By Karen D. Lorentz Instead of dreading winter, which admittedly can be challenging, there are steps we can take to enjoy a fun, rewarding, and injury-free snow season as well as a warm time outdoors! Yes, many fear falls and accidents on slippery surfaces and others dread the cold. Reality check: life in general is…

By Kate Robitello One thing you may have noticed in the last decade is that plant-based oil is found in virtually every product we use. Look at the ingredients next time you’re shopping at a grocery store and you’re likely to see one or more of the following plant-based oils: soybean, canola, safflower, sunflower, or…

If I have my timing right for when this column goes to press, it is safe to say tomorrow the majority of you reading this will celebrate Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you will sit down with family and friends to enjoy a homemade turkey dinner – with all the fixins. Fixins means different things to different people,…

By Rachel Sargent As you put together a dinner plan for this Thanksgiving, perhaps you’re looking for something to add a little variety to the traditional holiday meal, or ways to eat healthy food while supporting good environmental practices. How about adding insects to the menu? Along with crackers and cheese, grasshopper fritters make excellent…

Staff report It took Sarah Josepha Hale, the same woman who wrote the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” 36 years of campaigning to get Thanksgiving made into a national holiday, which President Abraham Lincoln did in 1863. Now, people all across the country celebrate the pilgrims’ bountiful 1621 harvest, eating an average of…

By Dom Cioffi Most everyone is familiar with the popular adage that I used for the title of this week’s column. More commonly known as Murphy’s Law, the phrase “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” points to the understanding that, given enough time, even the most unlikely scenarios will eventually unfold. The last…

By Dom Cioffi I always chuckle when I see a movie where a grandfather is depicted as an amenable old man who takes his grandson to baseball games and pizza shops and showers him with gifts of love and adoration. I chuckle because I did not have this experience – far from it, in fact.…

By Carolyn Lorié By late October, with the summer birds long gone, I find myself growing ever more appreciative of the birds that stick around, including wild turkeys. With their leathery necks and odd gaits, they are reliably entertaining and interesting subjects. There are six subspecies of wild turkey found in North America, with the…

By Kate Robitello $114 billion, that’s how much money will be spent in 2015 on anti-aging products, remedies, and procedures. Undoubtedly, we live in a world where a youthful appearance is considered the epitome of health and beauty. Some signs of aging, such as laugh lines and crow’s feet, are not only unavoidable (at least…

By Brett Yates I’m going to my friend’s wedding in a few days, and because I’m a groomsman, my outfit has already been picked out: along with the rest of the men in the wedding party, I will be wearing black slacks, black shoes, black socks, a white shirt, and a black vest. No jacket.…

By Dave Hoffenberg This Sunday, Nov. 16, head to McGrath’s Irish Pub from 4-7 p.m. for Irish Band Aid featuring Extra Stout and Gypsy Reel. All donations will go to support Doctors Without Borders work with Ebola virus patients in West Africa. Pat Max, from Extra Stout who sings and plays guitar, whistles and bodhran,…

By Dom Cioffi Some memories are burned so completely into your psyche that any recall of them immediately conjures up exact nuances of the moment they occurred. Many times this is because the particular memory was accompanied by an intense injection of adrenaline at the moment it occurred. That was certainly the case for me…

By Meghan Oliver This time of year, squirrels and chipmunks are rushing to fill their winter larders with seeds and nuts, often loudly squabbling with each other. It’s harvest time in the woods, and not just for mast falling to the ground. Apios americana–the groundnut–is in its prime, but you’ll need a shovel for this…

By Kate Robitello The great debate over the effects of soy has long been in existence, especially amongst the primarily plant-based consumers. As the most third most subsidized crop in the U.S., soy products are in the majority of grocery store snacks and can even be found in many cosmetic products. However, soy is a…

By Cindy Phillips Actually, I have no desire to be President. But last week was Election Day, so the political catch phrase seemed fitting for this column. There really aren’t a lot of positive sides to getting older. Our memory fades, our waist expands, our eyesight blurs and people seem to get on our nerves…