Sleep Your Way To Better Health
Sleep: it’s probably the last thing on your priority list, but one of the first things you notice when it’s missing. A new study from the CDC shows that 41 million American workers aren’t getting enough sleep. That’s about 30% of the American workforce.
A strong cup of coffee may mask symptoms briefly, but the problems of insufficient sleep run much deeper: the CDC calls it a “public health epidemic,” not only because it drastically increases on-the-job accidents:
“Persons experiencing sleep insufficiency are also more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity.” (CDC)
Follow the links above to learn more about the problem. And follow these tips below to work yourself toward a personal solution.
10 Healthy Sleep Tips
From the National Sleep Foundation:
- Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, including weekends.
- Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.
- Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool.
- Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.
- Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.
- Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime.
- Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout at least a few hours before bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) close to bedtime. It can keep you awake.
- Avoid nicotine (e.g. cigarettes, tobacco products). Used close to bedtime, it can lead to poor sleep.
- Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.
The National Sleep Foundation is a great resource for all sorts of sleep-related information, including an excellent response to the most common sleep-related question, “How much sleep do I need?”
If you want to start sleeping better, now is the time to start. Get your family on board (it’ll do you all good), or for online reinforcement, the folks over at GOOD.is have named “Sleep Better” as their GOOD 30-Day Challenge for May (at the end of the article, you can sign up for sleeping tips and reminders all month).
Now, go get some zzz’s! And sleep well.
Hot on the heels of our Mediterranean Brisling Sardines and Kipper Snacks with Cracked Black Pepper, we just announced our third new product for 2012: Smoked Oysters in Olive Oil with Red Chili Pepper.
We took a customer favorite – Crown Prince Natural Smoked Oysters – and added just enough red chili pepper for the perfect kick. Just like their classic cousin, these sustainably harvested and naturally smoked oysters are packed in pure, cold pressed olive oil.
While the ocean water may be chilly, that doesn’t stop these little oysters from bringing some heat to your kitchen. Look for Crown Prince Natural Smoked Oysters in Olive Oil with Red Chili Pepper nationwide in your favorite natural food market. Give them a try and let us know what you think!
Kipper Snacks Bring Nova Scotia’s Freshness to Your Kitchen
If the Bay of Fundy webcam we shared in our last Global Spotlight post didn’t bring the waters of Nova Scotia to life for you, then we recommend taking the next (admittedly biased) step: Crown Prince Kipper Snacks – “kipper” being a generations-old term for herring.
Herring are low in the fish food chain, which means they feed on plankton, rather than other fish. This makes them quite nutrient rich, and the Bay of Fundy, with its massive tide, is constantly refreshed with fresh plankton from the sea. It’s a great feeding ground for fish, which are in turn, a great healthy food for us.
Preparation: Simple and Pure
To maintain freshness, our herring are caught and canned less than 50 miles apart, on the same coast. We prepare them the old fashioned way: simple and pure.
The herring are naturally smoked over local hardwoods: maple and oak. The wood is ground onsite to make woodchips, and as the fish pass through the smokehouse, they are both cooked and slightly flavored by the rich wood smoke.
Out of the smokehouse, they are fully cooked and ready for canning. These Kipper Snacks are hand-packed and every piece is handled and inspected as it goes into the can. Then the cans are sealed, labeled, and shipped out to our warehouses.
Next Stop: Your Kitchen
Our Kipper Snacks are available in grocery stores and natural food markets nationwide. Don’t forget to try our new Kipper Snacks with Cracked Black Pepper! And as the name implies, they’re delightful to snack on straight out of the can. New recipes will be coming your way soon. Visit our website for some tried-and-true favorites.
Bon appétit!
Earth Day 2012: How We’re Observing
Did you know that Earth Day, as common as it’s become now, actually began as a nationwide protest and teach-in that was 20 million strong? The single-day protest was a way to get the politicians in Washington to pay attention to the concerns of local communities and schools nationwide.
“Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level,” wrote Senator Gaylord Nelson in this fascinating recount of how the first Earth Day came to be. Senator Nelson sounded the rallying cry for that first Earth Day, which has come to be an annual observation and to inspire year round awareness in schools and communities across the globe.
As Senator Nelson notes in the above story, Earth Day “organized itself” because of the many people who were involved. Here at Crown Prince, and with our families at home, we try to do our part.
Regular readers of our blog will know that we are moving toward a BPA-free product lineup, that we source certified sustainable fish whenever possible, and that our “Green Team” shares tips and advice on living an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Today we’ll be taking time out at the office to make a “Green” bird feeder using only recycled materials (you’re never too old for crafts!). We hope that you and your families will join us in observing Earth Day this Sunday, April 22, 2012. Let us know how you’re marking this important day!
Fish Product Safety
While no Crown Prince products or ingredients are derived from Japan, we do get questions about seafood safety from Asian waters, particularly Japan. So we thought the topic was worth revisiting.
Crown Prince President Dustan Hoffman commented on this concern one year ago this spring:
We have been in close contact with all of our suppliers in the affected region and surround areas. Our suppliers and the governments in those countries are monitoring the radiation levels. At this time, the finishing areas have not been affected.
The quality and safety of our products are of the utmost importance to Crown Prince so be assure we will continue to keep a close eye on this situation. If anything changes, we will notify you.
In this regard, no news is good news! The fishing areas where our seafood is caught continue to remain un-impacted by the radiation from the Japanese disaster in early 2011.
Scientists have been monitoring radiation levels closer to Fukushima, and it is true that in some of those areas, the radiation levels are statistically higher than normal (though still “below levels of concern for humans and marine organisms.”).
Again, this does not impact Crown Prince products, and we continue to work with our suppliers to ensure that our products are as pure, natural, and safe as ever.
Plenty of information is available here, on our blog, as well as the Consumer Corner area of our website. As always, please contact us if you have any additional questions about our products, and we’ll be glad to provide you with an answer.
Our Global Spotlight Series now visits Canada: specifically, the Bay of Fundy up in Nova Scotia. Stretching 100 miles long and 50 miles wide, the bay is the source of our Kipper Snacks.
It’s also a global phenomenon, made famous for its extremely high tides. The Bay of Fundy’s tide rises (or falls) up to 45 feet in the course of each 6 hour tide cycle, passing 100 billion tons of seawater through the bay. How much is 100 billion tons? It’s hard to imagine, but it’s “more than the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers.”
Octopus’s Garden in the Bay
In addition to being awesome (literally!) the tides create an extremely verdant environment within the bay. The continual refreshing of the bay’s waters prevents anything from settling, stagnating, or growing algae – all things that diminish the oxygen available for fish and other creatures.
The dramatic tide also replenishes the bay with fresh plankton and other small organic creatures, creating a fantastic feeding ground for fish of all sizes. This includes the plankton-munching herring in our kipper snacks, as well as their much-larger cousins: whales. As a result, the Bay of Fundy is an extremely popular site for whale-watching.
See For Yourself: It’s a Lighthouse Webcam!
You can do a bit of whale-watching of your own at this Bay of Fundy lighthouse webcam:
Okay, you probably won’t see whales, but you may see the launch of some boats heading out to observe them, or even fishing boats when fishing season (June-October) comes around.
Due to GPS advances, most lighthouses are no longer used by ships, but the one you see in this webcam has been maintained by a local historical society. Check the cam at night and you’ll see the tower shining bright.
Yes, you read right – just a week after unveiling our Mediterranean Brisling Sardines, we’re announcing another addition to the Crown Prince Natural line: Kipper Snacks with Cracked Black Pepper.
We’ve taken our popular hardwood-smoked fish known as kippers and added cracked black pepper to kick things up a notch. Ready to eat and packed in BPA-free cans, Kipper Snacks with Cracked Black Pepper are a tasty source of omega-3 fatty acids.
What’s a Kipper, Anyway?
The term “kipper” has long referred to herring that has been split, brined, and cold smoked over hard wood. Herring is a mild white fish that provides an excellent source of protein and has been enjoyed throughout the Northern Hemisphere for centuries.
A “Greener” Way to Snack
In addition to their BPA-free cans, these new kipper snacks are wild-caught off the east coast of Canada by sustainably managed fisheries. The Marine Stewardship Council is currently assessing the area of their harvest, so we eagerly anticipate being able to add the MSC logo to all of our kipper snacks later this year.
Give a Warm Welcome to our Mediterranean Brisling Sardines
New product alert! We’re proud to announce the first of four new Natural products we’ll be unveiling in 2012. True to both the quality of our brand and our deep love of good food, these four new products are seasoned to spark imaginative cooking.
Meet Our Newest Product: Brisling Sardines – Mediterranean Style
Fresh from the 2011 fall fishing season, we are introducing our Brisling Sardines – Mediterranean Style!
The great flavor of naturally wood smoked sardines is enhanced by garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper with black olives and red pepper as accent notes. They are packed in extra virgin olive oil, which picks up these seasonings to further enhance the sardines’ flavor.
These sardines come from our wonderful packer in Scotland, who specializes in these tasty cold water North Sea fish. As part of our commitment to sustainable product sourcing, these sardines are wild caught by sustainably managed fisheries; a similar fishing method for sardines is rated Green by Blue Ocean Institute. They are also packed in BPA-free cans.
How to Enjoy Them
A natural source of omega-3 fatty acids and a great source of protein, sardines have been gaining in popularity over the past 10 years. Either straight out of the can, drained and added to a sandwich, or blended into a Ziti Casserole, these Mediterranean Brisling Sardines will be a great way of adding seasoning and interest to your meals.
Look for them next month in natural food stores across the country. Give them a try and let us know how you like them!
Couponers, canned seafood aficianados, and long time Crown Prince fans, this is for you!
We created the Crown Prince Frequent Buyer Program over 15 years ago to thank our loyal customers and to give them a token of our appreciation. And by token, we mean coupons, of course!
How it works:
- Cut out the UPC bar codes from 5 cans (any variety) of Crown Prince seafood product. (This includes the Crown Prince, Crown Prince Natural, and Ocean Prince lines.) You can send multiple sets of five at one time if you like; there is no limit.
- Mail the bar codes, along with your complete name and address, to us at this address:
Crown Prince, Inc.
P.O. Box 3568
City of Industry, CA 91744
- Within 6-8 weeks, we’ll send you back 5 coupons, each good for 50¢ off any Crown Prince item.
Yep, it’s that simple!
We appreciate your business, so we’re happy to help you save a little money at the checkout lane. Leave a comment here or on Facebook if you have any questions, and happy shopping (and eating!) from all of us at Crown Prince Seafood.
Green Team Tip: Used Towels are For the Dogs!
This week’s post is dedicated to the middle child of the “3 R’s” – “Reuse.”
It seems that new fluffy towels become used, worn towels in the blink of an eye. What do you do with the towels, sheets, and other linens that aren’t new enough to feel nice in your home, but are perfectly intact?
Most of us fold them up, stack them, and shove them into a closet, where they either stay hidden in the darkest corners or are eventually downgraded to life in the garage or basement. There, they will stay indefinitely until you finally use them for a project that warrants their disposal.
Not a very rewarding lifecycle, nor a great use of space.
Here is where our friend “Reuse” comes in. Old towels and blankets needn’t be a burden: you can give them a second chance when you donate them to a local animal shelter or animal hospital.
This is Cubby from Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue
These facilities can go through thousands of towels and blankets each month for bedding, baths, and other maintenance of furry friends. Many have low budgets, so donations like this can really make an impact – not to mention the impact of keeping a sick or lonely animal warm, dry, and comfortable.
Ask your local veterinarian, pet shelter, or animal emergency center whether they are accepting donations of these items. To find a shelter near you, search your local business listings, or use Petfinder’s Animal Shelter search tool.
