October 22, 2018 at 01:40PM Photo: Houghton Miffilin Harcourt Hunting around for anti-inflammatory recipes almost always leads to one superstar spice: turmeric. There’s a good reason for that—it’s one of the most powerful pantry staples in the inflammation-fighting department. It’s certainly not the only tool in the shed, so to speak, though. Food blogger and certified yoga instructor Kim-Julie Hansen incorporates two other big ones, cinnamon and hot red chili peppers, in her miso-ginger tempeh bowl recipe, which she shares in her new book, Vegan Reset. Spiced up sweet potatoes are the star of the dish, but the addition of shiitake bacon, miso-ginger tempeh, and a beet-tahini dressing combine to make it especially drool-worthy. “This is one of my favorite go-to veggie bowls on a fall or winter day,” Hansen says. She came up with it when she was playing around with different flavor combos in the kitchen, experimenting with ways to incorporate both miso and ginger with tempeh, her all-time favorite plant-based protein. The cinnamon and chili peppers are both anti-inflammatory, while tempeh and sunflower seed butter check off the protein box for a well-rounded meal. And between the shiitake mushrooms, cauliflower, onion, and bell pepper, there’s certainly a good amount of veggies in the mix. In other words: No need to whip up any sides—this dish has it all. “Don’t stress about finding the exact ingredients and feel free to substitute with any veggies or beans of your choice,” Hansen says before offering up one cooking tip for
Day: October 22, 2018
This bookcase that converts to a dining table is the most-genius thing we’ve seen today
October 22, 2018 at 11:58AM When you call a tiny space home, finding pieces of furniture that pull double-duty feels like a major win. So if the surface area of your abode forces you to make tough decor decisions, this bookcase-slash-dining table will let you transform a living room easily from bookworm-chic to dinner party-ready. The “Shirl Classy Standard Bookcase” ($620) by Wayfair stays true to its name: The retractable wooden piece has an elegant country aesthetic that you might expect to spot in Joanna Gaines’ living room. But the five star feature of this fixture is that it converts from a bookshelf into a two-seater dining table using a sliding maneuver that doesn’t necessitate moving all your trinkets, novels, and plants from its shelves. (Hallelujah!) It’s not magic, though it sounds like it is; the shelves are designed to stay level as the unit’s converted, so their contents wind up on your tabletop in one piece. In the product description, the company adds that you can also use the bookshelf to display your carefully-made hors-d’oeuvres or potluck contributions during the mandatory pre-dinner socializing if you’re feeling extra-fancy. Then, just impress all your guests with the transformation party trick. If you’re dwelling in a shoebox-sized space, you can fold your clothes like this to save a ton of room, and purchase this genius dish drying rack. Continue Reading… Author Kells McPhillips | Well and Good Selected by iversue
Google searches for dry skin moisturizers are up 450%—here are our editor-approved picks
October 22, 2018 at 11:58AM If you could spy on my recent Google search history, you’d notice that I’m on the hunt for long sweaters, a trusty pair of boots, hygge-ready socks, and—along with the rest of the world, apparently—dry skin moisturizers. Yep, winter is coming, and we all want to be ready for it. But yeah, on the internet, Google searches for dry skin moisturizers are up a whopping 450 percent, which basically means I’m not alone in that my face is starting to fall off. As the wind is starting to rustle through dying leaves and temperatures dip into lower digits, slathering your skin in something as thick and comfortable as your seasonal clothing (cashmere! knits! velvet!) becomes a pretty important daily staple. Hence why everybody’s going bananas for richer, more whipped, and uber-hydrating moisturizers to keep your complexion nourished despite the harsh weather conditions. With everyone frantically searching for these superstar products because they need help—there are so many out there, making it exceedingly difficult to know which heavy-duty option is worthy of your money. To help? Team Well+Good shares their favorites. Keep reading to shop our editor-approved dry skin moisturizers. Photo: Drunk Elephant Drunk Elephant Lala Retro Whipped Cream, $60 “This moisturizer feels light and fluffy but it kept my face hydrated and protected during while riding my bike all last winter. It was good to the last pump but never left face greasy.” —Jordan Galloway, senior editor Photo: Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte Tilbury Charlotte’s Magic Cream, $100
Meet the self-lubricating condom that promotes sexual health and peak friskiness
October 22, 2018 at 11:46AM Experiencing vaginal dryness is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, when it comes to natural lubrication down there, everything from your menstrual cycle and birth control to your diet and hydration levels can play a role—meaning the state of things might well have nothing to do with your level of arousal. And soon enough, you won’t need to rely on that trusty bottle of lube in your nightstand drawer when you need an assist: A self-lubricating condom is in the works, and it could make a huge difference for the future of your sexual health. According to Fast Company, Boston University researchers received a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to give condoms the serious upgrade. The result? A safe-sex innovation with a polymer coating that traps in moisture from the wearer’s skin, creating a thin layer of water on the surface that makes the condom slippery. And unlike pre-lubricated condoms, this model stays slick way longer than 30 seconds. In fact, it can handle 1,000 thrusts before drying out, which is pretty stellar considering the average intercourse sesh involves a reported 100 to 500. “The polymer binds to the surface of the latex condom and does not come off,” says lead researcher Mark Grinstaff. The condom has a polymer coating that traps in moisture from the wearer’s skin, creating a thin layer of water on the surface that makes the condom slippery. Aside from keeping sexual experiences as pleasurable as possible, the extra-slick
Now’s the perfect time to bust out that black turtleneck
October 22, 2018 at 11:39AM Besides happiness, you know what a lot of women (myself included) seem to endlessly be in pursuit of? The foundational wardrobe pieces in which to live their best lives. Seriously, how many hours have you spent searching for a flattering black bathing suit you can actually be active in, a strapless bra that stays in place, all-white sneakers that go with everything, or high-waisted leggings that make your backside look like you just did J.Lo’s butt workout? Now add to that list the one staple item that seems to be peaking this week: a black turtleneck. That’s the beauty of basics. They really allow your personality to shine. No joke. This morning I walked into work and half of Well+Good’s edit team was sporting some iteration of the high-necked knit. But just like the ladies we were wearing them, no two were the same. That’s the beauty of basics. They really allow your personality to shine. Plus, you can style them to suit pretty much any situation. Pull a bodysuit or fitted version on under those breezy summer dresses you can’t bring yourself to put away quite yet—extra style points for adding a pair of patterned tights. Or use one to create a little buffer between yourself and all those cozy (yet itchy) long sweaters you plan on living in for the next few months. Better still, wear one all on its own á la Audrey Hepburn with a red lip, full brow, and perfect-height ponytail. Really, there’s no wrong way
Can you handle the heat? What the buzziest laser treatments actually feel like
October 22, 2018 at 11:26AM Ask any seasoned beauty editor if they’ve tried the treatments their careers have been spent writing about, and you’ll likely receive mixed responses. The deep-tissue massage at Paul LaBrecque? Yes, and it was amazing. The micro-current facial at Mario Tricoci? Of course, would do it again. It’s the medical treatments that get tricky: A lot of procedures are so cutting-edge or specific (How can I remove that unwanted tattoo? Or: How do I erase the summer’s rays from my complexion) that a doctor’s explanation is often as deep as one can dive. Despite their inherent mystery, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) reported that last year saw a near 20 percent increase in light and laser treatments, with over three million procedures performed in 2017. And one can hardly scoff at the wide-ranging benefits from sun-damage reduction to collagen stimulation. In an effort to finally experience a few of the most futuristic developments firsthand, I turned to a team of professionals in fields that range from optometry to complexion perfection to gather the facts. “The general trend in cosmetic procedures is patients seeking lower downtimes, and it is always safer to make slow, incremental improvements,” shares Dr. Arash Akhavan, the board certified dermatologist and founder of The Dermatology & Laser Group in New York City who’s built a reputation for his expertise in leading technology (and a particularly light touch). “We always stress to err on the side of natural and gradual results—there are no quick and easy fixes, and
Real talk: Peeing a little mid-workout is *very* common
October 22, 2018 at 10:12AM Of all the common (yet embarrassing) things that can happen while you work out, incontinence might well top the list. If you’ve ever leaked in your leggings, you know what I’m talking about—even if you’ve never admitted it out loud. Given how mum most people are on the subject, I actually thought I’d have a hard time getting women to open up about accidentally peeing while exercising. But Katia Pryce, founder of DanceBody, busted that myth pretty quick. “I have some women who always wear patterned pants so if they pee, you can’t see it.” “You’d be surprised how many times a day I talk about this,” she says. “My workout is dance cardio; there’s a lot of jumping. I have some women who always wear patterned pants so if they pee, you can’t see it.” Her clients aren’t alone in this concern. In fact, a market for leak-prevention products has, er, sprung up as of late. Poise recently introduced a new tampon-esque device called Poise Impressa that tackles bladder drama, while Thinx launched a new line of “pee-proof underwear” called Icon last fall. (Apparently hipsters pee their pants, too.) Even Gwyneth Paltrow’s indirectly tackled the issue—after all, Goop carries Elvie, the $199 pelvic floor exercise tracker. After many years of dancing around the subject, it seems like women are finally ready to address the once-taboo—but incredibly common—issue of exercise-induced incontinence. So, what’s causing women to pee when they work out in the first place—and how do you deal if it happens to you? Photo:
Can’t touch your toes? These two yoga moves will change that
October 22, 2018 at 09:59AM You know those Insta-famous yogis who can “throw” their legs behind their heads in a pose that is equal parts graceful and admirably bendy? Or that woman sporting Alo Yoga in your HIIT class who practically collapses in half for the seated forward fold at the end of class who makes you wish you could touch your toes? I am neither of those girls. In fact, I am so definitively *not* flexible that I can’t even touch my toes. (TBH I can barely touch my shins without a muscle-warming sauna sesh). The disparity between these (capital Y) Yogi’s flexibility and my own often makes me wonder if it’s even worth the effort to move through a yoga flow if I’m unable to fully participate the poses. In a recent asking-for-a-friend convo I had with yoga instructor Francesca Valarezo, who happens to be leading our next Well+Good Retreat in Miami this December, she said told that, despite not being able to touch my toes, I could still do yoga. “There’s a misconception that you have to be flexible to do yoga, but that’s not the case,” she tells me. Flexibility isn’t a pre-requisite. “In fact, the less flexible you are, the more you’ll actually get out of incorporating yoga into your routine,” Valarezo says. Her reasoning? If you’re already flexible, you probably like yoga because you’re good at it, but if you’re not a Bendy Wendy, she tells me that, “yoga can help lengthen your muscles, open up and create space in your
Feel the burn while barely moving with this abs exercise from Chelsea Handler’s trainer
October 22, 2018 at 09:34AM Reps of jump squats and burpees definitely pose the potential of leaving you sore for days, but sometimes it’s the exercises that barely require you to move at all that result in the most serious body burn. Just ask Chelsea Handler, whose trainer recently had her do his favorite abs workout at home. Spoiler: It’s way harder than it looks. Ben Bruno—who also trains Kate Upton—recently posted a video of Handler doing one of his go-to core exercises: hollow-body flies, which requires you to hold a crunch with elevated legs while simultaneously lifting and lowering a dumbbell. They’re so intense, in fact, that Handler tried to negotiate the number she had to do. “I told her to do four sets, but she insisted we only do three sets, so we compromised and did five sets,” he writes. View this post on Instagram @chelseahandler knocks out a set of hollow-body flies, one of my new favorite core exercises. I told her to do four sets but she insisted we only do three sets, so we compromised and did five sets. If you listen, Chelsea gives me a hard time for always losing count, but it’s just because I’m busy counting down the time until the workout is over. A post shared by Ben Bruno (@benbrunotraining) on Oct 20, 2018 at 9:23am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js Bruno loves the super-challenging core exercise for a good reason: It fires up your abs like crazy from every angle. To try them yourself, lay
I suffered from 2 traumatic brain injuries—but it took 13 years to get a diagnosis
October 22, 2018 at 09:22AM Amanda Burrill is a Navy vet who served as a rescue swimmer and combat systems officer on two tours aboard the USS Dubuque. She’s also one of the thousands of military service members diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. While not all TBIs are the same, her experience—shared here in her own words—offers a window into what it’s like, including how difficult it can be to get the right treatment. Keep reading for her story. I pin my race bib to my red Relay for Heroes T-shirt and make my way over to the group of other women on my team. This isn’t about winning. I have to keep reminding myself of that. Honestly, the dozens of races under my belt were about winning—at least beating myself—and that mindset served me well, leading to sponsorships, brand endorsements, and two Runner’s World covers. But I didn’t sign up for this relay, where teams compete to finish as many miles as possible in 12 hours, to win or set a personal record. This one is all about the cause. My cause. Did you know that roughly 400,000 military service members have been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury (TMI) since 2000? And at least 20 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression, though only half seek some form of treatment? There are also those who tirelessly seek treatment but aren’t sure “for what.” These weren’t statistics I was particularly interested in until I became one