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Here's A Very Un-Slick Answer By A Presidential Candidate About Those Well-Oiled Super PACs
In the short time this guy asks "What has America Become?," you may get an uncontrollable urge to say "Amen!"
07.25.13
Balance out heavy holiday eating with some lighter—but still delicious—fare.
Lighten your calorie load with some delicious, nutritious food between big holiday meals.
The holiday season has arrived with its cozy vibe, joyous celebrations and inevitable indulgences. From Thanksgiving feasts to Christmas cookie exchanges to Aunt Eva’s irresistible jelly donuts—not to mention leftover Halloween candy still lingering—fall and winter can feel like a non-stop gorge fest.
Total resistance is fairly futile—let’s be real—so it’s helpful to arm yourself with ways to mitigate the effects of eating-all-the-things around the holidays. Serving smaller amounts of rich, celebratory foods and focusing on slowly savoring the taste is one way. Another is to counteract those holiday calorie-bomb meals with some lighter fare in between.
Contrary to popular belief, eating “light” doesn’t have to be tasteless, boring or unsatisfying. And contrary to common practice, meals don’t have to fill an entire plate—especially when we’re trying to balance out heavy holiday eating.
It is possible to enjoy the bounties of the season while maintaining a healthy balance. Whether you prefer to eat low-carb or plant-based or gluten-free or everything under the sun, we’ve got you covered with these 10 easy, low-calorie meals from across the dietary spectrum.
Each of these recipes has less than 600 calories (most a lot less) per serving and can be made in less than 30 minutes. And Albertsons has made it easy to find O Organics® ingredients you can put right in your shopping cart to make prepping these meals even simpler.
Enjoy!
Not quite green eggs and ham, but closeAlbertsons
Ingredients:
1 (5 oz) pkg baby spinach
2 eggs
1 clove garlic
4 slices prosciutto
1/2 medium yellow onion
1 medium zucchini squash
1/8 cup butter, unsalted
1 pinch crushed red pepper
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Get your cauliflower power on.Albertsons
1/2 medium head cauliflower
1 stick celery
1/4 small bunch fresh dill
8 oz. ham steak, boneless
1/2 shallot
1/4 tspblack pepper
1/4 tsp curry powder
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/8 tsp paprika
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Plant-based food fan? This combo looks yums. Albertsons
1 avocado
1/2 English cucumber
1 (12 oz.) package extra firm tofu
1 Granny Smith apple
3 Tbsp (45 ml) Ranch dressing
1/2 (14 oz bag) shredded cabbage (coleslaw mix)
2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Sometimes you just gotta frittata.Albertsons
6 eggs
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
2 oz Parmesan cheese
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium red onion
8 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Caprese, if you please.Albertsons
3/4 lb chicken breasts, boneless skinless
1/2 small pkg fresh basil
1/2 (8 oz pkg) fresh mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic
3 tomatoes
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 3/4 pinches black pepper
1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
These mushrooms look positively poppable.Albertsons
1/2 lb cremini mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 sundried tomatoes, oil-packed
1 1/4 pinches crushed red pepper
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
2 pinches salt
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Move over, avocado toast. English muffin pizzas have arrived.Albertsons
3 Tbsp (45 ml) basil pesto
2 English muffins
1/2 (4 oz) log goat cheese
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
3/4 pinch black pepper
2 pinches salt
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
This pita pocket packs a colorful punch.Albertsons
1/4 (8 oz) block cheddar cheese
1/2 bunch Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
4 oz oven roasted turkey breast, sliced
1/2 (12 oz) jar roasted red bell peppers
1 whole grain pita
3/4 pinch black pepper
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp mayonnaise
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Did we say, "Move over, avocado toast?" What we meant was "Throw some prosciutto on it!" Albertsons
1 avocado
2 slices prosciutto
2 slices whole grain bread
1 5/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
Vegetarian chili with a fall twistAlbertsons
2 (15 oz can) black beans
1/2 (8 oz ) block cheddar cheese
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
2 green bell peppers
1 small bunch green onions (scallions)
1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin purée
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 tsp black pepper
5 7/8 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
Find full instructions and shopping list here.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes, visit albertsons.com/recipes.
Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.
Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist (even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.
But I found this and I thought, "Oh, what a vaguely interesting thing." And then I got to the part about the Hubble Space Telescope, and, let me tell you: Mind. Blown.
We've got the set up here, but you have to watch the video for the full effect. It's all the way at the bottom.
What’s the truth behind when you take off an ear?
*Pretty much.
While Van Gogh was in an asylum in France, after he mutilated his ear during a psychotic episode*...
(*Or, and I'd like to thank the entire Internet for pointing this out, there's a theory that his friend Paul Gauguin actually cut off his ear, in a drunken sword fight, in the dark. The more you know!)
Animated a thinking one-eared Van Gogh.
All Van Gogh GIFs via TED-Ed.
...he was able to capture one of science's most elusive concepts:
Turbulence expressed through art.
Although it's hard to understand with math (like, REALLY HARD), it turns out that art makes it easy to depict how it LOOKS.
So what is turbulence?
Turbulence, or turbulent flow, is a concept of fluid dynamics where fluid movements are "self-similar" when there's an energy cascade — so basically, big eddies make smaller eddies, and those make even smaller ones ... and so on and so forth.
It looks like this:
Pictures explain science.
See? It's easier to look at pictures to understand it.
Animation of referencing art to science.
Science studying Van Gogh.
The folks who noticed Van Gogh's ability to capture turbulence checked to see whether other artists did the same. Most impressionists achieved " luminance" with their art (which is the sort-of *pulsing* you see when you look at their paintings that really shows what light looks like).
NOPE.
Capturing concepts of nature.
Even in his darkest time, Van Gogh was able to capture — eerily accurately — one of nature's most complex and confusing concepts ... 100 years before scientists had the technology to observe actual star turbulence and realize its similarity to fluid turbulence mathematics as well as Van Gogh's swirling sky. Cool, huh?
This article originally appeared on November 14, 2014
His simple message is an example for all parents.
James Barlow shares his story on TikTok.
A dad is sharing his first encounter with a transgender woman in his small Texas town, and the simple lesson he taught his son is inspiring hope in others.
James Eric Barlow (oddragon226 on TikTok) shared a video from his car describing how he and his son saw a trans woman in real life for the first time. "We all know that there's people that are disgusted whenever they see a trans person," Barlow begins. "And we all know of the people who don't care if they see a trans person.
"But apparently, we're a third type of person (or at least I am, I can't speak for him)," he says, indicating his son in the backseat who chimes in with "I am, too!"
Barlow then goes on to explain how they had just had their first experience with a trans woman. It wasn't anything major—she just walked through a door behind them and Barlow held the door for her, just as he would any other person. He didn't even notice she was trans at first, but once he did, his immediate reaction was one we can all learn from.
"When I tell you how happy it made me," he says, beginning to tear up, "to be able to see somebody be out and open to the world here in small town Texas. You just gotta know how much bravery that takes. Right, Mikey?"
"Hell yeah!" the son agrees.
Barlow wanted to say something to her, but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, either.
"But if you're a trans woman and you came here to the Landmark truck stop in Clyde, Texas, just know we're proud of you," he concludes.
@oddragon226 our first trans woman experience #trans #transwoman #transpeoplearepeople #transrights #translivesnatter
Barlow's video was shared on Reddit, where it's received 37,000 upvotes and a slew of comments that prove parents set the tone for their kids' sense of acceptance.
"Indoctrinate your children with kindness, compassion, consideration and respect for others." - Toddthmpsn
"When I was younger I would get my hair cut by a woman named Liz. She spoke Spanish so it was hard for to understand her English sometimes. My dad spoke Spanish so would translate for her and me. I noticed Liz looked a little different then other women. But I never said anything, I never felt any differently about her. She never scared me, or made me question anything. She was just Liz. As I got older I realized she was a trans woman. And it literally changed nothing. She was still just Liz. Liz was always kind and treated everyone warmly. I havnt seen her in years but I hope she is doing well. I really liked her." - PerplexedPoppy
"This literally happened to me as a child in the 80s. A cashier at a store we visited suddenly started dressing in a feminine style and it appeared that they were transitioning. My mom explained to me in an age appropriate way that sometimes people decide they want to be a man instead of a woman, or a woman instead of a man. She told me that people would probably be mean to the cashier and it was important for us to remember that and always be polite to her, as we would anyway. This was way before trans issues were as mainstream as they are now, but my mom had seen an episode of Phil Donahue where transwoman discussed their stories, and she recognized it as a medical issue. Core memory for me." - ZipCity262
"As a trans woman, im deathly afraid whenever I have to go to rural areas. I can instantly feel physical tension when I walk into a gas station or a restaurant in these areas. Thank you for being supportive. Trans people need you now more than ever." – rainbow_lenses
It really is a simple matter to accept people as they are and treat all humans with dignity, kindness and respect, even if we don't fully understand them. And as this dad and son show, it's a simple matter to demonstrate non-judgmental acceptance in front of our kids so they hopefully will grow up without being bound by chains of bigotry they'll later have to learn to unload.
This article originally appeared on 7.7.23
'You date people you think you deserve. You deserve better.'
Gen Xer shares some timeless advice for Gen Z.
Meghan Smith is the owner of Melody Note Vintage store in the eternally hip town of Palm Springs, California, and her old-school Gen X advice has really connected with younger people on TikTok.
In a video posted in December 2022, she shares the advice she wishes that “somebody told me in my twenties” and it has received more than 13 million views. Smith says that she gave the same advice to her partner's two daughters when they reached their twenties.
The video is hashtagged #GenX advice for #GenZ and late #millennials. Sorry older millennials, you’re too old to receive these pearls of wisdom.
Here is some of the timeless advice that Smith shares in the video.
Perfection is bullshit.
You will never be more good-looking than you are today.
Put your phone down and enjoy your life.
Don't change for anybody.
Don't worry about making mistakes.
Laugh at yourself.
If somebody shows you their true colors, believe them.
Travel.
You end up dating the people you think you deserve. Usually, you deserve better.
Don’t forget to always wear your sunscreen.
@melodynotevintage This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties. #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp dont be an asshat in the comments if you are older, its not helpful.
She followed up the video with a sequel with even more sage advice.
Know who's on your side and who you can ask for help.
Don't smoke.
Don't spend longer than one year with the wrong person.
Find your own style.
Don't stress over the small stuff.
Good manners don't go out of style.
Do the work that it takes to be really good at something.
Your happiness is more important than other people's disappointment.
@melodynotevintage This might only help one person and thats ok. Advice I wish somebody told me in my twenties part 2 #genx advice for #genz and late #millennials #adviceforyour20s #lifeadvice #fyp
This article originally appeared on 1.18.23
The man calls himself a shed hunter.
It's rare enough to capture one antler being shed
For those not well versed in moose facts, the shedding of antlers is normally a fairly lengthy process. It happens only once a year after mating season and usually consists of a moose losing one antler at a time.
It’s incredibly rare for a bull moose to lose both at the same time—and even more rare that someone would actually catch it on film.
That’s why shed hunter (yes, that’s a real term) and woodsman Derek Burgoyne calls his footage of the phenomenon a “one-in-a-million” shot.
According to The Guardian, Burgoyne was flying his drone through a remote patch of forest in Canada when he spotted three moose in a clearing. His drone followed one of the bulls, who began doing the wobbly little shake thing that signals these antlers are going bye-bye.
Burgoyne knew he had to keep his camera on the moment—but he had no idea that he’d hit the jackpot.
Watch below:
It’s hard to tell which is more fun to watch— the super rare moment in nature or Burgoyne’s pure passion for his hobby.
“I shook a little bit. It was an adrenaline rush for sure,“ he told CBC News, sharing that he has previously found hundreds of shed antlers in his life.
Antler hunting has become a hot and profitable pastime over the past few years, although Burgoyne affirms that his shed hunting ambitions are born from a desire for well-being, not monetary gain.
“I enjoy being in the woods. It’s great exercise and it’s fun tracking the moose through the winter and looking for their sheds in the spring. Each one you find feels like the first one. It never gets old,” he told The Guardian.
Well Derek Burgoyne, thank you for doing what you love. Thanks to your passion, we too can share this once-in-a-lifetime moment. Here’s to good moose news!
This article originally appeared on 1.20.23
From the log that poops out Christmas presents in Catalonia to a towering cat that eats lazy children in Iceland, here are some fascinating holiday traditions that have emerged around the globe.
The Tió de Nadal eats food scraps and poos candy and presents.
Christmas is celebrated around the world, but it looks a bit different everywhere you go. While there are some fairly universal traditions, such as decorating a tree and giving gifts, there are some traditions specific to different cultures that are both unique and intriguing.
Check these out:
Women dressed up as La BefanaEleonora Gianinetto/Wikimedia Commons
Iceland’s 13 Yule Lads are merry and mischievous troll-like figures, each with a different name and personality. They visit children one at a time during the 13 days leading up to Christmas, leaving gifts and playing tricks, including leaving rotten potatoes in the shoes of kids who don’t behave. According to the Smithsonian, the Yule Lads used to be a lot creepier, but in 1746, the country outlawed scaring children with monstrous tales about the 13 lads. (Would love to know what prompted that law!)
Yule Cat on display in downtown Reykjavik, December 2022
ProcrastinatingHistorian/Wikimedia Commons
As if the Yule Lads weren’t enough, a towering, fearsome cat roams the Icelandic countryside around Christmastime, peeking into homes to spy on children’s presents. In Icelandic tradition, if kids get all of their chores done, they are gifted some new clothes. If the Yule Cat (aka Jólakötturinn) sees that a child wasn’t given clothes (in other words, a child was lazy), the cat proceeds to eats the child’s dinner and then moves on to eating the child. Yes, you read that right. It eats the child. Icelandic folklore doesn’t mess around.
Giant Lantern Festival 2012
Ramon FVelasquez/Wikimedia Commons
In the Philippines, the Giant Lantern Festival is held in San Fernando City (dubbed the Christmas capital of the Philippines) every year the week before Christmas Eve. According to Travel & Leisure, the lantern tradition is rooted in the history of Filipino Catholics building small, colorful lanterns to light up the procession to Christmas Eve mass. The giant parol lanterns for the festival, however, are huge—up to 20 feet tall—and it can take up to 10,000 light bulbs to illuminate them.
The Tió de Nadal is a Catalan Christmas tradition.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Some cultures have a yule log. Catalonia, Spain, has the Tió de Nadal—a log with a hat, a blanket, a smiley face and a penchant for pooping out presents. Children feed the smiling log scraps of food at night and it poop out presents on Christmas Day. There's even a song kids sing to the log, imploring it to not poop out salted herring (too salty), but nougats in instead, all while hitting the log with a stick. According to Catalan tradition, the eating of the scraps and the beating with the stick leads to Tió de Nadal pooping out presents and nougat on Christmas. And apparently, no one questions it.
Krampus costume
Anita Martinz/Wikimedia Commons
In Bavaria (which includes Austria, Germany, Switzerland and some of the surrounding area), the Krampus is a centuries-old tradition that has been revived in modern times. The Krampus is a horned, hairy, hellish creature who follows St. Nick on his rounds to punish naughty children by scaring them (or tossing them in a sack and beating them). Many cities hold Krampus festivals each year, where people parade around in Krampus costumes like the one above.
Venezuelans roller skate on Christmas
Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash
Most of us don't association Christmas with roller skating, but that's not the case for Venezuelans. Christmas is an all-night roller skating party, which includes singing Christmas songs and culminates with everyone rolling their way to Christmas Mass at dawn. Most interestingly, according to a Venezuelan woman's explanation in America Magazine, it's not even like Venezuelans are a big roller skating culture the rest of the year—it's just a Christmas thing.
KFCs are packed for Christmas in Japan
Photo by Stabel Webel on Unsplash
Japan doesn't have a long history with Christmas and thus no long-standing traditions associated with it. What they do have is 50 years of eating KFC for Christmas, thanks to a "Kentucky for Christmas" marketing campaign launched by the first KFC restaurant owner in Nagoya, Japan, in 1970. Somehow, it stuck and is now a beloved tradition for millions of Japanese families.
Ukrainians celebrate spiders at Christmas.
According to Ukrainian legend, an impoverished widow and her children grew a tree from a pinecone outside of their house, but they were too poor to decorate it for Christmas. The household spiders heard the children's sobs and spun their webs into decorations overnight. When the children awoke on Christmas morning, they cried out “Mother, mother wake up and see the tree. It is beautiful!” As the day went on and the sun's rays hit the delicate webs, they transformed into silver and gold and the widow never wanted for anything again. Today, Ukrainians decorate trees with spider webs for good luck and fortune in the new year.
Whatever your family or cultural holiday traditions are, let's celebrate the differences that make our world so interesting.
"We are finding new ways to define success and we are building communities."
"How are people affording life right now?"
Inflation has strained countless American households, forcing many to ask each other the big question: “How are people affording life right now?” A TikTokker named Loc_Rants responded by reframing the current moment into something more hopeful.
They believe we can get through challenging times by turning away from consumerism and focusing on what matters.
Loc_Rants describes themself as a “non-binary Christian Commie” and regularly creates videos on how economic life for the Average American has changed over the years.
The video begins with TikTokker Blaire Allison asking how people can afford to live right now, to which Loc responded, “We can't afford life, so we've just stopped buying things, which is delightful because companies don't know what to do about that,” Loc said in a video that’s been seen over 1.3 million times.
She then noted that older generations had credit cards with much lower interest rates so it was a little easier to get by during tough times. She’s right in saying that interest rates on credit cards were lower in the past, but her 2 to 3% quote is much lower than history would indicate.
@loc_rants #stitch with @Blaire ✨ Allison #millennial #america
However, she’s spot on when she says that credit card interest rates are too high these days. The latest data from Bankrate shows that the average retail credit card interest rate is at a record high of 28.93%. “We're not going to put things on our 24% interest rate credit; we're not gonna do it,” Loc said in their post.
Even though the topic of Loc’s post seems bleak, it comes with a silver lining. The current economic environment allows people to rethink their relationship with American consumer culture and find value in things that matter, such as family and community.
“So we're not we're not living, we are surviving and we are finding new ways to define success and we are building communities,” Loc says. “We're staying home and we're going to our local libraries and we are just hand making things and it's gonna be what it's gonna be.”
Like many people, Loc’s Christmas gift to her family this year is her presence and that should be more than enough. “This year, my Christmas present to my family is the plane ticket to get there,” they said.
The post resonated with many in the comments who are making significant changes to their spending habits due to inflation. "We're quiet quitting consumerism," Smcsparrow wrote. "Previously buying brand new stuff, but right now just rather spend it on thrift stores to at least have stuff," Monique added.
"I’m thrifting most things and avoiding retail stores like the plague," MsSunshine58 wrote.
Even though inflation has posed a significant challenge to millions of Americans, Loc’s video provides a realistic ray of hope. Many of us may be in survival mode, and even though it isn’t optimal, it offers the opportunity to find joy in handmade and personal experiences and to realize that success and happiness come in many different packages.