October 04, 2018 at 11:05AM The concept that “you get what you pay for” applies to pretty much everything in life. One exception, though, is the cast iron cookware from the new Cravings by Chrissy Teigen Target Collection. The cookbook author and headband connoisseur dubbed the two Dutch ovens and everyday family pan from her collab “kitchen classics.” And we couldn’t agree more. But at less than $40 each, they cost a fraction of what you’d pay for high-end alternatives from brands like Staub or Le Creuset. A 5.5 quart Dutch Oven from the latter retails for $340 on its site—and still costs twice as much even second hand on sites like Etsy. Between the three pieces from Teigen’s line, you can basically cook any one pot (or pan) meal you’re, ahem, craving. Plus, with their matte black finish and polished brass hardware, this cast iron cookware isn’t just as timeless looking as its up-market counterparts—they’re equally built to last when properly hand washed. All cast iron cookware (no matter the cost) is durable, can stand the heat of high temps on the stovetop or in the oven, and cooks food evenly. It’s why they’re healthy kitchen staples for chefs like Teigen. So, if you’re looking to take home anything from the Lipsync Battle host’s new affordable home line (all 40 pieces of which cost between $4 and $140), start with the three below in order to get the most bang for your buck. (There’s also an enameled version of the 5
Year: 2018
The Starter Essentials You Need To Create An All-Natural Nursery
October 03, 2018 at 11:00PM These Mindful Nursery Picks Are Safe, Sustainable, and Very, Very Cute Continue Reading… Author Sophie Jaffe | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Having these 5 personality traits makes you “fun” studies show
October 04, 2018 at 09:17AM If you—like me—live in perpetual fear of being the boring person no one wants to get caught standing next to in a social situation, then take refuge in this fact: There are five possible traits that can earn you “fun person”-status with other people. So even if you don’t boast all of them, you still have a shot at peer-acceptance. (Phew, right?!) By cross-referencing studies on the subject and extrapolating from the “Big Five” personality traits, Glenn Geher, PhD, a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz, found that a life-of-the-party personality is composed of a handful of attributes: extraversion, open-mindedness, humor production, humor perception, and creativity, reports Psychology Today. Just like the overarching Big Fives, you can think about each of these qualities existing on a spectrum. So maybe you’re really tuned into smart humor, but you just can’t quite get the whole extraversion thing down. Or maybe you’re super open-minded, but only so-so at cracking jokes. “Creative people have been found to be high in emotional intelligence, which is a key factor in social relationships.” Dr. Geher also explains that creative minds often rise to the surface as the type of lively, observant folks you want to say a toast at your wedding, or act as your buffer during awkward convos. “We are deeply entertained by highly creative people, including high-caliber musicians, artists, comedians, actors, dancers, storytellers, architects, and so forth,” he says. “Creative people have been found to be high in
Found: The lazy girl’s mess-free solution for frozen avocados
October 04, 2018 at 09:10AM There are two types of people in this world: Those who love squishing avocados between their fingers before mushing the mixture into ice-cube trays to freeze for future smoothie use, and those who would prefer not covering themselves (and, in all likelihood, their kitchen) in delicious green slime. No matter which camp you personally identify with, you might be wise to stock your freezer with a new product from Welch’s to make meal-prepping the fruit as easy as possible in a pinch. The next time you’re at the grocery store (online destinations like Amazon and Walmart are currently fresh out), keep your eyes peeled for one of the best sights…ever: bag upon bag of frozen avocado chunks. There are plenty of reasons—beyond saving you a big mess, of course—to give the genius product, which allows you to be a bit lazier, a try. According to Welch’s, the avocados are frozen when they’re perfectly ripe, so you can avoid playing the guessing game when buying a bag. And since they come in chunks, you don’t need to worry about accidentally cutting yourself via “avocado hand” while trying to get your fix. Smoothies aren’t the only thing you can use the frozen goodies for, either. Stick them into sandwiches, blend them into dressings, or even use them to create an oh-so-creamy chocolatey avocado pudding—the limit does not exist here! And with 10- or 32-ounce-bag options, you’ll never run out. Once you get over the “why didn’t I think of that” face-palm line of thinking, just make
I had an unhealthy relationship with coffee—here’s how I healed it
October 04, 2018 at 08:31AM To say that I love coffee would be a total understatement. (Seriously, just check my bio.) I’ve always been that girl, the one who couldn’t function without a cup of java first thing in the morning. You know those memes that say, “But first, coffee”? That’s basically my life mantra. And, it wasn’t just a once-a-day habit. Every day, I craved another coffee at 10 a.m., and then usually again around 3 or 4 p.m. The thought of going even one day without it—and enduring the inevitable headaches, brain fog, and other caffeine withdrawal symptoms—made me cringe. I was sure that if I stopped drinking coffee, I wouldn’t be able to get any work done, let alone hit the gym or be pleasant at a social event. And, to be totally honest, I wasn’t convinced that I even needed to cut back on coffee, despite all of the things I’ve read about the potential side effects of too much caffeine. I drank mine organic with coconut cream or almond milk, and sometimes even added collagen or drank it Bulletproof style. A #wellnesswin, right? Turns out, not exactly. (At least, not for me.) No matter how much caffeine I consumed, I always felt tired and even started resorting to energy drinks just to give me a jolt. Fast forward about six months after I moved to New York City, where people hold coffee cups like fashion accessories when they walk the streets. No matter how much caffeine I consumed,
Steal Jenna Dewan’s speedy hotel HIIT series when you’re short on time (so like, always)
October 04, 2018 at 07:09AM On some days, a couple hours at the gym can be just the endorphin-fueled antidote you need to unwind (and lift your spirits) after spending 9-5 chained to your desk. On others, though, the siren song of your Netflix queue might call a little bit louder than the treadmill. So when that’s the case, just steal actress Jenna Dewan’s preferred hotel sweat sesh. “Sometimes a quick on the go home/hotel workout is all I have time for,” wrote the dancing queen in the caption of an Instagram post on Wednesday. In the time-lapsed video, Dewan completes 25 knees-to-chest (AKA, mountain climbers), 20 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 squat jumps, and 25 sit-ups. View this post on Instagram Sometimes a quick on the go home/hotel workout is all i have time for…! 25 knees to chest, 20 squats, 10 pushups, 10 squat jumps, 25 sit ups- repeat 5x A post shared by Jenna Dewan (@jennadewan) on Oct 3, 2018 at 9:45am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js Complete five rounds of the circuit (which should take you about 20 minutes) and—bam—you’re ready to stretch it out and hit the shower. Alternatively, if you reach the end of the routine and decide you want to step it up (see what I did there??), try tacking on Dewan’s toning exercise or bust a move with her 45-minute dance routine. Now all you need is a killer playlist to sweat along to: Check out Nina Dobrev’s and Barack Obama’s. Continue Reading… Author Kells McPhillips | Well and Good Selected by iversue
3 common issues runners face in the month leading up to a marathon—and what to do about them
October 04, 2018 at 06:18AM With months of marathon training behind you and just a few more long run and ice bath cycles ahead, you’re on track to squash 26.2 miles come race day. In the final month of marathon training, don’t let obstacles that commonly sidetrack you from reaching your race-day dreams—whether you’re aiming to break four hours or cross the finish line, period. “You’ve been working for months to get to this point. So trust that your training has you prepared.” To amp you up for the starting line and overcome the OMG-so-annoying issues that can sneak up on you as race day gets closer, we asked Erin Bailey—director of fitness programming and community for ASICS Digital, head trainer at ASICS Studio, and Boston Marathon finisher—for advice to (literally) go the distance. Her biggest words of wisdom? “Trust your training,” says Bailey. “You’ve been working for months to get to this point. So trust that your training has you prepared. Keep following your plan, rest, eat good foods, and enjoy the process.” In other words, you totally got this. Scroll down for how to avoid three all-too-common mistakes runners make before race day—and an inspirational downloadable map of the course. 1. Overtraining and not tapering correctly Ironically, the most difficult part for marathoners is not running all those miles, but tapering down the mileage at the tail end of training after getting into that long-distance groove. After that one last push—“You’ll run your longest run to date either
10 awesome health benefits of hugging that’ll make you want to squeeze someone like right.now.
October 04, 2018 at 05:19AM To steal a line from Britney Spears, there are two types of people in the world: those who consider themselves huggers and those who don’t. You can typically figure out what camp someone falls into over an awkward hello or goodbye. Our general rule is “you do you” when it comes to sharing your personal space; however, there are some pretty interesting research findings regarding the health benefits of hugging that make a case for embracing the form of nonverbal communication. A number of studies have identified how important hugs are to physical and emotional wellbeing. Here are nine really good reasons to hug it out on the reg. 1. Hugging helps you communicate your feelings in a way words can’t Whether conscious or sub, the way we physically interact with people communicates a lot. “Touch is the first of our senses to develop in the womb and reaches maturity well before the other senses do,” says psychologist Danielle Forshee, PsyD. AS a result, interpersonal touching such as hugging plays an important role in emotional well-being she says. 2. Hugs help protect you from stress-related illnesses Sure, an apple a day might help keep the doctor away (or so the saying goes), but you might be better off with a hug. A study published by Carnegie Mellon found that there’s a relationship between receiving hugs and your immune system. Specifically, the study looked at the types of sickness and infections that you’re made more susceptible to
There’s never been a better time to be a woman runner
October 04, 2018 at 04:00AM It’s Saturday and I’m joining up with my friends to download on the week that’s just zoomed by. I show up a few minutes early, and as I glance around for them, I notice that our meeting place is already packed. I shouldn’t be surprised, I live in New York City after all, but considering it’s 9 a.m. and the spot in question is the Central Park running loop, where we plan to knock off miles the week’s to-do list, I somehow am anyways. Unlike the gym, which is dominated by bulked-up bros, the path around the park seems to be filled predominantly with women (yeah, a few dudes can be spotted here or there, doing their best shirtless Bachelor audition impressions). But I imagine that in these tense times we’re living in, these women are here for the same reason that I am: to decompress mentally and connect emotionally with their friends. And while they’re connecting, these women are pushing themselves to smash PRs and log never-before-seen mileage. Quicker paces and packed race courses are the epitome of women supporting women, and I for one, can’t get enough of it. “The beauty of running is that it’s a sport that can be selectively engaged in to meet others and create lasting bonds, to independently release stress, and to achieve personal goals,” explains New York City sports psychologist Leah Lagos Wallach, PsyD, who’s board-certified in biofeedback. “Alternatively, many women choose to run solo as a way to
Yes! You can outsmart that “hormone belt” of chin pimples, according to a derm and OB/GYN
October 04, 2018 at 03:13AM I’m just going to say it: There is a special place in hell for hormonal zits. You likely know the ones: The kind with deep roots that set up shop on your chin and jawline—otherwise known as the “hormone belt”—and threaten to stick around forever and haunt your dreams. They make your regular old whiteheads look like a walk in the park, because not only are they annoying to look at, but they are painful—especially if you make the mistake of trying to pick at them. It’s an unfortunate reality that hormonal acne doesn’t just go away because you’ve made it through puberty (a fact I’m reminded of every month, without fail, three days before my period). To make things easier (or at least in an attempt to keep you from regularly cursing your endocrine system or clawing at your pimples), I chatted with the experts to find out everything you need to know about that pesky hormone belt on your face, and what you can do so that you’ll never have to see it again. Photo: Getty Images/Extreme Photographer First up: Why does hormonal acne actually happen? “Hormonal fluctuations cause acne to those who are susceptible,” explains Sherry A. Ross, MD, a New York City OB/GYN and Author of she-ology. The Definitive Guide to Women’s Intimate Health. Period. “Some of the hormones responsible for acne are called androgens, including testosterone, which have a more male hormone affect causing oily skin, skin inflammation, clogged hair follicles, which all lead to acne. Hormonal