Being a bit of a “movie junkie,” I have eaten a lot of popcorn to accompany me on my cinematic journeys.  In so doing, my knowledge on the subject of popping corn is beginning to rival my college degree. But of course, I started like anyone else who has ever eaten popcorn: At the bottom of the barrel using quick-and-easy store-bought microwave popcorn.

Unfortunately, besides being unhealthy, over-processed and full of added ingredients, this popcorn always left me feeling like I just ate candlesticks for dinner and beeswax for dessert. Bottom line: A waxy mouth. Knowing this could not be the pinnacle of popcorn pioneering, I began buying popcorn seeds at the store and popping at home over the stovetop. I would add just a bit of cooking oil and salt to create a better version of popcorn than I had previously known. But this method was not without fault.

The cooking oil used to pop all these kernels was not exactly easy on the stomach. And I would have to deal with an oily pot that would need cleaning. So again, I tweaked my formula by substituting cooking oil for olive oil, and a stovetop for a microwave. Healthier, faster, and with less cleanup, this seemed a marked improvement over my previous attempts. But could I do better? I thought so.

I had never used coconut oil before, but after reading about it in several health blogs, I began to wonder if maybe this was a better alternative to the expensive olive oil I was using. This also spurred me to examine the kernels which I was popping. If I was going to make my favorite snack healthier, I needed to evaluate the primary ingredient as well. What I have come up with is what I consider the best version of popcorn I have had to date.

Totally Organic Popcorn

Ingredients

1. Organic popcorn kernels
2. Organic coconut oil
3. Naturally fantastic movie
4. Brown paper bag

Directions

Pour your popcorn seeds into the brown paper bag until the bottom has a thin layer of kernels and is no longer visible.  Take about 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil and drop onto the kernels. TIP: If you live in an icebox and your coconut oil is currently solid, warm it for a few seconds in the microwave. Coconut oil turns to liquid at 76 degrees oddly enough.

Now, fold the opening of the bag over twice, sealing it. Shake the bag around until all the kernels have oil on them, about 6-7  shakes or  1 Ferrigno shake.

Place the bag in the microwave on its side and set for two minutes and thirty seconds. Listen for when the popping stops and open the microwave if this is before the time is up. Open carefully to avoid scalding, lightly salt and enjoy.

There are many ideas emerging in the scientific field of popcorn toppings, and that in and of itself is likely another post. So for now, keep it healthy and enjoy pure and basic organic popcorn as it was meant to be. If you have any improvements to above, post as a comment so we can all further the progress of popcorn in the name of science.

I have a new goal before winter: Ride my bike to work.

My boyfriend and I have fitness bikes that we ride around back roads near our house. We usually ride between six to eight miles, three to five times a week. We ride out to a certain point in the country, and then we ride home. He is much faster than me because he bikes more than I do. I am a jogger, so on days when I jog, he rides. So he is riding twice as much as I am. This is noticeable when I am panting and sweating and he looks like he’s just on an afternoon cruise.

I just mapped out the route I would have to take to work on MapMyRide.com, and it surprises me to see it will only be about 8 miles. That means this is very doable! However, I will be doing this in the morning when I am grumpy and groggy, and I will have to plan out how long this will take me.

The only major problem is going to be traffic. At one point, I will have to ride on a VERY busy road to get to the road my work is on. I looked up some bike safety tips to help me with this stretch of riding.

• Of course, always wear a helmet. I’ve got my spiffy blue one, so that’s not a problem.
• Wear bright clothing so drivers can see you.
• Obey the rules of the road. I plan on riding along the right side the entire trip, so that should be fine.
• Look both ways. Most accidents happen at intersections or driveways. I’ll be very careful about this, especially when I get to the intersection that connects to the busy road.

I really like BicycleSafe.com. It has a whole article about “How to Not Get Hit By Cars,” complete with diagrams showing many situations of bikers and cars and how to avoid an accident.

How to avoid the Right-Cross accident.

For now, I will have to keep riding to make sure I’m up for the eight miles, and I will have to start waking up earlier to prepare. I’ll keep you informed on how everything is going and let you know when the planned date is!

If you have any biking tips, I’d love to hear them.

I’m usually a good sleeper: Go lie in bed around 10:30 p.m. and read until 11 p.m., then lights off and I’m off to sleep. I wake up around 7 a.m., so I definitely get my seven recommended hours of sleep every night.

The last few weeks, though, I’ve been either having problems falling asleep or waking up several times during the night. I wanted to find out what could be causing this and see what I can do to get my sleep pattern back to normal. There are too many risks from not getting enough sleep, including impaired mood and memory, dampened immune system and an increased risk of accidents! Yikes.

1. The thing I have come across most is that adults need between 7-8 hours of sleep. Older adults might even need more – or a nap during the day – if they continually wake up groggy or exhausted.
2. Another thing is bed size – apparently size does matter! It should be large enough that you can stretch and turn (even with a bedmate).
3. As far as atmosphere goes, the room you sleep in should have low noise and be dark at night. Even computer screens and TV screens can trick your body from their false light! Sleep masks or heavy shades can keep all light distraction down.
   

   Sleep Masks help block light so your body knows it's time for sleep.

4. Room temperature is a big one. Helpguide.org reports most people sleep best in slightly cooler temps.
5. Do not eat or drink large amount of anything right before bed! This can wake you up in the night because you’ll have to use the restroom.
6. Avoid nicotine, caffeine and alcohol in the evenings. This is hard for me because I love to have a latte after work but I have definitely noticed that if I wait too late, until 7 p.m. or after, I have problems falling asleep at my regular time.
7. Exercise daily, but not too close to bedtime. All that adrenaline pumping can keep you up for hours!
8. Another big one: Avoid watching TV in bed. The bedroom should only be used for sleep and sex, to strengthen the association between bed and sleep.

Here are some things you can do to prepare for sleep, to get both your mind and body ready to drift off and relax:

• Reading
• Listening to soft music or books on tape
• Light snack, hot tea or warm milk
• Knitting, puzzles, or other hobbies

Help.org has much more information, from handling stress and anxiety that keeps you up at night to optimizing your sleep schedule and improving your diet and exercising. The National Sleep Foundation also has great tips on healthy sleeping.

Looks like I’ll be turning down the thermostat, turning off the TV, and avoiding my late-day lattes. Hopefully that will help! If not, I can always use Kavinace.

Happy sleeping! Share any sleep tips you have with us. We’d love to hear them.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a jogger and I just started training for an August 5K. Today it is HOT here in Northern Indiana. There is actually a heat advisory in effect. But today is my running day. So what do I do?

I found a few tips I’ll have to keep in mind today if I decide to run in this heat.

• Of course, stay hydrated with plenty of water.
• Choose light-colored and loose-fitting clothing. Also, synthetic fabrics will help wick moisture away from skin better than cotton and help cool your body. I’ve got a few of these shirts so I’ll make sure I keep them for extra-hot days.
• Run early or late. This makes sense. I’m not a morning person so the other night I waited until 8 p.m. to run and it was much cooler.
• Wear sunscreen. Check! I do this every afternoon, whether it’s sunny out or not.
• Don’t push it. This tip says sometimes you have to scale back your performance goals when the heat is too much. This can be hard when you know you only have so many days to prepare for a race, but health comes first!
• Make a Splash. If overheating, splash water on your face while running. Good tip, but I don’t carry water with me because I don’t usually go for that long or that far. I would definitely carry something with me if I was out for an hour or more.
• Be Educated. Very good tip! You should know the signs of heat problems so you can recognize them in yourself or training partners.

Signs of heat problems include: feeling faint, dizzy, disoriented, actually stopping sweating, or your skin turning cool and clammy. If you (or your buddy) experience any of these, slow down or stop running. If they get worse, sit down in the shade and get some help.

You can always stay inside and do a workout DVD in the air conditioning! But for those training for an event, finding ways to beat the heat help to stay on track and conditioned for that upcoming race.

Do you have any tips for hot-weather exercising? We’d love to hear from you.

I am a jogger. Not a runner; I don’t run very fast at all. But I enjoy jogging on the back roads around my house. I’ve done a few 5ks during the past three years. I do not try for an amazing time in these races; I just try to beat my last time. I would say I’m a middle-of-the-pack racer.

I started jogging outside this year in late March and ran the Komen race on May 1. After that, I took a week off to recover. Then another…..and I never really started up again. I would run a day here or there, but not enough to keep up my endurance. Now I am training for a 5k in August. I jogged twice this week and WOW, it was hard! I feel like I’ve lost everything from that race in May, which makes sense; I haven’t “trained” in a month and a half. It made me wonder, how long does it take to get out of shape?

I found on About.com: Sports Medicine that for beginning athletes, two months definitely puts you back at level 1. You lose absolutely all the aerobic gains and return to your original fitness level. For fit athletes, after three months they have only lost half of their aerobic conditioning. I would have to say I’m in that beginning category, because running 1 mile yesterday was too much work.

Here are the tips I found for maintaining fitness through breaks:

• Don’t quit completely. Try to exercise at least once per week.
• Cross Train through injuries.
• Use Circuit Training Routines for fast, high intensity exercise two or three times a week.
• Practice Efficient Strength Training methods.
• Use Fast Workouts to Maintain Fitness with Limited Time.
• Remember that Rest and Recovery can be as important as training, so use this time to recovery.
• Add 30-Second Sprints to your routine for fast fitness.
• Short, high intensity exercise burns more calories if you are limited on time.
• Maintain Endurance with Shuttle Runs

We’d love to hear your tips for maintaining fitness levels when you have to take a short break. Happy exercising!