Month: August 2014

Forget the blaring ring from your phone’s alarm clock. Your early morning routine may soon get so much more enjoyable — and infinitely more aromatic.

British designer Josh Renouf has come up with an alarm clock that makes you a cup of coffee as you snooze.

This alarm clock automatically brews coffee while you wake http://t.co/CF6wzl1Z6N pic.twitter.com/ZbI5DtSaYW

— Engadget (@engadget) August 5, 2014

Renouf’s alarm clock-coffee brewer, dubbed the Barisieur, is designed to wake you up with the delicious smell of freshly brewing coffee and the gentle rumbling of stainless steel ball bearings that boil water using induction heating.

Consumers just have to remember to prepare the machine the night before, filling it with all the water and ground coffee the machine might need to make that perfect cuppa. The machine also comes with compartments for milk, sugar and extra coffee.

As Engadget points out, coffee lovers can’t buy the Barisieur just yet, but plans to get the alarm clock-coffee maker on the market are underway. According to Renouf’s website, the Barisieur will likely retail for between $250 and $420.

While some consumers have expressed excitement at the prospect of owning a Barisieur (“Shut up and take my money!” declared one enthusiastic Twitter user), others have lamented the gadget’s high price and — considering the many fragile items that might be located next to one’s bed — the seemingly high potential for disaster.

“One sleepy shove and the coffee is all over the electronics, the bedstand and floor,” wrote one commenter after reading about the Barisieur on Gizmag.com. “Nope — I think I’ll buy a ‘Mr. Coffee’ coffee pot with a timer instead.”

Would you buy a Barisieur alarm clock-coffee maker? Weigh in below.

Save your routine morning O.J. for another day, because on Wednesday, Aug. 6, Jamba Juice will be dishing out 12 ounces of free, freshly squeezed juice from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The juice company recently launched a bunch of made-to-order freshly-squeez…

These easy dishes don’t require a ton of brainpower and contain ingredients that just might have you doing a dance of joy right in your kitchen.

By Lynn Andriani

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting this week, “gluten-free” labels on packaged foods have real meaning. Until now, the term “gluten-free” had not been regulated, and manufacturers made their own decisions about what it means.

This new requirement is especially important for people who suffer from celiac disease and don’t absorb nutrients well. They can get sick from the gluten found in wheat and other cereal grains.

Under a rule announced a year ago, food manufacturers had until Tuesday to ensure that anything labeled gluten-free contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten — ensuring that those products are technically free of wheat, rye and barley. That amount is generally recognized by the medical community to be low enough so that most people who have celiac disease won’t get sick if they eat it.

Currently, wheat must be labeled on food packages but barley and rye are often hidden ingredients.

Celiac disease causes abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea, and people who have it can suffer weight loss, fatigue, rashes and other long-term medical problems. Celiac is a diagnosed illness that is more severe than gluten sensitivity, which some people self-diagnose.

Ten years ago, most people had never heard of celiac disease. But awareness and diagnosis of the illness have grown exponentially in recent years. It’s not entirely clear why. Some researchers say it was underdiagnosed; others say it’s because people eat more processed wheat products, such as pasta and baked goods, than in past decades, and those items use types of wheat that have a higher glutencontent.

The standard will ensure that companies can’t label products “gluten-free” if they are cross-contaminated from other products made in the same manufacturing facility. The rules don’t apply to restaurants, but the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging them to comply.

Gluten-free foods have become big business in the last several years. Millions of people are buying the foods because they say they make them feel better, even if they don’t have celiac disease.

Alice Bast of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness says the gluten-free trend has been good for those diagnosed with celiac because of the increased variety of options in the grocery store. But she says it also may have prompted some companies to lose focus on the people who need those foods the most.

The new regulations are “raising awareness that there is a disease associated with the gluten-free diet,” she said.

Steve Hughes, CEO of Boulder Brands, which owns leading gluten-free food companies Glutino and Udi’s, says his company’s products all have 10 parts per million of gluten, less than the new standard. He praises the FDA regulations for being a “stake in the ground” that can increase the integrity of the gluten-free market.

“If consumers can’t have confidence in the products long-term, it’s going to hurt the overall trend,” he said.

Evel Knievel could successfully jump over 16 cars, but he never cleared a 50-gallon vat of ramen. That distinguished achievement went to some guy on a dirt bike nicknamed Tim “Mud Dog” this past weekend. First, an important detail: “We did cover the soup with Saran wrap before he jumped over it with the bike. A lot of people have been really […]

We all know something is broken when 91% of all seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from outside the U.S, and over two-thirds of all seafood we eat is shrimp, salmon, tilapia (almost all farm-raised under dubious conditions) or canned tuna. Our vast oc…