The other day I found myself in an unusually bad mood. It was witching hour in my house – the time when I try to cook my family dinner while my “threenager” toddler is whining, my 8-week-old baby is in need of a cuddle before taking a nap, and I’m feeling ravenous. I usually approach this time of day as a lively challenge and I enjoy coming up with novel ways to handle it, but on this occasion it was all too much. I was overwhelmed, anxious and snappy.   One explanation for my moodiness is that I had a... Read full article »

Some people call it the hangries. Others call it food fury. In my house it’s called the Shan Monster and my husband generally gets a fifteen-minute warning before she starts spitting venom. The only way to fend her off is to feed her. Fast.   I know I’m not alone when I confess to being grumpy when I’m underfed and this week I’ve found myself looking into the science of how being nutritionally deprived can set off mood changes in my brain. It’s an amazing example of the mind body connection and it’s fascinating.   If you’ve seen my feature... Read full article »