidental awareness during general anesthesia.

And it happened to Donna Penner.

Penner, then 44, went to the hospital for an exploratory laparoscopy in 2008. The procedure requires a few small incisions into the abdomen so that the surgeon can insert medical instruments and examine the organs for a diagnosis.
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The Canadian woman had been experiencing unusually heavy menstrual cycles and this operation was supposed to help doctors figure out the cause.
But shortly after the anesthesiologist put Penner under, she awoke. That’s when she heard the doctor say, “Scalpel, please.”

Penner couldn’t breathe. She believed she was about to die.

She said she couldn’t alert anyone because of the paralytic they had given her, and so she heard the conversations and felt the pain of the surgery for an hour and a half. Penner was so paralyzed that she’s couldn’t even form tears.
When she finally began to regain the slightest bit of movement, she mustered all her strength to twitch her foot. In response, a staff member laid a hand on the foot to calm it.
Eventually she could move her tongue, so she tried to wiggle the breathing tube, hoping it would alert someone that she was awake. Instead, the anesthetist thought this meant the paralytic was wearing off and that she could breathe on her own, so he pulled the tube out.
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On the contrary, Penner couldn’t breathe. She believed she was about to die.
A nurse was shouting at her to breathe when finally they placed a mask on her face and manually resuscitated her. Penner couldn’t talk about the incident for years because it left her with post-traumatic stress disorder. Now, she’s sharing her story, as in this horrifying essay she wrote for the BBC.
Stories like Penner’s are uncommon, but tell that to the people who’ve lived through the nightmare. It’s not much comfort.
Accidental awareness happens when you’re put on general anesthesia so that you’re unconscious during a surgery, but—for whatever reason—the anesthesia loses its effectiveness.

Then you wake up.

Some studies show that accidental awareness can happen to as many as one or two in 1,000 patients. These reports relied on patient interviews, where the patients were asked a few times over a period of two weeks about their experiences during and after the operation.
The largest study of accidental awareness came out in 2014, and it relied solely on patients making independent reports. The study found about one in 19,000 patients experienced accidental awareness during general anesthesia.

What bothered patients more than pain was the inability to move and not understanding what is going on.

That’s quite a disparity from the other studies, which has led to a bit of controversy, but Professor Tim Cook, who co-wrote the 2014 report, says the newer report doesn’t necessarily discredit the older ones. Instead, it focuses on the population that made reports without being guided.
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Could there be patients who experienced accidental awareness and didn’t report it during the 2014 study? Absolutely.
Could there also be patients from the older studies who were asked if they experienced awareness, and through groggy memories confused awareness with dreaming? Possibly. It’s hard to say.
Either way, accidental awareness is so horrible that even once is too many times for it to happen. Because consider this: In an extreme case, the patient could be awake for the entire operation without the doctors realizing it.

So how long do episodes of accidental awareness really last?

According to a report by the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA), most reported episodes of awareness are short. About three-fourths of those who experience it are only conscious for about five minutes or less.
Cook, who is a consultant anesthetist at Royal United Hospitals Bath in England, says often it lasts even less than a minute.
“In many cases it’s fleeting,” he tells HealthyWay.
On top of that, about two-thirds of the incidents occur before the surgery begins or after it finishes. That means it’s not very likely that you will wake up as your surgeon is requesting a scalpel or some other tool with a similarly scary name.
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As far as pain goes, the report states that about 1 in 5 patients experience it during the episode, but Cook says that it actually doesn’t seem to be the most distressing aspect.
“What bothered patients more than pain was the inability to move and not understanding what is going on,” he says. “The inability to communicate with those they wanted to.”

One type of medication causes more episodes of accidental awareness than any other: muscle relaxants.

In fact, muscle relaxants are one of the leading causes of accidental awareness during general anesthesia. Cook says in a typical operation that doesn’t use muscle relaxants, the patients will begin to move around in their sleep if the anesthesia is wearing off. That alerts the anesthetist to administer more before the patient regains consciousness.
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He says about half of operations use muscle relaxants, though, which paralyze the body. If the anesthesia starts to wear off, the patient can’t move, not even to open his or her eyes.
The common response might be, “Why not just administer more anesthesia than necessary?”

The right dose of anesthesia is just enough.

Cook says that can do more damage than good.
“Anesthesia is genuinely complex in that one is trying to run the gauntlet between giving too much of the [medication] and giving too little,” he says.
If too much anesthesia is used, Cook says the person’s blood pressure will drop and they’ll take a longer time to recuperate after surgery. It’s also more likely that there will be complications after the surgery.
“The right dose of anesthesia is just enough,” he says.
The problem with just enough, though, is that if a minor interruption occurs, or if the patient is resistant to anesthesia, it could lead them to wake up.

There are a few other common causes of accidental awareness.

Your age and sex play a part, for example. According to the RCoA report, women and those between the ages of 25 and 45 are more likely to experience accidental awareness during general anesthesia.

There is a fine balance between too much and too little.

Cook says this is likely because those are the most common child-bearing ages, and accidental awareness is more likely to happen during a C-section. That’s because medical staff must minimize the amount of anesthesia given to reduce the effects on the baby.
Obesity is another factor, because anesthesia is fat soluble.
“The location the [medication] works in is the brain, of course,” Cook says. “If you give a [medication] that’s not fat soluble, it doesn’t get to the brain. A lot of the anesthesia will leak into the fat and sort of sit there.”
Also, according to the report, if you are very ill, that could make your blood pressure low, and as anesthesia lowers blood pressure even more, “there is a fine balance between too much and too little.”
For that reason, an anesthetist might administer a lower dose of anesthesia, leaving you more vulnerable to accidental awareness.
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Finally, the report states that if the equipment used to deliver anesthesia is malfunctioning, it could take the anesthetist a few minutes to figure out the cause.
“During this time awareness can happen,” the report states. “So equipment failure is sometimes part of the cause of accidental awareness.”

Although it’s scary, you’re not in too terribly much danger.

“It’s undesirable from everybody’s point of view,” Cook says. “We’ve failed in that respect.”
If one had a complete failure of anesthesia, he says, then it’s possible that there would be adverse cardiac responses, but the anesthetist would recognize that and address the problem.
“Awareness in itself is not (physically) harmful,” Cook says.
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Psychological harm, on the other hand, is a reality.
In the 2014 report, 65 percent of patients experiencing accidental awareness had “an acute emotional reaction” during the experience, including feelings of panic, helplessness, and/or fear. Other studies report varying numbers, “so how many [patients experience distress] is very hard to know,” Cook says.
“But because you’ve got the paralysis, they feel they can’t breathe, can’t communicate,” he says. “Psychological harm is much more common.”

It’s often when patients aren’t prepared for the possibility of accidental awareness when the experience can leave them traumatized.

One way to lower the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder is to raise awareness of the phenomenon. “We made many recommendations in the report,” Cook says. “It’s really important that if people understand more about anesthesia itself and awareness, then it’s likely that when events happen then they may be less distressing.”

The recommendations we’ve made will undoubtedly make anesthesia safer.

Cook says all his patients receive information about anesthesia before going under.
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He also tries to keep them informed during the surgical process so that they remain calm. For example, after the operation is over, there might still be breathing tubes in the patient’s mouth as the paralyzing agent is wearing off. Some patients may experience awareness as the tubes are being pulled out.
Cook says he will talk to the patient as he’s pulling them out, explaining that it only means the operation has come to an end.
He says that anything that can be done to promote knowledge will be useful. The 2014 study happened, he says, because accidental awareness is a very important issue. Penner would most certainly agree.
“I hope it will lead to improved information for patients,” Cook says. “And the recommendations we’ve made will undoubtedly make anesthesia safer.”

Categories
Wellbeing

Are Women Really More Jealous Than Men? Here's What Science Says

Are women inherently more jealous than men?

It’s certainly a touchy subject, and with good reason—the trope of the jealous woman can be extremely damaging. After all, how many “overly attached girlfriend” memes can you take before you start to snap?
Nobody likes being painted with a broad brush, and it’s infuriating when a man won’t take a woman seriously because he assumes that she’s simply “being jealous.” It’s an inescapable stereotype that harms our careers and relationships.
Still, to address these types of harmful stereotypes, it’s important not to shy away from them. We decided to look into the science of jealousy and determine whether men and women process the emotion differently—and, if so, whether those differences have a biological basis.

Men and women get jealous about different types of things, and they differ greatly in how they respond to those triggers.

Before we get started, we want to make a few important points clear: Statistics don’t apply to individual cases, and reputable studies can easily arrive at inaccurate results. Keep those in mind before using this piece in an internet argument (and, by the way, men are more likely to dominate internet arguments, but that’s an entirely different discussion).
With that said, we weren’t quite prepared for what we found. For starters…

Current research suggests that yes, women are more likely to display certain types of jealousy than men.

Hold on, guys. Don’t start celebrating just yet, because we’ve got some major caveats.
In a 2005 study, researchers evaluated nearly 500 fifth- through ninth-grade participants, providing them with hypothetical scenarios and asking whether those scenarios made the participants upset. Girls were more jealous over their friends and non-friends than boys. According to one of the study’s authors, this was perhaps because “girls tend to expect more kindness, loyalty, commitment and empathy from friends than boys do.”
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Of course, this research didn’t measure romantic jealousy, and the team didn’t evaluate any adults. With adults, the matter becomes considerably more complicated—as does just about everything in adulthood.
In a population-based twin study, Swedish researchers found that women were more likely to display jealousy than men when confronted with emotional or sexual infidelity. (By the way, we wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we didn’t point out that the researchers used something called the Screening Across the Lifespan of Twins Younger sample—or SALTY, for short.) The study also showed that jealousy probably has an evolutionary component.
However, this doesn’t mean that men aren’t more prone to feeling certain types of jealousy. That’s because…

Research indicates that men and women process jealousy differently.

Quick: Would you be more upset if your partner physically cheated on you, or if your partner fell in love with another person?
HealthyWay
Chapman University researchers presented that question to nearly 64,000 Americans and found that about 65 percent of heterosexual women said that they’d be more upset by “emotional infidelity” than “sexual infidelity,” as opposed to 46 percent of men.

Heterosexual men are the only ones more likely to be most upset by sexual infidelity.

In bisexual and gay couples, there wasn’t as much of a statistical difference between men and women, regardless of the sex of their partners.
However, heterosexual men are more likely to experience jealousy from sexual infidelity than emotional infidelity.
HealthyWay
“Heterosexual men really stand out from all other groups,” said psychologist and lead author David Frederick in a statement accompanying the study’s release. “They were the only ones more likely to be most upset by sexual infidelity.”
This gives credence to a fairly common evolutionary theory that isn’t perfectly politically correct. Strap in.

Some scientists believe that there’s a biological basis to our responses.

Wait, what? Our biology can make us jealous?
Well, potentially. The prevailing theory is that men are more jealous when women cheat because the infidelity could threaten the man’s lineage.
HealthyWay
“With men, sexual infidelity on the part of a partner provokes a greater upset,” Joel Wade, PhD, professor of psychology at Bucknell University, tells HealthyWay. Wade studies mate selection criteria, reactions to infidelity, and love acts from an evolutionary theory perspective. “You can [argue that] worries about sexual infidelity produce more jealousy because it’s a paternity-certainty issue.”
To be clear, Wade rejects the idea that women are more jealous than a men overall, at least when controlling for social factors. He also says that there’s no special difference between the way that the sexes feel jealousy. Wade simply believes men and women get jealous about different types of things, and that they differ greatly in how they respond to those triggers.
“There’s a sex difference in the responses to jealousy,” Wade says. “Men are more likely to respond in a violent fashion than women are. Socialization plays a role, because, more historically, being aggressive [or] violent was considered more of a masculine than a feminine thing.”
HealthyWay
Wade also suggests that biology could play a role here. Men have higher levels of testosterone than women, and higher testosterone levels are associated with “violent physical responses.”
Like we said, guys, don’t start celebrating: You’re more likely to get whipped into a frenzy after you discover that your partner is cheating.

Why, then, are heterosexual women more likely to experience emotional jealousy?

Possibly for a similar evolutionary reason—they want the man to remain close to the family unit and therefore see emotional attachment as a threat to that unit’s stability.
HealthyWay
We asked Wade whether socialization could also play a role in the way that people respond to jealousy.
“Typically the reactions are very quick, without a lot of thinking, they’re almost automatic,” Wade says. “Even though [jealousy] gets reinforced socially, the actions themselves are, you could say, ingrained, hard-wired.”
“The socialization pattern is different in the United States compared to, let’s say, southeast Asia, or perhaps even a tribe in the Amazon … and the response is similar,” he says. “Those people aren’t being socialized the same way. How is it that they can have the same basic response? Biology plays a big role here.”
We’d add that study participants certainly had time to think about their responses when filling out their questionnaires, so while emotional responses may be biological to a degree, there’s still a social factor.
HealthyWay
Even so, the science seems pretty clear: Women are more likely to become jealous over emotional attachments, and according to the surveys and studies we could find, they’re more likely to experience jealousy overall.
Is there any silver lining here? Sort of.

Jealousy isn’t always a bad thing.

“Most people think of jealousy as this horrible, negative thing, which it is a negative emotion, but it’s here for a reason,” Wade says. “It’s actually functional.”
As strange as it sounds, evolution plays a role in our emotions, and jealousy evolved for a reason. Some time in our distant past, that response served a vital purpose. Your great-great-great-grandmother’s jealousy might be the reason that you’re reading this article today.
HealthyWay
“There’s an area that we look at called mate retention,” he says. “…You want the partner to stay with you. Jealousy could provoke mate-retention behaviors, because if somebody else is interested with my partner, or my partner is interested in someone else, then I need to step up my mate-retention behaviors. I could become more loving, give more time, show more commitment. Those would be positive things.”
Show your partner that you’re jealous, and you’ll likely prompt a response; in some cases, that response could keep the relationship together.

Jealous is here for a reason. It’s actually functional.

Of course, too much jealousy can be detrimental to a relationship. While a 2013 study found that closer partners tend to experience more jealousy, the authors cautioned against using the findings to justify the emotion.
“The key lesson from this study is that being ready to become jealous over relationship-threatening events is itself a signal that the relationship is worthy of such a strong emotional reaction,” the authors wrote.
HealthyWay
In other words, jealousy can be a good sign of a healthy relationship, but it’s not something to strive for.
“If one gets jealous all the time, that’s probably going to create problems, because in any successful relationship with a partner there has to be some degree of trust,” Wade says. “If one is giving the message to a partner that they really don’t trust them, then that’s going to create problems in the relationship.”

And while the evolutionary argument is compelling, don’t ignore the social factors.

As we wrote earlier, the “obsessed, jealous girlfriend” trope is inescapable, and stereotypes undoubtedly influence the way that women respond to jealousy. Case in point: Remember this girl?
HealthyWay
Yes, even our internet memes reinforce the idea that female jealousy is absolutely everywhere (although we still love Laina—seriously, she’s awesome). When confronted with these stereotypes (such as in memes or see any teen drama on TV), people are more likely to act badly and conform with those stereotypes. Social factors, however, can be extraordinarily difficult to study.
Research has also linked jealousy to low self-esteem, and in Western countries, there’s an enormous self-esteem gap between men and women. It’s not much of a stretch to suggest that in a perfectly equal society, the “jealousy gap” would shrink (or even disappear).
Unfortunately, we can’t study a perfectly equal society.
Jealousy has both biological and social components, so before you attempt to explain away your partner’s emotions as an evolutionary holdover, keep this in mind: The scientific explanations for jealousy are fascinating from an academic perspective, but practically useless in our everyday relationships.

Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Have Questions About Varicose Veins? We’ve Done The Legwork To Get You The Answers

Somehow, it always seems to happen when you’re planning to wear an outfit that shows a little leg. You look down, and then you spot it. It’s blue. It’s bulging. Is that a varicose vein in your leg?
How the heck did that happen?
Varicose veins (not to be confused with spider veins) are one of the most common vein-related conditions in the United States. An estimated 23 percent of the population is walking around with at least one of these protruding veins. More common in women than men, they’re also an issue that’s largely kept under wraps, with thousands of embarrassed women throwing on capris, jeans, or a long skirt to cover up the bulges in their gams.
All the hush hush over varicosities can send you into a panic when you find one. But do you really need to freak out? Should you call the doctor? We’ve done the legwork so you can feel confident about what to do if a varicose vein pops out.

What is a varicose vein, anyway?

First up, a little flashback to seventh grade science class. Veins are part of the body’s circulatory system. These little vessels are tubes that pump blood throughout the body.
As Jonathan Weiswasser, MD, a double board certified vascular surgeon at the Plastic Surgery Center in New Jersey tells HealthyWay, “Veins are designed to bring blood in an upward direction, from the feet to the trunk, through an elaborate mechanism.”
Varicose veins are trying to do the work of pushing that blood upward, but they’re what Weiswasser calls “abnormal veins” caused by changes in the circulation in your legs.
“Often, the mechanism [that sends blood upward] can be disrupted, so that blood goes in the opposite direction when a person stands (called venous reflux),” Weiswasser explains. “The blood has nowhere to go but down and out, and it travels through little branches that are connected to the vein with reflux to these little veins underneath the skin that aren’t accustomed to dealing with that kind of congestion and pressure.”
Because they’re not prepared for the influx of fluid volume, the veins dilate, stretching and engorging. They go from invisible little rivers under the skin to highly visible (and often painful) varicose veins that bulge out from the skin.

Deep Vein Walking

It’s estimated that varicose veins affect 22 million women and 11 million men between the ages of 40 to 80, although they can crop up when you’re younger (or older). With numbers like that, it can seem inevitable that you’ll one day have varicosities to handle.
But who will actually face them is often determined by genetics, says Kurtis Kim, MD, a vascular surgeon at the Vascular Center at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. If one of your grandparents or parents suffered from bulging veins in their legs, your own risk is heightened.
Another risk factor? Gender.
Women outnumber men by more than two to one when it comes to varicose vein diagnoses, whether it’s during pregnancy—when the sharp rise of estrogen and progesterone in our bodies can have an effect on our lower limbs—or later in life.
“Certain female hormones can cause laxity in the walls of blood vessels,” Weiswasser explains. This can be a good thing. It’s why women tend to have lower blood pressure than men.
“[But] in the setting of venous reflux, this can lead to a predisposition to the development of varicosities,” Weiswasser says.
So when varicose veins will arrive comes down to fate, but there are risk factors that can speed their debut along. Pregnancy ups your chances of being diagnosed with varicose veins significantly, as the body’s blood volume expands and stretches our veins. The weight gained during pregnancy is concentrated in the belly and puts pressure on the pelvic veins as well, which Kim says creates limitations on the blood flow toward the heart and causes the leg swelling that’s common during pregnancy.
“These ineffective venous valves allow reverse flow in the vein, causing branch veins that surface to the skin,” Kim says. Those veins become engorged and enlarged, and presto, you have varicose veins in your legs (and very rarely, your abdomen).
Working certain jobs can also up your risk of waking up to a vein popping out of your leg one morning. Ironically, both sitting at a desk all day in an office or being on your feet all day as a nurse or factory floor worker can up your chances of getting varicose veins, Kim says. That’s because upright and sitting positions both put pressure on the venous flow, making it tougher for our leg veins to pump that blood upward to the heart.
The fact that varicose veins tend to crop up after age 40 also lends credence to the idea that plain old wear and tear on the body can cause them to show up.
“You can say that just as our gravity and weight of our body generate wear and tear to our joints that [carry] the weight, our veins [go] through degenerative changes (dilat[ing], thereby making the venous valves not effective) that create varicose and spider veins, swelling, throbbing, burning, numbness and tingling, restless leg, night cramps, and in severe cases skin changes in the ankle (stasis dermatitis), ulcers, and infections,” Kim says. “This ineffective venous valves allow reverse flow in the vein causing branch veins that surface to the skin which becomes engorged and enlarged … which we call varicose veins.”

What’s the doc to do?

No matter when they show up, spotting a bulging vein in your leg may send you running for the phone to call your doctor.
But do you really need to seek varicose vein treatment from a doctor? Or can you just walk around with them?
First, you need to consider whether the vein you’ve noticed is even a varicose vein. If you spot something blue running down your calf or thigh, you may actually be dealing with spider veins, a similar condition wherein blood vessels dilate close to the skin and become visible. They don’t tend to bulge out the way varicose veins do, and they’re largely a cosmetic issue according to Weiswasser. In the medical world, spider veins are considered an inconvenience rather than a serious health condition.
That said, most varicose veins garner the same reaction from the experts: They’re inconvenient, but they’re not a cause for immediate alarm.
“I always tell my patients that varicose veins are completely benign,” Weiswasser says. “They are not a sign of bad health, poor circulation (in the sense that we hear about everyday), or blood clots in the leg.”
He doesn’t recommend running to the doctor just because you spot something blue. But that doesn’t mean that varicose veins won’t cause pain or bother you, or that you should never go to the doctor for treatment.
It’s when veins start to affect your lifestyle that you should seek a vascular specialist’s care, says Scott Musicant, MD, a board certified vascular surgeon at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in San Diego, Califormia. Musicant also warns patients who spot discoloration or wounds on their legs or feet to seek medical care immediately, as that can be a sign of other vascular disease.
“Varicose veins can go on to clot, which can be painful and if associated with significant swelling may indicate involvement of the deeper veins which can be life threatening,” Musicant says, although he’s quick to note that this is not common.
“Occasionally veins that are immediately below the skin can open and bleed, which is initially startling,” he adds. “But if the leg is elevated and the vein compressed, this can usually be stopped relatively easily.”
Leg elevation is a treatment for varicose veins—or at least the pain they cause—in and of itself as it takes the pressure off the veins so the blood can flow unimpeded.
Another consideration when deciding if you need to call the doctor now is this: The longer you walk around with varicose veins, the more extensive the treatment may be since varicose veins can worsen over time.
When you show up at the doctor’s office, you can expect to undergo an ultrasound, as your doctor will need to investigate what is causing the varicosities.
“I look at veins that are associated commonly with the development of varicose veins and determine whether there is reflux,” Weiswasser explains. “I can also tell from this ultrasound whether someone who is concerned but doesn’t actually have varicose veins [is] at risk for developing them in the future.”
Next up? Treatment. Typical treatment for varicosities in the legs can be done in a doctor’s office under local anesthesia, allowing patients to return to work and other normal activities within a day.
Most treatments are performed in less than an hour, and unlike treatments of old, today’s methods of removing varicose veins require no incisions or stitches and leave behind no scars. Vascular specialists take advantage of lasers and radiofrequency to do much of the work without damaging the skin of the leg.
“The goal of treatment is to not only get rid of the varicose veins but to eliminate the reflux,” Weiswasser explains. “The treatment of reflux involves a technique called ablation, which is where we shut the refluxing vein down. When the vein is shut down, the reflux is eliminated and the congestion that is causing the development of the varicose veins goes away.”
Although it can sound alarming to hear that veins are being shut down, Weiswasser says the veins aren’t necessary. Your blood will still continue to flow through your body via other blood vessels.
The next step in the process involves making a series of small nicks in the skin, through which a vascular specialist will remove the varicosities.
“The number of these nicks in the skin varies depending on how extensive the varicosities are, but usually we make between five and 20 nicks depending,” Weiswasser says. “The nicks require no stitches and they do not scar.”
Aside from ablation, sclerotherapy is another popular treatment option used on both spider and varicose veins, says Thomas Terramani, MD, another vascular surgeon affiliated with Sharp Grossmont Hospital.
“The procedure uses a needle to inject a salt solution into the vein, causing it to shrink,” Terramani explains.
The procedure is simpler, but there is a drawback: It’s considered temporary because varicose veins are often a progressive condition that can develop in other veins as well.
In fact, both ablation and sclerotherapy treatments are just that—treatments rather than cures, warns Kim. “This is a process that undergoes degeneration (again, just like joints after putting pressure on them for [a] lifetime), and so recurrence at a different site after initial treatment is common.”
There is one piece of good news: Because varicose veins do cause pain, treatment is typically covered by most insurance plans.

An Ounce of Prevention

Although there are certain factors that increase your risk of developing varicose veins, genetic and hereditary factors make preventing them almost impossible.
“There are ways to decrease the speed of progression which we call conservative management,” Kim says. His suggestions include wearing compression stockings (at least 20 to 30 mmHg), leg elevation, and exercise—which causes muscles to contract, pushing venous blood up toward the heart.
Terramani suggests the following, especially if you know you’re at risk of developing varicose veins based on your family history and gender:

  • Stay active—Avoid sitting for long periods of time, whether at home or work. Taking a 20- to 30-minute walk each day can help your body maintain proper venous circulation.
  • Don’t smoke—Research indicates that varicose veins are more common in smokers because of the effect smoking has on regulating fibrin, a blood-clotting protein.
  • Lose weight—Weighing more than 20 pounds over your ideal weight puts more pressure on your vein system.
  • Put your feet up—Resting your legs on footstools when you sit or putting a pillow under your feet when you sleep are a couple of simple ways to keep your legs elevated and reduce venous pressure.
Categories
Health x Body Wellbeing

Up Your Brain Game With These Mood-Boosting Supplements

During the winter it’s normal to feel a bit frazzled. After all, this time of year is incredibly busy as we struggle to meet everyone’s expectations around the holidays and get all our work done by end-of-year deadlines. If you start forgetting things along the way, it can be frustrating but totally expected! At the same time it’s understandable if your mood takes a dip during the winter, with shorter days, longer to-do lists, and less time outside.
Fortunately, there are natural remedies that promise to give your brain a boost this winter. These four supplements can help to improve your mood and your brain function, making you happier and more efficient this holiday season. Here’s how they work:

Magnesium

Magnesium is essential to keeping your body and brain functioning well. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), magnesium helps with everything from nerve functioning to developing DNA. That’s pretty important stuff! Unfortunately, the NIH also say that most Americans don’t get enough magnesium through their diets.
Magnesium is found in legumes, beans, and leafy green vegetables. But to get the recommended 320 milligrams a day that adult women should have, you might want to rely on a supplement. The health benefits will be well worth the effort of taking an extra vitamin: Magnesium has been shown to help in treating depression and can even alleviate PMS symptoms.

Zinc

Zinc is another often-overlooked but important nutrient. It helps the body repair wounds and build DNA. It has also been shown to have powerful effects for fighting depression, especially in young women. In addition, zinc has been shown to be important for maternal mental health.
Women need about 8 milligrams of zinc per day, which they can get most readily from red meat, shellfish, and poultry. A zinc supplement is a great way to boost your intake. In fact, many supplements combine zinc and magnesium, giving you a double brain boost.

Fish Oil

Fish oil is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids. These good fats provide fuel for your body and help you absorb other vitamins. Despite their importance, only 2 percent of Americans are getting enough omega-3s.
Taking fish oil supplements is a great way to boost your intake, which can help your brain function better. Taking fish oil has been found to improve brain function and is thought to contribute to alleviating depression. When you’re choosing a fish oil supplement, be sure to select one that is high quality.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D helps your nerves carry signals from your brain to every part of your body. Since vitamin D is absorbed from the sun, you’re likely to get less of it during the winter, which can leave you feeling sluggish or down. Getting enough vitamin D (even through a supplement) has been shown to prevent depression and lower the likelihood of cognitive issues as your age.
Sometimes we can all use a little boost. Consider adding these supplements to your routine to help yourself feel your best!

Categories
In the Kitchen Nosh

Crispy Potato Latkes (With A Side Of Hanukkah History)

The story of Hanukkah, also known as the festival of light, is one of miraculous perseverance and rich tradition. According to legend, Jewish rebels were able to recover their holy temple in Jerusalem after being forced to worship pagan deities for many years against their will.
When it came time to light the menorah they realized they only had enough oil to keep it burning for a single night. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days and the Jewish people were able to make more oil to keep the flame lit forever afterward.

The Importance of Oil in Traditional Hanukkah Foods

Many of the delicious foods which are traditionally served during Hanukkah are a directly inspired by the symbolism behind the miraculous oil that burned for eight days. Specifically, deep-fried doughnuts (called sufganiot) and fried potato pancakes (latkes) play a big part during Hanukkah celebrations.
Latkes are a tasty introduction to Jewish home cooking and can be made with just a few easy-to-find ingredients.

Get going in the kitchen with crispy potato latkes.

Latkes are super-crispy potato pancakes that are shallow-fried in oil, which is why they’re eaten so plentifully during Hanukkah. The trick to making these latkes is to remove as much moisture as possible from the grated potatoes before adding any binders. This will ensure a perfectly browned exterior and a creamy center.
Olive oil and schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) are used in traditional recipes but may not be practical for the average home cook due to their relatively low smoke points. Grapeseed, avocado, and peanut oil all work well, as does melted ghee (or a combination of these fats).

Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 people (2 latkes each)

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb baking potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), peeled
  • 1 medium-sized onion (white or yellow)
  • ¼ cup + 1 Tbsp. sifted white flour OR matzo meal OR fine bread crumbs
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten together
  • 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 cup of grapeseed OR avocado OR peanut oil OR ghee
  • Sour cream or room-temperature applesauce (for topping)

Special Equipment:

  • Box grater OR food processor with shredder attachment
  • Large bowl
  • Colander or fine mesh sieve
  • Cheesecloth or clean tea towel
  • Large skillet (cast iron works best)
  • Baking sheet
  • Cooking thermometer

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Using either a box grater or a food processor with a shredder attachment, grate the potatoes and onion into a large bowl.
  3. Transfer the grated potatoes and onion to a colander or fine mesh sieve and press down with your hands or a sturdy wooden spoon. Drain for 20 minutes.
  4. Remove the potatoes and onion from the colander and place in the middle of a square of cheesecloth or a clean tea towel. Bring the fabric together and squeeze any excess moisture out, applying as much pressure as possible.
  5. Return the potato and onion mixture to the bowl and gently stir in the flour (or substitute), eggs, kosher salt, and pepper. Be careful not to overmix.
  6. Place a baking sheet in the preheated oven.
  7. Heat the oil to 360°F in a large skillet over medium-high heat using a cooking thermometer to check for readiness.
  8. Working in batches, fry the latkes in ¼ cup amounts until browned and crispy on both sides. This should take about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to the baking sheet in the oven as they finish.
  9. Top latkes with sour cream or room-temperature applesauce before eating.
Categories
Happy Home Lifestyle

Chic Décor You Can DIY With Aromatic Herbs And Kitchen Essentials

It’s that special time of year again and you have your traditional holiday décor down, but change is in the air.
If you’re feeling inspired by the pervasive plant lusting of 2017, why not go for a bohemian chic and sustainably green spin on the usual mix of wreaths, table runners, and centerpieces we know and love? Marrying simplicity with modern aesthetic, lovingly executed bundles of healthy herbs have the potential to transform your home into a magical abode this season.

The Perfect Entry

We’re all too familiar with the importance of first impressions. With a steady stream of guests coming and going over these next few weeks, a modish wreath adorning your front door is sure to set the right tone upon their arrival.
Luckily, each of these décor items requires nothing more than quick stops at your local market and florist followed by a little crafting time to perfect your herby holiday hanging.

Go wild with eucalyptus.

With a wild eucalyptus garland, you’ll have a long-lasting addition to greet your guests on their way indoors. You’ll need four different types of eucalyptus: spiral, baby, flat, and seeded. One bunch of each type will be sufficient for your crafting. You also have the option of adding in a few juniper sprigs for a complementary floral touch. For the base, you’ll need to gather

  • A 14-inch metal wire wreath with clamps
  • About 2 feet of 2-inch burlap ribbon
  • Scissors
  • Pruning shears
  • A hammer

While some of these items can be found hiding away around your home, the wire wreath and ribbon can be purchased at a florist’s or craft store.
By layering the eucalyptus around the wire wreath, you have complete control over the amount of greenery that will grace your doorway. The best method is starting with the spiral eucalyptus, moving onto the baby, then the flat, and finally the seeded. Each bunch will be broken down into single, smaller pieces and trimmed to uniform lengths before beginning. The eucalyptus will be carefully placed between the clamps and aesthetically staggered however you see fit. Sprig by sprig, you’ll add enough of each layer to create a balanced bushel. When you’re done layering, simply close each clamp, fluff the final product, and voila!
The burlap ribbon is perfect for a festive DIY hanger, seamlessly looping inside the metal frame of the wreath and over a hook.

Become a holiday crafting sage.

A second option is to elect sage as your creative muse. All you need here is a Styrofoam wreath, floral pins, the ribbon of your choice (we like using the same burlap), and a big bundle of sage. You’ll take groups of five or six leaves and use the floral pins to secure them to the Styrofoam base. Continue pinning until the wreath is fully covered and bursting with fragrant greenery.
The burlap ribbon can be used in the same manner—looped around the top of the wreath for a perfected dangle.

It’s the little things.

For a few subtle herby touches around your home, you can wrap sprigs of rosemary and mint around dollar store candles. Whether you choose to wrap the entire circumference of the candle or simply attach a few luscious sprigs is entirely up to you. Use twine to secure the greens in a nice little bow and your work is complete. If you’re itching to add a more rustic note, wrap a piece of burlap around the candle before layering the herbs. Place these throughout each room for a cozy ambience.
An even easier DIY for a little candlelight glow requires nothing more than a handful of tea lights and those leftover apples sitting on your kitchen counter. While this guide suggests you use a drill and paddle bit, a sharp kitchen knife (and appropriate caution while cutting) is the only tool you really need. Carefully cut a hole in the top of each apple. For the tea light to fit properly, the hole will be about 1 ½ inches in circumference and only ¼ inch in depth. The final touch? Plop the candles in.
Yes, ladies, it’s really that simple! Your fresh “apple candles” can be used as a festive centerpiece for all to enjoy. Position them in a linear fashion along a deep, plaid table runner for a pop of color, or spherically on a pedestal stand arranged for your dining table. Here, you have a chance to add an herby touch by decorating the stand with the leftover rosemary you picked up for your favorite recipe. Talk about sustainability!

Wrapping It Up

Now that we’ve perfected your home’s seasonal entryway and cozy mood with decorations plant-lovers are sure to melt over, the last step is—of course—garnishing the gifts! For many of your guests, young and old, this final piece will determine how they’ll remember the special occasion. You already know with blissful certainty that your gift is just what your loved one is looking for, so why not kick it up one chic little notch with a few sprigs of juniper and pine nestled on top? Wrap the gifts with brown craft paper, securing it with double-sided tape and twine. Beneath the finishing bow of twine, attach a small bunch of greenery and a handwritten name tag.
What’s not to love about personalized touches?

Categories
Nutrition x Advice

5 Plant-Based Proteins And How To Include Them In Your Diet

“But how do you get your protein?”
If you’re eating or considering eating a plant-based diet, that question will sound all too familiar. Fortunately for you, plant-based protein is readily available from a long list of diverse vegan ingredients and the concept of an incomplete protein is a complete myth.
Both vegan and vegetarian diets offer an abundance of options when it comes to plant-based protein, many of which are readily available and can be easily incorporated into your daily eating plan.
With the vegan diet on the rise in the United States, many people are looking beyond “traditional” sources of protein, eschewing meat and dairy-based proteins in favor of leafy greens, grains and grasses, and soy-based foods. People’s protein needs vary according to activity level, gender, and age, but the go-to formula for making sure you’re eating enough protein is to multiply your body weight in pounds by 0.36, which will churn out your body’s daily protein requirement in grams.
Unlike fats or carbohydrates, our bodies don’t store protein very efficiently, which is why it’s important we make sure at least some plant-based protein is found in our food sources.
Here are five plant-based proteins that will keep you feeling full and energized from meal to meal:

1. Quinoa

A single one-cup serving of cooked quinoa contains an impressive 8 grams of plant-based protein. Quinoa is actually a flowering plant in the same family as Swiss chard and spinach, which means it’s not a grain. Quinoa is a rare plant-based protein in that it contains all nine essential amino acids—a trait usually exclusive to meat, poultry, and fish, as most plant-based sources of protein are missing essential amino acids.
These missing amino acids can be easily be incorporated into your meals by including foods like quinoa, which is a versatile ingredient that can be used in porridge and hearty salads, or as a stand-in for rice (especially in quinoa risotto). Make a large batch of quinoa and freeze it for later use. When you’re ready to use the frozen quinoa, simply defrost it at room temperature before adding it to your recipe.

2. Lentils

There’s a good reason lentils are praised for their nutritional benefits. One cup of cooked lentils contains nearly 18 grams of protein (and a whopping 15 grams of fiber!) which will keep you feeling full hours after you’ve eaten. There are several varieties of lentils available and their flavor and cooking methods differ slightly from one to the next.
Red lentils are best for Indian-style dahl, green and brown lentils work well in soups, and Puy lentils are sturdy enough to hold their shape in a salad. Use canned lentils or dried, and consider freezing extra lentils for future use.

3. Firm Tofu

Firm tofu isn’t just a bland accompaniment for brown rice. A half a cup of this protein superstar contains almost 20 grams of protein, 86 percent of your calcium requirements, and 74 percent of your recommended daily intake of manganese. Tofu is made of pressed bean curd and has a very mild flavor, making it a great chameleon in terms of potential preparations and the flavors it can take on.
Firm tofu can serve as the base for a curry, be stir-fried, be baked in a marinade, or be breaded and pan-fried. Basically, the sky’s the limit with tofu and it has many uses depending on the recipes you prefer.

4. Dried Beans

Dried beans are a useful ingredient to have in your pantry. Depending on the type, a one-cup serving can offer anywhere from 15 to 17 grams of protein. Soak dried beans overnight in cold water to shorten the cooking time and make up a big batch in the slowcooker.
Extra beans can be frozen in resealable bags and thawed in the fridge or at room temperature. Bean salads are a tasty option that will last for up to a week in the fridge.

5. Tempeh

Tempeh is made of soy beans that have been pressed into cakes and fermented. Tempeh is a more flavorsome cousin of tofu that has wide-ranging nutritional benefits including an incredible 31 grams of protein per half-cup serving. Tempeh has a pronounced nutty taste which makes it a good candidate for recipes with big flavor. It will soak up any sauce or marinade like a sponge, so add tempeh to grain bowls, make a savory kebab, or tuck it into a tempeh and tomato sandwich.
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Happy Home Lifestyle

Feng Shui All Day: A Beginner’s Guide To Balancing Your Home’s Energy

The practice of [linkbuilder id=”2583″ text=”feng shui”] is nothing new. In fact, it’s ancient. It’s a way to think about how deeply connected you are to your home and environment that has its roots in Chinese practical arts. And while having every room in your home arranged with feng shui in mind may not be a reasonable goal for you (we get it!), it can be a useful tool in changing the way you think about how your home makes you feel.
In fact, incorporating just the basics of feng shui can have a huge impact on the quality of the time you spend at home.

What is feng shui?

Sometimes referred to as geomancy—the art of placing buildings auspiciously—at its core, feng shui is a system of arranging rooms, homes, and even communities in order to ensure they’re in harmony with different spiritual forces and the flow of energy or chi.
Feng shui expert Ken Lauher explains that for people brand new to feng shui, the concept of chi can sound intimidating. “People know it when they feel it,” says Lauher. Instead of thinking about it as a flow of energy, you can think of it more as the vibe you get from a space.
We’ve all gone into a room and had the feeling that something is not quite right. You can’t get comfortable or relax; according to the principles of feng shui, that indicates there is something disrupting the flow of energy. On the other hand, if you’ve ever stepped inside a room and it just felt right and wanted to hang out there, you’ve experienced the indication of good chi.
At a deeper level, most of us can relate to feng shui’s emphasis on balance and healthfully responding to continual change. Even if you’re unfamiliar with feng shui, your experiences of life’s binaries—for example, negative and positive, male and female, night and day, and logic and intuition—may attract you to a system that aims to strike a balance between opposites not only in the mind, but in our actual living spaces as well.

A Brief History of Feng Shui

Feng shui has existed as a significant part of Chinese culture since around 4000 B.C. and its focus has always been on helping people act in harmony and coexist with nature. It wasn’t just practiced in China—in fact, its practice expanded through many parts of Asia including Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam.
Feng shui greatly affected how people interacted with their environments and it had a big impact on traditional architecture. An article published out of Jiangsu University in 2014 titled “Traditional Feng Shui Architecture as an Inspiration for the Development of Green Buildings,” explains that in the diverse climates of China, people utilized feng shui to adapt their architecture to their environments, not vice versa. In the mountains, people built stone houses; in the plains, homes were built with soil. Feng shui also encouraged people to position buildings to make the best possible use of the warmth and light of the sun. This history continues to inform feng shui’s legacy in ways that might help you get back in touch with nature, regardless of where you live.
Like many traditional practices, feng shui’s popularity has ebbed and flowed both within and outside of China. While it has been disregarded as a pseudoscience and was even banned in China at certain points in history, since the ‘90s there has been a resurgence of feng shui in its country of origin.

Beginning With the Bagua Map

While the history of feng shui may interest you, your biggest concern is probably how you can incorporate feng shui’s principles in your living spaces. Feng shui in the home is largely based off of a bagua map (check out HealthyWay’s below!). Feng shui expert Marla Stone says, “Understanding the bagua, or the nine separate areas of your home, is essential to starting any feng shui project.”
The nine areas are prosperity, fame and recognition, [linkbuilder id=”2588″ text=”love and relationships”], family, health, children and creativity, skills and knowledge, career, and, lastly, helping people and travel.
A bagua map is traditionally shown as an octagon. Each of its sections, which are depicted in three rows of three, represents one of the nine areas of life. Health is positioned in in the center. One of the major goals of feng shui is to build up all nine areas in each room and your home as a whole.
Stone suggests starting by sketching out a map of your entire home. Draw a simple sketch of your floor plan, then lay a bagua map on top with the front door aligned with either skills and knowledge, career, or helping people and travel. This will show you where each area of your home lands on the bagua map, and thus what each room represents. Then you can repeat the process for each individual room to reveal its nine different areas.
“Building up all nine areas of any space that you feng shui is the goal,” says Stone. “To test out the feng shui magic, choose one or two areas to work on improving.” For example, Stone suggests focusing on love and relationships. Declutter that area of the room first, then place symbolic objects in the area. Stone recommends adding in purple, pink, or red objects that symbolize love, like a pink flowering plant.

Feng Shui First Steps

If you’re already feeling overwhelmed, have no fear. You don’t need to redo your whole home in a day. The baby steps way of incorporating feng shui into your home can be done in one afternoon.
You’ve heard of Marie Kondo, right? She wrote The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which went viral in 2016. Her whole approach is one big feng shui basic: decluttering. To reduce clutter for feng shui, you don’t need to get as over the top with it (no speaking of your favorite socks required). That said, paring down to what you actually need is a component of feng shui because it can help you feel calm.
Have you ever looked inside your junk drawer and wanted to scream? That’s why decluttering is necessary.
Adding in houseplants is another great place to start. Not only do houseplants add a lively element to the room, they can also help clean your air, scrubbing it of harmful gasses. (If you’ve never had a houseplant, we’ve got a whole list of our favorites you can scroll through.)
You can also focus on light. Do you have any bulky, dark curtains hung over your windows, blocking out the natural daylight? Switching to lighter curtains can allow more natural light into your home. These quick steps can make a big impact with minimal effort.

Incorporating Feng Shui Into Your Space Room by Room

Feng Shui in Your Entryway

Your entryway is one of the most important spaces in the home according to feng shui’s principles, notes Lauher. He recommends you consider not just the space inside your home, but the area outside as well. Anything that blocks your door (flower pots, outdoor furniture, and the like) can disrupt the flow of chi and set a negative feeling coming into your home. For people in apartments, Lauher says, “We focus on what we can change and not what we can’t.” So don’t sweat it if you can’t make big changes to your rented entryway.
The main goal is to make your home’s threshold clear and easy to get inside so your entryway can feel welcoming. Lauher also recommends looking at the little things that may set a negative tone like an old, dirty welcome mat or a scuff on a wall that has yet to be repainted. Cleaning up the little things is helpful for crafting a welcoming entryway.
Once you’re inside, Lauher says the area should be “clean, clear, and bright.”
He goes on to say, “It’s always recommended to have some type of life energy present so you can see it,” meaning having a houseplant inside your entryway is a good plan. He also suggests a rug to warm up the space and make it more inviting.

Dining Room Flow

“The dining room is all about eating, appetite, healthy food, community, family,” says Tisha Morris, feng shui expert. She suggests placing the focus on making sure your dining room table fits your needs. If it’s too small (or too large, or the wrong shape for you) you’re less likely to use it.
Making sure that your dining room is used is the key to keeping good energy flowing in the room. Keep in mind how you normally use the room. Do you like to host big dinner parties? Do your kids plunk down and do homework on the table? Having answers to these questions will help ensure you get the right dining room table.
The other thing to keep in mind is color. Paint the walls a color that is appealing to you, advises Morris. “You want appetizing colors; think about colors of food you would eat.” Her own dining room is a deep burgundy shade, but she also recommends green tones. “Green is the color of health and vitality.”

Chi in the Kitchen

Another one of the most important spaces in your home according to Lauher is the kitchen. It’s the space where you prepare food (and probably eat, too) and can represent wealth in your home. Lauher recommends a cleanup first and foremost. “You want it to be as clean and clear as possible”.
Anything that clutters your counters can make food preparation a pain. Bulky coffee makers, seldom used kitchen gadgets, and stacks of cookbooks can be cleared away to make room for the area’s unique purpose: cooking. Being present with your cooking is important, and making sure you’ve got a clear working space allows you to focus on your actions instead of going through the motions or working around a mess.
Other little things like not storing pans on top of your stove and making sure to use all of the burners (instead of favoring the same one) can help to add balance to your kitchen. Lauher also suggests incorporating fresh herbs into your kitchen. They bring in life, they smell good, they’re useful, and they can inspire you to cook healthy meals.

Living Room Energy

To incorporate feng shui into your living room, it’s helpful to have the purpose of this room in the back of your mind. Do you regularly host a book club? Does your whole family pack in for movie nights?
“Depending on what the primary function of the room is, is how you would arrange the furniture” says Morris. She suggests if the focus is on communicating, comfortable chairs around a coffee table would be your best bet. If you’re mostly in the living room for the TV, centering your seating around the TV will fit the purpose.

Feng Shui Works at Home

Especially for those of us who work from home, the home office needs to have a good energy so you can focus and get your work done. Feng shui practitioner Melissa Waite Stamps suggests starting first with the placement of your desk. She advises putting the desk in what feng shui refers to as the “command position.” This position should be in sight of the door, but not directly in line with it.
She also suggests focusing on lighting. “Full spectrum lighting is an excellent choice because good lighting helps keep you focused.”

The Bagua in Your Bedroom

The bedroom is possibly the most important room in your home. It’s the place you spend hours sleeping, and it’s also an important place for intimacy for couples. Lauher says the number one thing to do in your bedroom is to get the position of your bed correct. According to feng shui, energy moves along lines and pathways and through openings like doors and windows, so facing the door or a window can make it hard to relax and you know, sleep.
The ideal location for your bed, according to Lauher, is in view of the door but not directly in line with it. Other things like having a sturdy headboard (which represents confidence and stability in your relationships) can also help.

Chi for the Kiddos

A child’s room is important not only because it’s where they sleep, but usually where they play as well. Feng shui practitioner Sue Fishkin suggests the same “command position” for kids’ beds since it will allow the sleeper to see if someone is entering the room.
“Color is very important in feng shui,” says Fishkin. To inspire a child’s creativity, she recommends white and pastel colors along with metal elements. You can also use a bagua map in the room to determine the best place to set up a desk or reading area.

Flushing the Negativity Away With Feng Shui

Your bathroom can be the most negative space in your home, says Morris. “Regardless of where your bathroom is [on the bagua map], you want to negate that negative energy.” To do this, spend a little time making your bathroom as spa like as possible.
People regularly forget to decorate their bathrooms, but little things like hanging up a couple of photos or introducing a plant can help give the space some life. Instead of making your bathroom a utility driven room, prioritize giving it some personality.
“The energy of a bathroom should be about self care” says Morris.

Feng Shui For All

Howard Choy, principal of the European College of Feng Shui, says that the tradition of feng shui can expand to every culture by “going back to the basic human needs, the need to be loved, the need to feel secured, and the need to procreate and to survive as a human race.” Choy tells HealthyWay that at its deeper levels, feng shui is universal and transcultural.
Feng shui expert Susan Chu shares that feng shui runs deep in her family. Her mother learned feng shui in elementary and junior high school growing up in China in the ‘50s and early ‘60s.
“It was part of her curriculum similar to arts or music in American schools. I’m not sure when the ban happened, so my mom might have learned it being called something else.”
Chu says today the majority of her Chinese friends do not practice feng shui. “It’s something their parents might have learned and little tidbits of info passed down, but it is an art that is disappearing.”
In 2004, a study conducted by Feng Shui Institute International (FSII) polled 133,848 people in the United States and Canada and found that 77 percent of them were aware of feng shui. People’s awareness didn’t necessarily mean that they were believers in the power of feng shui, though. Of those polled, 37 percent of women and 29 percent of men reported that they believed that feng shui could improve their quality of life.
But Barbara Taylor, FSII’s executive director, said that was an increase from years past. “The data validates trends that feng shui practitioners have been observing in their day to day work: there is an increasing integration of feng shui into people’s lives.”
The popularity of feng shui in North America is also evidenced by the number of feng shui practitioners working in the U.S. and Canada, many of whom have interesting backgrounds and intensive training.
After a childhood fascination with rearranging furniture, Lauher, for example, went to work in corporate America and didn’t start officially learning feng shui until he was an adult. He says he studied under the world’s foremost feng shui master, His Holiness Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun Rinpoche as well as Steven Post, the first American feng shui teacher.
Morris also learned as an adult through the Feng Shui Training Center. She is now is a feng shui teacher herself and is one of the many North American consultants in the International Feng Shui Guild’s directory.
For those who do seek it out, Chu says feng shui can be hugely impactful. “Feng shui is about living in harmony … above, below, and within. When we are living in harmony, life naturally flows.”
It’s not magic though. Chu says that having a feng shui home doesn’t mean you won’t encounter any obstacles in life. “We, as human beings, unfortunately, [make] life more difficult for ourselves. It’s a matter of going with the flow and feng shui [can] help create that in our lives.”

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