Riya Anne Polcastro

A little bit of cream cheese tends to go a long way — or if you like to use a lot, you probably buy a huge tub — so it's common to end up with quite a bit left over that ends up languishing in your fridge. Even if you're a bagel fanatic or frequent cheesecake baker, you might wonder how quickly you need to use up cream cheese before it goes bad. The answer is somewhat complicated, as the cheese will degrade in quality greatly before it actually becomes unsafe to eat.

If you tend to wake up with a bad headache after enjoying some bourbon cocktails the night before, but don't feel as crumby after several vodka sodas, it's not just your imagination. There's a scientific reason why many of us feel worse after drinking brown liquor, compared to clear spirits. The culprit is likely congeners: molecular compounds that give alcohol its flavors, aromas, and color, but also contribute to how crappy you feel afterward.

Although the current incarnation of nachos is notably Americanized, the original version hails from Mexico — Piedras Negras in Coahuila to be precise. The tale behind the origin of the dish is one of creativity and an eagerness to please on the part of a local restaurant called Victory Club and its maître d' Ignacio Anaya.

As far as underrated kitchen gadgets go, the salad spinner is high on the list. If you're only using it to dry lettuce, you're missing out on numerous other possibilities. The salad spinner is adept at tasks ranging from preventing soggy watermelon cubes

A sustainable lifestyle is often lamented as too expensive, and thus unrealistic, for the average person. In truth, sustainable living can be more affordable than established norms. But it requires

The less we buy, the less we waste. That concept sounds great in theory, but how realistic is it? A popular social media challenge could reveal the answer. The “no-buy month” — also dubbed the

More options for concentrated products are hitting the market as a new generation of home and hygiene brands aim to win over consumers. From toothpaste tablets to shampoo bars and detergent sheets, these products save a whole lot of space and packaging, as well as fuel savings for distributors and

New Mexico's Permian Basin, one of the top oil regions in the United States, could reach peak production as early as 2030 . The change is essential

“I’d rather have a passport full of stamps than a house full of stuff.” It’s a saying a lot of us can relate to, but is it an environmentally responsible take? Tourism produces roughly 8 percent of

Urban heat waves are increasing in frequency, duration and severity, and cities are in desperate need of solutions.