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If you’ve ever wanted to make homemade ketchup, but found it a little too fussy for your taste, the slow cooker is about to change that. Short of measuring the ingredients for you, it takes care of all the heavy lifting, slowly producing you a deep, vibrant sauce that’s like nothing you’ll ever taste from the grocery store.
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The ice cream truck may have shunned the streets of the deep-woods neighborhood I grew up in, but my parents made sure that my brother and I didn’t miss out on the joy of a Popsicle on a hot summer day. They kept a second freezer in the basement, and though I’m sure it was used for important things like storing meat, vegetables, and the odd set of important documents, it was reliably stocked with what seemed to be a never-ending supply of Flav-Or-Ice Pops. The large blue box sat plainly within our reach on the bottom shelf, so my brother and I helped ourselves whenever a craving struck.
Twenty years later, the sweet relief I seek on a hot summer day has turned more liquid in nature. Although I’ll never quite get over the nostalgia of a simple, brightly colored ice pop, time changes things. In this case, it’s for the better. After all, what higher honor could a childhood favorite achieve other than growing up itself?
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For today’s edition of Dear Mark, I’m answering two reader questions. First, I answer a very specific question about blackstrap molasses, that nutrient-dense sweetener with the distinctive taste. How can a person who hates molasses work it into their diet? Next, I address concerns surrounding a set of healthy whole grain studies that I’m sure you’ve been hearing about. Are whole grains really healthy? Will they make you live long and prosper? Is there something unique to whole grains we’re missing out on?
Let’s go:
Hey Mark? Could you do something about how to incorporate blackstrap molasses into the diet? Everything I try is disgusting.
If you do dairy, mixing a tablespoon into a cup of milk is probably the most palatable. It’s downright delicious.
Add it to coffee, but only if you also add cream. Make sure not to add too much. Aim for slight sweetness. Once you start using blackstrap molasses to make foods taste sweet, you’re overdoing it. It gets gross fast.
A buddy of mine swears by a molasses smoothie: raw milk, molasses, crushed ice, instant coffee. He also agrees that you shouldn’t add so much molasses that it gets sweet, because that’s how you know you’ve gone too far.
Blackstrap goes well with winter squashes, highlighting the subtle nutty sweetness of a butternut, a delicata, an acorn. Drizzle thin ribbons, follow with salted butter, and you’re good to go.
This sounds weird, but trust me. Next time you have a handful of mixed nuts, add a little drizzle of blackstrap on top. It helps if the nuts are salted.
I’ll sometimes mix a tablespoon of blackstrap with a tablespoon of cider vinegar in a cup, fill it with ice, and add sparkling water. Quite refreshing and rejuvenating after a long hot hike or game of Ultimate.
Molasses ganache is nice. Melt 85% dark chocolate with a tablespoon of molasses in some heavy cream. Maybe a pinch of cayenne.
You might just have to tough it out, pour a tablespoon, and take it directly. Tell yourself that you’re getting 25% of the magnesium, 20% of the calcium, and 13% of the potassium you need for the day in that one tablespoon. You can handle having something gross in your mouth for few short moments.
Hi Mark:
I’m assuming that you are already planning on responding to this, but just in case, I’d love to see what you think about this recommendation – 90 grams of grains a day?!
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/eat-whole-grains-live-longer/?
Thanks,
CKemper
Just like all the others, these findings and recommendations are based on observational studies: research which tracks correlations, not interventions.
And like all the others, it can’t make accurate recommendations. The same problems apply:
Lack of true control. We’re comparing whole grain eaters to refined grain eaters. Everyone who’s “normal” eats grains. As much as this movement has taken off, the vast majority of the population eats refined, not whole grains. “Across all age groups…the public exceeds recommendation intakes of refined grains.” Does the analysis include a “Primal” group of people avoiding all grains—refined and whole—but eating tubers, vegetables, and fruit? The increase in mortality among the folks eating refined grains may be relevant for the folks eating refined grains, but that’s not you. That’s not my readership. I’d love to see that group pitted against healthy whole grain consumers.
Healthy user bias. “Everyone knows” whole grains are healthy. You’d imagine that people who choose whole grains are going to be following other healthy lifestyle and diet practices, right? Well, the authors of the study came to the same conclusion, admitting that “people with a high intake of whole grains might have different lifestyles, diets, or socioeconomic status than those with a low intake.”
The most believable explanation—and the only potential causal mechanism they explore in depth—is that the fiber grains provide has a beneficial effect on the gut biome, producing short chain fatty acids and reducing inflammation. I buy this, actually. For instance, most Americans get the majority of their paltry intake of resistant starch via whole grains, because for most Americans, eating green bananas and plantains, cooking and cooling potatoes, and making potato starch smoothies are rare behaviors (it is a little weird when you stop and think). If soluble, fermentable fibers like inulin and resistant starch are behind the supposed benefits of whole grains, shouldn’t the soluble, fermentable fibers found in non-grain, totally Primal foods work just as well?
The fact is that if you’re gonna eat grains, whole ones are healthier. If you’re going to obtain a large portion of your energy intake from grains, eating the ones with more micronutrients is better than eating the ones with none. That’s what this study says. It can’t say much about your Primal way of eating, though. We need direct comparisons to do that.
Don’t lose sleep over this one. If you’ve got a family member eating whole grains, and they appear to be healthy, they’re probably going to be okay.
That’s about it for today, folks. I hope these answers helped, and if you have anything to add (or ask), do so down below!
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Summer is prime grilling season. Any main course you make in the presence of a smoky flame immediately takes on the taste of the season, but the real question is, what side dishes will you make to go alongside your burgers, steak, or grilled chicken breast? That’s where the fun really comes in.
Here are 27 of our favorite summer sides — including everything from grilled cabbage to a colorful summer squash gratin — that play well with dinner from the grill.
Originally posted at: http://www.nerdfitness.com/
Welcome to the greatest game ever created.
Like other successful online games like World of Warcraft, Destiny, or Everquest, this game is always online. But it’s always offline, too.
At any point in time, there are over 7+ BILLION people playing.
Often applauded for its realism, known for its punishing but rewarding skill system, and regularly accused of being unfair, it’s the best selling game of all time.
In this game, L.I.F.E. (kind of an unoriginal title), you’re forced into a random starting character and have to complete a period of mandatory leveling up. After that though, you are free to choose your profession, develop your skill trees, and pick the quests YOU want to do.
I’m no expert at this game – In fact, there’s quite a bit about it I don’t know yet – but I wanted to put together a guide on the basics to make sure you’re enjoying it too. Fully understanding a few of the game’s mechanisms could make playing a WHOLE lot more fun.
In an interesting twist on the modern video game, instead of getting to fully customize the look, height, race, and shape of your character at the start, this is all randomly determined and assigned.
This means we don’t get a pre-game screen where we spend hours customizing eyebrow height, nose depth, race, genetic traits, and natural buffs; the system just spits out a character at random. This is the character you have to play as for the rest of the game.
This might sound horrifying to those who like to play games with a good degree of character customization, but these are just our starting stats and attributes. Eventually there are quests you can complete or places you can visit to customize many of these stats. Some stats and physical attributes, however, are set in stone.
Whether you are 6’5″ male and who can build muscle easily, or your character came with a bullshit buff like “pre-existing tendency to develop heart disease and diabetes” – remember – you don’t get to choose your starting stats.
If for whatever reason you aren’t happy about your starting character, you have two options:
When you first start out in L.I.F.E., you’ll be in the care of 1 or 2 or other player characters. Again, you don’t really get to pick who is in charge of you and how good they are at the game – you’re just kind of… assigned to them.
Don’t bother complaining, it is what it is. It ain’t fair, but it’s the system our game developers put together. Just like some people have friends to power-level them in World of Warcraft, you might know people in L.I.F.E. who seem to have every advantage too, while you’re stuck with a wooden sword and tunic.
If you’re playing life on difficulty and started in a crappy zone with less than optimal caretakers, it will make your rise to a dragon-slaying hero even more satisfying.
Once you learn to develop two key skills (“walking” and “talking”), you’ll have to go through a series of mandatory quests that last approximately 9 months long, for a good 12 years or so. During these years of questing, you’ll learn such valuable skills as:
Now, you’re probably wondering what those skills have to do with being good in the later stages of L.I.F.E. Unfortunately, not much! This portion of the game was developed decades ago, and it hasn’t been patched or updated yet. Because it’s so outdated and imbalanced, you might find some players at this stage can be dicks, treating people poorly. Remember, this is not your fault; it’s an effect of bad game design.
Try not to worry so much; later the game gets much better, and so do the people.
Eventually, it will be time to choose your class and profession.
I told you this game was complex, right?
Good, because the whole economy and character class/profession system is crazy! You can have both a class (how you want to adventure), and a profession (how you want to make money). Like in World of Warcraft, where you might be a Warrior but also a Jeweler, here in L.I.F.E. you can be a Warrior and a programmer.
Your CLASS is based on your physical training. You can read all about it here:
WARRIOR: You love the idea of getting stronger and more powerful. Every day is an opportunity to move heavy things or test yourself against others in competition and prove your might.
SCOUT: Built for distance and efficiency rather than strength and power, you can outlast any animal on the planet. Your muscles are designed with endurance in mind, and you can cover great distances whenever necessary.
RANGER: A jack-of-all-trades, Rangers are well-equipped for any situation. You’re good at strength training and pretty good at covering distances when required, but neither is a specialty.
ASSASSIN:Every building can be climbed, every gap can be jumped, every obstacle can be conquered. Assassins spend most of their time training with functional body-weight exercises, as that’s usually the only thing they need to lift.
MONK: Monks can kick your ass with their fists and feet, and they can do it before you even know what’s happened. Incredibly agile, lightning fast, and loaded with power, Monks specialize in martial arts to stay in shape and destroy the opposition.
DRUID: Druids spend a majority of their time training in the arts of yoga, tai chi, and other movement-based disciplines. Each movement has a purpose, and that purpose is to further improve the dexterity, agility, and strength of the druid.
ADVENTURER: Adventurers are brave souls who fear nothing and are always curious about what’s over the next hill or across the ocean. They are often found working diligently with their allies to help ensure that every adventure leads down the correct path, exploring and learning for the sake of others.
Next, you can also pick a PROFESSION based on how you want to use your skills to provide a service or create a good for somebody. Some players can effectively take their CLASS and make it their PROFESSION (see Professional Athletes or Athletic Trainers and Coaches).
For the rest of us, we’ll need to pick a CLASS which denotes how we want to train, and then a PROFESSION that allows us to participate in the game’s economy system and buy things. Oddly enough, the far majority of in-game items will provide you with zero to little advancement, while others might even encourage your character to backtrack! We recommend spending as little money as possible on useless items in the game, and instead saving it up to spend on in-game experiences, quests, or travel.
Here’s the cool part about picking a CLASS or PROFESSION in L.I.F.E: Unlike in other RPGs, you can change either one literally at ANY point. If you wanted to quit your profession tomorrow, you can. There’s nothing stopping you other than social pressure from your fellow gamers or the cushy in-game lifestyle you’ve built for yourself!
Yeah, you might need to learn new skills. Or use some of the money you’ve saved up. Or spend money on fewer things. But you 100% have that choice. You’re never locked into a decision unless you refuse to change.
The same is true for CLASS. If you no longer want to be a warrior and instead want to train like a scout and run a 5k, go for it! You don’t need anybody’s permission, there’s no quest to complete or guardian to renounce. You just… do it.
L.I.F.E. scores major points for this freedom of choice, though many players don’t realize it and stay stuck in a path long after they’ve stopped enjoying it.
The ability system in L.I.F.E. is brilliant in that it’s custom to your activities: Much like Morrowind and the Elder Scrolls series, you don’t level up and get to spend specific “skill points” to make a skill or attribute better.
Instead, the more you use a particular skill the more likely you’ll be to improve that skill. Simple enough:
In another forward-thinking game development, some of these skills are stackable too.
For example, if you improve your speed through sprints, it might translate to improved endurance in long distance running. Or if you improve your strength, it might translate to improved performance at football, swimming or climbing. There are an infinite number of skills to improve, so our advice would be:
Based on your genetics and the stats your character rolled, you will probably be genetically predisposed to be good at certain things and bad at others. But this is a game, which means you can do whatever you freakin’ want – original stats and scaling be damned. Read more about that game mechanic here.
Now, you’re probably thinking “what makes this game enjoyable, and why should we develop these skills?”
Like many open world games (like GTA), there is a preset storyline and questing system, but the world is also entirely open. You get to choose how you play the game. That means the “why play the game” answer will be different for everyone.
Here are some of the examples of quests that you can embark upon and could be worth your time:
Many of these quests can be completed solo, but there are some challenging quests that can only be completed by a group of two or more. Remember, L.I.F.E. is a giant multiplayer game, so of course the creators put in some quests that require at least two people!
Even if you choose to play L.I.F.E. as mostly a single player game, you will have to spend a significant portion of time interacting with other players so you might as well make the most of it.
Getting some others to run through the game with you and partner up makes the game a lot easier (though more challenging in other ways!). Of course, you can play the game however you want, but for most people we strongly recommend you spend at least some of your time building these alliances (called friendships).
We have two major tips for you when going multiplayer in this game:
GROUP UP WHEN YOU CAN: If you want to group up with somebody for a task or to try a new profession or a skill, there’s millions of message board posts dedicated to people looking for new members. We even have free message boards on Nerd Fitness with tens of thousands of members who would love to group up with you. Sometimes you’ll ask to join a group and they’ll brush you off or say stupid things. What do you expect, it’s a game and some people are just asshats. Move on and find a group that is interested in having you.
Want to improve your running skill? Join a group of other scouts who complete running missions daily.
Want to try a new profession? Spend time with people in the new profession you’re after and learn from them!
Want to try a hiking quest into the wilderness? Partner up with those who have completed the quest before and want to run it again.
DON’T BE AN ASSHAT: When we level up, we have a chance to help others. Think of this like a big “Player vs Environment” game with occasional “Player vs Player challenges.”
A word of warning: like any game, if you get really good at life, or if you’re somebody
that others feel like got a lucky roll, they will hurl insults at you like:
Must be nice to be you…
YOU HACK! YOU CHEAT! YOU HACK.
If I had the system you had I would be so much better.
You suck. (And so on.)
Although some people do cheat at L.I.F.E., most don’t. They’re just doing what they can to play their character the best way they know how. Sometimes people are just upset at some of the game mechanics we talked about earlier – especially how you don’t get to choose your starting character and location.
The developers made an interesting decision, and chose to go with a HUD-less display in this first person MMO. By that, I mean there’s no on-screen information telling you where to go next, or how much life you have left, or how many more points you need until you level up. Just like the recently launched game The Witness, there’s no direction or instruction – it’s up to you to figure it out.
This has caused a significant uproar in the gaming community:
“How the hell am I supposed to know how close I am to the next level?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know where to go next!?”
“How do I know this is even helping me?”
To make it worse, the game has been criticized for having a tough grinding system. It doesn’t allow you to skip ahead in time or rapidly advance; you’re stuck developing skills and working on quests and missions while not being fully aware of what’s next.
The developers are fans of old-school gaming and responded: “Gamers these days are too soft. Remember the first Metroid? The first Legend of Zelda? There was no instruction! You just had to wander around and figure things out. Let’s get back to those days!”
This is why supplementing the mechanics of the game with your own mechanism to track yourself can be very helpful. It’s like giving the game an upgrade, mod, or add on just for you.
So, we suggest you track your progress on quests or your skill acquisitions. The game isn’t holding your hand, here, and you might need to figure out the best way to mod the game. But we have some great advice on that here and here.
Like Diablo’s Hardcore mode, You only get 1 life in this game.
Combine this with the previously mentioned “use it or lose it” skill development system, and the sooner you stop using skills, the more rapidly your overall Hit Points will decline.
This means for players past your 40-50th year or so in the game, continuing to develop your skills is the best possible way to stave off rapid Hit Point Decline. Death comes to us all in L.I.F.E., which means you need to make the most of your experience while playing right now:
Your character is going to die at some point. It’s inevitable. No character has cracked the infinite lives or immortal potion quests yet.
Which means you have two choices:
I’m going with option B.
Here’s how I’m choosing to play the game:
I’m a warrior-poet, with a focus on assassin skills. I love crafting tales and helping others play this game to the best of their ability through my in-game blog and resource, Nerd Fitness. I’m trying to develop a few music skill trees, even though I’m not good at them. I’m working on some physical skills, and some concentration skills too.
I hope to turn my life into a permanent multiplayer game (with kids!) at some point, but in the meantime, I’m just gonna do my best to play this game to the best of my ability. I group with friends, do plenty of solo quests, and love any exploring or skill based mission.
What are some of your questions about Leveling up in L.I.F.E.? How can I help you?
How are you choosing to play?
-Steve
PS: If you’re a fan of this post, check out my dead-tree strategy guide to living a better life: Level Up Your Life, available in book stores and online.
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photo: strategy guide
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Just in time for 4th of July weekend, you now have an option for red, white, and blue wine. The Spanish startup Gïk has created an electric-blue sweet wine that aims to disrupt your preconceived notions of the possibilities of wine and the very nature of taste. Do you dare to take a sip?
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Queso dip, for the uninitiated (welcome to the fold!) is a smooth, cheesy sauce designed for chip-dipping and ladling over fries. And, most importantly for us, it’s the scene-stealer at any backyard bash. We’re making this creamy dip in the slow cooker and utilizing a few choice ingredients to ensure it tastes just like the neon nacho cheese sauce you enjoyed on chips at the movie theaters of your youth.
So if you’re looking to infuse your Fourth of July menu with a dose of nostalgia, be sure to invite this slow-cooker queso dip to the party.
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From Apartment Therapy → What You Can Expect From a $25-30,000 Kitchen Remodel
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As someone who always feels dehydrated — my 2016 resolution was to drink more water — summer can be a particularly tough time. All the heat and sun means I need to be extra diligent about drinking lots of fluids. My solution? This two-ingredient watermelon slushie.
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Summer fun and wine can go together like beaches and sunscreen — until your wine starts to boil in the sun. It’s no easy feat to keep your wine at just the right temperature (it’s around 55°F), but we rounded up three wine accessories that get the job done. Tested by time, temperature, and a professional appetite for wine, these gadgets don’t disappoint — and they’re all less than $20.
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