Inner Nature: Chocolate — food or poison?

By Vidja Rajan, Columnist, The Times Easter, with its egg hunts and chocolate eggs, is past. With the current school closures and social distancing, the kids are bouncing off the walls already, and don’t need any further stimulation. It’s time to get rid of the chocolate. But the reliable excess food disposal unit, aka Man’s Best Friend, is forbidden from gormandizing Godivas. Why so? In this...

Don’t Retire, ReFire: Pivoting to cope with changing times

By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times No matter what age we are, there comes a time in our lives, or many times in our lives, when we must take stock of where we’ve been, where we are now and where we want to go. We currently have the gift of time to ponder such introspection. It is essential to take stock of our lives and ask those questions in order to assess and reevaluate if we’re on...

COVID-19 will change a lot for your dental/medical providers

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times I don’t have to tell anyone that the world we knew just a few short weeks ago has been forever altered thanks to a tiny viral invader. What’s important to know is that many changes need to be made as a result of how we as a country handled this. Now – before anyone looks for me with pitchforks and torches, I am not on a political crusade,...

Don’t Retire, ReFire: What a difference a month makes

By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times My last article was about “going into the desert”, figuratively speaking, to realign myself and focus on guarding and protecting from the distractions that were and still are affecting who I truly am, the “Real Me”. That meant disconnecting myself from what was making my heart heavy. It meant to still my mind and to reconnect with myself and my God...

A common sense guide to prevention of COVID-19 — and a look at the likely impact

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times Today I sent a communication to my patients, explaining what should be, for most, common sense.  I advised my patients that if they have a cough, a fever, respiratory symptoms or shortness of breath that they should reschedule their dental appointment. Why? All I needed to do was to take a look around, in my small waiting area were two elderly...

On Your Table: An evolving Chicken Dijon with White Wine

By Cathy Branciaroli, Food Correspondent, The Times Recipes evolve.  That’s the beauty and creativity of cooking, resulting in a treat for all of us.  Sometimes the adaptation represents a great deal of change, sometimes  it’s just a little tweak.  Each cook adds his or her own particular twist, even to classic recipes. The recipe featured in this post has quite a heritage, yet I couldn’t...

Don’t Retire, ReFire: Sometimes you have to ‘go into the desert.’

By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like you’re just going through the motions? Have you felt like you can’t find joy in your day to day life? Have you felt unsettled about it and not sure what to do and how to pull yourself out of your funk? I had a revelation last week as I ruminated over what to give up for Lent, which is that period...

Don’t Retire, ReFire: The most important relationship in your life

By Gail Supplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times February, the month that celebrates L-O-V-E. Love comes in many forms. We each think of love differently, depending on our experiences and where we are in our lives. There’s young love, seasoned love, love of a caregiver, love of animals, love of nature, love of life and I could go on. Having said all of that, thee most exciting, challenging and significant...

An apple a day may keep the dentist away

By Dr. Stephanie McGann, DMD FAGD, Columnist, The Times We’ve all heard that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” This old adage has been around for more than 100 years.  While there is no real empirical evidence that regularly eating an apple will replace your primary care physician, there is plenty of evidence that apples are a healthy choice. The vitamins, minerals and fiber are good...

Don’t Retire – ReFire: New Year! New Decade! New Beginnings?

By Gail Suplee Tatum, Columnist, The Times So many of us enter the New Year with great expectations and high hopes for a year greater than the year before.  In order to accomplish that, we look for ways to start over and improve ourselves. We’re ready to turn over a new leaf, to make things different, to get ahead, and to achieve greatness. Whether resolutions were made or not, my guess is that...