I'm sneaking in one last entry before the holidays whisk us away to the land of lethargy and vacant stares.

For, whatever do we think about when our work days yield to personal pursuit and leisure? Will we regress? Will we sit Indian-style on the carpet and bend our neck toward Scooby-Doo reruns? Will we forgo hygiene and emerge from our homes smelling of corn chips and damp fleece? (I don't know what that smells like either.) Will we shun all responsibility and shuffle to the edge of the city in nothing but a tank top and oversized panda slippers?

Some of us may.

My guess though is that we will find a way to check email and voice mail and Twitter feeds. We will plunder our communication devices in a desperate search for meaning, for connection, for normalcy. For the work that makes us familiar to ourselves, for the work we hold so dear.

Hyperbole? Perhaps for a few.

For others, work is a diligent pursuit of better options. In the context of food product development, some of you reach into the unknown to scoop out a dome of innovation that can go a long way toward -- oh, I don't know -- providing healthier eating options. Better options.

This is the time of year when people may swat nutrition like a bothersome housefly, but in a matter of weeks those same people will be clamoring for answers, second chances, options.
Lucky for them you can't completely forget your work over the holidays.

And now, some antioxidant and nutritionals articles that may have snuck past your keen gaze.

Adding functionality to the mix raises the stakes considerably, because many functional ingredients present taste and texture challenges. Here are some up-trending ingredients that can help make functional flavor success happen.

It is sometimes forgotten that living longer is not the goal, but rather to live healthier; to be on your own, taking care of your own needs; and living life on your own terms.

British scientists have developed what they claim is a "super broccoli" which can protect people against heart disease and cancers.

Scientists have for the first time discovered what effect multiple, rather than just single, foods with anti-inflammatory effects have on healthy individuals.

Some 56% of adults in a 2010 Mintel custom-conducted survey indicate they have purchased any functional food or beverage in the last three months--up from 48% in May 2008, which represents a substantial increase.

Superfruits -- Antioxidant Fruits and Their Applications. A Technical Presentation...