May 07, 2019 at 11:06AM by CWC I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who has a glorious indoor herb garden. For as much as I cook, it would be really rewarding to use a fresh batch collected from my own garden instead of using the overpriced little bunches at the grocery store. Clipping a few fresh sprigs of basil for an heirloom tomato salad—it doesn’t get any better than that. There’s not a lot of room to grow your own greens when you live in a tiny apartment without outdoor space, but you don’t need a yard or a green thumb to learn how to grow basil and other herbs. One master of all herb-related indoor farming is Joanna Gaines. The host of Fixer Upper is a big fan of bringing homegrown options to the table, and she recently shared some of her top tips on doing just that on her blog. To make the process as easy as possible, she first recommends ditching the seeds and going with something that’s already thriving from a nursery or garden center. Then after re-potting the herbs into bigger containers, the rest is making sure you provide them with the two things they need to thrive. “Full sun and moist soil are ideal growing conditions for basil plants,” Gaines writes. “You can use basil to make homemade pesto, infuse oils, top a homemade pizza, or add to soups.” If there’s not a good spot in your home that brings in a
Month: May 2019
The definitive ranking of every alt-pasta at Trader Joe’s because #carbs
May 07, 2019 at 10:23AM by CWC Pasta has been my favorite food since childhood, and my love of carbs has only gotten stronger now that I’m a grown-up. I spend an inordinate amount of time scanning the Trader Joe’s pasta section, thinking about all the meals I can make throughout the week. The only thing that’s changed since my days of smashing spaghetti in a high-chair while sporting a bib covered in sauce is the wide variety of protein-packed alt-pastas. They says if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, lucky me, I spent a whole week eating every alt-pasta from Trader Joe’s. Alt-pastas have taken the food industry by storm. White or wheat has turned into a long list of healthier options that utilize mostly gluten-free ingredients to get that same beloved taste and texture. While brands like Banza and Explore Cuisine were at the forefront of the trend, with chickpea penne and edamame spaghetti, traditional companies like Barilla now sells a line of legume pastas. But when it comes to price and taste, it’s hard to beat Trader Joe’s, which offers high-quality products made from organic ingredients. Here’s exactly what to expect from the alt-pasta section before your next trip to the Trader Joe’s: The definitive ranking of all 10 Trader Joe’s pasta alternatives Photo: Trader Joe’s 10. Organic brown rice spaghetti pasta I love spaghetti, so I wasn’t sure what I would think of this brown rice Trader Joe’s
If my brows and I were stranded on a desert island, this is the only product we’d take
May 07, 2019 at 10:16AM by CWC My eyebrow has a cowlick. Yes, that’s a thing, and no, there is literally nothing I can do about it. It’s on the inner corner of my left brow, and is a smattering of sparse, rogue hairs that stick straight up instead of going in the same direction as all of its other colleagues. It’s been there for my entire life, and while I’ve more or less gotten used to it, it still makes me a little miffed whenever I look in the mirror. I’ve tried trimming it, partially tweezing it, and the next-level extreme of waxing it completely off, until finally I reached the fifth and final stage of grief and just learned to accept it. C’est la vie, amiright? Shortly after I’d resigned myself to my slightly wonky-looking fate, celebrity eyebrow artist Joey Healy introduced me to his namesake Brow Lacquer ($28), and the game was changed forever. Healy has worked on the brows of A-listers like Hilaria Baldwin and Vanessa Hudgens (and, on two of the best days of my life, Z-lister me), and has his own line of products to keep their (and everyone else’s) brows on fleek between appointments. I like to refer to the lacquer as my “triple-threat” brow product, because with one swipe it does all of the things that I normally need three different products to use. It slicks my rogue cowlick hairs in the right direction while defining each hair, and actually holds them
Sex feeling… less than orgasmic? Your period could be to blame
May 07, 2019 at 10:05AM by CWC To be frank, sex doesn’t always feel amazing—even with CBD lube and the most skilled of partners. One possible reason for this? Your hormone cycle. (Surprise, surprise.) Your reproductive hormones (the ones that govern your menstrual cycle and all that jazz) can actually affect how pleasurable sex is. “Sex can feel differently depending on which point of your menstrual cycle you’re in,” says Richard Firshein, MD, leading expert in integrative and precision-based medicine and founder of Firshein Center. “Something might be enjoyable during ovulation—mid-cycle—but could be way less comfortable towards the end of your menstrual cycle or towards your period.” That’s because those hormone shifts create some physiological changes that make sex feel more or less pleasurable. Pre-ovulation, your body is priming you for pregnancy, says Julie Von, MD, a holistic fertility doctor—so sex is more likely to feel freaking fantastic. “Up to and around ovulation, vaginal lubrication and cervical fluid is greatly increased,” says Dr. Firshein. “That natural lubrication can make sex more comfortable and pleasurable.” You’re also more likely to have an orgasm during this time, he says, because of the normal changes in hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Going farther south on the anatomical ladder, Dr. Firshein says there is some research that suggests “the clitoris increases in size from about the fifth day prior to ovulation,” he says, which should make it easier to stimulate and therefore more pleasurable. (However, for some people, he says the sensation may be a bit
Women in one of the driest climates swear by this ingredient for hydration
May 07, 2019 at 09:17AM by CWC How do the people in on of the driest climates keep their skin and hair moisturized? One way is prickly pear seed oil. I first came across the Moroccan beauty mainstay in the Marrakesh Medina, during a beauty class with Around the World Beauty’s Stephanie Flor. The spiny fruit—which is basically a pear, but with spikes (AKA “prickly”)—flourishes in the arid climate of the Sahara, and has been an integral part of Berber women’s skin-care routines for centuries. They’ve used it as an antibacterial for medicinal purposes, but they’ve also made use of it to nourish and rehydrate hair and skin, too. “The extract contains a lot of vitamin E, oleic acid and linoleic acid. These oils have anti-inflammatory properties and do not clog pores, or cause acne,” says board certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare, Purvisha Patel MD. “The fruit also has a lot of vitamin B, beta carotene and iron. This is a great ingredient for acne-prone skin. It is best used as a moisturizer in oil form.” And the plants are basically a fount of plenty of the buzzy beauty perks you’ll find called out on skin-care packages. “The plants have a strong polyphenol antioxidant profile,” says Moe Kittaneh, CEO of Herbal Dynamics Beauty. “The oil is also rich in omega 6 and 9, amino acids, and vitamins E and K. All of these nutrients help nourish and protect the skin from oxidation in order to maintain its’ health.”
6 all-natural ways to get rid of pesky fruit flies (which love more than just fruit)
May 07, 2019 at 08:45AM by CWC Hands sticky from watermelon, bouquets of happy sunflowers, leftover sweet potato salad from last night’s cookout—these are glorious signs of warmer weather, yes. But, alas, they’re also magnets for fruit flies. Nothing spoils a romantic evening cooking your farmers’ market haul quite like the little winged pests. Sure, they’re small, but they’re hugely annoying. And they’re cliquey, too, traveling in swarms. What’s the secret for enjoying spring and summer without ’em? If you need to know how to get rid of fruit flies (and fast!), there are a few simple tricks. The first thing to think about is what attracts fruit flies in the first place. According to the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, fruit flies often are brought into your kitchen from overripe fruit (hence their name), but they can also fly right in through an open door or window. Fruit flies are attracted in particular to overripe bananas, melons, tomatoes, squash, rotten potatoes, and rotten apples. So it’s best to keep any of that out of your kitchen to avoid attracting them (including inside garbage can; they’ll find their way in there, too). One place many might forget to pay attention to that attracts fruit flies is the kitchen drain, where food scraps are often found. Some Reddit users have also found that fruit flies also gravitate toward succulents. The reason fruit flies gravitate toward houseplants could be soil of poor quality or that is too moist. Fortunately you don’t
Wendler’s 5/3/1 strength-training method is how you turn goals into gains
May 07, 2019 at 08:34AM by CWC I sometimes struggle to see the big picture of my workout routine. Today I combined sprints on the treadmill with upper body weights and core work. It felt great, but inquiring minds want to know, how the heck can I match this workout with others so that, as the woke fitness kids say, “goals become gains?” Trainers across the country agree: Wendler’s 5/3/1 technique is the smartest, safest ways to move up in weight. Unlike more rigorous plans that help you add to your weighted squats and deadlifts, Maillard Howell, owner of Crossfit Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, says that the 5/3/1 technique, founded by strength-training legend Jim Wendler, is more gradual. “It’s a form of progressive overload, and it’s meant to get you stronger over the long haul,” says the trainer. Over the course of 3-6 months, you build a stronger and more reliable foundation as opposed to adding 50 pounds over the course of a month. The program is popular among off-season athletes, but anyone can benefit from the comfortably rigid structure as well as the recovery periods incorporated into each month. (Note: recovery is often the missing ingredient in the recipe for getting stronger). At first, learning the pattern of 5/3/1 proves a little tricky. But once you find the rhythm, you’ll be throwing around weight (in a safe, non-obnoxious way) like an old pro. Put on your gym clothes and let’s get down to business with Wendler’s 5/3/1. Photo: Getty Images/Andersen
What’s in a work bag? A lot of things, including a message about your personality
May 07, 2019 at 08:07AM by CWC The modern woman has spoken, and she really can’t be weighed down any longer by the accumulation of S’well bottles, journals, or a packed lunch. In what’s perhaps the most functional throwback trend ever, backpacks are officially…back. According to market-research firm NPD, sales for the posture-improving carryall have shot up 28 percent this year, with proponents citing comfort as a main impetus (in conjunction with the rise in ubiquity of sneakers, athleisure, and the general pilgrimage toward self care). Of course, not everyone is ready to re-embrace the trend, back-to-school-style. I, for one, still come into the office every morning with a raw-red shoulder indent. Hey, old habits die hard, and I tend to live and breathe symbols of hyperfemininity, even when they’re problematic—like a classic shoulder bag that might as well be full of heavy stones, weighing me down and keeping me from reaching any ceilings including glass ones. (I know, I know, backpack offerings have expanded since the days of those monogrammed L.L. Bean numbers—and if anyone wants to gift me a sleek Gucci model, I’ll wear it. Until then, let me and my sore shoulder live.) But I digress. Amid this transitional period of the backpack renaissance, I looked around my own office and saw a veritable buffet of carryall options. On the continuum between my old-guard staple and styles so minimalist they could make Marie Kondo break out in song and dance, I quickly realized how many varieties exist. So,
How belly breathing can help you activate untapped energy in your workout
May 07, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC I was in a Pilates class the other day when my instructor suddenly stopped me and said: “You need to be breathing out of your diaphragm.” It’s something I’ve been told to do before in yoga or meditation classes, but have never quite been able to nail it. As all the pros say, though, diaphragmatic breathing can be incredibly helpful. It differs from shallow or thoracic breathing because it’s all about drawing inhales through your nose and all the way down the stomach. As a result, it has a deeper effect. “When the diaphragm contracts and moves lower, the chest cavity enlarges, reducing the pressure inside the lungs,” says Payel Gupta, MD, a New York City-based allergist and immunologist. “It allows us to inhale and take a deeper breath in. When we take a deep breath, we use our diaphragm even more, and the diaphragm moves down further and allows more room for the lungs to expand and for more air to enter into our lungs.” As a result of breathing more conscientiously and deeply, more oxygen begins flowing throughout your body. Because of this newfound air flow and slowing down of the breath, it has a soothing effect on your nerves. “There’s some thought that deep breathing is a way of interrupting the fight-or-flight response and triggering the body’s normal relaxation response,” says Dr. Gupta—hence why she points out that it’s particularly recommended and useful during a yoga practice, meditation, or simply when
We’re calling it: Magnesium is officially the new melatonin
May 07, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC As a society, our collective stress levels are, well, not great. (Need I remind you that 95 percent of Well+Good readers reported feeling stressed in a 2018 survey?) Is it any wonder that the CBD trend has reached new heights in popularity? We know we need to chill out—we just need a little help doing so. And while five years ago stressed people might have turned to melatonin to help them sleep (and perhaps now, it’s CBD), more and more people are better starting to understand the perks of magnesium. “Magnesium is a mineral that is part of many metabolic processes in the body,” says neuroscientist Tara Swart, MD. “We need it just as much as we need all the essential vitamins and minerals.” Some of its benefits include supporting higher brain function and helping produce melatonin for a better night’s rest. But the nutrient doesn’t just help the mind recover; it helps muscles recover, too. “One of its primary roles is to regulate muscle function,” says Nick Bitz, ND, a licensed, board-certified naturopathic doctor and the chief scientific officer at Youtheory. “Whereas calcium is needed for muscles to contract, magnesium is needed for muscles to relax. So if your body is low in magnesium, your muscles will stay contracted, resulting in muscle tightness and cramps.” While certainly a person could take a magnesium supplement if they so chose (with their practitioner’s blessing, of course), a lot of brands are taking the mineral to