July 29, 2019 at 09:01PM Tune in to learn about what Nour Zibdeh, RDN, keeps in her gut health arsenal. Continue Reading… Author Olessa Pindak | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Month: July 2019
5 healthy 10-minute dinners for when you’d rather do anything but cook
July 29, 2019 at 05:03PM by CWC I am not what you would call a “great cook.” Or even a “good cook.” I’m more like an “adequate reheater of leftovers.” It’s not for lack of trying—it’s just that I have a short attention span when it comes to things I don’t like doing, like cooking. I usually tap out of recipes that have too many steps or take too long, modifying them to suit my very lazy needs. Or I will heat up Trader Joe’s frozen meatballs and make some sort of salad (by that I mean put mixed greens in a bowl and add olive oil and balsamic). This is fine, because currently I am the only one who has to consume my cooking. But it does get a little depressing to be eating frozen TJ’s meatballs for one every single night. Wouldn’t it be great if there were easy, healthy meals I could stand to follow the entire recipe for? What would life look like? I’ll tell you: It would look like one of these healthy meals that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. They’re simple, filling, and easy enough that even I could whip them together. ad_intervals[‘411613_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411613_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); These healthy 10-minute dinners are perfect for when you just can’t be bothered Photo: Pure Ella 1. Falafel cakes with creamy lemon tahini dressing “Am I a chef now?”—me, after preparing this gluten-free, vegan falafel recipe that
Everything to know about the detail-oriented Virgos in your life
July 29, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC Beyonce, Zendaya, Nick Jonas, and two-fifths of One Direction are all Virgos, so clearly, those born between August 23 and September 22 are in good, star-powered company on the zodiac wheel. But, beyond that mere list, what Virgo personality traits shine through most commonly for members of the mutable sign? Below find everything you ever wanted to know about the sixth sign of the zodiac. Whether you’re a Virgo yourself or just want some more insight into Virgo personality traits, astrologer Stefanie Iris Weiss has you covered on the bases of strengths, weaknesses, and what in general is known to make Virgos happy. Virgo personality traits “Virgos are all about the mind-body connection,” Weiss says. “A happy Virgo is one who feels balanced between both the mind and the body.” Virgos, she adds, are often into health and wellness, and also classically like to help people, which points to why service-oriented fields like nursing or health coaching are popular go-to jobs for the sign. ad_intervals[‘407440_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘407440_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); “Virgos are very much a sign of extreme intelligence. They have many skills, but sometimes the knowledge can be a bit elusive because they have the tendency to be obsessed with detail.” —astrologer Stefanie Iris Weiss “They also make great critics, such as art critics or editors, because they pay close attention to details. They notice things other people don’t,” Weiss says. But this very appreciation for
Pro athletes swear by ‘carb rinsing’ to boost performance—but what is it, exactly?
July 29, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Have you ever seen an athlete take a big swig of Gatorade only to promptly spit it back out? Well, as it turns out, there’s a method to their madness—it’s called carb rinsing. Also known as mouth washing, carb rinsing is the process of swishing a carb-heavy bev around your mouth, allowing the sugars to create a spike in energy without actually consuming the calories or welcoming the chance for a gurgling stomach in the middle of an intense game or match. Basically, the mere act of having something carby in your mouth (even just for a few seconds) can potentially trick your brain into thinking you’re actually consuming carbohydrates—spurring your body to respond as if it has those carbohydrates in your system already. “Your brain tells your body, ‘Carbohydrates are on the way.’ And with that message, muscles and nerves are prompted to work harder and longer,” researcher and sports science expert Matt Bridge told the New York Times of the phenomenon. ad_intervals[‘411468_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411468_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); There are some small studies that back up the legitimacy of carb rinsing, finding that the practice helps give athletes a temporary boost in performance and energy. Others have found that it hasn’t helped athletes as much, so it’s safe to say there’s some conflicting evidence here. Most of the studies are small and are performed on elite male athletes, which made me curious to know how
To shave above the knee, or not to shave above the knee
July 29, 2019 at 01:45PM by CWC I first shaved my legs in secret at the age of 10 or 11. The decision to sneak off with my mom’s razor was brought on by the fact that I was in a youth choir. (I’m not sure why because I cannot sing at all.) We had to wear skirts, and I was self-conscious. Feeling guilty after the job was done (poorly, I might add), I asked my mom for permission to shave my legs. She said yes, knowing full well that I had already done it but willing to humor me. My mom advised me not to shave above my knee because the hair would grow back thicker. In my experience, this is fully not true. Having had no instruction about how to shave my legs, I shaved all of my legs—yes, including above the knee. As a sometimes above-the-knee shaver I have not noticed my hair grow in any thicker or darker. Also, okay, even if it did, is that really the terrible situation it’s made out to be? It’s hair. Body hair is such a personal decision, and whether you shave a little, fully, or not at all is completely up to you. (Note: I have been shaving my legs for, like, 16 years and I still haven’t figured out how to cleanly shave my kneecaps. Inevitably I miss a spot or two, and this cannot just be me. Why is this so difficult?) ad_intervals[‘411575_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () {
The most common butt workout is also one of the easiest to mess up
July 29, 2019 at 01:03PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPM8icPu6H8] It’s often the simplest, most common moves that are the easiest to mess up. Planks can be virtually destroyed with one common modification tweak, and there are so many ways to screw with your push-up form it’s hard to keep track of them all. One more that falls into the category of “deceptively harder than it looks”? The glute bridge. The move–which works your butt, thighs, and core—might seem like a no brainer, but according to trainer and Le Sweat founder Charlee Atkins, people are constantly doing things like putting their feet in the wrong place or opening their chest up too much that render the bridge less effective. And since a version of the move is a mainstay in classes such as yoga, HIIT, and Pilates, it’s important that you know how to do a glute bridge the right way. ad_intervals[‘411415_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411415_div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-9261280-3’);}); } }, 100); So first things first, you want to make sure your feet are in the right place. To find the sweet spot, lay on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the ground, and reach your hands so that they can grab the backs of your heels. Push your lower back down into the mat, which forces your core to engage, and make sure your knees are right above your ankles when you come up. Lay your arms down by your side with your palms facing
Cica is the redness-squelching ingredient to know about ASAP
July 29, 2019 at 12:53PM by CWC K-beauty has taught us a lot about skin care. Many of us owe our glow to sheet masks, multi-step routines, and “essences” that help other products sink into skin more deeply. In addition to giving us all the tools we need for a glowing complexion on repeat, we also have K-beauty to thank for the hero ingredient responsible for soothing redness and irritation… and that includes sunburns. Enter: cica. While K-Beauty may have been among the first to put the stuff into skin care, it was actually tigers (yup—the cute stripey cats) who first discovered the stuff. Centella asiatica—nicknamed “cica” because it’s a lot easier to say—is commonly known as “tiger grass,” because thousands of years ago people in China noticed tigers rolling around in the stuff to heal their wounds. And it turns out, they were onto something. Studies have shown that the stuff effective in mending small wounds, burns, and psoriasis, and it can also be used in the treatment of photoaging skin. If you’ve ever used tiger balm (…just typing that fills my nose with that nostalgic scent), you’ve already been introduced to the soothing prowess of cica. ad_intervals[‘410955_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘410955_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); With all of that in mind, it’s no wonder that it’s found its way into our beauty cabinets of late. “The primary active constituents of centella asiatica are saponins, and saponins extracts have been used in wound healing,” explains Nava Greenfield,
The “Figure 8 Workout” will fire up your abs without you even realizing it
July 29, 2019 at 12:47PM by CWC It has come to my attention that something called the “Figure 8 Workout” is secretly all the rage in at-home fitness. If you’re not well-versed in it, it’s a cardio-dance-core hybrid exercise that’s kind of like dance cardio or Zumba, but also moonlights as standing ab exercises back to back (to back to back). Created by an actual Latin ballroom dancing professional, Laana Kunitz launched the Figure 8 workout years ago, and it’s still popular today (based on Google Trends). She dubs it a “treadmill for your abs.” How, you ask? It incorporates three-dimensional core exercises—working forward, backwards, rotational, and side-to-side—that target all of your core muscles, from your transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, and your back… all while feeling fun and like you’re just dancing it out to some 2001 Britney Spears c. In her instructional video (which you can find on YouTube), Kunitz walks you through the basic moves that incorporate the “Figure 8” itself: working your hips side to side like a pendulum, going in a circle with your spine, then jutting your hips to invisible corners while rotating your core. “Use your obliques to pump your hip corner and take it back,” she demonstrates. It kind of, sort of feels like you’re belly dancing, but there’s a method behind it that makes it even more of a core workout. And once you nail the hip/ab/spine rotation moves, Kunitz adds in some foot work to pump up
A hairstylist gave me the 411 on whether or not sweat *actually* makes your hair dirty, and I am shook
July 29, 2019 at 12:38PM by CWC A hairstylist once told me that sweat is one of nature’s very own styling products, and the sentiment has always stuck. Because when you think about it, it makes sense: Sweat’s basically just salt and water, which is what most of my favorite hair products are made out of, anyway. So over the last few months, I’ve taken to throwing my hair into a French braid before I workout, letting it get extra sweaty over the course of 50-minutes on a Megaformer, and then pulling it out to reveal the flawless beach waves that a curling iron simply could never. But even though I’ve gotten the professional stamp of approval for not washing my hair after the gym, now that it’s approximately a million degrees in New York City and my scalp gets sweaty the minute I step outside, I’ve gotta wonder: Are sweaty hair and dirty hair the same thing? And, uh, should I be washing my hair a whole lot more often in the summer? ad_intervals[‘411529_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘411529_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); “No,” says celebrity hairstylist Paul Labrecque, owner of Paul Labrecque Salon and Spa, definitively calming my panic. “Sweat is mainly water and dirt is mainly oil. Grease comes from your sebaceous glands, and sweat comes out of your pores. When mixed together they can be messy, but sweat on its own isn’t an issue with the exception of maybe causing a little frizz.” Think
A squeaky-clean air fryer is just one magical ingredient away
July 29, 2019 at 12:23PM by CWC “I don’t know about you, but my air fryer was crusty,” reads an all-too-relatable Reddit thread. I, too, own (and love) an air fryer. I, too, have experienced that very real struggle of trying to coax Brussels sprout bits out of all its nooks and crannies. I too have taken to the internet to ensure my most treasured kitchen appliance gets the hygiene it needs and deserves. And, courtesy of the good users of Reddit, I’ve found a trick for how to clean an air fryer that’s so good, even stubborn cauliflower gnocchi remnants don’t stand a chance. This tale of air fryer triumph is akin to the moment King Arthur pulled his mighty sword from the stone. “So, today, after cooking fried chicken, I put some apple cider vinegar in the basket (the main one, not the insert) right after making the chicken. Scrubbed it with a dish brush and it’s as clean as it’s been since the first time I’ve used. Smells good, too,” writes a Redditor. Honestly, it’s no great shock that ACV turned out to be the solve(nt) for this issue. The vinegar’s uses are unending and varied: from hair care, to breakfast hacks, to keeping your reflection happy. ad_intervals[‘409716_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘409716_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); Of course, there are air fryers on the market that are dishwasher safe. So definitely read the fine print on yours to see if you can save