Fame can be quite fleeting.

As Heidi Klum would say, "One minute you're in, and the next minute you're out."

And the pressure of working in the competitive business can have an adverse effect, especially on child stars, USA Today reported.

The plight of Hollywood stars who achieved success, only to fall from grace due to drug use or erratic behavior, are well-documented.

So it's not surprising that some former celebrities simply moved on to other things after their brush with fame.

Some ex-stars who switched gigs stuck around the entertainment business and just gravitated toward behind-the-scenes jobs. Others went back to school to tackle a role in an entirely new industry.

Here's a look at some former stars who ended up in completely different careers:

SEE ALSO: 'It's not worth losing your job over': Bachelor, Amazing Race, and Survivor alums explain how reality stardom affected their careers

Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter — Guitarist for Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, and Spirit

Claim to fame: Baxter was a founding member of Steely Dan and later joined the Doobie Brothers. The guitarist has led quite a lengthy career in rock and roll, working with acts and artists like Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton, and others as a session guitarist.

What he does now: The storied guitar-for-hire now has top security clearances. In the 1980s, his interest in recording technology prompted him to research and become fascinated with military software and hardware. The Wall Street Journal reported that a paper Baxter wrote on missile defense attracted the attention of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. He became a defense consultant for the US Department of Defense and other defense entities, Guitar Player reported.

Jeff Cohen — Lawrence 'Chunk' Cohen from 'The Goonies'

Claim to fame: Cohen shot to fame for his turn as clumsy, bad-luck-prone Chunk in the classic 1985 adventure film "The Goonies."

What he does now: Growing up, he was able to use his stint as a child actor to land roles at movie studios, according to the ABA Journal. He decided to go into law, earning his J.D. from UCLA after attending Berkeley. Cohen went on to cofound the entertainment-oriented law firm Gardner Cohen LLP.

Crystal McKellar — Becky Slater from 'The Wonder Years'

Claim to fame: McKellar acted alongside her sister Danica in the television series "The Wonder Years." Both sisters had been considered for the main role of Winnie, but Danica won out, and Crystal was brought on to play Becky Slater instead.

What she does now: During their time in show business, education was always a priority for the McKellars, according to Biography.com. McKellar went on to study at Yale and Oxford, and earned her J.D. at Harvard. Today, she's the managing director and legal counsel for Mithril Capital Management.

They say youth is wasted on the young.

It doesn't have to be. If you take a look at Quora and Reddit, hundreds of people older and wiser than you have shared their best tips for living life to the fullest before you hit middle age. All you have to do is heed their advice.

We checked out some of those Quora and Redditthreads and highlighted some of our favorite insights about maximizing your youth. Read on to see what life changes you can make, starting today.

SEE ALSO: 13 things you'll probably regret doing in your 20s

'Learn to accept and love yourself first.'

So says Quora user Ruchi Rashinkar.

In other words, show some self-compassion. Scientists say it can make you more successful because you're learning from your missteps, instead of just berating yourself for them.

One self-compassion exercise involves treating yourself as you would treat a friend or a colleague who has failed. You might say to yourself: "This is really hard right now," or, "I'm sorry you are struggling."

'Learn to say no with confidence.'

That's another tip from Rashinkar.

It's best to learn this skill now, while it's still relatively early in your career. That way, you can prioritize the people and experiences that are truly meaningful to you.

If you're looking for tips on turning down an invitation— without seeming antisocial — etiquette and civility expert Rosalinda Oropeza Randall recommends keeping it simple: "It sounds great, but I think I'll pass this time."

You can even push back on your boss when they give you an assignment you feel like you can't take on. For example, if you're already overloaded with other projects, national workplace expert Lynn Taylor suggests responding:

"I would be happy to do that project, but what that could mean is that [whatever other project you're working on] will have to be put off until tomorrow, because I was actually going to spend the next three hours finishing that proposal. Would you like me to put that off?" 

'Take risks.'

Quora user Pranav Park writes:

"This is possibly the best time to take multiple leap of faiths and learn your lessons the hard way. If you succeed, you succeed. If you fail, you have a great story to tell in your 40s. At this age, you will have all the energy, courage and spirit required to rise back. Moreover, you will not be afraid to fail which apparently sets apart successful people from the others."

Similarly, Redditor Bhruic says:

"Don't talk yourself out of doing things you want to do. Don't let fear win. If you want to vacation in Europe, do it. If you want to talk to that hot girl/guy at the bar, do it. If you want to start your own business, do it (and do the research first). Getting to your 30s and having a string of regrets is going to haunt you."

Park is right about successful people not being afraid to fail some, and therefore being more willing to take risks. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, for example, is notorious for this quality. Bezos has said: "Given a ten percent chance of a 100 times payoff, you should take that bet every time."

The restaurant Minibar, from José Andrés, won two Michelin stars in 2016. For Andrés, who now owns 26 restaurants, it was the moment of a lifetime.

On an episode of Business Insider's podcast, "Success! How I Did It," Andrés told Business Insider US editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell how it felt:

"My dream was to have Michelin stars. I've been very lucky in life, but the truth is that those two stars were so cool. I cried very much but not so much for me but all my team, because your team is very loyal: They can be with you but they can be with somebody else. You're only as good as the teams you have around you."

Andrés came to the US 26 years ago, and is known for helping popularize tapas, or Spanish small plates. In an interview with The Washington Post right after winning his two Michelin stars, Andrés said, "I used to be a 14-year-old kid who walked in front of Michelin star restaurants in Barcelona trying to get a glimpse of what was going on inside anytime they opened the kitchen door."

Again, he praised his team: "I could live my life without the Michelin star, but life would not be the same. You can say whatever you want about Michelin, but Michelin is the dream of so many chefs like me. I am very proud of my team."

The competition for Michelin stars was in the news in September, when French chef Sebastien Bras asked to be removed from the 2018 Michelin guide. As The New York Times reported, Bras' restaurant Le Suquet won three Michelin stars in 1999, when it was still under Bras' father's ownership; Bras took over 10 years ago.

Industry experts told The Times that keeping a third star could mean spending a lot of money on maintaining the perfect atmosphere and hiring the best staff. Plus, Bras said he would sometimes be surprised by visits from Michelin inspectors.

Bras told the Times: "I want to be liberated from the pressure."

SEE ALSO: José Andrés came to the US with just $50 in his pocket — here's how he became a celebrity chef with 26 restaurants and 2 Michelin stars

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NOW WATCH: Chef José André reveals why he bailed on Trump's International Hotel in DC, and what it's like to sue the president

iPhones are more expensive than ever, but there's a subset of users who want even more luxury, and for whom cost isn't an factor.

Those people should check out the Advent Collection iPhone case from Gray, a Singapore-based luxury brand. To our knowledge, it's the only iPhone case with a price tag that significantly exceeds the cost of the phone itself. 

In fact, an Advent Collection case will run you a cool $1,345.

What makes it so expensive? 

Gray says the case starts as a solid block of titanium that gets machined down into a case. Then, it's treated to give it a rainbow glow. Finally, the cases are individually numbered, like prints of art. 

That's a pretty excessive process to create a simple phone protector. But then, the luxury market is not about functionality or necessity; it's about exclusivity — or the appearance of it. 

Gray loaned us one of these titanium cases to check out on an iPhone 8 Plus. Here's what it's like to dress your phone in a $1,345 case: 

SEE ALSO: Tim Cook still remembers Michael Dell's quip that he'd shut Apple down

The $1345 iPhone case comes with its own case.

The case's case is made out of machined aluminum and has a very high-quality, heavy, premium feeling sliding on and off.

These are the two main parts that make up the Gray Advent case. They go on both sides of your iPhone. In this shot you can see the custom rainbow-colored finish.

See story here.

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NOW WATCH: Samsung released the widest computer monitor you can buy — here's what it's like

At 80 years old, Morgan Freeman is as active as he's ever been in film and television. 

From his numerous upcoming film credits, to his role as the executive producer and star of National Geographic's new docu-series "The Story of Us," Freeman keeps up a hyperactive work schedule that would find most other octogenarians — or any working-age adult, for that matter — in a consistent state of fatigue.

In a recent conversation centered on "The Story of Us," Freeman told Business Insider about how his approach to self-discipline has allowed him to achieve longevity in his life and career. 

Freeman's passion to enlist in the US Air Force as a teenager appears as a touchstone throughout "The Story of Us," and his views on discipline have a certain military-like strictness to them.

When asked what his secret to longevity has been, Freeman responded, "Discipline," and then elaborated:

"Exercise, part of your discipline. How you eat, part of your discipline. I try not to overeat," he said. "One of the things that I discovered somewhere back down the line was that eating, for us particularly here, has become a habit, not necessarily a need. So if you try to keep it down to need, it's going to be much better for you."

He went on to contrast American society's current dietary habits with the "time in history" when obesity was rare and more physically demanding labor made eating a form of fuel.

"You know there are more obese people in the US than probably anywhere else? Because we can feed them," he said. "In the time in history when everybody had a job, an actually physical job to do — you get up in the morning, and you get your hoe or your axe or your saw, or whatever the tool it is that you're using, and you use it. And then at noon, you stop using it and refuel. And then you use it some more, and then you go home, and you refuel. 

"Now, let's say you get up in the morning, and you brush your teeth, you comb your hair and put on a suit," he continued. "And you go and sit down at a desk. You haven't used up anything, comparatively."

Freeman's six-episode series, "The Story of Us," finds the actor traveling the globe to interview a diverse multitude of people, including famous public figures like Bill Clinton and Nadya Tolokno of Pussy Riot.

In our interview, Freeman described the series as an attempt to "on some level, reduce the amount of tension between people who don't know each other."

Watch the show's trailer below:

SEE ALSO: Morgan Freeman talks Pussy Riot, the keys to longevity, and his new National Geographic show

DON'T MISS: How Andy Serkis went from playing Gollum to directing his first movie — and the pressure of making a non-Disney 'Jungle Book'

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NOW WATCH: 9 details you might have missed from the trailer for 'Stranger Things' season 2

We tried the avocado ice cream that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says is part of his diet. Brady included the recipe for the ice cream in his new book "The TB 12 Method." During a week of trying out the workouts and diet regimen touted in the book, I attempted to make the avocado ice cream using ingredients I bought from Whole Foods. Following is a transcript of the video:

Graham Flanagan: It's time for the avocado ice cream that we’ve heard so much about. This is what it’s supposed to look like when it's done. So we’ll see.

What we have here is about $70 worth of Whole Foods groceries. You've got a coconut. Cashews. Dates, avocado, cacao powder. Basically, you just take all this and blend it together.

[1 avocado, 1.5 cup of dates, .5 cup of cashews, 1 cup of raw cacao powder]

This seems unhealthy. So much chocolate. It's all in here, but the coconut is the problem. I'm not really sure how to open this. I've never had to open a coconut because I’m not Tom Hanks in “Cast Away.”

Camera person: Please don’t cut off your hand. I don’t want to go to emergency care right now.

Flanagan: So, the coconut-opening is not going very well. I think what I'm gonna do is use some coconut milk.

It does look sort of ice cream-y. Okay, there it is. You can still see some avocado there. So, I put it in the freezer, and I’m just gonna let it freeze overnight.

[9 hours later …]

That looks sort of like ice cream. Let’s give it a try. Okay, here goes. I’m not crazy about it. It's just too much of that chocolate. Too much of the chocolate cacao powder, I think. It just makes it sort of — almost inedible.

[I wanted to let someone else try it]

So we've got Will — Will Wei is gonna try the avocado ice cream.

Will Wei: I feel like this is more — closer to a frozen bowl of chili than ice cream.

Flanagan: I wouldn’t take that big of a bite.

Wei: No?

Flanagan: Whatever you want to do …

Wei: I’m gonna do it.

Flanagan: Oh, God. Oh, God.

Wei: It’s bitter. The cashews are chewy, which is a problem. The texture is nothing like ice cream. It’s cold. That's the closest it is to ice cream, I think. That’s it. I don't know what I'm eating right now.

Flanagan: Sorry, man.

Wei: Brutal.

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It's house-hunting season.

Between October and December each year, starter home inventory in the US gets a 7% boost, according to new data from Trulia.

In 70 of the 100 largest US metros, the number of starter homes on the market reaches its annual peak during this time, meaning those looking to buy their first home will have more to choose from this time of year.

Trulia defines a starter home as any listing priced below $232,751, based on weighted averages from the 100 largest metro areas in the US. In the third quarter of 2017, the median listing price of a starter home was $171,624.

The next tier, trade-up homes, are categorized as any listing priced between $232,752 and $360,469. A listing above that threshold is considered a premium home.

The number of homes available for first-time buyers the US tends to fall between July and September, when trade-up and premium home inventory is at its peak.

Since 2012, starter home inventories in the summer months have declined by as much as 20.4%, driving prices up and rendering homeownership unattainable for many young Americans.

Starter home inventory peaks in fall, but the best time to buy a home is winter.

Though starter home listings begin to increase and reach a peak during the fall, buyers looking for their first home will find better deals by waiting to make an offer until after the holidays. By the time January rolls around, according to Trulia, prices for all categories of homes drop to their lowest prices.

Think of it as shopping the sale rack — swimsuits are moved to the clearance rack when stores need to make room for winter coats. Homeowners who have had their house on the market since summer or fall will be extra motivated to sell during winter, even if that means accepting a lower price.

According to Trulia, the average first-time homebuyer has to put nearly 40% of their income toward their mortgage payments — 2.3% more than last year. That's a far cry from the standard measure of housing affordability, which says Americans should spend 30% or less of their pre-tax income on housing.

For first-time homebuyers in particular, house hunting during peak inventory season — but waiting to buy — could pay off. You'll be able to explore what's out there and refine your list of "wants" and "needs" before you have to act fast when prices are low after the holidays.

SEE ALSO: 7 of the dumbest things people do with their money before they buy a home

DON'T MISS: Everything you need to know about buying a home, in 7 steps

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A massive Hamptons estate that once belonged to the Ford family is on the market for a potentially record-breaking $175 million

When Warren Buffett visits New York City, he has one go-to restaurant: Smith & Wollensky. 

Every year, people bid millions of dollars for a meal with Buffett at the famed steakhouse. This July, a bidder agreed to pay $2.68 million to a San Francisco charity for a lunch for seven with the Berkshire Hathaway CEO. 

We don't have millions of dollars to spend on a meal with Buffett. But, we were able to make a reservation at Smith & Wollensky ourselves. 

So, in an effort to eat like the famous investor, five Business Insider reports headed to Smith & Wollensky and told the staff to give us the Warren Buffet treatment.

Here's exactly how much the experience is actually worth. 

SEE ALSO: I ate like Warren Buffett for a week — and it was miserable

Smith & Wollensky is located in Midtown Manhattan, the center of New York's old power corridor. The name was actually picked at random from a New York City phone book. Founder Alan Stillman flipped the book open first to Smith, amongst the S's, then Wollensky, amongst the other W's.

As you can see, it was under construction when we visited — not quite the flawless exterior one would think would attract one of the richest men in the world. But, then again, Buffett is famously loyal to his culinary favorites.

The doorman should have been the first sign that we were in for an old-world experience. The restaurant was founded in 1977, but its stoic elegance makes it feel much older.

The English private school that educated princes William and Harry found a home in New York City this year.

Wetherby-Pembridge School, located on 96th street and the section of 5th Avenue deemed "Museum Mile," opened a branch of the school in New York and currently enrolls children in nursery, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten classes. 

We visited the $45,500-a-year private school on an October afternoon. Below, take a tour of one of Manhattan's newest private preschools, which has ties to the royal family.

SEE ALSO: There's a tiny college outside Los Angeles where graduates out-earn Harvard and Stanford alums

Wetherby-Pembridge is located on the upper east side of Manhattan, on 96th street and 5th Avenue — just across the street from leafy Central Park.

We arrived at the school on a warm day in October and rang (what we thought to be) the bell at the front door.

We met Kate Bailey (left), the Wetherby-Pembridge head of school, for a tour.

We soon saw the signature uniform that all students wear. Girls wear plaid grey dresses and boys wear grey blazers. Boys wear a polo shirt under their blazers and then graduate to a shirt and tie in kindergarten.

Tina Frost, a 27-year-old certified public accountant who was shot in the head when a gunman opened fire on a music festival in Las Vegas, has woken up from her coma.

Frost was attending the Route 91 Harvest festival with her boyfriend and friends earlier this month when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock fired on concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 people and injuring over 500 more.

Frost's mother, Mary Watson Moreland, posted on a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend that Frost's vitals are stable but that doctors had to remove her right eye, where a bullet became lodged after piercing the frontal lobes of her brain.

"She has sight in her left eye but will never see from the right again," Moreland said.

Frost's family and friends set up the GoFundMe in order to raise money for her medical treatment and overall recovery, as well as other expenses related to the tragedy like "traveling, food, hotels, missed work, and caring for Tina," the page says.

They set a fundraising goal of $50,000 and have raised almost $550,000 so far — more than 10 times the original amount.

The campaign is currently trending and has been shared over 48,000 times on social media since it launched on October 2.

Frost's mother said Friday, the day Frost woke up, was a big day for her daughter. Frost is now able to open her left eye and "taps her feet whenever music is playing, continues to squeeze our hands, and even gives [boyfriend] Austin a thumbs up when asked," Moreland said, according to the GoFundMe page.

She added that her daughter was able to breathe on her own for six hours that day, and that Frost was also paid a special visit by The Jabbawockeez, who won the first season of "America's Best Dance Crew" in 2008.

Frost works at Ernst & Young in San Diego, California, and her mother said that the company sent her a RARE Science teddy bear "that she hugs and pats on the back to show us she likes him :)."

As her condition continues to improve, Frost will be "moving ICU to ICU, so the whole team will be on track with her recovery" her mother said. It's unclear how much more short-term and long-term treatment Frost will require, Moreland continued, before thanking everyone who had followed the story for their thoughts and prayers.

Frost's high school friends, Tara Beavers and Ali Shomper, also held a separate fundraiser for her in Maryland on Saturday, ABC News reported, which drew dozens of attendees.

"We just love her. She's a great person. We want to her help her out any way we can. We can't wait for her to get better," Beavers told local ABC affiliate WJLA.

"Were happy with the turn out tonight," Shomper added on Saturday. "Every little bit counts. You know the bills are going to [be] high. This is a great for us to pitch in."

SEE ALSO: A GoFundMe for victims of the Las Vegas shooting has raised over $10 million — here's how you can donate

DON'T MISS: A 21-year-old who was shot in the chest during the Las Vegas shooting is suing the Mandalay Bay hotel

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NOW WATCH: Roger Stone explains what Trump has in common with Richard Nixon

New homes being built in the US are getting smaller. 

This isn't just about demand for McMansions, the extravagant suburban houses that some buyers are passing over for more practical and modern homes. Rather, it shows that builders are cutting down to provide homes that are both profitable and affordable amid a shortage of inventory, said Matthew Pointon, a property economist at Capital Economics. 

The average size of new single-family homes sold in the US peaked in 2015 at 2,520 square feet, Pointon said. Land availability is also responsible; the median lot size for new homes sold last year fell to 8,428 sq. ft., the lowest in 39 years.

Less available land, higher construction costs and higher wages for builders all add up to more prudent building and higher costs for developers.   

"Unfortunately, and in contrast to what happened in the past, that may mean the recent dip in home size
will not be accompanied by a drop in median real new home prices," Pointon said in a note Friday.

So, what to do in the meantime? Pointon suggested that first-time buyers look further away from urban centers, where there's more land available. 

Hurricanes make things worse

Developers have long cited worker and land shortages as part of the reason why, regardless of size, there's a shortage of affordable housing. Also, it's more profitable to build luxury housing in large cities where demand is strong. 

The devastating hurricanes that slammed the southeastern part of the country last month could escalate the existing challenges, at a time of inadequate housing supply.

The National Association of Homebuilders, a trade organization, said the recent hurricanes intensified its members' concerns about land availability and building-material costs. In September, it reported a decline in member confidence, adding that it expected them to be more optimistic about the market once the rebuilding process starts. "The health of the 2018 housing market will hinge on growth in construction employment," said Nela Richardson, Redfin's chief economist, after the September jobs report showed a 1% year-over-year drop in the industry. The brokerage firm's inventory tracker has recorded 23 straight months of declines. 

"Efforts to rebuild after Hurricanes Irma and Harvey will divert labor resources that are sorely needed to increase the supply of  homes for sale," Richardson said. "The housing market has never had to rebuild so extensively with inventory this tight before."

SEE ALSO: FORGET BITCOIN: An $8 trillion bubble in global markets is waiting to pop

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NOW WATCH: Tesla's value is surging 'because the vision is so intoxicating'

How much sugar is in the averaged glazed donut?

We looked at the sugar content in the classic glazed donut of three leading brands: Krispy Kreme (10g), Dunkin' Donuts (12g), and Tim Hortons (23g). 

By taking the average of these three, we estimate that the averaged glazed donut has about 15g of sugar.

Here's how other popular breakfast foods compare:

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios with milk has16 grams of sugar. Replace with classic Cheerios with milk for 7 grams of sugar.

Yoplait Original Flavored Yogurt has 18g of sugar. Instead, try your favorite flavor in Yoplait Greek 100, which has 7g of sugar.

Starbucks' 8-Grain Roll also has 18g of sugar. Opt for Starbucks' Cinnamon Raisin Bagel with butter instead with 11g of sugar.

McDonald's Fruit & Maple Oatmeal packs 33g of sugar. For less calories and sugar (3g), order an Egg White Delight McMuffin, instead. 

Dunkin' Donuts Strawberry Banana Smoothie loads you up with 54g of sugar. Try the Egg & Cheese sandwich on an English muffin for just 2 grams of sugar.

The World Health Organization recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 10% of your daily calories. That's no more than 50 grams of added sugar for a 2,000 calorie diet.

So, don't let your sweet tooth reign supreme.

The best road to good health is a balanced diet.

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New Yorkers sacrifice a lot for location.

Among 30 of the most popular cities in the world, renters living in Manhattan shell out the most money for the least amount of space.

In the central borough of New York, renters can expect to pay $5.44 per square foot, according to data gathered by RentCafé. Compare that to a city like Shanghai, where renters pay just $0.88 per square foot, and Americans may want to consider living abroad.

Using RentCafé's analysis of how much space $1,500 a month gets renters around the world, we've highlighted 15 cities where the differences are stark. All prices are based on average rents for one-bedroom apartments.

Roll over the squares below to find how much square footage you can get for $1,500 in rent around the world. In the graphic, "NYC" represents Manhattan.

SEE ALSO: 10 countries where you can earn more as an expat than you would at home

DON'T MISS: The 30 countries that are best for your money, according to expats

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how much money you actually take home from a $75,000 salary depending on where you live

Before the days of blogs and entire Instagram accounts dedicated to the wonderful world of food, documenting food was left to professional photographers, who, through careful decision making and curating captured the culinary delights for cookbooks, advertisments, and art.

Just as food consumption has changed over the years, so has the way societies plate, present, and document food.

In the new book, "Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography," author Susan Bright explores chronologically the way food has been photographed since the 19th century, using over 200 photographs.

Ahead, 15 stunning images from the book that show how drastically food photography has shifted since then.

SEE ALSO: This hotel bar claims to have invented the martini — look inside

In the book, Bright acknowledges the importance that food has in culture. "Food can signify a lifestyle or a nation, hope or despair, hunger or excess" she writes. Here, an elaborate still life of various native fruit taken in Sri Lanka in 1860 was sold as a souvenir to naval, military, bureaucratic, and merchant visitors.

This postcard, which is manipulated to depict oversized eggs and potatoes in a car, plays on the idea of American abundance. "Food is the perfect way to suggest wealth and plenty, and cards such as these did their part to promote the myth of a rural American utopia," writes Bright.

Color photographs began appearing in the early 1900s, and photographer Wladimir Schohin explored the complex process of autochrome, which used potato starch to help create the color.

• LeCupboard dispenses healthy, personalized, prepared meals out of machines.
• We tried three leCupboard dishes — two meals and a dessert — and the taste blew us away.
• Its founder, Lamiaa Bounahmidi, believes the startup helps address nutritional problems that arise when people choose convenience over health.

Lamiaa Bounahmidi may have a solution to your diet woes: a vending machine.

Bounahmidi is leading a San Francisco-based startup called leCupboard, which dispenses healthy, personalized, prepared meals out of vending machines. The startup's goal is to get people to think differently about healthy food by making it as convenient as fast food.

Customers simply press a button on one of the machines — which Bounahmidi calls "cupboards" — and out comes a vegan snack or meal in a reusable glass container. The dishes cost between $6 and $13, and most are high in protein and whole grains.

LeCupboard's 15 locations are all in downtown San Francisco in semiprivate spaces like coworking areas, schools, and hospitals.

My leCupboard taste test

On a recent visit to one vending machine, I ordered and sampled three items, each of which was filling enough to stand on its own.

Bounahmidi recommended I start with a lighter dish as a sort of appetizer, then try a more filling main course, followed by a dessert.

I tapped my selection on leCupboard's touchscreen and was able to enter any dietary restrictions. Options included "avoid gluten" and "avoid nuts" — if I had used it, the feature would have excluded options that included those ingredients — but since I don't have celiac disease or an allergy, I skipped that step.

Within 30 seconds, my first ready-to-eat entree came out.

Each leCupboard dish comes with a label that lists ingredients and lays out its nutritional profile, including the amounts of fiber, protein, and what leCupboard calls "healthful" fat, a tweak to standard nutrition labels that aligns with the latest nutritional science on fat. Healthy main dishes get labeled "build," while desserts — which mostly rely on ingredients like nuts and fruit — get labels like "indulge."

My first item mimicked a poke bowl, the popular raw-fish dish. But because leCupboard's food is all vegan, my selection featured beets instead — a substitution that made me skeptical. After gingerly skewering a forkful of beet and some veggies, I took a bite.

The delicious flavors — lemon, seaweed, vegetables — danced on my palate. It was so good. I asked Bounahmidi how she had performed this magic trick.

The beets, she explained, were glazed with a lemon marinade then paired with a vegetable that tastes a bit like seaweed. A light carpet of black rice rounded out the dish, and a creamy, spicy sauce gave it some kick.

"I love cooking, and the flavors are designed to be craveable, to be satisfying, just like any other food," Bounahmidi said.

Convenience over health

As Bounahmidi sees it, the reason most of us struggle to eat well is that convenient options usually offer only unhealthy food.

"We focus so much on what we're eating on the weekends when we're out with friends and then feel guilty for having dessert or overeating when really the problem isn't what we're eating on two days of the week — it's what we're eating on the other five," she said.

With more than 100 meal-delivery apps to choose from across the US, it's easy to see why many people no longer leave their offices for lunch. And those who work demanding hours or have more than one job often don't have time to prepare or seek out a healthy lunch.

In a recent survey, 62% of professionals said they typically ate lunch at their desk, a phenomenon that has heralded social-media hashtags, like #saddesklunch, and new social-science vocabulary, like "desktop dining."

Most of "our choices aren't actually choices," Bounahmidi said. "They're made because they're convenient."

In this context, vending machines — a technology that has barely changed since it was introduced in 1912 as the Automat — are booming. Since 1995, the number of vending machines in the US has increased by 96%, to an estimated 5.1 million, The New York Times reported.

The main course

Next up was my main dish: a falafel bowl inspired by Bounahmidi's visits to Cairo.

Like the others, it came in a reusable glass container that can be returned to the leCupboard staff at their Cafe location for a refund of $3. Bounahmidi envisions that eventually, a second machine next to the first will allow customers to return their dishes and get their refunds automatically.

This dish was also delightful, but I think I'd heat the falafel next time for a slightly better flavor. Overall, though, it exceeded my expectations. The freshness of the tomatoes and crunchiness of the kale shone through, and the falafel was savory and filling.

Bounahmidi said health was at the center of leCupboard's mission. The initiative is the customer-facing portion of a public-benefit corporation Bounahmidi founded called Looly, which has raised over $2 million in funding, according to AngelList. She is now working on a pilot project with several hospitals to design meals for people with specific dietary needs, including those with celiac disease, Crohn's, or diabetes.

I finished off my meal with a dessert called "le Versailles" — a plant-based chocolate mousse sprinkled with sea salt, raspberries, and pistachios.

As I'm a chocolate lover, this was my favorite part of the meal. The mouse was light and fluffy, yet rich, and the salt on top gave the chocolatey sweetness a hint of savory — my favorite combination. I could honestly see myself eating this at least once a week.

And I'd be more than happy to eat the rest of the meals that often as well, as long as I could get $3 off the retail price after I return my glass container.

For that to happen, though, I'll have to wait until leCupboard expands to some public locations — a goal Bounahmidi aims to achieve within the next few weeks.

"On our lunch breaks we go down the street to what's easy and cheap," she said. "This solves that."

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The future of Marchesa — a fashion line co-founded by Georgina Chapman — is unsure after allegations of Chapman's husband Harvey Weinstein sexually harassing and assaulting women. 

Helzberg Diamonds and Marchesa's plans to release a new collection of engagement rings dissolved the same day that the New York Times published its first article on sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein.

Chapman and co-founder Keren Craig also canceled Marchesa's summer 2018 preview, planned for last week. And people are calling for a boycott of the brand on social media. 

Last week, news broke Chapman is leaving Weinstein amid a series of sexual-harassment allegations. However, the New York Post reports that employees are trying to escape what they fear is a sinking ship.

Customers — specifically brides — are reportedly turning on the brand. 

"They don’t want the association," wedding stylist Diane Lloyd Roth told the Post. "The first question when someone’s getting married is, 'Who are you wearing?'" 

Marchesa's bridal gowns are a crucial part of the brand's business. In a bizarre twist, one of the brides-to-be ditching the brand is Lila Feinberg, the now-ex fiancé of Roy Prince, the Amazon Studios programming chief accused of sexual harassment. Feinberg was due to wear a customer Marchesa dress, but called off the wedding following allegations against Prince, the Hollywood Reporter reported. 

Marchesa is even more likely to lose support from actresses. 

Stars of Weinstein-backed productions, including Renée Zellweger, Cate Blanchett, and Blake Lively, have worn Marchesa on the red carpet. Rumors have floated for years that Weinstein coerced actresses to wear the fashion brand. Now that women starring in movies produced by Weinstein — or hoping to star in such movies — aren't being forced to wear Marchesa, it seems unlikely that many actresses would want to wear the brand. 

"With all of this coercion, how much goodwill, if any, has Marchesa built up with stylists and actresses?" Maria Tallarico wrote in entertainment blog Lainey Gossip. "Can you truly build relationships if you are pressuring people into your gowns?" 

The New York Times asked six top stylists who had previously dressed celebrities in Marchesa if they would continue to use the brand. Not one would comment on if the Weinstein allegations would impact their use of Marchesa. 

"No star is ever going to want to wear the brand again," The Hollywood Reporter quoted an unnamed New York fashion publicist as saying last Monday, after Weinstein was ousted from The Weinstein Company, the studio he founded.

One area where Chapman and Marchesa may still get some support is from fashion media. 

"I feel horrible about what these women have experienced and admire their bravery in coming forward," Anna Wintour, the famed artistic director of Condé Nast, told the New York Times. "My heart goes out to them, as well as to Georgina and the children."

Wintour has long been friends of Weinstein and Chapman, prominently featuring Marchesa in Vogue over the years. If Wintour portrays Chapman as another victim of Weinstein's behavior, there may still be room for Marchesa in the pages of fashion magazines — even if it disappears from the red carpet. 

SEE ALSO: Harvey Weinstein's wife is leaving him — but her fashion brand is still in jeopardy

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Raising children requires good parenting techniques as well as avoiding bad habits.  A positive body image help children develop socially. Quality time with kids also helps them in school. But just as important are avoiding mistakes that can curtail a child's social, physical, emotional and intellectual development. The following is a transcript of this video.

Parents of unsuccessful kids could have these 6 things in common.

They're authoritarian. Authoritarian parents discourage open communication. They make demands without explaining why. One study showed, when these parents checked children's homework it inhibited the child's overall school performance.

Parents who let kids watch TV when they're really young. Researchers said children who watched more TV were less likely to participate in class and had lower math scores. 

Parents who yell at their kids a lot. Shouting, cursing and insults can have the same negative effects as physical discipline.

They're helicopter parents. Over-controlling parents have been linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression in children. Researchers found these children were less open to new ideas and more self-conscious.

Parents who are emotionally distant. This can contribute to: behavioral problems, insecurity, and emotional difficulties.

Parents who spank their kids. First graders who already had behavioral problems were even more disruptive if their parents spanked them. Spanking has also been linked to mental health problems and cognitive difficulties.

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If you aced your SATs, you can thank at least a few of your genes. Scientist analyzed the DNA of 78,308 people. They discovered a link between intelligence and 52 specific genes.

The better individuals did in broad intelligence tests, the more frequently these genes appeared. But researchers aren't sure what the correlations mean because they don't know exactly what each gene does

Four of them control cell development. Three others control activities inside neurons.

But it isn't clear how the others could make you smart. Scientists want to experiment with brain cells to find out.

One method would take cells from people of differing intelligence and have those cells create neuron clusters.

By studying the way the neuron clusters interact, they could determine how their genetics affect neuron development.

But researchers stress genetics alone won't make you Einstein. The genes only accounted for 5% variation in intelligence scores.

Environmental factors also play a big role. So don't think you can skip school, just because your parents are rocket scientists.

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California wildfires have torched about 200,000 acres — a collective area roughly the size of New York City — in what is being called the deadliest wildfire in state history.

A series of fires sparked in the Napa Valley on October 8, and grew as powerful winds pulled the flames across fields and freeways. More than 5,700 homes and other structures have been destroyed, and an estimated 90,000 people have been evacuated. At least 40 people are dead.

The cause of the fires remained under investigation on Monday morning.

Local officials have described the hot, dry conditions leading up to the firestorm as a "recipe for disaster." Here are three key reasons that explain why the fires have been so destructive.

A weather phenomenon known as the "Diablo winds" is partially responsible for the widespread devastation.

Typically, sea breezes come off the Pacific Ocean and make landfall. In the fall, high pressure builds in the Great Basin — a huge swath of land that spans much of the western US — and causes wind to blow in an opposite direction,the Los Angeles Times reported.

Air descends from high elevations in Nevada and Utah down to sea level in Northern California, compressing and warming in the process. Winds, known as "Diablo winds," form.

In California's wine country, these especially dry winds arrived overnight on Monday, and reached speeds of over 50 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 70 miles per hour. Diablo winds probably didn't create the fires, but they did worsen the issue. Fires whipped by winds spread from ridge top to ridge top, across at least eight California counties.

"It's just about the worst case weather conditions to spread a wildfire quickly, given the fuel," UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told the Los Angeles Times.

The state's hottest summer on record turned dry vegetation to tinder.

It's peak wildfire season in California, and October is a notoriously challenging month for firefighters. Hot, sunny summers leave soil and vegetation dry — and more likely to burn. Early this week, forests and fields turned to tinder as small fires escalated across Northern California.

The situation in wine country was not helped by years of drought and a brutal heat wave in September, which marked the finale of the state's hottest summer on record.

The fires surprised residents and local officials in the middle of the night.

Flames began to devour swaths of Northern California wine country after most people went to bed on Sunday, October 8. It wasn't until 1:30 a.m. Monday — around the time the Tubbs fire leaped across Highway 101 — that Sonoma County officials sent text and email alerts telling people in the city of Santa Rosa to evacuate. Shortly after, entire neighborhoods were leveled.

Santa Rosa is the most populous city in Sonoma County. But those text and email alerts were only sent to residents who had registered for the notification service, called Nixle. It remains unclear how many people were contacted. Downed telephone lines and cell towers may also have interfered with outreach from local officials.

Firefighters and sheriff's deputies also knocked on doors telling people to flee.

SEE ALSO: Before-and-after photos show how California's wineries have been devastated by fires

SEE ALSO: How to help people affected by the massive fires burning California's wine country

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