You know Lake Bell. But do you know Lake Bell…on weed???
Her kids definitely do — at least, according to some comments she gave at a panel sponsored by the cannabis drinks brand Cann (via People).
During the panel, Lake said that she “can’t get through the holidays without” cannabis — and that she’s found that it improves her parenting skills, too.
“I am straight up a better parent when I’m just two Canns in,” Lake said. “I’m, like, on their level.”
Yes, Lake’s comments sound suspiciously like sponge — like, “two Canns”? Who the hell says that unless they’re, like, at an event sponsored by Cann? But it does also sound like she really does enjoy getting stoned and being around her kids.
“I’m just like, ‘That is a fucking crazy dinosaur!'” Lake explained while taking the audience on a journey into her deeply stoned mind.
“Like, ‘Let’s get on the ground right now and be fucking crazy dinosaurs, let’s open some presents. Fuck it.’ I became literally a kid.”
I mean, sounds fun — but I’m staying out of taking a side on this one; it’s none of my business. Feel free to go off in the comments, though.
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One of the most emblematic scenes of Drink Masters, a cocktail-making competition series that debuted on Netflix earlier this year, could double as a cruel childhood prank on an unsuspecting palate. Into a stainless steel tabletop still went a mash of black olives—the foamy, drab gray sludge looking not unlike the burnt sugar that seeps out of a well-roasted sweet potato—and what emerged from the distillation tubes was a liquid as clear as crystal . It was the backbone ingredient to one of the most interesting cocktails made in the series: “Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost,” a punch composed of rhum agricole, olive tapenade distillate, jerk spices and citrus.
Conceptualized by Tao, a Tunisian-born traveling bartender based in Montreal, the cocktail, and every shot documenting its construction, was precisely what I was hoping to see out of a competition series dedicated to the murky realms of mixology. Tao makes a fairly left-field connection based on the breadth of his globetrotting: The robust, earthy funk of olives provides structure to the similarly funky flavors of rhum agricole. “There’s no connection between olives and the Caribbean,” Tao says, albeit incorrectly, given the olive’s prominence in Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisines. “There are olive notes that I personally pick up in those types of rums.”
With his wide-brimmed hats, septum piercing and a penchant for making even the wildest flavor combinations feel almost pragmatic in composition, Tao looks the part of a newborn star. That alone is noteworthy. While countless celebrity chefs have been made through televised exposure over the decades, even the best bartenders have stared through a glass darkly—their influence may cross over, but their names and visas never quite materialize in a mainstream context. Drink Masters’ contribution to modern bartending is unlikely to be its ability to churn out celebrities, or even offer an accurate depiction of the upper echelons of mixology. The question, perhaps, is whether it can give shape to the bartender as a keenly creative force, and not an object of ridicule.
“Suddenly we’re transported back to the mid-aughts, to the heart of what made the molecular mixology trend so repulsive, even though the contestants themselves have clearly moved beyond that ethos.”
Drink Masters isn’t the first drinks-based competition produced for video, but it might as well be. In 2008, Absolut sponsored a shoddy Top Chefs knockoff called On the Rocks: The Search for America’s Top Bartendersproduced by LXTV, the company responsible for those lifestyle and human interest shows that air on NBC on Saturday afternoons. It was an online exclusive back then, but if it weren’t for a trailer available on YouTube and an IMDb entry, you’d be forgiven for thinking it never happened. One of the few things Drink Masters and On the Rocks have in common is the same $100,000 grand prize, despite more than a decade of inflation and an almost incomprehensible boost in production value. Alas, in a boozy competition, it’s not the competition element that requires proof of concept, it’s the mixology.
The form of Drink Masters should register as comfort food for anyone who has watched any kind of popular food programming over the past two decades: Twelve contestants compete in various themed challenges, each with an all-but-impossible time limit. Every week, one bartender is eliminated. It is a time-tested formula, and Drink Masters succeeds because it’s based on a can’t-fail template of TV-making, combined with Papa Netflix’s arsenal of the latest high-speed imaging technology to make garnishing a cocktail look like placing the finishing strokes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
And like other Netflix reality shows (eg, The Circle), there is a notable punching bag, the contestant whose book bags to be judged by its cover—and who is swiftly eliminated as a result. It’s no big spoiler to say that the first person was eliminated on Drink Masters is an Instagram influencer. Her first drink is a Margarita inspired by the Aperol Spritz. It bores judge and renowned New York bar owner Julie Reiner to tears, but it’s crushable, because of course it is; her redemptive shot to stave off elimination is a staid variation on a Negroni, because of course it is. The first send-off serves as a sort of mission statement on what the judges are not looking for, and what the show as a whole hopes to surpass.
Yet, somehow, for all the “elevation” that the judges are seeking out of the contestants, Drink Masters feels largely paint-by-numbers, lacking the specificity of vision that some of the best cooking competition shows exude. It doesn’t showcase the heartwarming charm of human foibles like The Great British Bake Off; it doesn’t have the drama or game theory of Top
Whether you’re squeezing in an early-morning workout or swapping out fries for a salad, making heart-healthy choices can often feel like a sacrifice. The good news? According to a new study, there’s one cardio-friendly choice you can make that only enhances your daily routine.
Researchers found that drinking black or green tea every day helps reduce a key cardiovascular risk factor that’s associated with heart attacks and strokes. Read on to learn more about why these types of tea boast major cardiovascular benefits, and which other foods may also help improve your heart health.
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Foods that contain flavonoids promote heart health.
Flavonoids are compounds found abundantly in plants that are rich in antioxidants. Research has shown that flavonoids are useful to the body in helping to fight inflammation and oxidative stress, and may help protect against certain chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and certain types of cancer.
A Nov. 2022 study by a team at Edith Cowan University (ECU) has confirmed another key benefit to add to that list: it concluded that flavonoids are beneficial when it comes to heart health. The team behind the study gathered 881 elderly women with a median age of 80 to assess the benefits of regular consumption of flavonoids, and found that those who regularly consumed certain foods with flavonoids were less likely to experience an accumulation of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC)— an important risk factor for heart attack and stroke.
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Green and black teas offer a high dose of flavonoids.
The study explained that drinking one particular flavonoid-rich beverage every day helps promote heart health. The team found that regularly consuming green or black tea successfully helped lower the subjects’ risk of AAC, and that black tea was the group’s main source of food-based flavonoids.
When the researchers compared those who drank two to six cups of tea daily to those who had none, the tea drinkers experienced a 16 to 42 percent reduction of extensive AAC. However, even though the heart health benefits grow with the amount they consume, it’s important to note that green and black tea is most often caffeinated, and can come with its own set of side effects when consumed in excess.
You can load up on flavonoids by eating these other foods, too.
If tea isn’t part of your preferred daily diet—or if you’re looking for a caffeine-free way to enjoy the benefits of flavonoids—experts say several other foods are rich in the heart healthy compound.
“Good sources of flavonoids include berries, red and purple grapes, cocoa and dark chocolate, green and black tea, cinnamon, kale, parsley, and soybeans,” Lindsay DelkRD, RDN, the Food and Mood Dietician, tells Best Life. “In order to reap the rewards of flavonoids, try to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, along with drinking one or two cups of tea daily,” she advises.
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Certain flavonoid sources are less beneficial, experts say.
The study also looked at other food sources of flavonoids, and found that they are not all created equally when it comes to heart health benefits. Fruit juice, red wine, and chocolate—often touted as being flavonoid-dense—did not appear to lower one’s risk of abdominal aortic calcification, according to the ECU study.
Delk also cautions against making supplements your primary source of flavonoids, explaining that you should always aim to “meet your nutritional needs from food whenever possible. When you focus on getting your nutrients from food instead of supplements, you are able to obtain the necessary nutrients in the right amounts but enjoy a wide variety of health benefits that come from eating a balanced and varied diet,” she tells Best Life. “Some research has suggested that flavonoid supplements might also be beneficial, but there is not enough evidence yet to make any firm conclusions.”
Speak with your doctor or nutritionist to learn more about how to boost your heart health through your daily diet.
