In general, I consider myself to be a health-conscious person, but last year, I realized my diet needed a total overhaul.

I noticed my once refined diet had begun to slip away from me. I was content with eating meat for nearly every meal, snacking relentlessly while I worked and (worst of all) turning to fast food when I was too lazy to cook meals for myself.

But then, I had an epiphany. I decided it was time for me to make a major change.

Right around this time last year, I madethe switch toa plant-powered, all vegan diet.

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I wish I could say my attempt at a vegan diet was totally successful, but there were several speed bumps along the way.

Like me, maybe you know you want to be vegan, but there are some questions you need to ask yourself in order to prepare for new vegan life.

From my experience, one thing is certain: I wish I would have made a more gradual, deliberate switch to veganism.

These questions are ones I should have asked myself beforehand.

Fortunately, you can all learn by my novice dietary mistakes:

Asking yourself this pivotal question is a somewhat vague, but its an important starting point. The most typical answer the answer is yes, a vegan diet will be healthy.

But, how you choose to navigate your vegan quest is up to you.

First off, if you have any health conditions, keep them at the forefront of your mind. For a lot of people, a vegan diet will help combat illnesses.

For example,cutting out dairy and animal products, as well as gluten and processed foods, is beneficial to many people living with celiac disease.

So, a vegan diet can offer additional health benefits to some people, beyond simply being a health-conscious diet choice.

But that being said, its important to remember you should always consult your doctor before making a diet switch, especially if you are on the fence about it.

It never hurts to double-check with a physician, nutritionist and/or dietitian.

In order to make a healthy switch to a plant-powered diet, youll want to make sure you make a gradual transition.

Most people dont find success when rapid diet change happens overnight. Instead, plan to cut out animal products systematically.

Its smart to start by cutting out just red meat or pork, then gradually stop eating poultry and finally eliminating fish from your diet.

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This can also be done with dairy items by cutting them out one category at a time.

When I started a vegan diet, I took the cold turkey approach. This ultimately didnt go over well.

I had intense food cravings all the time after cutting everything out at once. If I would have been more deliberate in my approach, I likely would have had a better experience changing my diet.

While theres no hard and fast rule for this, consider taking up to a few months to transition to veganism.

Change at your own speed!

There are risks with any diet change.

An article titled The Hidden Risks of Your Restricted Dietexplained,

In avoiding these foods, people on or considering vegan diets can miss out on important nutrients such as vitamin B12, calcium, iron, and zinc. Its not uncommon for vegans or vegetarians to take supplements in order to round out their diets.

Supplementing for dietary change is a fantastic idea and will eliminate some corollary risks.

Youll want to take a multivitamin if you arent already.

Take precautions to make sure you are getting enough calorie intake, as well as enough protein, and other vitamins and minerals that are mostly found in meat.

Do you meal plan? Do you ever prep out your meals? If you dont, now you certainly need to.

One of the biggest challenges for new a new vegan is knowing what to eat and just how much of it to eat.

Its normal to feel like you dont have many culinary options.

But, try not to allow yourself to feel limited. The biggest limitation to a vegan diet is your own lack of creativity!

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A key to a successful vegan agenda involves constantly self-educating, experimenting and trying new foods.

When I started out, some of my all time favorite cruelty-free recipes were as follows:

Sweet and Sour Thai Noodle Salad

Glazed Lentil Walnut Loaf

BBQ Jackfruit Sandwich

Vegan Street Tacos

Vegan Kimchi

Italian Seitan Sausage

Chana Dal with Cauliflower

Teff Brownies

While vegan diets are more healthy in theory, there are plenty of people doing it wrong. Strive for a variety of fresh and raw foods, and stay away from the processed stuff as much as possible.

When I switched to a vegan diet, I was careful to heavily research foods that may contain hidden animal products.

Honestly, I was fairly paranoid I was going to mistakenly eat something with gelatin or dairy or fish oil.

After much research, I came up with a list of everyday foods that people dont realize contain animal products.

Be careful with sauces and salad dressings, as many have small amounts of animal products.

Worcestershire sauce and many other sauces have anchovy extract in them. Caesar dressing commonly contains eggs, and a lot of other salad dressing have at least some dairy in them.

Many foods unexpectedly contain gelatin. Of course, JELL-O has it, but so do most marshmallows, gummy bears and some chewing gum.

Strangely enough, packaged nuts may also contain gelatin. So, always check the ingredients list!

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Other foods with lurking animal ingredients are chips, cake mixes, refried beans, margarine, foods with red dye, soy and nut cheeses and certain types of sugar.

Finally, be on the lookout for drinks with small amounts of animal products.

Some brands of orange juice are boosted with omega-3s that are derived from fish.

Certain beer contains fish oil, and some wineries and breweries use a membrane called isinglass to filter their drinks. This comes from the bladders of tropical fish.

Youll want to make sure you cover all of your dietary bases. You dont want animal products to accidentally slip back into your food.

Check out PETAs Animal-Derived Ingredients List resource and the posts addition, as well as a post on TreeHugger titled 9 everyday products you didnt know had animal ingredients for more information on this.

While understanding that this may be a concern for some people, its important to remember theres no shame in a basic human function, like passing gas.

Beyond that, its also a misconception that all vegans fart more often than other people. Since vegetables and other vegan stable foods tend to be fibrous, a lot of people equate a vegan diet to farts.

Asafoetida, also known as hing, is frequently added to food as a digestive aid to help with gas and bloating.

This dried herb and its gummy secretion are used in Indian and Middle Eastern food as a flavor enhancer.

Its also a gassy vegans best friend.

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Robert Parmer is a freelance web writer, student of Boise State University and chef. Outside of writing and reading adamantly he enjoys creating and recording music, caring for his pet cat, and commuting by bicycle whenever possible.

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6 Questions You Need To Ask Yourself Before Switching To A Vegan Diet - Elite Daily

Do you want to be permanently full of joy just like the worlds happiest man?

Of course you do and luckily, theres one very simple thing you need to do to attain true happiness.

According to Matthieu Ricard, a Tibetan monk and a confidante of the Dalai Lama, its ridiculously simple: Just go vegan.

In a campaign video for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the 71-year-old Frenchman urged people to take up the diet, saying,

True happiness can only be attained when we avoid causing pain to others, so please become vegan like me.

And who are we to argue with him?

In 2012, research on Ricards brain by neuroscientist Richard Davidson produced extraordinary results.

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Excessive activity in his brains left prefrontal cortex compared to the right revealed he has an especially large capacity for happiness, researchers said.

The level of gamma waves produced by his brain had never (been) reported before in the neuroscience literature.

In the PETA video, he added,

I am extremely concerned by the fate of the 8million other species who share this world with us, and who, like us, wish to avoid suffering and live out their lives.

When you ask people if they are in favor of justice and morality, everyone will say yes.

Do you think you could then ask that its just and moral to inflict unnecessary suffering on sentient beings? Everyone will say no.

And thats exactly the case, because today this suffering is not necessary. If you love animals, watch and take action.

As well as his claims about eating meat affecting levels of happiness, Ricard, a former genetic scientist who is a scholar of Western religion, cited studies that have linked meat to health conditions. These include a possible link to heart disease, he said.

So if youre looking for the key to true happiness,you might need to ditch the meat.

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Harley Tamplin is a writer for Elite Daily and British guy lost in New York City. He previously worked for Metro.co.uk in London.

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Guy's Simple Argument For Going Vegan Will Make You Want To Change Your Diet - Elite Daily

It was truly a vegan cheesesteak extravaganza last night at the Philadelphia Ethical Society. OK, we haven't heard back from Guinness yet, but it may well have been the first time ever that so many different kinds of vegan cheesesteaks were gathered in one room. Certainly these were some of the best vegan cheesesteaks available anywhere as we gathered to name 2017's Best Vegan Cheesesteak in Philly.

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Finalists Blackbird Pizzeria, Wiz Kid and Frankie's on Fairview all served samples of their popular sandwiches, as did high-placing vote-getters The Tasty and PlantPure Cafe. These latter two, plus Wiz Kid, opened within the last year, and all put in a strong showing in this year's contest and at the Ethical Society auditorium. At the event's end, attendees were also treated to vegan Tiramisu and other treats from Vegan Chef Lenka,courtesy of The Plough and The Stars.

Our fantastic judges - PMN columnist Jenice Armstrong, chef Fran Costigan, City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson and architect Joel Spivak - were both eloquent and voracious, leaving only a couple crumbs on their respective plates (having been good sports about not partaking of any cheesesteak samples before they were seated). In particular, Councilman Johnson made an impromptu speech giving a shout-out to Philly's vegan businesses and citing their key role in making plant-based living and eating easier to adopt when people have a mind to do so. Frank Olivieri, Jr., proprietor of cheesesteak-originator Pat's Steaks, kept things lively, interviewing judges and humorously razzing me when I started going on about the health liabilities of nonvegan cheesesteaks.

Judges' gift bags were donated by V Marks the Shop, whose Carmella Lanni and Carlo Giardina were present, Carlo reminding vegan food-contest lovers about the upcoming 'Philly MacDown II.' Also generously providing prizes were Miss Rachel's Pantry, Wear Bare Bones vegan tees, Chef Christina Martin and Michael Cassady of Michael's Seitan.

In the end, the judges' panel awarded two #1 votes to Wiz Kid and two #1 votes to Blackbird - a dramatic tie that was broken by Blackbird's top showing as 'Fan Favorite' among Vegan Cheesesteak Fans Everywhere.

Definitely a squeaker of a win for Blackbird, but that's two in a row for the beloved pizza joint and three years out of the four total for the contest - a dominating presence, for sure!

In conversation after the win, Blackbird owner Mark Mebus turned the focus to the vegan scene in general, saying he's most excited "to see the demand for non-animal-based foods growing drastically, even among places you'd assume would have no interest in vegan food. There's now a lot of places in Philly committed to opening people's eyes, and that's being accomplished by the efforts of a lot of people. It's great to see people waking up to these topics."

For this year, Wiz Kid, whose entry had its origins in a 2016 cheesesteak custom-made for Senator Cory Booker, had to settle for second place and the "Top Newcomer" award. Frankie's on Fairview, which came in second in voting, was well received by the crowd and continues to perform impressively in the contest for a small, far-flung venue, but is taking on an always-a-bridesmaid role that the Woodlyn diner will doubtless seek to cast aside in 2018.

Despite such comic moments as my discovering the Official Vote-Card Stapler had no staples in it, the event went smoothly overall thanks to our wonderful volunteers, coordinated by event-planning mastermind Char Nolan, who also made the welcome table and judges' table into things of beauty.

Congratulations once again to Blackbird and all who participated. Here again are the top ten vote-getters from this year's contest, all worth sampling on your next vegan-cheesesteak crawl. (Happily, no asterisk - all these places' vegan offerings are on 100% vegan rolls.)

Blackbird Pizzeria, the vegan landmark, opening a location in Northern Liberties about 1 hour ago

Free cheesesteaks! It's National Cheesesteak Day about 2 hours ago

Published: March 24, 2017 2:33 PM EDT | Updated: March 24, 2017 2:50 PM EDT

Over the past year, the Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com have uncovered corruption in local and state public offices, shed light on hidden and dangerous environmental risks, and deeply examined the regions growing heroin epidemic. This is indispensable journalism, brought to you by the largest, most experienced newsroom in the region. Fact-based journalism of this caliber isnt cheap. We need your support to keep our talented reporters, editors and photographers holding government accountable, looking out for the public interest, and separating fact from fiction. If you already subscribe, thank you. If not, please consider doing so by clicking on the button below. Subscriptions can be home delivered in print, or digitally read on nearly any mobile device or computer, and start as low as 25 per day. We're thankful for your support in every way.

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Blackbird squeaks past challenger Wiz Kid to retain vegan cheesesteak title - Philly.com (blog)

Since the Impossible Burgers debuton the meat-centric menu of restaurateurDavid ChangsMomofuku Nishi, Impossible Foods premier producthas continued to gain momentum. Every day, hungry customerswould line up outside Momofuku Nishi waiting to get a taste of the vegan burger that bleeds.Thanks to an innovative combination of wheat and potato protein, coconut oil, andheme, an iron-rich compound, the Impossible Burger is closer to the real thing than any other burger.No matter if they were vegan, vegetarian, or meat-eater everyone wanted to experience how true to the taste and texture of a beef patty the Impossible Burger truly was.

Shortly after, the Impossible Burger was added to the menu of several high-end restaurants, each with their own interpretation of how to serve it. Most recently, Bareburger, an organic restaurant chain with 44 locations in five countries, added the Impossible Burgerat one of their NYC locations with plans to expand to other U.S. locations, offering a customizable experience and bringing the meat-free burger that tastes like the real thing even closer to mainstream consumers.Bareburger CEO and co-founder Euripides Pelekanos told Fortune that unlike other vegan burgers, the Impossible Burger is geared toward meat eaters, continuing, Its not going to live as [a]veggie burger on the menu. Its going to live side-by-side with the beef burger. At a time when more people than ever are cutting back on meat consumption, the plant-based Impossible Burger is giving consumers something that has been missing up until now: a meatless option that is practically indistinguishable from the real thing.

However, the success of the Impossible Burger at high-end restaurants was only the beginning. Rather than settle for being the sole vegan burger option, Impossible Foods CEO Patrick Brown is looking to make the burger that bleeds the new norm at every burger chain. And now, a future where even more Americans can pick up the Impossible Burger from a local restaurant is closer thanmost of us thought possible. Impossible Foods just cut the ribbon on a large-scale production facility located in Oakland, California.

As reported by The Good Food Institute, the facility will allow Impossible Foods to increase their production capacity from enough burgers to supply only eight restaurants to enough for1,000 restaurants. Thats at least one million pounds of meatless meat per month (enough to make four million burgers), which is250 percentmore than their current capacity, according to a report byYahoo! Finance. The entire game is about to change. But what makes this burger so different from the prepackaged veggie burgers were already familiar with?

While true foodies will travel cross-countryjust to try the Impossible Burger, CEO Patrick Brown is on a greater mission: In twenty years, we want to be producing more than half of the worlds supply of all of the foods were getting from animals. We need to grow on that scale because the problem were addressing [i.e., climate change] is so urgent. Brown has also not ruled out bringing the Impossible Burger to grocery stores, stating that theres no reason we cant choose to be everywhere.

Not only is the new facility a huge leap in business for the six-year-old startup, but it is also indicative of a new era of food. This era is defined by more people choosing to leave meat off their plate in favor of plant-based options that taste just as good, if not better, than the real thing and its already happening. Studies show that one-third of Americans are leaving meat off their plates more frequently, and the plant-based protein market is booming.The global plant-based meat market is projected to reach $5 billion by 2020and plant-based protein could represent one-third of overall protein by 2054.Considering these plant-based alternatives do not come with the same health and environmental concerns that meat does, its pretty clear the future of protein is, indeed, plant-based.

Unlike the many veggie burger options that can be found in the frozen foods aisle at grocery stores and increasingly, the menus of most restaurants, Impossible Foods is not targeting vegan and vegetarians; they are actively reaching out to meat-eaters and as the opening of their new facility tells us, they are succeeding.

In-text image source: The Good Food Institute

Lead image source: Impossible Foods/Facebook

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The All-Vegan Impossible Burger Will Be Everywhere Soon - One Green Planet

After seven years on Sixth Street near South, vegan hotspotBlackbird Pizzeria is in expansion mode.

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Mark Mebus and crew are coming to Northern Liberties, as Blackbird will take over the space at 614 N. Second St. that last housed Same Same and previously Koo Zee Doo.

It will be a copy of the original, with the same menu.

Mebus says it should open this spring.

Joe Scarpone and Michael Hersch of MPN Realty handled the transaction.

Published: March 24, 2017 2:41 PM EDT | Updated: March 24, 2017 2:50 PM EDT

Over the past year, the Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com have uncovered corruption in local and state public offices, shed light on hidden and dangerous environmental risks, and deeply examined the regions growing heroin epidemic. This is indispensable journalism, brought to you by the largest, most experienced newsroom in the region. Fact-based journalism of this caliber isnt cheap. We need your support to keep our talented reporters, editors and photographers holding government accountable, looking out for the public interest, and separating fact from fiction. If you already subscribe, thank you. If not, please consider doing so by clicking on the button below. Subscriptions can be home delivered in print, or digitally read on nearly any mobile device or computer, and start as low as 25 per day. We're thankful for your support in every way.

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Blackbird Pizzeria, the vegan landmark, opening a location in Northern Liberties - Philly.com (blog)

The opening day of the inaugural Starry Nites Festival took place ona beautiful sunny day, Saturday, March 18. The festivities unfolded on one of the first days of spring, in the back mountains of Santa Barbara. The eclectic multi-stage music celebration drew a respectable crowd of eager and upbeat music fans but fell short of reaching the 3000-capacity set for the first year.

The spectacular setting was the aptly named Live Oak campground at the top of the San Marcos mountain pass. The campsites stretched along the Santa Ynez river, which was flowing freely for the first time in years after this winter's drought ending rainy season. Campers nestled their tents and hammocks in a meadow of California oak trees, providing a shady canopy from the sun.

Just after noon, the local Santa Barbara band, Afishinsea kicked off the festival on the modest Santa Barbara stage. The moody jam band is well known in the area as an experimental powerhouse of Indie music tunes. Next, to the stage, a tent was set up with a full-service bar and a studio of sorts set up by Roland music. Several different sets of instruments were left to musicians and music fans alike to form impromptu jams throughout the festival. A delicious barbecue stand completed the outside village.

Later in the afternoon, the main Starry Nites village opened complete with two main music stages, several gourmet food trucks and another well stocked full service bar. A large green grassy meadow, exuding the scent of fresh spring flowers, surrounded the outer areas around the stages. Closer to the action, picnic benches carefully placed under the shade of large California oak trees provide seating options for music fans. It was such a relaxing setting; one festival goer could be seen laying on the grass reading a college textbook, well others fell asleep in the tall grass.

The music began on the Cachuma stage, the smaller of the two just after 2 in the afternoon, with only a few people standing in front of the stage in the hot afternoon sun. But by the time the powerful Los Angeles rock band, The Feels took the stage; a small crowd had gathered to hear some great hard rock. In fact, most of the bands, playing at the festival shared an affinity for wailing guitar drenched jams. From the classic 50th anniversary show by one of the first psychedelic rock bands The Strawberry Alarm Clock to the young punk antics of the aptly named Thunderpussy, the show featured multiple generations of incredible musicians.

Thelo-fi indie-rock band, Elvis Depressedly made the trek from Asheville, North Carolina, a city similar to Santa Barbara in many ways, to play an engaging sunset performance. This prolific group has produced no less than eight records in the last seven years. As the sun began to set, the American punkabilly duo The Kolars brought an ever-growing crowd around the stage to life. The married duo of Rob Kolar and tap dancing stand up drummer Lauren Brown bring a persona to their upbeat music, that was first fashioned in their band He's My Brother Shes my sister.

For many, the next band to play was the biggest draw to the festival. As second night headliner Alan Parsons looked on from behind the Cachuma stage, The Strawberry Alarm Clock swarmed the main Starry stage. Remarkably, five of the seven original members of this band formed in 1967, still play the San Francisco style psychedelic rock sound that they helped invent. They were joined by Howie Anderson on rhythm guitar and vocals. Drummer Randy Seol joked thatHowie was the newest member of the band only playing with them since 1986. Randy also joked that the band's other drummer, Gene Gunnels had to leave the group right before their first big hit,Incense, And Peppermints,because his girlfriend gave him an ultimatum to get a real job or she would leave him. The sound crew struggled getting so many instruments microphoned correctly. The set ended up being pushed back 45 minutes behind schedule. But once the band did play, the sound was nearly spot on, and the group was allowed to play their entire 18 song set, delighting the audience including Parsons. The chief architect of the band's music, keyboardist Mark Weitz played with the band for the first time since a near-fatal car crash last August.

As night fell all girl Seattle punk rockers, Thunderpussy had even bigger sound issues on the Cachuma stage. Already behind schedule because of the delayed Strawberry Alarm Clock set, the band had to stop after first losing the minimal lighting on the stage and then half of their microphones, to a generator overload problem. Charismatic lead singer Molly Sides made the best of the situation by prancing about and chatting uptake audience. Once lead guitarist Whitney Petty got her sound working, she broke into a wailing guitar riff sending Sides into a convulsive dance craze and the band never slow down for the rest of their shortened set.

Portland's veteran Indie rock band, The Dandy Warhols turned in the next set of the night, the most intense and angelic of day one. Their moody guitar drenched jams seemed to catch the essence of the festival and played an extended set to the largest crowd of the night. She Wants Revenge from nearby San Fernando Valley brought their somber retro rock sound to the Cachuma stage next, but the minimalist production values of the smaller stage did not suit their style well, and it was an uneventful set.

By the time The Kills played their closing main stage set, well behind schedule, many festival goers had left to negotiate the mountain pass back to the city, or retired to enjoy the serenity of the campground. But the band turned in an energy infused set of intense music that has endeared the band to the likes of musicians like Jack White. While the end of their set just after midnight meant the end of the evening for most attending the festival, several dozen music fans made their way in the dark to the little acoustic stage in the woods. One of the unique aspects of the festival, the acoustic stage featured performances by, the Kolars, enigmatic Los Angeles singer Pearl Charles and Dandy Warhols guitarist Brent Deboer. The soulful performers played tunes until nearly 3 am, while music fans lounged in the meadow, smoking, drinking, dancing and star gazing into the awesome crystal clear mountain sky. It was truly a Starry night.

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Starry Nites Festival 2017 | Day 1 | Review - Grateful Web

Time Change: Everything you need to know about the clocks going forward this weekend

Independent.ie

Spring forward; fall back. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the country will lose an hours sleep as the clocks go forward to mark the start of what is called 'British Summer Time'.

http://www.independent.ie/news/time-change-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-clocks-going-forward-this-weekend-35563392.html

http://www.independent.ie/migration_catalog/article25264569.ece/0083c/AUTOCROP/h342/sleep_thinkstock

Spring forward; fall back. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the country will lose an hours sleep as the clocks go forward to mark the start of what is called 'British Summer Time'.

At 1am on 30 March, civil time in Ireland will be fast-forwarded one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), heralding longer, lighter evenings and, hopefully, the tentative beginnings of summer. It's called 'British Summer Time'.

In todays digitalised world many people dont have to worry about adjusting the hands on a clock - but heres the reasoning behind it.

The idea of British Summer Time was first proposed in the UK by William Willett, who happens to be the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. He felt that valuable daylight was being wasted in the mornings during the summer months because people were still in bed.

In 1907 he published a pamphlet called The Waste of Daylight, in which he outlined his plans to change the time of the nations clocks. But when he died in 1915 the Government still refused to back BST.

It wasnt until a year later, in May 1916, that Britain passed the Summer Time Act and started changing its clocks twice a year. Ireland followed suit.

In 1940, during the Second World War, clocks across Britain were not put back an hour at the end of British Summer Time, in order to save fuel and money.

However, in subsequent years, they continued to be put forward an hour each spring and then put back an hour each autumn until July 1945. This meant that during these summers the UK was two hours ahead of GMT.

Proponents argue that British Summer Time is good for physical and psychological health, particularly in terms of relieving the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

1. It promotes more activity in the evening - good for general fitness, and good for businesses.

2. It's good for the environment, people are using electricity less with longer daylight hours.

3. Expect the traffic not to be as bad on Monday, clocks going forward have been linked to some surprising effects on traffic safety.

4. People generally feel happier, more energetic and have lower sickness rates in the brighter days after clocks change

5. Sex drive increases, carb cravings lower and SAD disorder improves once people feel the effects of spring and the longer daylight hours.

6. The lighter evenings are also said to reduce crime.

Well, theres always the risk of turning up late for a family dinner/ football match/ church service. But, on a more serious note, critics have said that changing the clocks is economically and socially disruptive, therefore cancelling out any benefits.

There are also a number of theories that suggest putting the clocks forward has a negative impact on the human body in 2012 a University of Alabama study found the risk of a heart attack surges by 10 per cent on the Monday and Tuesday after moving the clocks forward.

Summer Time begins on Sunday, March 26.

This means you should put your clocks forward at 1am on Sunday 26 or, failing that, before you bed down for the night on Saturday.

The chills: When your body is in need of more sleep it will begin to automatically prepare itself for rest, which involves cooling itself down. So if you find your teeth chattering at work, its likely that youre in need of more sleep.

An elevated risk of physical health issues: Just half an hour of sleep debt a measure of how people are making up on lost weekday sleep at weekends- can disrupt the natural rhythm of hormones in the body and lead to a much greater risk of diabetes and obesity.

A dangerous lack of concentration: Data shows that theres a distinct rise in the rate of car accidents in the week following the change so make sure that youre feeling fully awake and ready to go before jumping behind the wheel.

Mental health: Lack of sleep is intimately linked to depression. Studies have show that suicide rates tend to rise following the changing of the clocks and this is partly attributed to mental issues that can be brought on by a disruption in circadian rhythms.

Rise in irritability can be a problem for relationships: Less sleep equals higher irritability, elevated selfishness and thus more fights with your partner. Suddenly the fact that they didn't hang up the bath mat embodies the existential failures of your entire relationship.

- And a few methods underneath that may help you get back into your sleeping pattern after the change and potentially aid with sleeping and waking behavior in the future:

As tempting as it may seem, try not to have a lie-in on Sunday: It's likely that, if you sleep in late, you'll impinge on your night's rest. It's very important to keep regularity in sleeping patterns to make sure that you never have to feel like you're catching up.

Theres no point going to sleep if youre awake: If you go to bed in the knowledge that you're not going to get to sleep any time soon, all that you're doing is lying down, thinking about how long it is until your alarm goes off and growing anxious. Stay up for a bit and read a book or listen to relaxing music, anything to take your mind off actually trying to drift off.

No tablets in bed: It can be very tempting to send off a few emails or watch a couple of programmes before going to sleep but it's important to keep the bed set aside for sex and sleep only. The human brain's natural inclination is to make association with objects so if you're on your tablet for an hour before bed, it's likely to become a habit.

Ease off the caffeine after lunch: Research has shown that caffeine consumed up to six hours before sleep is likely to have a negative effect on sleep patterns so try and keep coffees to the morning.

Independent News Service

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Time Change: Everything you need to know about the clocks going forward this weekend - Irish Independent

Preschool SVOD app Hopster has launched a new digital playroom hubcalled Senseto help kids, particularly those with autism, develop sensory processing skills. Along with the extension of the app, Hopster is also debuting original content focused on accepting and tolerating differences.

The playroom will appear inHopsters special themed area, andwill be available on April 2 at the launch of Hopsters Celebrating Differences and Similarities campaign.

New original animated fare supporting the initiative includes Punky, about a young girl with Down Syndrome; Mouk, a show introducing kids to different cultures and customs; African cultural showBino and Fino; The Adventures of Zee, about Arabic culture; and Signed Storiesclassic fairy tales told throughnarration and sign language.

The extension hopes to both relax kids and let them play. Itincludes nine screens with various textures, sights and sounds that kids can interact with by using their fingers. It is designed to helpdevelop fine motor skills, especially when it comes to rotation and positioning.

On the relaxation side, asection of the app includes calm and meditative animations using water and bubbles, as well as relaxing instrumental music and sounds.

Sense has undergone intensive user testing and Hopster consulted with parents andspecial educational teachers to create a product that best fits the needs of kids with autism. In that vein, there are two color options within the appfor kidswith sensitivity to light and color.

The news comes just after Sesame Workshop debuted its first autistic character on the seriesto expand its autism initiative.

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Hopster launches digital playroom for autistic kids - Kidscreen

SMITHFIELD Its getting green again on the Tom and Linda Schwarz farm south of Smithfield, at least in the greenhouses where tiny mint and mustard plants were the first to emerge in early March from the organic soil sourced from Wisconsin dairy.

The four 30-foot wide greenhouses one is 100 feet long, two are each 72 feet long and one is 50 feet long first were used during the 2011 growing season.

They represent the latest steps in the Schwarz Family Farm transition from a traditional commodity grain, hay and livestock farm to an added-value enterprise now specializing in certified organic crops and produce. Tom said he now is planning to return cattle to the farms diverse mix of food and feed products.

Were thinking about starting some grasses for people to use in their yards, Linda added.

The family part of the six-generation farm has included daughter, Becky, as marketing director since she graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010 and son, Alex, who was sales manager from after his Chadron State College graduation in 2008 until recently. Alex now lives and works in Kearney.

With Alex out of it, we need to figure out what we can do with one less person, Becky said.

It certainly wont be the first time the family has adapted to change.

Tom said that after he and Linda were married in 1984, he farmed with his dad, Paul Pete Schwarz. They had livestock and crops irrigated with surface water delivered by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and groundwater.

We were farming on a large scale, 2,500 acres irrigated, Tom said, which required hired help.

In the 1990s, his dad said it was time to scale back to what he and Tom could handle on their own. After Pete died in 1997, the acres shrunk again as the family settled the estate.

Tom said that over 10 years, they had cut the farm enterprise in half and then cut it in half again. We couldnt work in the traditional sense. We had to change our thinking, he said. All you are is lunch, in time, for those big guys unless you build a different house.

So they transitioned into the only organic farm in Gosper County.

Tom said it was a good fit with the hay grinding business they had started in the early 1980s. They now use a rotation of organic irrigated corns, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.

Hes looking at feeding some calves with rotational grazing of annual and perennial forages under pivot irrigation.

Becky said she also has an idea for raising some pasture pigs in the future.

Weve gotta break out of this traditional mentality of this is how you farm get out of thinking about commodities and (think) about customers, Tom said about a key to the future for many ag producers.

He said farmers and ranchers need to produce the products consumers want and deliver them when they want them. If people want non-GMO, we can raise non-GMO. If they want GMO, we can grow GMOs, he added.

Tom said his family prefers to grow food-grade crops. He explained that if they cant sell food-grade corn for a premium, it still can be sold as a commodity. The oats they grow can be sold as food, seed or feed.

A huge part of earning premiums for certified organic products is keeping the detailed records required. Record keeping requirements for organic are enormous, Tom said. Thats what Linda does almost full time.

Linda said she submits an application due each March for an annual recertification. At least one inspector comes to the farm to collect crop samples to test for GMO hybrids and pesticide use.

There are trade-offs with organic production, the Schwarzes said. Chemical and fertilizer costs arent as high, but there is more labor involved.

So instead of writing a check to Monsanto, we write checks to our kids, Tom joked.

Seasonal employees are needed to tend the greenhouse plants. Linda said there were seven teens hired last summer, six from Holdrege and one from Bertrand.

There is a lot of pruning with tomatoes, she said. They also do a lot of transplanting and packaging.

Linda and Becky oversee the produce production, while Tom farms the field crops.

Like all farmers, they weigh the pros and cons of different crops each year.

Tom said the Palmer amaranth infestation in south-central Nebraska soybean fields last year was just killing us. It also is an issue for a calf feeding plan that includes roasted soybeans, which are digested farther down the digestive track than alfalfa and other feeds.

Most produce is grown in the greenhouses, although Becky grew some garlic, onions, leeks and jalapeos, and a little okra outside last year.

Linda said the smallest greenhouse has perennial herbs and overflow from the other three. Its the only one heated over the winter, she said, so its home to anything that might freeze.

The 100-foot-long greenhouse is the starter site for most plants and where sugar pea greens are grown. The two middle-size, movable greenhouses are where most tomatoes, peppers, white carrots and beets are grown.

The major market for Schwarz Family Farm produce is Hy-Vee, primarily Omaha and Lincoln area stores. Some also goes to the Grand Island and Kearney stores.

We literally call them up when we have things ready, Tom said. Some stores take a bunch and some take a little. Theres no rhyme or reason.

Becky transports most of the produce in a refrigerated delivery truck or sometimes a Toyota 4Runner with the air conditioner set on high.

I would really prefer it if we could hit the early tomato market, by the first of June, but that can be a challenge, Tom said, explaining that the best premiums are paid for produce delivered earlier or later than the big seasons for other commercial growers and home gardeners.

Most of the organic grain, which must be identity preserved, is marketed through Scoular, which has an organic division. The Schwarzes leave the wheat in their bins and Scoular picks it up there for the markets the company serves.

Tom said a lot of corn goes to a Chase, Kan., egg producer and some soybeans go to dairies that have their own soybean roasters.

Much of the organic alfalfa is sold to area conventional buyers, he said, because its hard to haul hay long distances.

Read more:

Schwarz family prepares to add cattle to diverse organic food and feed production - Kearney Hub

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