Have you ever been tempted to eat dessert before a meal? If so, you’re not alone. I’ve certainly thought about that (and occasionally done it), and I’m sure plenty of others have as well. In fact, I started thinking about this after reading this passage in the book A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko – this is about the author’s great-uncle, who worked in mines: “Mac… always made sure to take his cake out of his lunch bucket and gobble it down first, so that if the tunnel c

Have you ever eaten because you’re bored? I know I have. I think that’s the case for a lot of people who struggle with their relationship to food. After all, food is always there to provide a distraction and give you some enjoyment, so it’s not surprising that someone might eat when bored. But if you’re not truly hungry, eating out of boredom will likely backfire. You’re liable to end up eating too much – especially if you pair eating with scrolling on your phone or watchin

A few weeks ago, I had a wisdom tooth removed. Luckily, it was a simple extraction, but they still wanted me to stick with pretty soft foods for a week. And the dentist told me it was one of the only times a doctor would tell me I should eat ice cream (and I took the advice). I had planned for this, at least, so in addition to ice cream, I made sure to have plenty of other soft foods on hand: yogurt, bananas, applesauce, Jello, soup, cornbread, ratatouille, roasted broccoli,

Last year I got an Apple Watch, and one of the features has got me thinking about whether I’m walking to score points with the watch or for pleasure. The feature is a set of three rings that represent different things. One is to encourage you to stand, and by default it’s set to close the ring if you stand and move around a little for at least one minute during an hour, for 12 hours. Another ring tracks movement, though really it tracks how many calories you’ve burned by mo

I’ve been thinking a lot about food insecurity lately. Not because I’ve run into problems, but because I know so many are struggling. Food prices keep going up, and here in the U.S., SNAP benefits have been cut. I also recently started training to volunteer at a local food pantry called Project FEED. It’s conveniently within walking distance of my condo, and I’ve gone twice now. It’s made me think more about those who don’t have enough to eat. Thinking about hunger differ

For many people, it can be hard to juggle busy schedules and also eat the way they want to. Having nutritious meals can involve a fair amount of planning and preparation, which can be tricky to fit in, especially if you don’t even have much time for the meal itself on some days. If this is something you struggle with, here are a few tips that may help, as well as some suggestions of things to avoid. 1: Prep ahead of time One of the most helpful things is preparing your me

I’ve always been a Star Trek fan, but over the past few years, I’ve gotten back into it pretty heavily. Part of the reason is because of all the new shows – Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, and most recently Star Trek: Academy. It’s also because I discovered the YouTube channel TrekCulture, which reviews the shows and provides other Trek info. That’s where I first learned about Nana Visitor’s w

I just got back from my annual camping trip to Baxter State Park, and as is often the case, it got me thinking a lot about food. That tends to happen when you have to pack all the food you might need for a few days at once while knowing you won’t have easy access to a store. I don’t only think about the amount of food, though. I also have to consider what types of food to bring since my friends and I all have food restrictions. This means we can’t always have what might be

When you try to eat more mindfully, you may discover that you don’t need to eat as much as you think you do. This means you’ll probably eat less, between eating less often and not eating as much at a time. But even with the best intentions, it can sometimes be challenging to eat less for a few reasons. 1: Habit One of the greatest difficulties is changing your habits, and habits can be very sticky, especially food habits. Consider when you eat. If you’re used to eating

If you do much cooking or baking at home, you probably have several tools to help you. Maybe a favorite cutting board or knife, a blender, a favorite baking dish or pot, or more. I don’t know about you, but these aren’t things I think about that often. I tend to take them for granted, but in reality, they’re extremely helpful, and I likely wouldn’t do nearly as much cooking or baking without them. So, I thought I’d take a minute to appreciate a few kitchen tools. Stand