Two (more) versions of Edamame Hummus...before I turn of the computer for a week

I am going to try to unplug for a week. We'll see if I can do it? And why does this seem like such a big deal? Hmmm, this must be why I am making myself truly unplug.

But, before I actually turn my computer off, I promised to share the quick recipe for Edamame Hummus with a friend. When I originally posted my recipe for Edamame Hummus, I was really trying to bump up the protein and I'd added tofu. But depending upon the day I make it, what I have in the house, and whether my kids are going to be bringing it to school/camp (in which case it needs to be nut free) the recipe changes a bit. The basics are the same though: edamame + olive oil + lemon juice + kosher salt. It is delicious (and so quick and easy) no matter how you make it.

The edamame hummus pictured above (which is the one I served up this week) is simply:

Super Quick (Nut-Free) Edamame Hummus

Edamame (cooked according to the package)
Lemon juice (to taste, I like a lot of lemon juice)
Olive Oil
Kosher salt
Dash of cumin
Pop everything into your Cuisinart and pulse until desired consistency, thinning with a bit of water if necesary.

Another Day's Version of Super Quick Edamame Hummus (with nuts)

Edamame (cooked according to the package)

Walnuts

Fresh Mint
Lemon juice (to taste, I like a lot of lemon juice)
Olive Oil
Kosher salt
Pop everything into your Cuisinart and pulse until desired consistency, thinning with a bit of water if necesary.

This is one of those recipes that kids can help make...I mean, what child doesn't love to be the Cuisinart button pusher?

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Many more good ones to come...have a great week.

Rebuke

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." -- Revelation 3:19

I've come to love the rebuke of the Lord. It's a comfort to know that the Creator of the universe loves me enough to give me that kind of personal guidance. And the great thing about God is that when he rebukes he also gives the way out. I came across this quote today:

"I don't mind the rebuke of the Lord. When people rebuke us, they leave us feeling bad. But when the Lord rebukes us, He gives the answer to our lack. After telling us what is wrong, He says, "I will show you the way." -- Ruth Ward Heflin, "Glory, Experiencing the Atmosphere of Heaven"

God most often disciplines his children in private. And if we don't heed that warning, a public correction is sure to follow. With man we make excuses, try to hide our faults, and play the blame game. But with God there are no excuses. We can't fool him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Best to throw ourselves on the altar and let him pick up the pieces. God will not despise a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). Hallelujah!

What proportion of chemical leaks provoke mass hysteria?

Mass hysteria and not leaked chemicals was the likely cause of the symptoms experienced by those exposed in 16 per cent of hundreds of chemical leaks recorded in England and Wales between January 2007 and April 2008.

That's according to an analysis by Lisa Page and colleagues at the Institute of Psychiatry of 280 chemical leaks recorded by the Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards based at Chilton in Oxfordshire.

Otherwise known as 'mass psychogenic illness', mass hysteria is the occurrence of physical symptoms such as dizziness and nausea in more than one person, with no identifiable organic cause.

Page's team presented expert toxicologists and medics with vignettes of the incidents (plus further information where necessary) and had them rate the possibility that the documented symptoms, when present, of those exposed could have been caused by the chemicals involved. Among the incidents were a spillage of phosphoric and hydrochloric acid outside a domestic residence, and the opening of a container from South East Asia at a distribution centre (further examples).

In total, the experts' verdict was that 19 of the incidents involved physical symptoms that were most likely caused not by the suspected leak but by mass psychogenic illness - that equates to 7 per cent of all incidents analysed and 16 per cent of those in which physical symptoms were reported.

Incidents at schools and hospitals and those involving reports of an odour were more likely to trigger mass psychogenic illness. By contrast, factors related to emergency response such as the presence of police or paramedics were not relevant.

This is the first ever attempt to provide a formal estimate of the prevalence of mass psychogenic illness within a given context. 'Our findings suggest that mass psychogenic illness is an important differential diagnosis in a substantial minority of chemical incidents,' the researchers concluded.

'The importance of early diagnosis rests in the considerable difference in management [of mass psychogenic illness] compared with other chemical incidents,' the researchers added. 'Mass psychogenic illness is best managed by reassurance, separating symptomatic from non-symptomatic psychogenic persons, minimising unnecessary medical procedures and providing a credible explanation for symptoms. In contrast, casualties from mass toxic incidents may require decontamination, antidotes, and invasive medical care.'
_________________________________

Page, L., Keshishian, C., Leonardi, G., Murray, V., Rubin, G., & Wessely, S. (2010). Frequency and Predictors of Mass Psychogenic Illness. Epidemiology DOI: 10.1097/EDE.0b013e3181e9edc4

Link to Psychologist magazine feature article on dancing plagues and mass hysteria.

What is Your Favourite Pad?

Not Ipad la.

I’m talking about your monthly girly pad.



Here’s a photo of me sitting in my office.




Yes I have an office. *surprised surprised*

As in I do go to an office, I do have my dedicated desk where I have my laptop and monitor screen placed, and I even have my own pink office chair! (but no I don’t have a job T_T, yet)




Oh, what’s that on the chair?

Hah! That, my friend, is my favourite pad!




My Whisper Ultra, which I store it in my office cabinet.

Who knows one might need it at any time of the day. In case of heavy flow, a quick fix to the toilet will just do the job. Leaving you feeling all fresh and lovely again! ^^




You know how annoying it is when you sit all day long in an office on a heavy period day, soon you’d feel “icky” down there?

Well Whisper Ultra will provide you the dry feeling so you won’t squeeze your legs together the whole time while typing away on your keyboard.




Best way to keep fresh and dry all day long is to keep changing your pad often, for hygiene purposes. I bet there are a lot of you girls out there who wear one pad and last for the whole day.

Ew. It’s a big NO NO!

Always have a couple, if can the whole pack, ready whenever you’re in the office, keep one or two in your handbag when you go out and always wash (if you can) before you change a new one.

That way, you will stay hygienic clean and fresh throughout your whole period!


I love it because it’s slim.




So slim I can just slide it in my purse (because real girls don’t need pockets).



And won’t be obvious when you wear it with a pink tight! ;)


It’s pink.

And it matched my baby pink pouch and blackberry phone.


I call it my pink emergency kit.


With Whisper Ultra, I can keep on rocking in the office!




Keep motivated!




And keep me fresh and dry all day long.




Actually I just want to post all three photos up. :p

A True Paradise for Singles, Couples and Families.

Imagine being cast away to a private beach...

Where you don't have to worry about anything, not accommodation,

not food nor drinks,

not even spending on activities.

Everything is covered for.

In fact, there would be free-flow of cocktail drinks all day long.

There would be hot babes and good-looking hunks entertaining you, serving you drinks and fruits all day long, talking to you wherever you go, wherever you rest, or whenever you want to party.

Even better, performing for you, every night.

they're actually pretty fit and gorgeous people, this lighting didn't do them justice.

Imagine the perfect romantic getaway, for you and your love one.

or you and your single friends, or just you.

And you party every night away, with a or a few random foreign strangers.

Then you go back.

Sleep.

Wake up the next day.

And do it all over again.

This was the feeling I had when I spent a 4D3N stay over at Club Med Cherating two months ago.

Never have I known such a organisation for travellers existed, or rather, never have I known Club Med was such an organisation.

For the next two posts, I will show you what I mean.

For couples, families, and single bachelors and ladies out there, you'd find yourself a paradise.

The concept, is gonna be mind-blowing.

The Special Issue Spotter

We trawl the world's journals so you don't have to:

Developing flexible and adaptive leaders for an age of uncertainty (Consulting Psychology Journal: Research and Practice).

Computational models of the brain (NeuroImage).

In Memoriam: Stewart H. Hulse - one of the founders of research on animal cognition (Learning and Motivation).

The future of emotion research (Emotion Review).

Disasters and their impact on child development (Child Development).

Animal models of amnesia (Neuropsychologia).

Football fouls more likely to be given when play heads left

A simple perceptual bias could influence football referees' judgements about whether a foul occurred or not. That's according to Alexander Kranjec and colleagues, who had 12 football players at the University of Pennsylvania look for half a second each at 268 static images of one player tackling another and decide whether a foul had been committed. Unbeknown to the participants, 134 of the pictures were simply mirror opposites of the other 134.

The key finding was that more fouls (66.5 vs. 63.3 - a statistically significant difference) were judged to have occurred when assessing the images in which movement was captured in a leftward direction than when assessing the same images mirror-reversed and therefore featuring implied rightward motion. The researchers think this anomaly may have to do with our bias (at least in cultures that read from left to right) for rightward motion. Motion from right to left is perceived as less natural and this may be responsible for influencing judgements about fouls during play in that direction. Apparently film directors exploit this same bias by having villains arrive on-screen from the right.

Kranjec's team said their finding has implications for refereeing. The most popular system, known as the 'left diagonal refereeing system' (see picture), in which the referee runs a diagonal axis between the two left-hand corners of the pitch, results in the referee witnessing tackles in both goal areas primarily from a right-to-left perspective, thus making judgments of fouls in these areas more likely - an advantage to attackers. This is okay because it applies to both teams. What's important, Kranjec and colleagues warn, is that the referee doesn't switch to a 'right diagonal system' half-way through a match, potentially penalising a losing side that needs to attack yet no longer enjoys the benefits of this perceptual bias when playing in offensive areas.

'These results ... suggest that the effects of a low-level perceptual mechanisms could alter a decision, change the result of a game and perhaps, the fortunes of nations,' the researchers said.
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Kranjec A, Lehet M, Bromberger B, & Chatterjee A (2010). A sinister bias for calling fouls in soccer. PloS one, 5 (7) PMID: 20628648

Cool Beach Biker

It would just be any normal beach shot,

until you spot something unusual in the photo below.

Look closely at a tiny figure on the bottom right corner.

It was so awesomely cool.

I was just strolling along the beach (way away from the sun) when I spotted this dude riding his cool bike along the beach, like some lone ranger biker in a Grease movie.

I want to do that. But with an ATV. (I can't ride a bike *shy*)

What's the link between left-handedness and drinking behaviour?

Back in the 70's, psychologist Paul Bakan published a short research report in which he noted that among 47 inpatients on an alcoholism ward, 7 were left-handed - more than you'd expect based on the approximate 10-per cent prevalence of left-handedness in the general population. Bakan described his observation as 'incidental' but according to Kevin Denny, the idea of an alcoholism-handedness link has proven sticky, with some commentators suggesting the stress of being left-handed in a right-handed world is to blame.

Several studies through the years have attempted to replicate the left-handed-alcoholism link but most have relied on small samples and any way the results have been inconsistent. Denny's contribution is an examination of data from the SHARE survey involving over 25,000 people from 12 countries. Left-handers aren't more prone to risky drinking, Denny finds, but on average they do drink more often.

Denny made his finding after categorising survey participants based on their self-reports as either heavy drinkers (those who drink 'almost everyday' or '5 or 6 days a week') or light drinkers (less than once a month or not at all for last six months). There was no evidence that handedness was related to excessive drinking, but left-handers were significantly less likely to be in the light drinker category than right-handers, suggesting that, on average, a left-hander is more likely than a right-hander to drink at moderate levels.

'There is no evidence that handedness predicts risky drinking,' Denny wrote. 'Hence, the results do not support the idea that excess drinking may be a consequence either of atypical lateralisation of the brain or due to the social stresses that arise from left-handers being a minority group.'

Denny acknowledges his study has limitations - all participants in the SHARE survey are over 50, so it's possible his findings don't generalise to younger people. Related to this, it's possible that some heavy-drinking left-handers died before the age of 50, although their numbers are likely to be small. Another potential shortcoming is that some participants categorised as non-drinkers may have been problem-drinkers in recovery.
_________________________________

Denny, K. (2010). Handedness and drinking behaviour. British Journal of Health Psychology DOI: 10.1348/135910710X515705

Spotted

Spotted.

Confession of a stranger along an East Coast beach.

N dressed red hot against a blue theme event, was this a sign of rebelliousness?

Where exactly was N?

Well, something tells me Poseidon's triton has something to do with it.

Tune back in to find out more.

You know you love me.

Xoxo.

Simple Weekend Brunch: Veggie Hash

I wish I could say that I toodled out to our local farmer's market, two kids in tow this morning, and put a seasonal bounty on the table. But, the reality is: my husband's off playing tennis with the guys, I've got two kids who are totally beat from a big week in the sun, and I really wanted to sneak off and read during the quiet period when my kids were immersed in their LEGO creations.

Still, on a moments notice, we had a fabulous breakfast together. It wasn't the freshest, but it hit the spot. One of the secrets to being able to whip up quick, yummy meals for your family is to have a well-stocked pantry and freezer.

Brunch Veggie Hash
(4 servings)

1 package of Trader Joe's Country Potatoes with Haricots Verts and Wild Mushrooms (found in the frozen section)
6 eggs (or more if you'd like leftovers or your family is bigger)
handful of shredded Parmesan

Heat the contents of the country potato package in a medium fry pan. When potatoes and veggies are just about warmed through, add the eggs and cheese. Scramble everything together until eggs are cooked. Serve to your family. Don't mention there are mushrooms in there if your child hates mushrooms. Chances are they won't even notice them in the hodge podge of delicious flavors.

I served the veggie hash with biscuits smothered in strawberry jam, sections of a juicy orange, and dried cranberries (my little one's request...) I passed on the cranberries and also forgot to photograph my plate before thoroughly enjoying this meal.

This week in lunches...

This photo pretty much sums up mornings here. Granted, this was taken minutes before we all pile into the car to go to camp (or Camp Mom as the case may be with my little one). They've been awake for hours at this point, and have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning and are ready to head out. I have sucked down a cup of coffee, made breakfast, made lunch, checked my email and maybe run a brush through my hair. Maybe. Anyway, I have lunch packing down to a few minutes, but the contents within are still packed with care. This week was not nearly as "gourmet" or adventuresome as some weeks, but since many of you emailed saying you liked to see what I was packing, here's what was in the lunchbox this week:

Monday: a small container of crunchy dried fruit (that's the full bag in the photo, but one bag can be split between two lunches), some carrot sticks, a slice of watermelon, (leftover, no I am not up grilling in the morning thank you very much) chicken apple sausage, a lemonade, Yo Kids yogurt tube, and the mini Fig Newtons I caved and bought while we were at the market together.

Tuesday: (which for the life of me I cannot figure out why it keeps flipping on its' side when I load the photo that is right side up on my computer?!) featured cream cheese & jelly on whole wheat (cut with a star cookie cutter), organic bell pepper slices, carrot sticks, a tub of apple sauce, lemonade and those dark things up top (or on the right as the sideways case may be) are Trader Joe's Oreo O cookies (hey, I pick my battles when shopping with my three-year-old...).

Wednesday: today's lunch was meant to be easy on the wiggly teeth-- Boursin cheese spread on a a whole wheat wrap then cut into bite-sized pinwheels, lemonade, 2 yogurt squeeze tubes, a banana, bite-sized cheese crackers and bite-sized pieces of red pepper.

Thursday: the wiggly teeth are hanging in there and making biting difficult-- apple sauce, animal crackers (which came home untouched b/c he couldn't open the package), tiny carrot "pennies", a yogurt tube, raisins, and pretzels (also untouched) along with cream cheese & jelly on whole wheat (I know I am really pushing the limit sending in heart-shaped sandwiches).

Friday: lemonade, Trader Joe's fruity flakes (which I think I like more than my kids), another Yo Kids squeeze tube of yogurt, chunks of watermelon, goldfish, a whole wheat wrap with Boursin cut into pinwheels, and some chickepa salad that is high protein and I know that he likes.