Month: October 2019

October 13, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC I’m no stranger to sneaking spoonfuls of whipped cream. I mean, can you blame me? The light and fluffy topping is basically like eating a cloud. I’m still just as in love with it as I was as a kid, but I don’t “do the Cool Whip” anymore. (Please tell me you remember that commercial.) Now I’m all about whipped coconut cream. Trader Joe’s recently re-released its beloved Coconut Whipped Topping—a dairy-free whipped cream that was previously just a seasonal item. Now under the brand name Sweet Rose, it’s staying for good… and it’s so much better than the real thing. I’m talking spray-in-your-mouth-because-it-tastes-like-coconut-pie good. While TJ’s $3.29 product—which comes in a can and only contains a handful of ingredients, starting with coconut cream, water, and sugar—has certainly fueled my need for whipped coconut cream, its not the only option. Yeah, you can eat it out of the can, but here’s how to bake with whipped coconut cream: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntAmnaSZDkA] My love of whipped coconut cream started with the brand So Delicious’ CocoWhip, which comes in a tub like OG whipped creams. Not to mention a side of nostalgia every time you dig in. The first time I tried it after ditching dairy, I couldn’t believe how creamy it was, and I’m continually impressed by other products that have hit the market, too. Now even Reddi-wip has a coconut milk version sold in nearly every grocery store around the country, and Whole Foods carries

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October 13, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC The common refrain in any runner’s life is this: “My hips are SOOOO tight!” Unlike ultra-bendy yogis, pavement-pounders have ongoing issues with stiff muscles from head-to-toe. And the area just below the elastic of your leggings, your hip flexors, may be one of the creakiest spots in your bod. As David Siik, founder and creator of Precision Running, previously told Well+Good, tight hips can cause a domino effect throughout your overall physical health. If you don’t make a point of stretching out your hip flexors on the reg, muscle tightness can lead to lack of blood flow to that area, leaving you open to injuries. I get it, I get it: stretching, foam rolling, and other ways to relax stressed out muscles can be time consuming. But getting sidelined by hips that just won’t budge is way worse than spending some time in pigeon pose. Am I right? The best hip stretches for runners, according to experts [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKrdB-5R3C4] 1. 10-minute fast (but effective!) hip stretch Grab your yoga mat and a lacrosse ball for this quickie hip session that will ease your muscles after a long, tough run. For extra entertainment value, the runner behind this vid changes his hat with each stretch. So you’ll see you’ll get to LOL through a beanie, a baseball cap, and a fishing hat and come out on the other side stretched out. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXCIBkqxcYE?start=28] 2. Low-lunge love If you only have time for one stretch,

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October 13, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC I am the product of a rare on-again, off-again relationship gone right. My parents, who fell in love in an age without dating apps, hook-up culture, and the paradox of choice, broke up three times over the course of six years before deciding that yep, what they had was the real deal. Cut to me, spending 12 years of dating thinking my endless on-again, off-again continuums are “healthy.” Whether the cycle is healthy or not, getting back together with an ex is… actually a pretty standard move. This continues even into relationships that involve real estate and wedding rings: a 2013 study by the University of Kansas suggests that “over one-third of cohabiters and one-fifth of spouses have experienced a breakup and renewal in their current relationship.” But on the flip side, rapid cycling in a relationship typically led to more cycling, greater uncertainty in their relationship’s future, and lower satisfaction. To wit: We cling to the dream of the Jim and Pam endgame when most of these arrangements are actually Ryan and Kelly toxic.  But if you find yourself drawn, twin-flame-style, to a person over and over and over again, does that necessarily predict doom? Is it straight radioactive incompatibility, or just bad timing? According to relationship expert Susan Winter, attempted break-ups are sometimes our slow-burn way of letting go. “For some couples, breaking up requires a series of attempts before they’re able to leave each other,” she says. “It’s a process. You’re weaning

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October 13, 2019 at 12:05PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MWHUCBuvmM] Too many memes on Instagram exist to remind you that Monday morning is the worst part of the week (just in case you couldn’t have figured that out for yourself). No matter how much you love your job, making the transition from the carefree weekend to the responsibilities of the workplace is mentally taxing. The term “Sunday Scaries” didn’t come out of nowhere, after all. As someone who has anxiety, that Sunday-to-Monday shift used to hit me hard every single week. Without fail it began around 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, keeping me up for hours into the night, and then jolting awake ahead of my alarm drenched in sweat. (There were plenty of occasions when I tried to remedy the situation with a few glasses of pinot noir, which only made things worse.) I’d spend the whole morning feeling anxious and overwhelmed—even before I even sat down at my computer—which meant I was already starting my week off in a bad place for my mental health. Last year, I decided I couldn’t keep going with this sort of toxic pattern, so I crafted a Monday morning routine for myself that helps me get through that weekend-to-weekday transition on solid footing—or as I like to call it, #MentalHealthMonday. The routine is far from elaborate (I’m not one of those people who mediates for 2 hours or practices witchcraft in my living room, though, #respect). Rather it’s a series of small, manageable

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