Coffee Boosts Productivity - and Positivity

As if I needed another reason to drink my morning Joe, a new study has sent me for a Venti refill. Apparently, coffee not only gives you a morning jolt, but it also boosts positivity.

Researchers from Ruhr University in Germany found caffeine helps people recognize positive words quickly and more accurately. But, it has no effect on how people perceive negativity.

The results are chalked up to coffee's effect on dopamine, particularly in the brain's language center. But I beg to differ. I don't know if you've ever met me prior to my morning cup, but I'm the opposite of cheery, even on the best of days.

That being said, this study may actually be a wake up call to all of us non-morning people. The boosted response to positive language only happened after about 200 mg of caffeine - or about three cups of coffee. Drink up!

My Plate: Pumpkin Seed Superfood

You'd have to be living in a box to escape the storm of pumpkin-flavored everything that hails the arrival of autumn. But along with the marketing onslaught that brings in Halloween is the age-old tradition of pumpkin carving, and making your own homemade toasted pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin seeds are called a secret superfood in some circles. Not only are these bite-sized crunchies packed with high quality proteins, they are also valued for their diversity of antioxidants. The unique variety of which, "may provide them with antioxidant-related properties that are not widely found in food," according to the website World's Healthiest Foods.

Pumpkin seeds are also rich in minerals like zinc and magnesium, creating a combined effect that preliminary research suggests helps fight prostate and breast cancer.

Getting into the seasonal spirit, my family gathered for a carve-a-thon last night. As we pumped out some pretty spectacular designs, we weeded through the gooey, hair-like pumpkin flesh to pull out the seeds. And with an average 500 seeds per pumpkin, we had a lot to work with. Which is a good thing, because the scariest result of the evening wasn't our pumpkin designs - it was how addictive these toasted treat turned out!

Here's my step-by-step separating and toasting recipe that is guaranteed to make pumpkin seeds your new favorite snack:

Separation:
Scoop out pumpkin flesh into large bowl (we used a huge soup pot)
Pick out the bigger pieces and hairy webs of flesh
Fill bowl with water
Wait for seeds to float to the top, and the pumpkin flesh to sink
Scoop out floating seeds
*Repeat rinsing two or three times depending on how dirty your seeds are. Ours took two rinses.

Toasting:
In a separate bowl, combine extra virgin olive oil with dried chili flakes
Add pumpkin seeds and toss
Sprinkle pepper and a very generous amount of coarse sea salt
Toss mixture and lay out on baking pan
Toast at 350 degrees F (175 C) for 15-20 minutes
*Roasting longer than 20 mins may negate nutritional benefits, so keep an eye on your oven!

Let cool, and enjoy with your favorite pumpkin beer! 

What's in your Dopper?

If you've been on the road with me lately, you've probably seen me sporting a strange neon-orange toy. My new travel buddy is the Dopper water bottle, a Dutch eco-design made without the nasty plastic component BPA, and with a zero carbon footprint. It doubles as both a bottle and a cup-plus-carafe, and holds just about any beverage I'd like to drink on the go (hello roadies!).

But I'm not carrying this bottle just because of it's a great design and practicality. I'm also doing it because I want to actively promote tap water. Besides the fact it's is clean, fresh, and free, 40 percent of bottled water is simply repackaged tap water anyway, according to the documentary Tapped. So, I wouldn't know the difference. But what I do know is that with the Dopper, my water is a whole lot more stylish than what those other guys are selling - and cheaper!

Recently, I was lucky enough to meet the maker of the Dopper, Dutch designer Rinke van Remortel. He talked to me about his inspiration, sustainable design philosophy, and what he puts in his Dopper. 

What was the inspiration for the Dopper?

When I see people on the street with disposable water bottles, I always think that's not a nice sight. They are quite ugly and I thought it would be nice to have something that is more fashionable, more beautiful to see. I was already thinking of some sort of product, then I saw a contest online seeking a sustainable water bottle design, and I thought it was worth a try.

One of the things I love about the Dopper is it's both a bottle and a cup. Where did that idea come from?

When I started out, I wanted to have a bottle and a cup. I thought, when you are a woman or a lady, it's not so nice to be drinking out of a bottle. When you are at your desk or at home, it's nicer to use a cup. So, I wanted to have a cup that was nicely integrated into the design of the bottle. You can twist off the cap and use it as a bottle and drink right out of it. Or you can screw off the cup part and have a carafe and cup at the same time. 

I met a colleague of yours, and she told me the cup feature was more symbolic than practical. She said it works to "put water on a pedestal." What is your take?

Yes, that's indeed the story. The cup looks like an old fashioned cup or wine glass, which makes it more luxurious. So, it means water is put on a pedestal. Water is one of the things we need everyday and we don't really think about that everyday. For us in Western countries, it's a given fact that we have water, but in fact, it's a luxury.

So, are you using the design of the Dopper to send a message?

It's more than the Dopper itself, it's about eco-design. I think people are not really looking for eco-design when they are buying new products. They are not going to the shop saying, "I want a new bag, but it must be an eco-design bag." They just want a good bag. When they see an eco-design like this bottle, they first ask, "Does it look good?" And if it has another plus, like eco-design, that's another benefit. 

But you're a sustainable designer. There must be a more altruistic reason you're in this profession.

I concentrate on sustainable design, but I try to be different by combining sustainable with luxury. With the Dopper, I hope there are reactions from people who are not really focused on eco-design, but are thinking the Dopper is a nice product. Then they hear the story behind it, and get even more enthusiastic. Maybe that will encourage them to buy more of these products, or in the end to make some morality change. 

Will we see you using the Dopper, or catch you sipping bottled water?

I prefer tap water, but the water in the Netherlands is very good. I think in some countries, the water tastes like chlorine. Or people like mineral water better because of the story that it comes from the mountains and they think it's really pure and fresh. It's the marketing and the feeling behind bottled water that makes people think it's better. I never drink bottled water.

GMO: Yes or No?

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," laments Juliet to her forlorn lover in Shakespeare's famous play. As ahead of his time as he was, the Bard probably didn't know that he was bang on when it comes to genetically modified roses - or any other plant.

Genetically Modified Organisms are bacteria, yeast, plants, fish and even mammals that have had their genetics meddled with by scientists. Commonly known by the acronym GMO, these are the building blocks of genetically engineered foods. And they have been getting a lot of attention lately in California.

Educated eaters in the west coast state have decided they have a right to know if the food they buy contains GMOs. Their movement has led to Proposition 37, a genetically engineered foods labeling statute that will appear on the California ballot next month.

"We already have food labels showing nutrition, allergy information and other facts consumers want to know. This measure simply adds information telling us if food is produced using genetic engineering," a spokesperson for the Yes on 37 campaign group told the BBC.

Considering over 50 other countries require such labeling, this isn't such a ridiculous request. But if you ask the No on 37 activists, they beg to differ. According to them, such labeling would be "misleading."

"Prop 37 is a deceptive, deeply flawed food labeling scheme," says the Get the Facts section of their website. If passed, they say the statute "would ban the sale of tens of thousands of perfectly-safe, common grocery products only in California unless they are specially repackaged, relabeled or made with higher cost ingredients."

Indeed, if a label requirement such as this were passed in California, other states would have to comply with the new law to export there. That means it would have nationwide effects. And at the end of the day, we've already been eating GMO foods, so why make changes that would result in a higher cost for producers and consumers alike?

On the one hand, there are benefits to GMOs. They grow faster, require less pesticides and herbicides and can result in higher yields, which can mean big bucks for farmers. But, the impact they have on the humans that consume them isn't exactly clear.

GMOs are relatively new, and so is the research into their effects. While this fact alone has European eaters on the fence (GMO crops and imports are tightly regulated, if accepted at all), those in the States are of the view the food is safe.

The two sides to the GMO coin is exactly what has supporters on the defense, especially the biotechnology companies that produce them. They are concerned consumers will shy away from their foods out of fear.

Whether it's a well-founded worry or not, that attitude doesn't seem to address the root of this movement - the right to know. If my favorite lunchtime treat or bag of chips has GMO ingredients, I'll probably still stuff my face. And, I'd venture to guess I'm not the only one. But, at least we'd know what we're filling our mouths with.

Educated Eater: Free Range

Chickens running free, roaming pasture, pecking here and there and living the good life. It's this image that fuels the current food phenom of free-range, cage-free and free-roaming eggs. And, it's a great idea. Food that is treated well, tastes better, right? Then surely, these happy hen eggs are worth the premium price we're asked to shell out.

Well, apparently they'e not. According to Andrew Gunther, program director of Animal Welfare Approved (AVA), "commonly used food claims and terms like 'all natural' or 'free-range' – and even 'organic' – can actually mean very little."

In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture has no definition for what constitutes a cage-free farm. And their free-range requirements fall pretty flat, saying only, "producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside."

First of all, being allowed access to the outside doesn't exactly mean chickens live outdoors, or even make it outside on a daily basis. There are no USDA requirements on how long chickens must be outdoors or when, and no mention whatsoever of what constitutes outdoors. Patches of pasture count just as much as access to dirt, gravel or pavement.

These labels are hiding some horrific scenes, says Gunther, who writes on his blog of industrial farms where tens of thousands of "free-range" birds are kept indoors in a single house, where their outdoor access consists of nothing more than a tiny concrete area or an enclosed wooden porch.

Basically, these labels are little more than marketing magic. We as consumers are waking up to the fact that animal farmers - particularly chicken farmers - are getting by with inhumane practices. In response, snazzy new labels are being slapped on egg cartons willy-nilly to make us believe the change we want to see is happening. Well folks, it's not.

Beyond the impact on the animals, the unscrupulous claims by farmers are doing real damage to the true organic movement. Their labels allow them to supply huge numbers of eggs under the guise of free-range, effectively out-producing the little guys, who go to great lengths to produce a quality product.

Don't be force-fed meaningless marketing. Get educated and learn what labels mean. But more importantly, care enough about what you put in your body to go that extra mile.

Bacon Shortage? OMG!

Possibly the most disturbing headline ever hit us this week: a worldwide bacon shortage is upon us. According to Britain's National Pig Association, droughts both here and abroad have pushed up feed prices, causing farmers to limit herd numbers to cut down on costs. So, stores may be stocked full now, but the NPA says the "bacon supply is contracting fast."

Some people, like Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, are taking the news in stride. "The deal about a shortage of bacon is a bunch of baloney," he told USNews.com. But not everyone has such faith.

Count me among those fearing the impending 'porkapolypse.' And like any other bacon-obsessed binger, I want to make sure I eat as much of the heavenly hog meat as possible. So, this morning, post-workout, I took myself directly to the local Burger King to order their desert sensation: the Bacon Sundae.

"Oh my God," is the first thing I hear when I collect my order. The whispered words come from the young woman behind me. She leans closer to her companion, "Is that really a bacon sundae?!" Her eyes are wide and bug-like. I smile right at her, "Yes, it is."

I grab a seat at the restaurant and take in the preposterousness of a.) eating an ice cream sundae directly following one of the most intense workouts of my life, and b.) a bacon-freaking-sundae!

Honestly, I'm salivating, so I dive right in. And let me tell you, it was good. Well, the bacon was good. Crispy, juicy, and flavorful. All the things you love about bacon done just right. This bacon seemed even better than the strips they top off the burgers with. It was like it was specially cooked for me, for my sundae.
The sundae, on the other hand, didn't knock my socks off. Vanilla soft serve was never my favorite thing. But damn, that bacon!

I stuff my face in about three minutes flat. It's only after I'm staring at the bottom of the empty styrofoam cup that I realize I'm in public. Did anyone witness my gluttonous gorge? I look around, only to see the lady from before is walking toward me.

"How was it?" she asks, politely looking past the chocolate remnants on my lip. "Great," I reply.

"Imma get me one of those, too!" And before I can reply, she's at the counter. 

My Plate: Beer Marinated Pork Chops

When it comes to evening boozing, "eating is cheating," is what I always say. Unless, that is, you can incorporate your beverage of choice into your meal. And, with the surprising health benefits of beer being touted lately, I decided to do just that with the exceptionally drinkable Brooklyn Brewery's Oktoberfest for dinner.

A slew of recent research finds beer can be good for everything from boosting heart, bone and brain strength, to reducing your risk of stroke and cancer. Beer can even help you live a longer, happier life, according to one study that concludes, "If European beer drinkers stopped imbibing, there would be a decrease in life expectancy of two years - and much unhappiness."

No need to sell me! I'm ecstatic about the news, and ready to baste my local butcher's pork chops in brew.

My marinade is simple, and luckily not measurement specific (which is handy once you've had a few). I just threw a few of the following ingredients in a large bowl:

Good glug of Olive Oil
Splash Soy Sauce
Splash Worcestershire Sauce
1 Clove Garlic
Juice of half Lemon
Tsp Brown Sugar
Good glug Oktoberfest
Sprinkle Salt and Pepper

Voila! Taste to make sure it's sweet or savory enough (I had to add a few more splashes of Soy and Worcestershire for my liking), then lay the chops to wait for about an hour - or until you're sufficiently boozed to cook.

I broiled mine, and saved some of the marinade to add to my leafy veg side. Absolutely delicious result. Enjoy!

Educated Eating: FLOTUS in the Lunchroom

More fruit and veg, less salty, fatty foods, wholegrain options and meat alternatives: sounds exactly like my new diet mandates. But, this list isn't what's on the menu in my kitchen, it's what's revolutionizing American cafeteria foods.

That's right. Pizza, burgers, chicken fingers and fries are no longer the school dining staple. And hey, whose staple are these foods? I always thought that kind of eating was for every once in a while - or when I'm suffering an epic hangover, which I'm pretty certain pre-12th graders aren't (legally).

And First Lady Michelle Obama (FLOTUS), thinks the same way. As part of her lunchroom 'Let's Move!' campaign to curb childhood obesity, she started at the one place every American kid eats at least one meal - school.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 bases food fixes on medical and scientific research showing the startlingly upward trend in childhood obesity. Basically, it's a no-nonsense approach to providing a healthy, well-rounded meal in the middle of a child's day. The only problem - she didn't ask the kids' permission. And they aren't happy.

Turns out they have no interest in getting the maximum benefit out of their school lunches. They just want to eat! Leading their hungry voices is a group of Kansas high schoolers who just released their grips on the hugely viral "We are Hungry" video. 

The "We are Young" parody is catchy, pretty well produced, and I'd venture to say a bit tongue in cheek. But the video has become fodder for critics blasting the FLOTUS' lunchroom plan. In particular, the 850 calorie limit to a 9-12th grader's lunch option.

"Think of a high-school boy who works out at least three hours a day, not including farm work," said an employee from said Kansas high school. 

Okay, let's do that. His lunch is 850 calories, and I'd think his breakfast and dinner are also in that ballpark. That puts him upwards of 2500 calories a day, not including the odd snack or - gasp! - soda. So, he's probably fine, and sporting a pretty tight six-pack at that. Considering he's in a state where obesity rates are set to hit 62% by 2030, I'd say that high school kid is doing pretty well for himself. What's the problem? 

Well, the problem is the same here as it is with any revolution. Kids miss having their say in the lunchroom. School can be a monotonous, even painful experience for adolescents, and their only escape each day is at lunch. I remember my own cafeteria days, and my go-to lunch staple: a six pack of Entenmann's powdered sugar donuts. Ahhh, that sweet, sugary escape!

But that brings me to another hugely important topic that seems to be gobbled up in the lunchroom debate: eating disorders. I'd binge on my the donuts, then purge for the rest of the day, through swim practice, show choir, and homework. It was cool to starve when I was in high school, and not surprisingly. Anorexia is the third most common illness among adolescents. 

Whether it's childhood obesity, or eating disorders, the cure begins with education. The FLOTUS' efforts - and the controversy it stirs up - will at least get people learning more about what eating healthy is all about. 

Now, if only she could just tackle that damn cafeteria table pecking order thing, the world would be a better place.