Tricked Out Ramen

As a young married couple, we know, you probably don't have tons of money. That's why when we saw this article on Yahoo! we thought our readers might appreciate it. The staple of every college dorm room Ramen, has now grown up. Check out this recipe for Ramen Noodles with Peanut Sambal.

Ramen Noodles with Peanut Sambal
4-6 servings

2 packages instant ramen noodles
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
kernels from 2 cobs of sweet corn
1 jalapeno, chopped with seeds and ribs removed
2 bok choy or 1 cup cabbage, cut into thin slices lengthwise
4 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced

1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the noodles and boil until al dente, about three minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid.

2. Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic, corn, and jalapeno and saute until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes, then add the bok choy and scallions and saute another 2 minutes. Add the cooked noodles, soy sauce, and half of the reserved cooking liquid. Toss well.

3. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl. Top with iceberg lettuce and peanut sambal and serve.

Sorry, you're going to have to go to Yahoo! to get the recipe for Sambal. Click here.

Rejecting B-Day Gifts

Do you have a little one scampering around your home? When it's time to celebrate their birthday, you know that means cake, party favors and lots of gifts. Or does it? This article from the NY Times highlights a growing movement of kids, teens and adults shunning personal gifts for more philanthropic gratification. For example, the article highlights a 16-year-old teen who used her b-day money to purchase livestock for poor families. The article starts off with a 4-year-old boy who donates his birthday greenbacks to the local fire department. Just curious, would you turn away traditional gifts for your child for a philanthropic endeavor? This makes me wonder if I would have wanted to see The Transformers movie if I didn't get them as a kid.

Religion, Parenthood & Marriage

We blogged a few weeks back about a Pew Research Center study indicating that kids are no longer a necessity of marriage as they once were. Following up on that same study, we'd like to highlight some of the religious findings. For example, a higher percentage of Catholics said children were important to a successful marriage. The study showed that 48 percent of Catholics--and 68 percent of Hispanic Catholics--felt that children were "very important" to marriage. In comparison, 38 percent of white evangelical Protestants agreed.

In the study, five questions were asked of their level of importance to marriage. They were: faithfulness, a happy sexual relationship, adequate income, shared religious beliefs, and children. The level of importance, according to the study was in that same order. To read the full article, click here.

Obesity is Socially Contagious

Co-author James Fowler of the study done at the University of California, San Diego suggest that one person's obesity can significantly increase the chance that his or her friends, siblings and spouse will also become heavy, according to the first study done on how weight gain spreads through social networks. Conversely, if a person slims down, the people around him or her also may lose weight. Fowler, an associate professor of political science at the university says, "Both obesity and thinness are socially contagious."

So ladies and gentlemen, if you want your spouse to lose weight, rather than nagging them and making them feel bad, perhaps you should think about looking in the mirror and seeing if you could stand to shed a few pounds. Who knew catching something could be so beneficial? Click here to read the full article.

The Secret to Getting Your Baby to Sleep?

Experts at the Northwestern School of Medicine say if you want your baby or kids to sleep well, then you should establish good habits early on. They correlate sleeping to food, saying that like food, there's junk food and good food. For sleep, there's junk sleep and good sleep. So what are good sleeping habits? Let your baby sleep on their own schedule--when their little bodies tell them it's time to take a nap. This article from USA Today says too often parent try to fit babies into their schedule, therefore perpetuating junk sleep. Oh, have we mentioned that junk sleep equals long nights for the parents? Behavioral problems, academic struggles and more could be a result of not enough good sleep for kids.

Rocker Says Marriage Changed Him For Better

The brash, immature punk frontman of Sum 41, Deryck Whibley, says that marriage has changed him. I think we just received another subscription to the hitchedmag.com newsletter. Whibley was quoted, saying, "I don't know how it has, but I believe that no matter what you do, big or small, it has some kind of impact on the way you view life. There's purpose in everything we do." Ahh, little Deryck is growing up. The two Canadians, Whibley and wife Avril Lavigne tied the knot last July.

Through Sickness and Health

When a couple says their vows, they usually expect to be by the other's side through sickness and health, not in the next hospital bed. On July 21, 2003 Mel Williams underwent surgery to save his wife, Maureen's life. Mel is 63 and Maureen is 67. Mel and Muareen underwent a three-hour surgery where a kidney was taken from Mel and given to Maureen. Marueen says, "It is unbelievable--amazing to think that my husband was a compatible donor." Talk about a perfect fit as a couple. Click here to read the full article.

Wife's Education Improves Marriage

A new study from the Australian National University (ANU) says that the more education that a wife has, the happier the husband and happier the marriage. Shane Worner conducted the study and found that "for every extra year of education that a spouse has, a male is more likely to report a high... life satisfaction level, but for females, once we account for marriage we don't seem to see any effect of spousal education," he said. If you were to slap a dollar figure on the happiness of a highly educated married couple, Worner suggests a single person would have to earn an extra $100,000. I guess if you're highly educated, it would be tough to catch up to that dollar amount.

Wives Rule Home in Happy Marriages

Researchers at Iowa State University studied 72 happily married couples, who had been together for a minimum of seven years. What they found was that in these relationships, the wives were the ones exerting their power and opinion and the husbands were more than happy to agree and fall in line. This article (click here) goes on to talk about the actual process of the study. As the article points out, even if women still don't make equal pay in the workforce in comparison to men, it's nice to know they have equal or greater worth in the home.

BBQ Wines

When you think barbecue, you usually think beer and Q. But if you want to try a little something different this weekend, try crackin' open a bottle. With the hot weather, the OC Register recommends trying something white or fruity. A Zinfandel or Shiraz could be just what your piece of smoked meat needs. To get more details or see what fits with what--salmon and Pinot Noir are perfect together, for example--check out the full article.

Best Marriage Advice Received

So you're probably expecting a pearl of wisdom from the hitched team (and we can't blame you), but over at About.com, they've put together some reader comments of the best marriage advice they've ever received. Some of the comments are lame cliches and old jokes, but here are some of the better nuggets:

"Don't fight over money because there is never enough to go around anyway."

"My dad told me to always communicate with each other. I think I have been more honest with my husband than anyone else in my life."

"My dad told me 'try to outdo each other in kindness.'"

What's the best marriage advice you've ever received? Post it on our message board.

How Newlyweds Find Financial Bliss

This article from MSNBC offers many tips for newlyweds to focus more on the "richer" rather than "poorer" part of their new vows. Some the tips include developing a system that works for you, prioritizing your budget, conducting credit checks, coordinating employer benefits, plan for future expenses (like car, kids, house, etc.) and make sure to continue your dialogue in regards to your money. This article is definitely worth taking a peek at for couples who are just beginning to mix their money. It also serves as a good reminder for those who have more experience. Read the full article here.

Study Says Women Should Use Social Security First

According to writers Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, and Mauricio Soto, senior research associate at the center, married couples thinking of taking out their Social Security should make the decision which allows the woman to do so first based on the fact that the woman has a longer life expectancy and the additional money a women can receive due to Social Security and spousal benefits. For more click here

How Men Build Happy Marriages

Our very own Dr. Scott Haltzman appeared on a Fox morning news program to discuss his book and offer tips on how men can help build a happy marriage. The video is a few minutes long and well worth it. Click here to watch the video.

Women Don't Talk More

So you think your wife is a chatterbox? Maybe she thinks you're a chatterbox! That's right, a new study released in Science magazine reveals that men and women talk about the same amount during a day--roughly 16,000 words. The study took place over 7 years and used recording devices to record men and women randomly throughout the day. Some men and women talked more, some spoke less, but overall they all spoke about the same.

1 Year Anniversary

Editor's Note: For those of you who aren't subscribers to our newsletters (where we've already mentioned this) or may have missed our special logo this week, we've got another announcement. July 1 marked the one year anniversary of hitchedmag.com. For the last 365 days we have been publishing stories weekly adding more columns and features to the site as the year went on. In the coming year, expect more of just about everything. More columns, more podcasts and most importantly more helpful information. We will also begin making tweaks to the design and structure of the website to better facilitate our growing audience. From everyone who has helped produce hitched, Thank You!

Kids No Longer Considered Most Important To Successful Marriage

Think kids help make a marriage successful? Think again. According to the Pew Research Center on marriage and parenting the little buggers are barely on the radar. Conducted by telephone from mid-February through mid-March with a random nationwide sample of 2,020 adults the survey found that "sharing household chores," "good housing," "adequate income," a "happy sexual relationship" and "faithfulness" all came ahead of Americans who consider children as "very important" in having a successful marriage. In fact, the research shows that children are now ranked eighth out of nine places in a list of importance people associate with having a successful marriage. The survey also finds that, "by a margin of nearly three-to-one, Americans say that the main purpose of marriage is the 'mutual happiness and fulfillment' of adults rather than the 'bearing and raising of children.'" Surprised? Tell us how you feel. For more, click here