March 14, 2019 at 10:45AM by CWC Indulge me for just a second and imagine we live in an alternate universe where demistifying your ideal formula for “happiness” is as simple as identifying your blood type. A world where just a prick of a finger could tell you whether gratitude journaling, goal-crushing, or self-care was your gateway to bliss. Alright, so science hasn’t gotten us there (quite) yet, but Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, a psychology professor at University of California, Riverside, has developed a self-diagnostic to help you determine which happiness practices feel the most natural for your personality. “I believe that all of us want to be happy, even if we don’t use the same language to describe that wish, and even if we define happiness differently or we pursue happiness differently,” said Dr. Lyobomirsky in a 2009 talk with Google. “In every culture that researchers have surveyed, they ask people what are their top goals in life, they’ve found that most people put happiness at the top of their list.” Not only does Lyumbomrisky believe that we all have unique joy-sparking DNA, she also has the research to prove it. Using both her own research and other scientific serotonin inquiries, Lyubomrisky generated a worksheet-style quiz, known as the Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic, which helps you determine which of 12 research-tested happiness activities will feel most “natural and enjoyable” to you. Developing coping mechanisms, learning forgiveness, and leaning in to life’s joys are all on the list. In just 15 minutes, you’ll know which ones speak
Year: 2019
8 shirataki noodle recipes that hit the spot every time
March 14, 2019 at 10:22AM by CWC Once you try shirataki noodles, you’ll be hooked. Despite an appearance quite similar to pasta, shirataki are made with the Japanese konjac yam, and usually found in the refrigerator aisle packaged in a pouch filled with water rather than a box on the shelf. But physical resemblance to spaghetti is where the similarities stop. In addition to being carb-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free, shirataki are about 97 percent water, which makes which makes the calorie count super low. No wonder they’re often referred to as “magic” or “miracle” noodles. While commonly used in traditional Japanese dishes, shirataki are ready for any sauce of your choosing. Before rinsing shirataki, they might have a slight fishy odor from the konjac yam, which is usually displayed as konjac root flour or glucomannan (the dietary fiber of the konjac root) on the ingredients list. The texture can be described as a bit gelatinous. But with the right recipes, you’ll hardly be able to distinguish the versatile shirataki from a typical spaghetti. These 8 shirataki noodle recipes ready to replace spaghetti and meatballs Photo: It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken 1. Rainbow shirataki bowl with peanut lime sauce You can taste the rainbow in this bowl of veggies and noodles slathered in a creamy peanut sauce. Photo: Wallflower Kitchen 2. Shirataki noodles with almond butter sauce Can you beat a sauce made with almond butter? It’s mouth-watering in this recipe paired with onions, broccoli, and cabbage. Photo: Create Mindfully 3. Pesto shirataki noodles The
Why you feel like you need a vacation from your vacation
March 14, 2019 at 09:48AM by CWC You’d think that after a blissful break from work, far away from the daily stressors of everyday life, that you’d feel rejuvenated. Maybe you just spent a week at the beach, basking in the sun. Or maybe you were exploring a new city, filling up on the local cuisine and soaking up the culture. So why is it that the second you get home, you feel so damn tired after vacation? There’s a pretty reasonable explanation. “When you have a routine, there’s less mental energy that has to go towards figuring out what we have to do,” explains Tim Bono, PhD, a psychological and brain sciences lecturer at Washington State University in St. Louis. “It’s part of the reason why vacations can be so exhausting. You have to figure out, okay, ‘where do we park the car? Where do we get our coffee? If we want something to eat, where do we go? What are the choices for what we’re going to do today?’ Those are all things you don’t have to really think about in your typical day-to-day life.” It’s why, Dr. Bono explains, humans thrive on routine. It saves you from making a bunch of small decisions, which in turn saves a heck of a lot of cognitive energy. And of course if you were trying to do all the things on vacation, that can contribute to feeling exhausted post-trip, too. So how can you make sure you feel truly rejuvenated before
“On Mondays, we go meatless to save the planet,” says every public school in New York
March 14, 2019 at 09:30AM by CWC The Meatless Mondays movement gained traction as a means of bettering the health of both the planet and the individual. And the nation’s largest city wants in. On Monday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City will introduce the hashtag-able campaign to 1.1 million students attending public schools throughout the five boroughs with its “Free School Lunch for All” program. First launched in early 2018 with 15 schools participating in Brooklyn, Mayor de Blasio expressed confidence in wider success of the program. “Meatless Mondays are good for our students, communities, and the environment,” said de Blasio at a press conference. “We’re expanding Meatless Mondays to all public schools to keep our lunch and planet green for generations to come.” So long, sausage. Farewell, suspicious cafeteria “meatloaf.” Fully vegetarian Meatless Monday menus for breakfast and lunch debut at all NYC public schools this fall. (Fun fact: The term “Meatless Monday” dates back to World War I, when the U.S. Food Administration encouraged rationing of food, along with “Wheatless Wednesdays.”) “It’s noteworthy to point out that if New York City public schools swapped out a beef burger for a plant-based protein once a month, the city would emit 375,000 pounds less of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year.” —Andrea Strong, founder of the NYC Healthy School Food Alliance Researchers estimate that agricultural production contributes to about 13 percent of worldwide greenhouse gases. “It’s noteworthy to point out that if New York City public schools swapped out a beef burger
What Mandy Moore Is Doing For Her Gut Health—And The Two Supplements She Swears By
March 14, 2019 at 09:25AM Plus her morning and nighttime routines Continue Reading… Author Colleen Wachob | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Infrared hair tools shaved serious time off my styling routine
March 14, 2019 at 08:58AM by CWC As of late, I’ve been taken by all things infrared. When I’m in need of a super drenched sweat session, I hit up an infrared sauna—either by visiting a booth with my beau or even cuddling into an infrared wrap at home. Heck, I even wear Tom Brady’s infrared pajamas to boost my body’s recovery overnight. But I never realized that infrared technology can also be applied to your hair. When a set of By Gina infrared hair styling tools—including a blowdryer, straightener, and curling wand—came across my desk, you can bet that I was intrigued. Sure, the technology works amazingly on your body—but I wasn’t sure how it would do the same for your hair. “Infrared is a light wavelength that penetrates deeper into the hair shaft, heating the hair evenly and safely from the inside out,” explains Gina Rivera, hairstylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites and By Gina products. “It’s designed to steam the hair instead of applying a direct heat.” This is helpful because hot tools are notoriously harsh on the outer layer of hair, lifting up the cuticle, which dries out strands, and can leave hair looking damaged. Once that happens, it’s harder to maintain your given style because water from the air in the form of humidity will enter the hair shaft and puff it up, making it look frizzy. “It’s designed to steam the hair instead of applying a direct heat.” —Gina Rivera Kerry E. Yates, trichologist and founder
One More Reason To Love Avocados: They May Hold The Secret To Treating Long-Term Inflammation
March 14, 2019 at 08:56AM As if we needed another reason… Continue Reading… Author Ray Bass | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Are big tech’s digital well-being initiatives actually helping people unplug?
March 14, 2019 at 08:06AM by CWC Around 9 a.m. every Sunday, my iPhone buzzes, and I instantly start feeling a little queasy. Without even looking, I know what the notification is: A detailed record of all the time I’ve spent scrolling, tapping, and swiping for the past seven days. And I know I’m going to be mildly horrified by what I see. Last week, for instance, I learned that I picked up my phone an average of 46 times per day, adding up to a daily screen-gazing average of 4 hours and 14 minutes. Most of that time—almost two hours per day—I was on Instagram and Facebook, and I spent an hour texting, and an hour on email. I also lost two full hours of the week to falling down Google rabbit holes (like to conduct very important research into what all the Family Matters cast members are up to). I’d like to say that this is out of the ordinary for me, but I’ve calculated that it’s actually a 20 percent improvement from when my iPhone first started cluing me in to my digital habits. When I get these alerts each week—part of Apple’s Screen Time initiative, which launched last September—I feel guilty and a little embarrassed, kind of like when I look at my latest bank statement and realize I spent $100 on iced coffees last month. Sure, a few minutes of scrolling through my feeds here and there seems harmless in the moment. But it all adds
How to make homemade yogurt—whether you’re plant-based or want *all* the dairy
March 14, 2019 at 08:03AM by CWC If you’re big into DIY wellness, you may already make your own cashew milk or brew your own kombucha. But making your own homemade yogurt? That’s next level. This might sound like a huge pain, but hear me out. While grocery stores are full of many dairy and non-dairy yogurt options, the benefit to making your own is that you can control the ingredients to get the exact health profile and taste you want. (A big plus, since so many brands sneak extra sugar in their recipes.) Working with live probiotic cultures and thickening agents like xanthan gum can sound a little intimidating, but with some expert advice, you’ll have DIY yogurt mastered in no time. Here, holistic nutritionist and Home Dairy with Ashley English author Ashley English shares her best tips on making homemade dairy-based yogurt while Thomas Pagot—creator of vegan food blog Full of Plants—reveals how to make a nut-milk based version. Scroll down for tips on how to make homemade yogurt. Photo: Getty Images/Ketleho Selsa Ingredients What you need for dairy-based yogurt: 1. Milk: “The type of milk used in yogurt making is purely a matter of personal preference,” English says—so it’s up to you whether you use skim, 1 percent, 2 percent, or whole milk. “If you’re looking to limit fat for whatever reason, then skim milk will be your go-to,” she says. She says her family is a full-fat dairy household, so she uses whole milk when making homemade yogurt.
How a sex writer deals with breakups, BFF brawls, and very bad days
March 14, 2019 at 07:41AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEhDssh23I0] A personalized self-care routine is a lot like a fingerprint—no two are exactly alike. Unlike your biology, however, the rituals that make you feel like your most holistically-well self are entirely yours to create. For Maria Del Russo, a freelance sex and wellness writer based in New York City, sage-burning, sunrise yoga, reality television, and skillet chicken round out an invigorating me-time agenda. As the subject of Well+Good’s inaugural episode of Self-Care Nation (a video series exploring the various feel-good routines of people across the United States), Del Russo has a slow-clap deserving definition of what it means to be your own healthy advocate. “When I hear the term ‘self-care,’ I immediately go to the things in my life that either keep me maintaining a certain level of de-stress…and also the things I know I can reach to in like a moment’s notice when I am having, like, a particularly bad day. So it’s kind of a two-pronged approach,” says Del Russo. She breaks down seven her routine into seven non-negotiable rituals: 1. Lighting a candle: According to Del Russo, lighting a candle adds an instant dose of coziness to her space. She also has a high-tech diffuser that begins emitting the scent of lavender before she even enters her home. 2. Burning sage and palo santo: “I’ve gotten in the habit now of saging four times a year,” says Del Russo. “I sage every equinox and every solstice. It’s kind of