By Pamela Weintraub, Experience Life

Headaches might just be the most oppressive common malady there is. About 40 percent of us routinely suffer ordinary tension-type headaches, which range from the sensation of a tightening band to outright pounding around the head. Ninety-three percent have these headaches at least once or twice a year.

It gets worse for the additional 50 million Americans who endure migraines, which pulse and throb relentlessly on one side of the brain. Accompanied by nausea, dizziness, numbness, neck pain and a host of other physical symptoms — even hallucinations — migraines can be mild or can grind life to a halt for hours or days at a time. The most severe migraines keep people home, in darkened bedrooms, and unable to drive, withstand the light of day, work or care for their kids. About 6 million people suffer migraines every day of their lives.

A perfect cure for headaches may not be within our grasp anytime soon. But by embracing the wide range of treatments available now — from avoiding triggers and taking supplements to trying medical interventions when warranted — all but the most intractable headaches can be controlled.

Dietary Triggers: Top 10 List

David Buchholz, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, points to the top 10 migraine triggers found in food:

Caffeine. Found in coffee, tea, colas and certain other sodas. Going off caffeine suddenly can also trigger headaches.

Chocolate. Anything with cocoa. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which may cause blood vessels to expand and contract.

Nuts. From almonds to pistachios, they can all be culprits, as can nut butters.

Monosodium glutamate. Famously found in Chinese food, but also in seasoned salt, salty snacks, prepared soups, many low-fat and low-cal foods, and even veggie burgers. Steer clear of hydrolyzed vegetable, soy or plant proteins, which can contain similar compounds.

Deli meats and fish. If it has been aged, canned, cured, fermented, marinated, smoked or tenderized, it may trigger headaches, says Buchholz. Preservation with nitrites or nitrates is a no-no. Avoid beef livers and chicken livers, as well.

Dairy products, especially cheese. This includes all kinds of hard cheeses and foods prepared with cheese. The more aged the cheese, the worse the trigger. White cheeses, including cottage cheese, ricotta and cream cheese, have not been implicated, but yogurt has.

Red wine. Too much red wine or any dark alcohol can stack the decks against you. Of all drinking alcohols, vodka is tolerated best. Also avoid vinegar; balsamic is the most problematic, but white should be OK.

Certain fruits and vegetables. In his book Heal Your Headache, Buchholz lists the fruits and vegetables most implicated in triggering headaches. Among the problematic fruits: citrus fruits and fruit juices, bananas, raisins and other dried fruits preserved with sulfites, raspberries, red plums, papayas, passion fruit, figs, dates, and avocados. Vegetable culprits include sauerkraut, pea pods and beans (from fava to navy to lentils). The worst vegetable offender may be onions, though baby onions are OK.

Freshly baked breads risen with yeast. Especially problematic is sourdough. Also look out for bagels, doughnuts, pizza dough and soft pretzels less than 24 hours out of the oven.

Aspartame. Found in many diet soft drinks and artificial sweeteners, aspartame contains excitotoxins known to affect nerve cells.

Natural Cures

Eager to prevent your headaches before they start? These are the top five most effective and scientifically validated supplements:

Riboflavin, otherwise known as vitamin B2. Two hundred milligrams of B2 twice a day has been shown to help a significant subset of patients with migraines, says neurologist Richard Lipton, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. The key to success, experts say, is taking the vitamin every day, whether you have a headache or not.

Butterbur, a root extract from the plant Petasites hybridus. Researchers compared butterbur with a placebo in 245 headache patients. Over the course of four months, migraine attack frequency was reduced by 68 percent for those receiving 75 milligrams of the supplement twice a day.

Magnesium. Crucial for many cellular processes. When magnesium is deficient, a headache may result. Numerous studies show that patients taking magnesium supplements have significantly fewer migraine attacks, lose fewer days to pain, and can greatly reduce the amount of medication they take for migraines. Neurologist Alexander Mauskop, MD, director of the New York Headache Center, recommends daily doses of up to 600 milligrams.

Coenzyme Q10. European researchers compared migraine sufferers treated with this antioxidant with a placebo group. After three months of treatment, half of the migraine patients had fewer attacks and less nausea than the control group. The recommended dose is 300 milligrams, three times a day.

Feverfew, made from the plant Tanacetum parthenium, has long been used for headaches. The active ingredient, parthenolide, prevents blood vessel constriction, a leading cause of headaches. At the same time, parthenolide inhibits two headache triggers implicated in the inflammatory process: arachidonic acid and prostaglandins. Mauskop recommends a dose of 100 milligrams, taken up to four times a day.

Not every supplement will work for every patient, notes Mauskop. He recommends mixing these preventives for the best effect. Though the formula varies by patient, his favorite supplement cocktail tends to include�50 milligrams of feverfew, 200 milligrams of riboflavin, 150 milligrams of coenzyme Q10 and 200 milligrams of magnesium, taken twice a day with food. As with any treatment regimen, you should consult with your healthcare provider before proceeding.

Easy Fixes Worth Trying

• Avoid caffeine drinks and chocolate.
• Eliminate diet soda and other products with aspartame.
• See an acupuncturist.
• Try biofeedback.
• Eat breakfast and schedule regular meals.
• Stop wearing perfume and avoid scented products.
• Don’t oversleep or undersleep.
• Stay away from MSG (monosodium glutamate) and remember that many diet products are loaded with it.
• Get regular aerobic exercise.
• Check your home for fumes.
• Embrace stress-management techniques like yoga, meditation or deep breathing.
• Identify and eliminate food to which you have intolerances or sensitivities.

Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter, or to subscribe to the print or digital version.

To learn more about Personal Chef To Go, please visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

By Robin Shreeves, MNN

I’ve been leaving coverage of the oil spill mostly up to other bloggers here on MNN. Our Earth Matters blogger Shea, Green Tech blogger Karl and several of the news writers have been doing a great job keeping us up-to-date on what’s happening in the Gulf and how people are reacting to the spill.

But as the story continues and the devastating impact of this disaster becomes more apparent each day, I thought I’d point you to some of the information out there about how the spill is affecting our food system and those who supply the seafood to our food system.

• Slow Food USA is telling consumers that the best way they can help the fishermen in the Gulf right now is to eat Gulf seafood. Assuring readers that any seafood from the Gulf will have to meet safety regulations, the group is encouraging consumers to purchase and consume Gulf seafood as often possible.

• If you can’t get your hands on seafood that comes from the Gulf, or you’re not convinced of the safety of seafood from that region but you still want to help with your dining dollars, you can participate in Dine out for the Gulf Coast starting June 10-12 and extending into July. Participating restaurants across the country will be donating proceeds (each restaurant gets to chose exactly what percentage) that will turn into emergency grants to nonprofit organizations helping the victims of the oil spill.

• While most of the food news about the Gulf oil spill centers around seafood, Slate’s Big Money is reporting about delays in getting corn and soybeans shipped to foreign markets. If oil clogs the canal that links New Orleans with the Gulf, ships that pass through it would have to be cleaned before entering clean waters. This would cause significant delays.

• Georgia is depending on its oysters to tell if and when the oil has reached its coast. The Atlanta Journal Constitution says that because oysters don’t move and because they absorb the pollution that is around them, they will be the first harbingers of disaster in that region.

• New Orleans.com reports that yesterday, 36,000 pounds of food was handed out to families in St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana. Many of the residents of that parish are commercial fishermen who are now out of work because of the oil spill. Of course, the food wasn’t available only to fishermen. In a region that is still recovering financially from Hurricane Katrina, everyone could use a little help.

• Many of the fishermen and their families helped by the food handouts were probably much like this fourth-generation shrimp and oyster family highlighted on “The Early Show” earlier this week.

Mother Nature Network's mission is to help you improve your world. From covering the latest news on health, science, sustainable business practices and the latest trends in eco-friendly technology, MNN.com strives to give you the accurate, unbiased information you need to improve your world locally, globally, and personally – all in a distinctive thoughtful, straightforward, and fun style.

More from MNN:
Photos: Gulf oil spill cleanup efforts
Interactive: Map of offshore drilling in the U.S.
The latest news from the oil spill

  To learn more about Personal Chef To Go, please visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

It's convenient. It's cheap. It's usually rock hard and sprinkled with frost. Cold-weather cultures have been freezing food to preserve it for consumption later for many years, but the discovery of flash freezing to retain texture and flavor is credited to Canadian Clarence Birdseye.

The Frozen Food Digest reported last year that U.S. retail sales of frozen foods and beverages through all retail channels totaled $52 billion in 2008.
These days, many people depend on TV dinners, frozen french fries, frozen pizzas, and even frozen fish for a large percentage of their diet. But any product that markets itself as cheap and easy is usually hiding something undesirable behind all positive advertising.
Here are three chilling facts should consider before grabbing dinner on ice:

Too Much Fat, Too Few Calories
Many frozen foods manufacturers tout their product as the perfect meal for someone trying to control their portion sizes and lose weight. However, an article on WebMD points out that not all low-fat, low-calorie claims are giving consumers an accurate picture of the real nutritional content of a TV dinner.

"Some low-cal, low-fat dinners provide only about 250 or 300 calories. And if that's truly a third of your daily caloric intake (given three meals a day), that totals less than 1,000 calories -- not nearly enough food even if you are trying to lose weight."
An evaluation from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) also found that the four or five grams of saturated fat listed in most of these "low-fat" meals doesn't sound too alarming, until you consider the fact that this makes up almost 20 percent of the calories.

The CSPI study also found that frozen dinners tended to include high levels of sodium, and skimpy portions of vegetables.

Supermarket Freezers Are Big Greenhouse Gas Emitters
A recent study by Environmental Investigation Agency – an international campaigning organization – claims that greenhouse gases used in large freezers and fridges by supermarkets are as harmful to the environment as plastic bags.

In the 1990's HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) were introduced to replace ozone depleting CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs hydrochlorofluorocarbons). However this switch to refrigerants that do not damage the ozone layer brought in a generation of chemicals with a greenhouse effect thousands of times stronger than CO2 (Guardian).
The Guardian states that chemicals released by fridges account for 30 percent of supermarkets' direct emissions, yet only 0.5 percent of stores have been fitted with greener equipment, according to the EIA's report, called Chilling Facts.

Waffles Taste Better With Syrup, Not Sewage
If you've cruised the frozen food aisle of your favorite grocery store lately looking for a quick breakfast option, you might have noticed that the loveable Eggo Waffles were suspiciously missing. What the "we're sorry this product is out of stock" sign didn't tell you is why.

The Food Safety Network reports that "on a routine inspection of the Kellogg's frozen food manufacturing facility on Bucknell Road in Atlanta, last Aug. 31st, the Georgia Department of Agriculture found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of buttermilk Eggo waffles."

Although this initial inspection caused Kellogg's dispose of an entire shipment of waffles and recall some of it's other Eggo products, it was assumed that closing the Atlanta plant down for "hygienic restoration" would have taken care of the problem.
But when the FDA inspected returned to the plant in October 2009, taking a variety of samples of both finished and in-process samples and environmental swabs for its own testing, those results were also positive for Listeria.

A Jan. 27 letter from the FDA pointed out that inspectors also found "significant deviations" from current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations at the Kellogg's plant.  FDA's Acting Atlanta District Director LaTonya M. Mitchell, said Kellogg's violations mean products from the Atlanta plant are "adulterated."

Yum.

Plus A Video

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Dads are supposed to be quirky; it's in the rulebook of life. Whether it's smearing zinc oxide on their noses and pairing tube socks with Tevas at the zoo, or pouncing on 2 A.M. Ginsu knife offers, fathers have been making their teenage children groan since the beginning of time. And if your dad's a geek, well... that just doubles the fun.

Father's Day is a day to embrace all those  personality quirks, so here's a list of goofy tech toys for your goofy old man. Check them out after the jump.

For the navigationally challenged dad who can't find his way out of a paper bag, try IDC Design Corp.'s ecco keychain GPS device. A darling of CES 2009, the miniature unit ($100 list) marks a certain location (parked car, fishing hole) and traces the user back to it.

For the dad who thinks he's James Bond, Brando's LED flashlight/memory card reader ($12 list) is too sexy to pass up. The multi-card reader (SDHC, SD, MMC) connects to your computer and recharges its batteries at the same time via USB.

For the dad who can't cook anything more complicated than toast, pick him out one of these beauties from PCMag.com's "Top 10 Wacky Tech Toasters." The Krups FEM3 2-Slice Digital Toaster ($79 list) has an LCD control panel, 1100-watt toasting chamber, nine toast settings, and a timer. 
For the practical-joker dad, a Zowie Fun gag computer mouse that shocks unwitting victims is a can't miss. He'll have endless laughs at the office zapping his coworkers with a shock that is "harmless, but startling." The mouse, $6.49 street, ships through Amazon.com. 

For the "I'll turn this car around, so help me..." dad, a Garmin nuvi just might be the only thing that can ward off Dad's atlas-folding-induced rage. The higher-end 885T ($500 list) pictured above is a portable GPS device with a touch-display and a complete voice-recognition command system. For more on purchasing a GPS unit, visit PCMag.com's GPS buying guide.

For the paranoid dad, Brando's sneaky HDD storage box will allay all fears of burglars stealing valuable files. The box ($7 list) can house up to five 3.5-inch hard drives within its inconspicous cardboard frame.     

For the granola dad who likes to get away from it all, Kikkerland's solar-powered radio is a must for the next family camping trip. The little AM/FM + Weather Band unit ($32 list) runs on sun during the day, and by hand-crank at night. 

For the Trekkie dad, check out PCMag.com's "Space Tech for Star Trek Fans" guide. The Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium is like a portable Astronomy professor--just point it at the sky, and the SkyScout ($200 street) will locate and identify 50,000 stars, planets, and constellations using GPS, as well as directional and gravitational sensors. 

By Marisa Renwald

One hundred years ago in the state of Washington, the first Father's Day was observed on a bright Sunday afternoon after a church function. There must have been a charcoal grill present on that day because barbecued food has become the iconic symbol of this holiday, much as the fruitcake denotes Christmas or a spring brunch epitomizes Mother's Day.

If you're looking for a Father's Day dish to prepare, go ahead and type that very entry into any search engine and you'll be bombarded with a plethora of grill recipes, barbecue articles, and feel-good stories that seem to tell us that the only way to say "I love you" to the man that carried us on his shoulders, taught us to shave and shot dirty looks to our prom dates is by letting him grill a steak.

We seem to have this preconceived notion in mind of the perfect Father's Day: surprising dad in bed, grinning stupidly while yelping "Happy Father's Day!" the moment he rubs the sleep from his eyes, then shoving a pair of tongs in his hands and hustling him out the back door to spend the rest of his very special day sweating over a hot grill.

I kind of wonder how many dads really do enjoy grilling out on Father's Day. Isn't that what Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, birthdays, and every other sultry summer day is for? Don't make dad work on his day — give the guy a break.

To make things worse, every food magazine or Internet recipe that features these grilling recipes showcases some obscure ingredient that most dads would probably end up scraping off of their food anyway. A recent google search for "Father's Day recipes" provided the following hits: "sun-dried tomato and fennel sausage patties with creamy polenta," "harissa-marinated top sirloin tips" and "grilled flank steak with chimichurri." Let's have a quick show of hands: How many dads out there would include any of the latter in your list for meals you would most like to eat on Father's Day? That's what I thought.

The truth is that dads like simple flavors. Think back to your childhood and what exactly it was that your old man snacked on. Boring-looking desserts with poppyseeds or nuts. Toast and black coffee. And when Sunday morning arrived and a dozen mixed doughnuts treated the family, it was the plain cake doughnut he'd reach for first (luckily leaving us the ones with cream filling and sprinkles).

The same should apply now. On Mother's Day, you can get away with flourish and glitz. Moms love to be primped, pampered, and fussed over — the fancier you get, the better. But on Father's Day, the meals should be pure tasting, straightforward and simple.

That isn't to say that dads are uncultured in their tastes: it's quite the opposite. In fact, most dads, much like the French, know what tastes good and what flavor combinations work. They must have something in their noses, right alongside that compass-like sense that always knows the right direction. If you're ever experimenting in the kitchen and want to know if something tastes good, just ask dad. The old adage "Father knows best" is so very appropriate here.

So when preparing a dish for Father's Day, keep in mind that pops would prefer as few flavors flooding his mouth as possible — probably somewhere along the lines of one. Granted, it's a stereotype, but I think I'm fairly accurate in my assumption. Forgetting the dad-to-grill association and all of the fancy recipes that the Internet and cooking magazines offered for Father's Day, I had to stop and think: what is it that my dad would truly cherish?  The answer was so simple, it was almost heartbreaking.

A cherry pie.

Maybe with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. No panache, no cheesecake filling, no added flair. The simplest recipe I could find — sour cherry pie with lattice-topped crust — works wonderfully. Very few ingredients hinder the flavor of perhaps the greatest pie filling on earth, and a homemade crust that melts into buttery flakes really makes the dessert. Just a splash of almond extract glams up this pie by bringing out the cherries' natural flavor. Although sour cherries have a rather short season and are sometimes difficult to find in the grocery store, they are always there in the frozen food aisle — considerably a better option since they are always ripe and pitted.

In addition to saving your dad from working all day on the grill, a homemade cherry pie, wrapped up nicely in a box with a ribbon, makes a delightful Father's Day gift. Unless, of course, dad is allergic to cherries, in which case, you might want to switch to another classic — apple pie.

Sour Cherry Pie

FOR PASTRY:

2 cups plus 3 tablespoons pastry flour

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1⁄4 teaspoon baking powder

9 tablespoons cold cream cheese

12 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

FOR FILLING:

3⁄4  cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

7 1⁄2 teaspoons cornstarch

Pinch salt

1 1⁄2 pounds (4 to 5 cups) fresh sour cherries, stemmed, pitted

1⁄4 teaspoon almond extract

To make pastry: Whisk flour, salt and baking powder together in a large bowl.

Use fingers to work cream cheese into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Use 2 table knives to work in butter until mixture is flecked with pea-size pieces of butter.

Sprinkle in vinegar and 2 tablespoons ice water, tossing lightly with a rubber spatula. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead dough until smooth.

Divide dough into 2 balls, one slightly larger than other. Flatten each into a disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make filling: Stir sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a large bowl, then stir in cherries and almond extract. Allow cherries to macerate for at least 10 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Put a baking sheet on middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roll larger disk of pastry dough out on a lightly floured surface into an 11-inch round, then ease into a 9-inch pie pan.

Stir filling, then transfer to pastry.

Roll remaining dough out into a 10-inch round and cut into six 11⁄4-inch wide strips. Weave strips on top of filing in a lattice pattern and fold edges under. Brush strips with cream and sprinkle sugar on top.

Set pie on baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown, 40 to 50 minutes. Let pie cool for several hours before serving.

— Source: Saveur Magazine, Issue No. 76, www.saveur.com

By: Allison Ford, DivineCaroline

Over the last few decades, touchy-feely self-help books have painted a picture of male-female relationships as something between an ongoing battle and a complete exercise in futility. They lecture that men and women are different, with completely different styles of communication, thinking, and behavior. They’re not just different sexes, they’re from entirely different planets, and never the twain shall meet.

If all these things were true, it would be a miracle that any two people managed to have a functioning relationship at all. Indeed, recent psychological research has shown that women and men are far more alike than they are different, and many of the things that we’re taught about the supposed differences in men’s and women’s brains are nothing but mere myths.

Myth #1: Men Are Better at Math
It’s been established that boys tend to do better on math tests and are more likely than girls to choose math-centric career paths, such as engineering, technology, and computers. The real problem, though, is not an actual biological handicap, but the perception that girls are inferior at math. Many tests, like one professors at the University of Texas and New York University conducted, found that when they tested groups of people who were primed to think about the bias against women, the women scored poorly, but in groups that were primed to think about gender-neutral subjects, the score gap disappeared. This “stereotype anxiety” is a well-known psychological phenomenon in testing, and many researchers now believe it accounts for much of girls’ lower performance on math tests.

Myth #2: Men Are More Competitive
In many societies, the stereotype is that men are competitive and women are collaborative. Some studies of Western subjects confirm this bias, but a study conducted by professors from Columbia University and the University of Chicago found surprising results in cultures that haven’t been subjected to this bias, such as the Masai, a patriarchal tribe from Tanzania, and the Khasi, a matrilineal group from India. In the patriarchal society, the men were more competitive than the women were, but in the matrilineal society, it was the women who were more competitive. The researchers interpreted their findings as evidence that there is no biological basis for competitive drive, and that differences between the sexes are merely social biases, reflecting the fact that young girls and boys are socialized differently.

Myth #3: Women Are More Emotional
In a study conducted by Vanderbilt University psychologist Ann Kring, male and female college students watching movies reported feeling the same levels of emotion, but the females felt more comfortable expressing them. In fact, many studies have shown that there’s no difference in the experiences of emotion between men and women, but since women are already perceived to be the more emotional sex, they consistently score higher than men on tests of emotional expression. According to a study published in the February 2004 issue of Sex Roles: a Journal of Research, male and female subjects were equally likely to express feelings of sympathy or lend support to friends, but often the circumstances surrounding the outward expression of emotion are highly dependent on the context, such as whether the subject is being watched by onlookers.

Myth #4: Women Are More Talkative
One popular stereotype claims that women speak tens of thousands of words per day, while men manage to utter only a few hundred. In fact, there’s virtually no difference between the number of words spoken by men and those spoken by women. A 2007 study at the University of Arizona monitored 396 college students and found that both the men and the women spoke an average of about sixteen thousand words per day, without any statistically significant difference between the sexes. In the June 2007 issue of Science magazine, researcher Matthias Mehl reported that the study’s three chattiest subjects actually happened to all be men, each of whom uttered about forty thousand words per day.

Myth #5: Women Are More Intuitive
Many women pride themselves on their powers of intuition, but new research reveals that intuitive, empathic thinking isn’t solely the province of ladies. A study conducted at the University of Hertfordshire in Great Britain tested subjects’ ability to decipher real smiles from fake ones. Although more women than men reported that they were “highly intuitive,” there was virtually no corresponding improvement in performance. Men detected 72 percent of the real smiles to women’s 71 percent. When asked specifically to decipher the expressions of the opposite sex, men did even better. They detected 76 percent of false female smiles, while women picked out only 67 percent of men’s fake smiles. Intuition is traditionally considered a female attribute, but research such as this shows that men’s and women’s abilities are just about even.

According to psychologist Janet Shibley Hyde, whose article “The Gender Similarities Hypothesis” was published in the September 2005 issue of the American Psychologist, there are only a few areas in which men and women are substantially different. They differ in measures of motor performance in tasks like speed and throwing power (since after puberty, men are bigger and have more muscle mass), and in certain facets of and attitudes about sexuality. Also, women and men differ in expression of aggression: men exhibit more physical aggression, while women score higher on tests of relational aggression and verbal bullying.

Reinforcing stereotypes about men and women is damaging; it can prevent people from expressing themselves, and it solidifies outdated gender roles. Some women may talk more than their husbands and some men may be more competitive than their wives, but those differences are created by society, not biology. Anyone who’s been in a marital argument can attest that sometimes it seems like his or her partner is on a separate planet. But the truth is that men and women are far more alike than we are different.

At DivineCaroline.com, women come together to learn from experts in the fields, of health, sustainability, and culture; to reflect on shared experiences; and to express themselves by writing and publishing stories about anything that matters to them. Here, real women publish like real pros. Together, with our staff writers, they’re discussing all facets of women’s lives from relationships and careers, to travel and healthy living. So come discover, read, learn, laugh and connect at DivineCaroline.com.

To learn more about Personal Chef To Go, please visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

By Caroline Sutherland, Intent.com

Sometimes getting through the day can exhaust even the most productive of us. Here are some great tricks to put you back on track.

1. Keep your energy high by having a protein snack every three hours. Remember, mood and energy follow blood sugar, so stay away from the sweets. Candy and sweets rob your vital energy so instead try:

• nuts and seeds
• a hard boiled egg
• nut butter on a cracker
• strips of cold turkey, chicken, beef or tofu

2. Breathe. Every hour stop and take 10 deep breaths. Go to an open window or a doorway and breathe in some fresh air. Take a short brisk walk if you can.

3. Massage the “chi” point on the fleshy part of your thumb to dispel a headache or clear foggy thinking. This reminds us that we are all an energy system.

4. Place three fingers from each hand on your forehead. This brings energy to the frontal lobes–the present moment and out of the past. Repeat the affirmation: “I am well, healthy, happy and productive.”

5. B vitamins boost energy. Use a sublingual B spray twice a day–mid morning and mid afternoon.

6. Avoid coffee after 3pm. Choose herbal tea and a handful of nuts instead.

7. Check in emotionally. Ask the question to whom, where or what am I expending my vital energy?

Remember that life is a process. Something good is always coming. Look for the good in every moment. A feather landing at your feet, a found coin, an unexpected phone call or a visit from a friend is a sign that “The universe is with you.” Storms have come and we have always weathered them. Everything is connected and everyone is a link in the chain of your life.

Be the magnet that draws good things into your life.

Intent.com provides content and community for who you aspire to be–personally, socially and globally.

I can still remember the flavor, a synthetic, buttery and sugary confection that was velvet-like and somewhat cloying, and I can still remember the terror of having this benign sweetness blocking my airway. It was a butterscotch candy (the round variety routinely wrapped in brightly colored cellophane with resplendent ponytail twists on either side) and moments earlier it was a yet to be unwrapped treat that I had been holding out for, and now it was something I desperately wanted out of my throat.

I was probably choking for no more than 10 seconds when my mother took the necessary action of doing some modified form of the Heimlich and getting the darn thing out of my throat. The sight of the cracked and broken canary yellow candy resting in the sink basin served as a reminder never to allow one of those butterscotch candies to pass through my lips ever again.

I was lucky, as I had a parent there to help me, and my choking incident was relatively uneventful (but obviously eventful enough to recall some 30 years later), however many of these incidents don’t end so well. In 2000, 160 children died from an obstruction of the respiratory tract, and many of those obstructions were caused by food.

The ten foods that pose the highest choking risk for young children are hot dogs, peanuts, carrots, boned chicken, candy, meat, popcorn, fish with bones, sunflower seeds and apples.

A child is innocently gobbling down bits of a hot dog when a cylindrical chunk gets lodged in the back of his/her throat and then the panic sets in. The reason for this phenomenon is because children under 4 are at the highest risk, not only because their airways are small (the back of a toddler’s throat narrows to the diameter of a straw) but also because of the way their eating abilities develop. Front teeth usually come in at 6 or 7 months — so babies can bite off a piece of food — but the first molars, which grind food down, do not arrive until about 15 months, and second molars around 26 months.

There exist loads of warnings on small toys and retail items aimed at young children that reveal possible choking hazards, but very few of the above mentioned food items carry any sort of warning or advisory for parents or children. As reported in the New York Times last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation’s leading pediatricians’ group, asserts that food should be subject to as much scrutiny as toys, and be outfitted with the required warning labels, especially on foods that are known choking hazards. The AAP is making a recommendation to the Food and Drug Administration that these changes become standard.

However proactive this AAP proposal is, it may not be enough. The AAP is also suggesting that manufacturers of some of the offending items redesign some of their most dangerous foods — especially the hot dog, a leading choking hazard. For instance, a new hot dog that is soon to be marketed on the East Coast looks like your average hot dog in the package, but has eight deep slits that open when cooked, causing it to break apart into small pieces when eaten and therefore be far less of a choking risk. Of course many manufacturers are reluctant to take the next step and modify their products (how could popcorn really be modified?) as it would be logistically difficult and cost prohibitive.

While common sense surely plays a large role in this issue (e.g. don’t let your young children consume these offending items, especially without adult supervision) the question of culpability and liability factor heavy in this matter. Is parental vigilance enough or should food items (especially those marketed toward young children) come with suitable and visible warnings? Will this mean that we will soon need to put a warning label on every single edible item on Earth, as anything you could fit into your mouth holds a potential choking hazard?

Eric Steinman is a freelance writer based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He regularly writes about food, music, art, architecture and culture and is a regular contributor to Bon Appétit among other publications.

By Nicole Duncan, Natural Solutions

Convinced it will rain on the party you’re planning this weekend—and it’s only Monday? Turns out, those six days of unnecessary, perceived stress quite literally can make you “worried sick,” according to a new study.

Perceived stress versus actual stress: “Actual stress is something you experience in the moment, like a giving a presentation at work, or fighting with your spouse,” says Jim Claussen, a chiropractor from Chicago. On the other hand, if you’re worried about the economy crashing or your 401(k), then you’re stressing over something you have no control over, and your stress is perceived, he says. Your body can recover from actual stress, but long-term perceived stress puts you in constant fight-or-flight mode, fatigues your adrenals, and compromises your immune system. “It’s as if you were to prop your car up on blocks, weigh the gas pedal down, and let it run all night,” says Claussen. “You can’t expect to walk into the garage the next morning and have any gas left.” The study found that people with the highest perceived stress had 80 percent fewer protective antibodies in their blood than those who were actually stressed out. Try these tips to help you chill out:

Put stress on a shelf. “It’s definitely an art,” says Claussen, “but if you can find an off button for your stressor, you’ll waste a lot less time and effort worrying about something you can’t control.” Remember that party you’re fretting about? Put your worries about the weather “on the shelf,” and come Saturday when it’s time to deal, “pull it off the shelf.”

Breathe with your belly. Lie down on the floor with a book on your belly. Inhale through your nose, feel the book rise, and hold for four seconds. Exhale all the air out through your mouth, letting the book lower. Repeat four times. Deep inhales stimulate your lungs and trigger the parasympathetic nervous system to put you in a calming state while deep exhales help drain the lymphatic system.

Meditate. Take 30 minutes out of your day to meditate, do yoga, or t’ai chi to help reduce stress hormones, slow down your heart rate and blood pressure, and balance your system.

Natural Solutions: Vibrant Health, Balanced Living offers its readers the latest news on health conditions, herbs and supplements, natural beauty products, healing foods and conscious living. Click here for a free sample issue.

   To learn more about Personal Chef To Go, please visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

By Petra Heinze, Yoga+

Ever notice how your hand automatically reaches for something sweet when you are under pressure or feeling blue? Sugar hits the spot when a quick fix seems in order. But it’s a roller-coaster ride—the higher the lift, the harder the crash; in the aftermath you end up more stressed and depressed than before. Does this mean we should deprive ourselves of sweets completely?

According to Ayurveda, sweets are one of the six tastes necessary for a balanced diet. If we deny our body the sweetness it needs in small quantities, then the balance among the tastes is disrupted, and we tend to overindulge by way of compensation. Some measure of sweetness is necessary to preserve balance.

If you balance sugar with protein, fat, and carbohydrate, it won’t have a jarring effect on the body because it will enter the system more slowly. Consequently, you’ll be spared the rapid rise and equally rapid fall in your blood sugar level, which causes emotional highs and lows.

I have collected a few of my all-time favorites to satisfy both Western and Eastern palates. They’re delicious and healthy. Most are high in protein—in the form of dairy and nuts—though some non-dairy recipes are included (for more vegan desserts, click here). The recipes offer a choice of sweeteners and incorporate seasonal fruits, as either ingredients or toppings. Unless otherwise specified, the recipes serve 4–6 people.

Kheer

Of all Indian sweets, kheer is considered to be the most sattvic. It is delicate, mild, nourishing, and easy to digest, so it keeps the mind light for meditation.

1⁄2 gallon whole milk
3⁄4 cup rice (preferably basmati)
1⁄2 cup sugar or other sweetener
1⁄4 cup grated fresh or dried coconut (optional)
1⁄4 cup raisins (optional)
1⁄4 cup cashews (optional)
1⁄4 teaspoon coarsely ground fresh green cardamom
10 strands saffron, ground
1⁄8 cup slivered almonds (for garnish)

On high heat, bring the milk to a boil. If you are using lowfat milk be careful, as it scorches easily. Put the rice in a strainer and rinse it with cold water before adding it to the boiling milk. Stir the mixture, making sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom, until the milk starts to boil again. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low. While the rice is cooking, crack the cardamom pods and grind them with a mortar and pestle. Then grind the saffron separately in the mortar with 1⁄4 teaspoon water. When the rice is done and the milk is thick, turn the heat off and stir in the green cardamom and saffron. Add the sweetener of your choice and the coconut, raisins, or cashews. Pour the kheer into a serving dish and garnish it with almonds. It may be served warm or cold.

Souji Halva

This is so nourishing that it is almost a meal in itself.

11⁄2 cups souji (cream of wheat)
3⁄4 cup turbinado sugar
1⁄3 cup ghee (clarified butter)
1⁄2 teaspoon fresh green cardamom powder
3 tablespoons golden raisins
4 cups cold water
3 tablespoons coconut (optional)
3 tablespoons slivered almonds (optional)
3 tablespoons cashews (optional)

Mix souji and ghee with your hands. Spread it evenly in a 9″ x 13″ cookie sheet and bake at 350º for 5 minutes. Stir, and return the mixture to the oven for approximately 10 minutes (or until the mixture turns pinkish-brown).

Put the roasted souji mixture in a half-gallon pot with the water. Stir well, and cook over medium heat, partially covered, for approximately  5–7 minutes, until it’s really thick. Add the sugar and cardamom. Stir until the mixture becomes thin again. Cook it for another 5–7 minutes, partially covered. When it thickens, stir in the raisins. Pour the mixture onto a greased platter and top with your choice of almonds, cashews, or coconut, patting the topping down. Let the halva cool for about 30 minutes before cutting it. You can either chill it or serve it at room temperature.

Rasmalai

Fresh, sliced strawberries make a tasty and colorful topping for this scrumptious dessert.

3 cups paneer
1⁄2 cup nonfat milk powder
1⁄4 cup confectioners’ sugar or ground sugar
Cashews and pistachios (for garnish)

Blend the milk powder and paneer in a food processor until smooth, then mix in the sugar by hand. Spread the mixture evenly in a greased casserole dish and pat it down. Bake at 350º for 5–7 minutes until the top has a pinkish-brown tinge. Let it cool, and cut it into diamonds, hearts, triangles, squares, or any shape you like.

Sauce

1⁄2 gallon milk
1⁄4 teaspoon green cardamom powder
10 strands saffron, ground with
1⁄4 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon rosewater or 1 drop rosewater essence
1⁄2 cup sugar or other sweetener of your choice (optional)

To prepare the sauce, bring the milk to a boil, turn the heat to low, and simmer until it is reduced by half. Add the sweetener, rosewater, saffron mixture, and green cardamom powder. Stir well, and pour it over the rasmalai. Top with finely chopped pistachio and cashew nuts. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Peanut Butter Cookies

A classic treat for kids of all ages. Packed with protein, they’re great anytime.

3 3⁄4 cups whole-wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄2 cup nonfat milk powder
1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups turbinado sugar
Milk as needed
2 cups chocolate chips or peanuts (optional)

Blend butter, sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and baking powder. Sift the dry ingredients together. Add them to the butter mixture with the peanuts or chocolate chips (if you are using them), and mix with your hands. Add milk as needed to make the dough soft.

Make 1-inch diameter balls, and put them 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Press down with your fingers or the palm of your hand, and bake at 350º for 10 minutes. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Carob Treats

Take these highly nutritious treats along whenever you think you may need an extra boost.

1 cup ground sunflower seeds
1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts
1⁄4 cup carob powder
1⁄4 cup honey or rice syrup
8 ounces paneer
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄4 cup chopped dates (optional)
Ground almonds or coconut

Mix the ingredients in the order listed. If you are using dates, add them to the dry ingredients. Form the mixture into balls, and roll them in the ground almonds or coconut

Apple Crisp with Paneer Whip

An all-American favorite that’s a perfect way to end a meal. For variety, use peaches or nectarines.

8 big apples
3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1⁄4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)

Peel and core the apples. Slice them thin. Mix the dry ingredients and roll the apple slices in the mixture.

Topping

1⁄4 cup whole-wheat flour
1⁄2 cup rolled oats
5 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons sugar (optional)
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 cup granola

Mix the whole-wheat flour and rolled oats. Cut the butter into the mixture, and add the sugar, cinnamon, and granola. Mix well with your fingers.

Put the apple slices in a 9″ x 9″ baking dish. Add the topping and gently pat it down. Bake it at 425º for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350º and bake until the top is golden brown and the apples are done—approximately 30 minutes. It can be served either warm or cold, with or without paneer whip.

Paneer Whip

This simple topping is excellent on fruit salads. It’s best fresh. After a day or two, you may need to thin it with whey, milk, or water, and blend it again.

1 cup paneer
1⁄3 cup milk (either whole or 2 percent)
1 teaspoon honey (or sweetener of your choice)
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla

Blend until smooth. Add more milk for a thinner consistency, as desired. For variety, substitute fresh fruit such as strawberries or mango for the sweetener, or try blending in a few dates and ground almonds.

Custard Delight

This delectable custard makes an elegant party dessert, yet it’s easy to make.

2 cups whole milk
11⁄2 tablespoons white flour
1 tablespoon agar-agar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar

Topping

1⁄2 pint heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
1⁄4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup sliced strawberries

To make the custard, bring the milk to a boil in a heavy pot. Mix the flour with a little water and add it slowly to the boiling milk, stirring constantly until the milk boils again. Turn the heat down, add the agar-agar, and let the mixture boil for five minutes. Then stir in the sugar and vanilla, and keep stirring a few minutes more. Cool the custard for 15 minutes before filling the serving bowls one-third full. Put it in the refrigerator until it sets—approximately 30 minutes.

Whip the cream until it forms peaks, then add the sugar and vanilla.

Just before serving, top the custard with whipped cream and garnish with slivered almonds and strawberries.

Petra Heinze is a native of Germany who spent several years as head cook in an ashram before going to India to learn from professional cooks, Ayurvedic physicians, and yoga practitioners. She draws on traditional family recipes and her knowledge of spices to create dishes with the distinct flavors and health-promoting qualities of Indian vegetarian cooking.

Yoga+ is an award-winning, independent magazine that contemplates the deeper dimensions of spiritual life--exploring the power of yoga practice and philosophy to not only transform our bodies and minds, but inspire meaningful engagement in our society, environment, and the global community.