The first time I ever tried a caprese salad was when I was visiting my much-more-sophisticated-than-I older cousin Billy Jo. She and her husband own an exquisite home in Houston and my sister and I were down for a visit nearly a decade ago now.

Before dinner one night, Billy pullled out the ingredients for a caprese salad – fresh mozzarella, gorgeous roma tomatoes, huge stems of basil, and a little balsamic vinegar.

Never having seen such an adventurous flavor combination before, I watched closely as she meticulously layered the cheese with the tomato, and then the basil, over and over again until the plate resembled the Italian flag. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar finished it off before we all claimed our portion. Admittedly, my then 16-year-old self didn’t appreciate the robust, fresh flavors. But now, it’s one of my absolute favorite Italian bites. This “grilled cheese” sandwich is an homage to that salad with a bit more heartiness and the ease of portability.
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The more I started digging into whole foods, the more I started learning about whole foods blogs that boasted amazing recipes like Blueberry oat cobblers, Tuscan kale salads, and superfood nut butter cups (just to name a few). Such a blog is A Couple Cooks, run by husband and wife team Alex and Sonja Overhiser.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Sonja recently about she and Alex’s blog, their approach to health, and their outlook on life. Here’s what she had to say.

Why did you start your food blog?
A Couple Cooks started as an offshoot of what was our personal blog at the time, which was quickly becoming filled with photos of food as we were falling in love with cooking. However, we also started it with a mission – as a place to inspire home cooking and healthy eating, which we’d found so much joy and fulfillment from in our own lives. It’s taken on a new life from when it started – it’s become a place where we can express ourselves creatively, as well as a way to connect to our local food community and others around the world who love food. It also gives us a place to think about advocacy and activism, be it for food/health issues, environment, or social justice.
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• In an interview with Net-A-Porter magazine, 31-year-old actress and mother of two Jessica Alba admitted to using a corset to achieve her sleek and toned body after babies. The star was quoted as saying “After birth I wore a double corset for three months. It was sweaty but worth it.”

• While corsets can serve many purposes, some rely on them for weight loss because of their supposed ability to create thermal heat through the midsection, causing users to lose inches “through the science of compression,” according to hourglassangel.com.

• Many garments from hourglassangel.com also include latex, which is designed to compress the midsection, increase perspiration - as Alba noted – and flush toxins from the area, collectively speeding weight loss.

• In an experimental report for ABC News, journalist Deborah Roberts wore a corset for two weeks. On day two she admitted being “starving and feeling a bit squeezed…After four or five bites [of salad], I can’t eat anymore. I feel full.”
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When did your weight struggles begin?
The truth of the matter is I was always a heavy kid. There was never an inciting incident that made me gain weight. From the time I started elementary school I was overweight and it got progressively more out of hand.

Where did your your bad eating habits come from?
My mom has told me before she wishes she’d have known or she’d have taken the bagel out of my hand, but it’s hard to tell your kid no. I agree with her. I think I would have very much resented my family for doing that.
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As we move into spring it’s the perfect time to become more mindful of our sleep patterns. Adequate rest is important for so many reasons. Health and fitness expert Stephanie Mansour of Step it Up with Steph points out that adequate rest can help reset and cleanse our bodies to get back on track. “Some people even look at spring as a rebirth or revival and a chance to start over,” she said, suggesting more rest can be a “spring resolution” of sorts.

Mary Hartley, RD, agrees, noting good rest is necessary all year long. “Health wise, sleep is just as important as diet and exercise,” she said. “Getting enough sleep may also be a critical factor in a person’s weight.”

While 7-8 hours is recommended and a new study even suggests Americans are getting more shut eye than usual, it’s also important to ensure it’s quality rest. Otherwise, the benefits of those precious ZZZs can slip right through our fingers.

To help, we’ve gathered eight simple tips to help you start sleeping better and longer, tonight.
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