Month: November 2024

2024-11-04T12:01:00

(BPT) – Do you love cooking and baking? Are you always looking for tasty new additions to your kitchen toolkit? If so, you may want to know about a great ingredient for your pantry: almond oil. By cooking, baking or finishing dishes with almond oil, you’ll be introducing a boost of nutty, delicious flavor to your sweet and savory recipes, along with many potential health benefits.

The benefits of almond oil

With a low-to-medium smoke point of 425F, almond oil can be used to sauté, marinate, dress, bake or finish a wide variety of dishes. Its mild, nutty and toasty flavor adds a touch of sweetness — without overpowering the natural flavors of your favorite foods.

If you’re interested in trying this oil in your kitchen, consider SunnyGem Almond Oil, which is 100% virgin and cold-pressed, using only unrefined almonds from California, with no preservatives or other additives. SunnyGem Almond Oil is also non-GMO, vegan, kosher and gluten-free, as well as being lower in calories and saturated fats than other cooking oils. Because it’s derived from almonds, which are known as a “superfood,” you can feel good knowing this almond oil is naturally rich in antioxidants like vitamin E (great for supporting skin and hair health), Omega 6 fatty acids and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.

How to use almond oil in your kitchen

In general, you can use almond oil just like you would use any other cooking oil in your pantry. However, you may find certain dishes benefit more from the unique flavor it provides. Here are a few recipes developed by the flavor experts at SunnyGem Almond Oil to get you started.

Almond Butter Cake
Celebrating the sweet and rich flavor of almonds, this cake would beautifully grace your table for any special occasion, family get-together, lunch or brunch. Feel free to decorate your cake with toasted sliced almonds and powdered sugar for an especially elegant presentation.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup SunnyGem Almond Oil
1/3 cup almond butter
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray bottom and sides of round cake pan with vegetable spray. Use parchment paper on bottom of pan.
In mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.
In microwave-safe bowl, combine SunnyGem Almond Oil and almond butter. Heat in microwave in 30-second increments until almond butter is smooth enough to stir. Stir to combine.
Add water, vanilla and apple cider vinegar to almond butter mixture. Stir to combine.
Pour almond butter mixture in with flour. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour this batter into prepared cake pan. Bake 30-35 minutes until tester comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely.

Almond Oil Crinkle Cookies
Everyone in your family will love these irresistible, easy-to-make cookies. Best yet, you can store them in an airtight container to maintain their chewy, fudgy texture for days!

Ingredients
1 cup SunnyGem Almond Oil
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In mixing bowl, whisk together almond oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet and mix with spatula until soft dough forms.
Using scoop (such as a 2-inch ice cream scoop) place dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes, or until cookies have cracked and edges are golden brown and set.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet a few minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Makes 20-24 cookies.

Almond Oil Salad Dressing
This quick and easy salad dressing will tantalize your taste buds with its sweet, tangy flavor. You can use it immediately or store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Ingredients
1 small shallot, diced
1/3 cup SunnyGem Almond Oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Puree shallot, almond oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper in blender or mini prep, or with an immersion blender in a large cup until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Excited to give almond oil a try? Discover more recipe inspiration at SunnyGemOil.com, on Instagram and TikTok. You can find your new pantry staple on the SunnyGem website, on Amazon, at Publix and HyVee stores nationwide, and regional retailers including Save Mart and Nugget Markets.

2024-11-04T08:01:00

(BPT) – People living with type 1 diabetes live with an invisible burden. Between nonstop checking and balancing blood glucose levels, anxiety about every meal or snack, plus juggling everyday obligations — it’s a lot like constantly trying to keep a balloon in the air, all day, every day.

Kris Leeper knows exactly what that’s like. As an avid traveler, foodie, and golfer, he had a busy, active life at age 26, and considered himself healthy. However, after an unexpected onset of extreme exhaustion, his wife Tierra urged him to seek medical attention. What started as a visit to urgent care quickly escalated to an ER trip, where he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Suddenly, Kris was navigating his everyday life with a new reality — the constant balancing act of managing diabetes.

Every November, the Medtronic Blue Balloon Challenge aims to shine a light on what living with type 1 diabetes is really like for people like Kris. While many people have heard of type 1 diabetes, not everyone truly understands the daily challenges and relentless balancing act required to manage this complex condition around the clock.

What is type 1 diabetes?

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, preventing glucose from entering cells and functioning properly. Without proper management, high or low blood glucose can be deadly.

Coping with type 1 diabetes

Because Kris didn’t know anything about type 1 diabetes when he was diagnosed, he had a lot of information to absorb and process.

“It was total sensory overload,” Kris recalled. “This was 2013, and the doctors’ best advice at the time was to ‘eat less, carry around a bottle of insulin and needles, and give myself shots six to seven times a day.’ I was in disbelief.”

Managing all the components of daily treatment along with his busy job and active social life seemed overwhelming. Kris learned the hard way that the need to monitor his blood glucose constantly, plan every meal, and cope with the anxiety that came with it created a significant burden.

“Managing my diabetes is like having two full-time jobs,” added Kris. “The Blue Balloon Challenge is a very accurate representation of what it feels like day in and day out.”

The mental health burden of type 1 diabetes

Managing type 1 diabetes treatment is a constant balancing act that’s invisible to the outside world. In fact, according to the CDC, people with diabetes are 2-3 times more likely to have depression than people without diabetes. These feelings can increase stress levels, which can negatively impact blood glucose and lead to more stress, creating a vicious cycle.

Kris says he’s learned a lot over the years about how to keep that balloon in the air — monitoring all those daily details about his health, while handling the stress and anxiety that comes with it. He has also learned that he can lean on friends, family — especially his wife Tierra — for support.

“Watching my husband navigate the emotional burden of type 1 diabetes, I feel the weight of his struggles deeply. I strive to be his safe haven, reminding him it’s OK to feel overwhelmed,” said Tierra. “Together, we share this journey, finding strength in our love and hope in the smallest victories.”

Support from the type 1 diabetes community

One of the main challenges for people like Kris is that type 1 diabetes is largely an invisible illness, making it hard for others to understand its seriousness. Joining the #BlueBalloonChallenge connects you with a supportive community and highlights the hidden struggles of living with diabetes. For further support, join the Medtronic Champion community — a global network dedicated to helping people navigate the ups and downs of life with diabetes.

Diabetes Awareness Month in November and World Diabetes Day on November 14 provide opportunities to learn about this disease and to highlight champions like Kris who strive to thrive with diabetes every day, and the loved ones in their lives who support them.

Help make the invisible, visible by filming your own challenge and sharing it on social media with the hashtag #BlueBalloonChallenge.

Learn more at MedtronicDiabetes.com/blue-balloon-challenge.

2024-11-04T08:01:00

(BPT) – Sponsored by Sanofi

A sudden type 1 diabetes diagnosis can turn someone’s world completely upside down. As individuals and their loved ones grapple with this new reality, many will face a mix of emotions: fear, uncertainty for the future, or regret about not learning sooner about their potential risk factors of developing the disease.

Christel Oerum has experienced these feelings firsthand. Just six months before a long-awaited trip to India, she was diagnosed unexpectedly with type 1 diabetes after her aunt noticed something wasn’t quite right; Oerum kept falling asleep at family gatherings and her aunt encouraged Oerum to go to the doctor who diagnosed her with the disease. Following her diagnosis, one of Oerum’s first questions to her healthcare provider was, “Can I still travel?” This reflects a common concern among newly diagnosed individuals about how type 1 diabetes may impact not only future plans — like traveling — but also seemingly “simple” aspects of life that one may not think twice about without a chronic autoimmune disease.

After her diagnosis, Oerum worked with her healthcare team to learn everything she could about how to live with type 1 diabetes, including how to measure blood sugar levels and manage daily insulin injections. “While I was initially worried about how type 1 diabetes might impact my trip, it quickly became clear to me that I had so much to learn. I really was starting at zero and had little to no knowledge about type 1 diabetes, let alone how to manage it myself. I had to adjust to a ‘new normal’ that would be my reality for the rest of my life because there is no cure for type 1 diabetes.”

Oerum’s story serves as a powerful reminder of why type 1 diabetes awareness and early detection is so critical. Knowing in advance through screening — before symptoms arise and insulin dependence — can give people more time to prepare for how the disease may impact their lives and develop the skills needed to manage type 1 diabetes. The1Pledge.com has useful information about how to start a conversation with your doctor about screening for type 1 diabetes.

“Eventually I realized that I can still live a full life and do the things I want to do with the right planning. I’m so grateful for the support I received from my healthcare team and that I was able to make my trip to India,” Oerum shares. “That said, managing my type 1 diabetes is something I work hard on every day. I wish I had been screened in advance, as knowing sooner, in an earlier stage of type 1 diabetes, may have mitigated some of the initial trauma that I experienced.”

While inevitably adjustments to a “new normal” will need to be made no matter when someone might be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, through early detection and screening, a diagnosis may be less of a shock. With advanced information about a type 1 diabetes diagnosis and subsequent monitoring, people like Oerum can continue to pursue their dreams — whether it’s exploring India or conquering other personal goals. Talk to your doctor about screening for type 1 diabetes.

Sanofi does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment — information is provided for educational purposes only. Your doctor is the best source of health information. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about your health or treatment.

Christel Oerum is a paid spokesperson for Sanofi.

2024-11-04T07:19:00

(BPT) – Olive oil is a star ingredient for good reason. Nutritious and delicious, olive oil provides a wide range of benefits, from promoting heart health to protecting your brain.

With a variety of olive oil options to choose from, people are often searching for ways to find the “best” product. As a result, some may attach certain values or preferences to “single origin” versus multi-country olive oil blends, even going so far as to claim (incorrectly) that blended olive oils are inferior or even fake.

But what denotes real quality, and what’s just misinformation?

Multi-country vs. single-origin olive oils

The difference between multi-country and single-origin olive oils comes down to sourcing. Multi-country blends combine olive oils from different countries, and clear disclosures are required.

On the other hand, there are no regulations around what the term “single origin” means for olive oil. It could refer to olives grown from a single estate, region or country.

More importantly, “single origin” doesn’t tell you anything about an olive oil’s quality. Quality results from the hard work and skill of the farmers who cultivated and harvested the olives, the miller who extracted the oil and, in some cases, the bottler who masterfully crafts a blend with different olive oils.

So, what should you know about multi-country olive oil blends, and why are they worth considering?

1. Olive oil – like wine – can often achieve great, consistent flavor with “coupage” or blended combinations.

Winemakers often blend wines of different origins and varieties in a process known as “coupage.” In fact, some famous appellations like Chianti and Rioja are required by law to blend different regional wines.

Like with grapes, olives from different harvests can have different flavor profiles due to a variety of factors. To account for this, winemakers and olive oil makers can use coupage to balance flavor and achieve consistency year after year.

Similar to wines, a coupage of olive oils from different origins can be high quality. In fact, it’s not uncommon to find such olive oil blends among the winners of consumer taste tests.

2. Multi-country blends make quality olive oil accessible when and where you want it.

When we go to the store, we expect our favorite olive oil to be there. The practice of blending olive oils from different regions helps make sure our preferred products are on the shelf, and they taste the way we expect them to — even if certain growing regions have a difficult season due to weather, which can negatively impact both the availability and quality of olive oil.

3. Olive oil blends are transparent about their countries of origin.

For many people, olive oil quality is associated with traceability (i.e., where did this olive oil come from?). However, traceability doesn’t depend on the olive oil having a “single origin.”

Olive oil blends are required by law to disclose their olive oils’ countries of origin, and that’s what producers do. What’s more, some producers even use blockchain data and QR codes to help provide additional transparency.

Any suggestion that an olive oil listing more than one country on the label is “fake” is disingenuous. If anything, the level of transparency olive oil blends provide should give you confidence in the authenticity of the product you’re buying.

Whether you prefer single-origin or blended olive oil, the trustworthiness of the producer is the most important factor.

At the end of the day, neither single-origin nor multi-country olive oil blends are inherently better than the other.

Both small-estate producers and larger companies with positive brand recognition can be trusted to take all steps needed to assure the quality of the oil in their bottles, regardless of where the oil comes from. You can also look for seals like NAOOA Certified and Extra Virgin Alliance.

Whether you choose a single-origin olive oil or a multi-country blend, what truly matters is the level of transparency provided on the label and the care and craftsmanship that goes into the bottle.

2024-11-04T08:05:00

(BPT) – College football season is here, and it’s time to rally your friends and family with a game day watch party! Hosting watch parties is a great way to spend time with fellow football lovers and cheer on your favorite teams — and creating a party that’s memorable is all about the details.

Here are five essential tips to ensure you and your guests have the ultimate game plan for college football watch parties all season long.

1. Don’t just clean … sanitize!

The first step to impressing your guests is having a space that’s both clean and sanitized. Be sure to disinfect all surfaces before setting up your game day décor throughout the home, including the living room, kitchen and bathroom.

A home isn’t ready for hosting until it’s been sanitized — and an essential way to sanitize the air before kick-off and after the final whistle is with Lysol^® Air Sanitizer.

Scent can’t sanitize, but Lysol^® Air Sanitizer can. While traditional air fresheners add a scent, Lysol^® Air Sanitizer kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria in the air^† while eliminating odors* in the air. It also helps reduce the spread of illness-causing pathogens like cold, influenza and coronavirus in the air — so you can keep the air in your home sanitized during peak cold and flu season.

Stock up on any of these six Lysol^® Air Sanitizer fragrances to keep your home sanitized before your guests arrive and after they leave: White Linen, Simple Fresh, Light Breeze, Tropical Breeze, Lavender Sky and Cotton Blossom.

2. Prepare your space

Accommodate your guests and ensure everyone has prime seating to watch the game day action by tidying up and organizing your space. Whether you’re planning to host in your living room, rec room or basement, clear out clutter and rearrange furniture to create a comfortable viewing experience for you and your guests.

3. Plan your menu

The secret ingredient for a watch party touchdown? A well-curated menu! Keep hosting stress to a minimum by selecting crowd-pleasing, game day classics like wings, sliders and chips & dip. And don’t miss a minute of the game day action going to and from the fridge for drinks — keep you and your guests hydrated as you cheer your favorite team to victory with a chilled ice bucket stocked with water and sports drinks.

4. Stock up on supplies

Avoid last-minute grocery runs by stocking up on party essentials a few days before you party. Pick up plates, cups, utensils, napkins and trash bags in advance to ensure your day of hosting runs smoothly. And of course, double-check that you have enough snacks, drinks and ice to keep everyone satiated during the game day action!

5. Set the mood

Create a festive atmosphere for your party to pump up the excitement for the game. Decorate your space with your favorite team’s colors, hang up football-themed banners and play your ultimate pregame jams playlist.

And once the décor is hung, don’t forget to sanitize your space with Lysol^® Air Sanitizer after your guests leave to kill 99.9% of airborne viruses and bacteria^† and eliminate odors* in the air. Once the final whistle blows, the best way to end a watch party is with a sanitized environment that’s ready for next week’s game!

Take your party to the next level.

Lysol^® wants to help you upgrade your college football watch party experience with the Germ Zone Essentials Pack. The pack includes cups, plates and a serving dish for your game day eats, plus a foam finger, football and watch party essential, Lysol^® Air Sanitizer! To learn more, visit lysolgermzonesweeps.prod.fooji.com and follow Lysol on Instagram (@lysol).

^†Kills 99.9% of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the air, in 4 minutes. Kills 99.9% of airborne viruses (Tested on MS2 surrogate for enveloped airborne viruses such as Influenza viruses, Coronaviruses, and Pneumoviruses) in the air, in 12 minutes.

*Eliminates odors by killing odor-causing bacteria in the air.

2024-11-04T09:01:00

(BPT) – If you love everything about the holidays except prepping your home for entertaining, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, getting and keeping your house in good shape for festive gatherings, special celebrations, and impromptu hangouts can take some of the jolly out of an otherwise fun season. The good news is that a combination of tried-and-true tactics and significant new tech will help make your holiday prep more manageable than ever.

Here are tips and a great new tool to transform your pre-entertaining cleaning.

Start a quick pick-up routine

While you may have to deep clean rooms you plan to use for entertaining, you can keep your entire home in better shape (for impromptu get-togethers) by setting up regular and quick decluttering sessions.

At the same time each day, perhaps before heading to work, right after dinner, or before bedtime, take 5-10 minutes to walk through the main rooms of your home and tidy up. This will help prevent minor clutter from becoming a major hassle. Enlist everyone in the family to help out, perhaps playing a favorite upbeat song during each session.

Set up an item relocation system

Is your household clutter caused by items creeping out of rooms when they should be stored somewhere else? Set up a bin or basket near the doorway for each room where everyone can put items that belong in another room. Then when you’re cleaning, you can instantly tote those items out of the room to put them away.

Check “clean the floor” off your to-do list, forever

Nothing improves a room’s appearance faster than a clean floor. Want to make this job easier than ever? Check out the new Roborock Qrevo Slim mopping robot vacuum, which provides a lot of power in an incredibly thin form — the slimmest on the market. Its ultra-thin 8.2-centimeter design is low enough to offer flawless cleaning under low furniture and in other hard-to-reach areas.

Even better, the Roborock Qrevo Slim’s StarSight™ Autonomous System uses the industry-first dual-light 3D ToF (time-of-flight) technology to measure the distance between the sensor and an object precisely. Beyond navigating obstacles in your home more effectively, it slides easily under furniture, uses an RGB camera to identify dirt, and can even recognize floor types — enhancing suction power when needed and stopping mopping when it hits soft surfaces. The Qrevo Slim battery can last up to 180 minutes, providing plenty of juice to make it through a routine cleaning.

The Roborock Qrevo Slim features a FlexiArm Side Brush and Mop for reaching corners and around furniture legs, a powerful DuoRoller Riser Brush and 11,000Pa suction to perform a thorough cleaning. Paired with the upgraded Multifunctional Dock 3.0, which has enhanced mop washing and self-cleaning capabilities, the entire system offers a hands-free cleaning experience with improved power and intelligence, elevating your home cleaning to a whole new level.

Best of all, the Qrevo Slim is really easy to use. Its built-in voice assistant (“Rocky”) allows you to issue commands without using the mobile app. For example, just by saying “Hello Rocky,” you can ask the Qrevo Slim to clean a specific room (once mapped) or adjust the suction level, thanks to a host of preset commands.

The Qrevo Slim is now available. Check out Roborock.com or the Amazon Roborock store to discover the Qrevo Slim along with Roborock’s other highly rated vacuums, ensuring your floors and carpets are pristine for the upcoming holiday season.

Optimize your calendar

Just as you make sure to put all your holiday events on your favorite calendar app, you can use that same helpful method to give yourself enough time to prep. For any occasion you’re hosting at home, add a calendar event the day before to block out the time you’ll need for cleaning and food prep.

Pro tip: Always overestimate the time you need by at least an hour. If you’re done early, use that time to kick up your feet and chill for a while.

Using these tips and tools, you can stay on top of your pre-entertaining prep and cleaning all season long. Then, you can spend more time doing what you love, like enjoying more relaxing and joyful holidays with your family and friends.

2024-11-01T08:05:00

(BPT) – Bringing a child into the world can be among life’s most joyous and exciting events. But for the parents of very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm babies, the magic of childbirth can be clouded by questions, anxiety, and despair.

Every year, one in 10 babies are born early, facing significant health risks compared to full-term infants. For the smallest preemies — those born weighing less than 1250 grams (2.75 pounds) — the journey can be fraught with challenges. Weeks or months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), serious and costly medical complications, and long-term developmental challenges are not uncommon. One factor has proven vital: the nutrition fed to these preemies while in the NICU.

Nutritional Concerns with Cow Milk-Based Formulas & Fortifiers

Preemie parents wrestle with an array of questions about how best to help their tiny baby grow stronger. This uncertainty has been compounded recently by serious questions surrounding nutritional safety for preterm infants in the NICU.

Since 2022, nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed nationwide by preemie parents, related to the use of cow milk-based formulas and fortifiers for their premature infants. The suits allege parents were not warned about known risks the smallest preemies face for developing a potentially fatal intestinal disease, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), when fed cow milk-based products.

Human Milk-Based Nutrition as an Option

The good news is that a well-established and thoroughly tested alternative to cow milk-based products exists for the most at-risk newborns. Fortifiers and formulas made from 100% human milk by Prolacta Bioscience improve outcomes for infants born weighing under 1250g and as early as 22 weeks at birth. In 2024 alone, Prolacta’s products have been used in more than 50% of Level III and IV NICUs in the U.S.

Prolacta’s products have been evaluated in more than 30 studies, including Huston 2018, which demonstrated human milk-based nutrition can substantially improve growth and development for the smallest preemies while significantly reducing the risk of serious complications, including NEC.

Unfortunately, many preemie parents are never told that an alternative to cow milk-based nutritional products exists. This omission, in part, stems from misperceptions about the costs associated with human milk-based products. However, a 2023 peer-reviewed article found that human milk-based protocols actually save hospitals between $500,000 and $3.4 million annually through fewer complications and shorter lengths of stay.

Getting the Word Out

Raising awareness about the role human milk-based nutrition can play in giving VLBW preemies a foothold in life is essential. If you have a preemie or know someone who does, advocate early and often for 100% human milk-based nutritional products. Ask for Prolacta by name. Tell your friends, family, classmates, and colleagues about why human milk-based nutrition is so important. Through advocacy and education, even the tiniest newborns can be given their best chance to not just survive, but to thrive. To learn more, visit Prolacta.com.