February 02, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC When it comes to desserts, cookie dough is hard to beat. So much so that only a small percentage actually makes it to the baking sheet. But maybe you should skip the cookies altogether. One food blogger is proving the next best thing to eating it raw is baking it up into a fluffy loaf of bread you can enjoy all week long. Bethany Ugarte of Lilsipper decided to combine two of her favorite things with her gut-friendly, protein-packed cookie dough bread—a recipe that’s gotten rave reviews on both her Instagram and her website. The reason for that is simple: Despite using no flour at all, it’s super soft and spongy. It also only requires a total of five ingredients, including the all-stars that give it that beloved cookie dough flavor: cashew butter and unsweetened chocolate chips. If you want to try it for yourself, here’s everything you’ll need. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bethany Ugarte || Gut Health (@lilsipper) on Sep 23, 2019 at 6:39am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js Cookie dough bread Ingredients 4 eggs 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup of cashew butter unsweetened chocolate chips to taste 1. Whisk all ingredients (except chocolate chips) in a stand or electric mixer until well incorporated. 2. Fold in desired amount of chocolate chips then pour batter into a standard bread loaf pan lined with parchment paper. The batter may be runny depending on the nut
Category: Beauty
Surprise, surprise! Cauliflower gnocchi is the Trader Joe’s fan favorite vegetarian item—but how do the runner-ups stack nutritionally?
February 01, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC What came first: cauli-mania or Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi? This is definitely a chicken-or-the-egg situation, but one thing’s for sure: the cruciferous veg owes a large part of its comeback-kid status to good old TJ’s. The grocery store’s 11th Annual Customer Choice Awards Winners confirms as much. Cauliflower gnocchi took first place of the vegetarian products at Trader Joe’s—but what of its plant-based runner-ups? We asked dietitian Amy Gorin, MS, RDN, owner of Amy Gorin Nutrition to spill the tea on each. A dietitian offers a nutritional breakdown of 4 of the most popular vegetarian products at Trader Joe’s (you know, behind cauliflower gnocchi) 2nd place: Soy Chorizo “I like that this is an excellent source of vegetarian protein, providing 11 grams per serving. You also get a slew of other nutrients, including eye-helping vitamin A, bone-helping calcium, and iron—which is important for many functions within the body, including the transport of oxygen,” says Gorin. Because the soy chorizo 730 milligrams, or 32 percent of your daily value of salt, so make sure you drink plenty of water and space out the yummy meals you include it in. “You can also include a source of potassium, which helps to counteract the negative effects of sodium on blood pressure, with your meal. For instance, pair the chorizo with some avocado slices,” Gorin recommends. Everything you’ve ever wondered about soy, answered: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lO254Ecgpo] 3rd: Vegan Kale Cashew and Basil Pesto Eat up, vegans! Our bronze-medalist
Therapist-vetted tips on how to get the most out of a ‘mental health day’
February 01, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC It’s the resounding advice from mental health professionals that’s often said but rarely followed: Take a mental health day. But mental illness—particularly burnout—is a rising problem in the workplace that not only impacts a person’s well-being, it also can lead to poorer work performance and more missed days if not addressed early on. “Running on empty is never a good idea, especially when it comes to mental health,” says therapist and anxiety specialist Laura Rhodes-Levin, LMFT. “I encourage my clients to get used to filling their gas tanks when they are between half and three-fourths empty.” Taking a day off can help refill your mental tank, so to speak. Of course, there are a lot of barriers that prevent people from truly taking a day off for the sake of their mental health, from enduring stigma that makes it hard to be open about needing help to company policies that don’t support taking mental health days (much less sick days). However, if you’re in a position where you are able to miss a day of work in order to recuperate, you might wonder how to best optimize that day for your mental well-being. Here, mental health professionals explain how to know when to take a day off and how to structure it so that’s it’s truly time well spent and you go back to work feeling more refreshed. When to take a mental health day The short answer: When you need one. More
How to heal cracked lip corners fast, because…ouch!
February 01, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC Having perpetually chapped lips is one of those annoying side effects of winter weather or dry heat that you often have to learn to grin and bear (after slathering on copious amounts of lip balm, that is). But if you let things go totally untreated for too long, sometimes the dryness spreads to the lip corners and then even grinning and bearing it hurts. Cracked lip corners can happen for a few different reasons, the most obvious being that your lips are hella chapped and the dryness has started to spread to the outermost edges of the mouth, due to a lack of moisture. But, if you find this happens to you on repeat, take note that there can be some other things at play, too, which you’ll want to get checked out by your doc. “Chapped lip corners could be caused by an allergy to something you’re eating that’s causing over dryness in the corners of your lips or mouth, so some people need to figure out what that allergy is,” says Rachel Liverman, CEO and co-founder of Glowbar, who also points to acidic foods like oranges and grapefruits as purported culprits. Another condition, called angular cheilitis, that could also be at play, according to board-certified dermatologist Rachel Nazarian, MD. “It happens often because people breathe with their mouth at night, usually when their nose is stuffy, like during allergy season,” she says. “Small bits of saliva collect in this area and
How social anxiety can look different for Black women
February 01, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Watching the video footage of musician Summer Walker timidly accept her award for Best New Artist at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards brings me back to my middle school days. In Ms. Turberg’s sixth grade class, I was standing in front of my peers to present a book report when suddenly, it felt like someone hit mute on the room—all I could hear was the loud thudding of my heart. My stomach started doing somersaults in place and my face was burning hot, as if I had a fever. I was completely unaware of the words coming out of my mouth, but I just kept moving my lips until the kids in my class started laughing and my teacher told me I could take a seat. Like many young Black girls, I didn’t have a name for what had just happened to me. We didn’t talk about mental health at home and I had no understanding of anxiety as a medical condition. Yet these strange symptoms followed me through the years, with different consequences: getting me kicked out of class in high school because the teacher mistook my nervous ticks for mocking, pigeonholing me as the “angry Black woman” in college because I wore my heart on my sleeve, and eventually creating a perception in the office that I was “unfriendly” because I kept to myself and preferred not to attend company outings. Summer Walker has gone public with her struggles when
This protein-packed meatless meatloaf is totally delicious—and 100% vegan
February 01, 2020 at 12:00PM by CWC Meatloaf has been a family dinner staple since ancient Rome, and—without giving you a full-on history lesson—let’s just say it’s changed a lot since then. (The recipe used to call for animal brains, okay?) It’s safe to say that a transformation was very necessary, and a meatless meatloaf recipe makes it worth a bite. Vegan meatloaf recipes are increasingly popular. But don’t let the all-veggie recipe fool you: It’s just as packed with protein as the real deal. Lauren Kirchmaier, the recipe developer behind Flora & Vino, created a Lentil Oat Loaf that—between the 3 cups of lentils and 1 cup of oats—offers upward of 165 grams of protein per loaf. “It’s super hearty and filling with just oats, lentils, and veggies,” she tells me. “It’s also the perfect vegan and gluten-free comfort food main dish for winter.” Even though this meatloaf is primarily made up of lentils and oats, along with flax eggs, bell peppers, carrots, and plenty of spices, it still has a similar taste and texture. “The secret to the best texture is a mix of smashed and whole lentils,” Kirchmaier says. “I also found I found sautéing the vegetables first helped to soften them and infuse flavor before adding to the rest of the mix.” After putting your mixture into a loaf pan and topping it with refined sugar-free ketchup, it’s ready to bake for 45 minutes. The next thing you know, you’ll have a meatless meatloaf ready to devour.
This drugstore serum sells a bottle every minute, and is basically a chemical peel in a bottle
January 31, 2020 at 09:30PM by CWC Every so often, a product comes onto the market and becomes an instant classic. Remember when Glossier’s Balm Dotcom came out? I certainly do, because it was so dang hard to get my hands on one. But the latest launch to immediately elevate itself to cult-fave beauty product status is not only really good, but it’s also available at the drugstore. L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Derm Intensives 10% Pure Glycolic Acid Serum ($23), which launched in October, 2019, has already skyrocketed to selling a bottle every minute in the United States. The formulation was developed by dermatologists, and the 10-percent pure glycolic acid is enough to resurface skin the same way a chemical peel would… for a whole lot less than what it would cost you for a peel at a derm’s office. The OG chemical exfoliant is lauded for its ability to improve skin’s tone and texture, getting rid of discoloration as well as fine lines. Historically, though, getting your hands (and face) on a glycolic product that actually works would cost you a pretty penny, but considering the affordable price tag on this particular serum, it’s no wonder that the masses have fallen in love with it at first sight. Board-certified dermatologist Dhaval Bhanusali, MD is also a fan, noting that in addition to having a powerful amount of glycolic, the serum also has hydrating components like hyaluronic acid and glycerin to balance things out. Since glycolic acid helps remove dead skin cells
These reusable paper towels are the prettiest way to kickstart a zero-waste kitchen
January 31, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC Switching to more of a zero-waste lifestyle can be daunting—especially when it comes to the kitchen. It’s the land of plastic bottles, Ziploc bags, and K-Cups, after all. But you don’t have to swap everything for more eco-friendly versions all at once. Just start with reusable paper towels and go from there. I’ll be the first to admit I go through a lot of paper towels. I use one every time I dry my hands, whenever I’m cleaning, while cooking… the list goes on. Unfortunately, that’s not great for the planet: The United States uses more paper towels than any other country, and the Environmental Protection Agency revealed that results in 7.4 billion pounds of waste a year from paper towels and other tissue materials, like toilet paper. Yikes. The good news is there’s a reusable alternative that looks pretty on your countertop and is super easy to use. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Marley’s Monsters (@marleysmonsters) on Jan 1, 2020 at 8:00am PST //www.instagram.com/embed.js One of the most popular items from Marley’s Monsters, an Oregon-based company that sells handmade reusable and zero-waste products, are the UNpaper Towels ($16 to $54, depending on the pack size). They look and work like any other roll of paper towels, except they’re completely made of cloth. The towels naturally cling together, so when you have them on a paper towel holder, you can easily pull one off as needed. Then
This skin-care ingredient is better than any primer for smooth-looking foundation
January 31, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC Dry, winter air and a flawless makeup application exist on two different planets (and if anyone has figured out how to make them work together on this one, HMU). No matter how hydrated skin is after applying a rich moisturizer, inevitably you’re faced with environmental aggressors like extreme cold or man-made ones like heaters that cause dry patches to appear. And that makes applying foundation kinda tricky. But dermatologists say that applying polyglutamic acid-spiked skin care can help. Much like hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid is also hydrating (not exfoliating, like a lactic acid). “Polyglutamic acid is similar to hyaluronic acid in that it adds moisture to your skin, and it actually improves your skin’s ability to absorb moisture,” says Shari Sperling, DO, a board-certified dermatologist. The ingredient, which she explains comes from fermented soybean mucilage, works to increase skin elasticity as it plumps. And, pros say that it’s better than any primer at nixing dry patches and providing a smooth foundation application. “What makes polyglutamic acid different from hyaluronic acid is that it forms a film on the skin that stops water from evaporating,” says Mark Curry, cosmetic chemist and co-founder of The Inkey List. “Not only is it a humectant that draws more water into the cells, but it holds it there too and it’s great for dry patches.” And if you think that film-forming bit sounds a lot like what primer does, you’re right, but according to Curry PGA is even
Cult-favorite skin care sells every second—what makes it so much better than the rest?
January 31, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC “There’s an entire Instagram account dedicated to people who want to buy this perfume,” my sister-in-law Nicole tells me of Francis Kurkdjian’s best-selling Baccarat Rouge ($300) fragrance as we inhale the warm, smells-like-a-pretty-teacher aroma at the dinner table in Texas. For a scent I’ve caught on actors going through airport security in Chicago (Anthony Anderson, I’m talking to you!) and praised on FatMascara’s beauty podcast, it was enough to spark the question: What makes cult favorite beauty products? Is it a game of numbers and sales? Is it simply the power of word of mouth? Even as beauty staples evolve into more natural formulations and eco-friendly packaging, our lens on aspirational purchases remains fixed on classics like Creme de la Mer (from $90) and Diorshow mascara ($30). To gain a clearer view of what makes a product a sensation, we went straight to the sources. Take the numbers game, for instance. As the top prestige loose powder foundation in America, one jar of BareMinerals Original Loose Powder Foundation ($32) is sold every 25 seconds. It’s a powerhouse brand carried by almost every major beauty retailer; plus, it was one of the first mineral SPF options on the market–so that loyalty began decades ago. Cartier’s most iconic scent, La Panthere Eau De Parfum ($129), sells 1,111 flasks of fragrance every day. The storied house carries the kind of clout that makes customers clamor for its classic red and gold designer logo, even if just emblazoned on the shopping bag. Amika,