May 29, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWcTPyZmgR8] Calling all dedicated, multitasking plant parents! Ever wonder how to incorporate your own self care into your routine for caring for your blooms? (Because anyone with a fauna family to call their own knows it can be a time-consuming effort.) It’s certainly possible, and the latest recent episode of Well+Good’s Self-Care Nation, with plant-lady wellness coach Brittany Gowan of Pause with Plants, outlines a few tips using the benefits of plants that’ll lead both you and your potted pals to really blossom. Even if you’re cursed with a perpetual inability to foster a plant successfully (I, for one, once killed a succulent), there’s one self-care tip that even a casual nature lover can incorporate into their wellness routine: Just get out there into nature, people. Check out more hints from Gowan about how you and your plants can help each other grow. 1. Water your plant babies, then water yourself Gowan says making sure her plants never want for nutrients provides her with a hearty dose of relaxation and joy. She loves seeing her greenery flourish, and to even further optimize this bonding experience, she even joins them for a drink. “I enjoy watching the water soak into the soil, and it makes me feel good to be helpful in assisting my plants to grow well and thrive,” Gowan says. “After I water my plants and before eating breakfast, I look to jump-start myself with a glass of water or two.”
Category: City
The ’90s are back: Here’s why nostalgia is the hottest trend in fashion
May 27, 2019 at 09:00AM by CWC To help get me in the mood to write this piece, I cued up Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill.” The album, originally released in 1995, transported me back to a simpler time. In the ’90s, I begged my parents to let me buy a pair of Steve Madden platform slides and I belted Morissette’s lyrics into my hairbrush while thinking about an imaginary relationship. Now, decades later, I’ve experienced real heartbreak and somehow those Steve Madden slides are currently available from Urban Outfitters. It’s 2019, but ’90s fashion trends are back. There’s a theory that fashion and pop culture operate on a “nostalgia pendulum,” wherein what’s old is new again every 20 to 30 years. Which is why everyone (myself included) is feeling ’90s fashion staples like Dr. Martens, floral sundresses, scrunchies, and Adidas track pants—yes, please. Nostalgia is fashion’s hottest trend. Dr. Martens, floral sundresses, scrunchies, and Adidas track pants—yes, please. “The few studies that have examined nostalgia experiences in the brain have implicated regions associated with memory, such as the hippocampus, and reward areas of the brain, including the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, which located deep in the midbrain,” explains Holly Bowen, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Southern Methodist University. “These areas are functionally connected, or ‘talking to each other’ during nostalgia experiences.” Essentially, nostalgia boosts your mood. Yes, nostalgia is wistful longings of times gone by, and now we typically tend to think of
8 healthy Instant Pot recipes for beginners that make dinner a cinch
May 26, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC One of the reasons why so many people are obsessed with the Instant Pot is because it simplifies the whole cooking process—and shortens it. But if you’ve never used one before, it can still be pretty intimidating. All those buttons, figuring out how to use pressure, wondering how to wash the dang thing when you’re done…it can take some experimenting for sure. Like with trying anything new, it helps to start with some basics before getting too fancy—which is exactly where these recipes come in. Rounded up here are eight healthy Instant Pot recipes for beginners. They don’t have a lot of ingredients and involve minimal IP know-how. Nail these meals and then you can work up to 201-level recipes (like making yogurt and cheesecake). You’ll be sharing your go-to fave recipes in your Facebook cooking community before you know it. Keep reading for eight healthy Instant Pot recipes for beginners. Photo: From My Bowl 1. Rice & beans This recipe proves that basic ingredients doesn’t automatically equal a basic dish. Even though this recipe by From My Bowl only has five ingredients (red kidney beans, brown rice, salsa, cilantro, and vegetable broth), it’s full of flavor. The beans and rice get cooked together in the Instant Pot—along with the other ingredients—for 25 minutes. Boom: dinner is done. Photo: Cookies and Cups 2. Salsa verde chicken One of the major selling points of the Instant Pot is how quickly it tenderizes meat. Ready
8 healthy Instant Pot recipes for beginners that make dinner a cinch
May 26, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC One of the reasons why so many people are obsessed with the Instant Pot is because it simplifies the whole cooking process—and shortens it. But if you’ve never used one before, it can still be pretty intimidating. All those buttons, figuring out how to use pressure, wondering how to wash the dang thing when you’re done…it can take some experimenting for sure. Like with trying anything new, it helps to start with some basics before getting too fancy—which is exactly where these recipes come in. Rounded up here are eight healthy Instant Pot recipes for beginners. They don’t have a lot of ingredients and involve minimal IP know-how. Nail these meals and then you can work up to 201-level recipes (like making yogurt and cheesecake). You’ll be sharing your go-to fave recipes in your Facebook cooking community before you know it. Keep reading for eight healthy Instant Pot recipes for beginners. Photo: From My Bowl 1. Rice & beans This recipe proves that basic ingredients doesn’t automatically equal a basic dish. Even though this recipe by From My Bowl only has five ingredients (red kidney beans, brown rice, salsa, cilantro, and vegetable broth), it’s full of flavor. The beans and rice get cooked together in the Instant Pot—along with the other ingredients—for 25 minutes. Boom: dinner is done. Photo: Cookies and Cups 2. Salsa verde chicken One of the major selling points of the Instant Pot is how quickly it tenderizes meat. Ready
A doula practice grows in Brooklyn, but its founder isn’t stopping there
May 24, 2019 at 09:56AM by CWC When I was invited to visit a new doula space in Brooklyn at the end of February, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Lots of incense, maybe? Scenes from Call the Midwife? But my arrival to Well+Good Council member Latham Thomas’ Circle by Mama Glow center in Williamsburg had me check my expectations at the brownstone door. Upon entering, it feels like you’re stepping into a friend’s living room. The light, airy rooms, decorated with colorful throw pillows, comfortable chairs, and West Elm-esque rugs, feel like miles away from the loud street on the other side of the door. (The secret: sound-proofed windows and doors.) The friendly seating area leads into another, larger room stocked with candles and meditative cushions. This is where Thomas says yoga classes, meditation sessions, and a doula immersion training takes place. (There’s also a fridge stocked with kombucha, because of course there is.) It’s a place that feels inviting, warm, and comfortable—which was exactly the point, Thomas tells me. “I’m so moved by community,” Thomas says. It’s a topic she circles back to again and again during our conversation—and something she sees as the heart of what it means to be a doula—a person hired to support and assist an expectant mother throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and early postnatal care. Modern childrearing is isolating, she says, far removed from our collective roots of “it takes a village” to properly raise a child. “Before, we were not just with one
7 acne-friendly foundations that will never, ever make you break out
May 23, 2019 at 05:01PM by CWC Foundation and acne can be a challenging combo. So many of us rely on the pigmented makeup to mask whatever pimples we don’t feel like showing off to the world, but the ingredients in some products can actually cause more acne, creating a vicious cycle that will make you feel like you just can’t catch a break without, well, breaking out. Your best bet for finding a foundation that won’t leave a smattering of obnoxious zits in its wake? Look for the word “non-comedogenic” on the label, which essentially translates to “won’t clog your pores.” “I always advise our patients to check their skin-care products and use products labeled ‘non-comedogenic,’” says Dr. David Lortscher, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Curology. ‘This label indicates that the product is formulated to not clog pores and is less likely to cause acne.” He notes that since there is no standard or regulation set to categorize the labeling of a product as non-comedogenic, you need to do a little bit more digging to be sure it lives up to the label. So to determine which foundations are truly in the “all-clear” for acne-prone skin, I took his recommendation and did an ingredient deep dive on the CosDNA website. Any products that contained an ingredient with a three above on the acne scale were automatically eliminated, even if they are technically considered non-comedogenic. And as Melena Higuera, general manager and executive committee member of L’Oreal, notes: “While being non-comedogenic
7 acne-friendly foundations that will never, ever make you break out
May 23, 2019 at 05:01PM by CWC Foundation and acne can be a challenging combo. So many of us rely on the pigmented makeup to mask whatever pimples we don’t feel like showing off to the world, but the ingredients in some products can actually cause more acne, creating a vicious cycle that will make you feel like you just can’t catch a break without, well, breaking out. Your best bet for finding a foundation that won’t leave a smattering of obnoxious zits in its wake? Look for the word “non-comedogenic” on the label, which essentially translates to “won’t clog your pores.” “I always advise our patients to check their skin-care products and use products labeled ‘non-comedogenic,’” says Dr. David Lortscher, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Curology. ‘This label indicates that the product is formulated to not clog pores and is less likely to cause acne.” He notes that since there is no standard or regulation set to categorize the labeling of a product as non-comedogenic, you need to do a little bit more digging to be sure it lives up to the label. So to determine which foundations are truly in the “all-clear” for acne-prone skin, I took his recommendation and did an ingredient deep dive on the CosDNA website. Any products that contained an ingredient with a three above on the acne scale were automatically eliminated, even if they are technically considered non-comedogenic. And as Melena Higuera, general manager and executive committee member of L’Oreal, notes: “While being non-comedogenic
These are the absolute worst ways to sit at your desk, according to a physical therapist
May 22, 2019 at 11:40AM by CWC Spending hours upon hours a week parked on your butt in front of your desk falls into the same category as binging on an entire carton of ice cream in one sitting or staying up past 3 a.m. on a work night to catch up on The Bachelor: It’s just not all that good for you. And as I write this, I have the sitting-induced hip and leg pain to prove it. But according to pros, there are certain ways you can sit at your desk that are marginally less bad for your than others. Since most people likely don’t have the option of trading in their usual workspace seating for, say, the beachfront lounge chairs I’ve been petitioning for, it’s worth taking their cues for the sake of your own unhappy joints and muscles. “I think the worst three things you can do would be sitting too low, sitting in a chair that’s too soft—which can create compression on the hips and cause groin pain, hip pain, and labral tears—and not having your feet on the floor,” says Dr. Emily Kiberd, a chiropractor and founder of the Urban Wellness Clinic. So first things first: un-cross those legs. “We like to analyze sitting positions from the ground up, and can’t emphasize enough the importance of making sure that feet are supported on the floor,” says Dariusz Stankiewicz, physical therapist and co-founder of New York City’s Body Evolved. His tips: If you can’t quite
Body pillows come in all shapes and sizes—and what a time to be alive and sleeping
May 22, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC There are two types of sleepers in this world: those who can’t stand throw pillows and those who (as the Black Eyed Peas would say/sing) “just can’t get enough.” I’m a proud member of the latter group. I’ve been on a mission to bedeck my bed in accent pillows, but I simply wasn’t prepared for the 30,000 results that Amazon returned when I searched for the “best body pillows.” They’re not one-size-fits-all anymore, y’all. They now come in donut, C-shape, and a multitude of other forms. At first, my inner monologue went something like: Ridiculous! What’s wrong with the original shape of human-like bedtime paraphernalia? What is this nonsense?! I’ve now warmed up to the idea though. After all, the horseshoe-shaped option could give a gal polyamorous feels in bed. The one that looks like a semicolon basically counts as a second mattress. And don’t even get me started on the one with Steve Harrington’s sweet, sweet face. Sure, each body pillow is more extra than the next. But if you ask me, we all deserve to be a little extra in our pre-bed ritual. Ready to shop some of the best body pillows the internet has to offer? Keep scrolling. Best Body Pillows Buy Now Onory Full Body Pregnancy Pillow $56 Buy Now Side Sleeper Contour Hypollergenic Pillow $30 Buy Now C-Shaped Full Body Pillow $40 Buy Now Velvet Body Pillow $70 Buy Now Signature Series Lumbar Pillow $75 Buy Now “Stranger Things” Steve
Body pillows come in all shapes and sizes—and what a time to be alive and sleeping
May 22, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC There are two types of sleepers in this world: those who can’t stand throw pillows and those who (as the Black Eyed Peas would say/sing) “just can’t get enough.” I’m a proud member of the latter group. I’ve been on a mission to bedeck my bed in accent pillows, but I simply wasn’t prepared for the 30,000 results that Amazon returned when I searched for the “best body pillows.” They’re not one-size-fits-all anymore, y’all. They now come in donut, C-shape, and a multitude of other forms. At first, my inner monologue went something like: Ridiculous! What’s wrong with the original shape of human-like bedtime paraphernalia? What is this nonsense?! I’ve now warmed up to the idea though. After all, the horseshoe-shaped option could give a gal polyamorous feels in bed. The one that looks like a semicolon basically counts as a second mattress. And don’t even get me started on the one with Steve Harrington’s sweet, sweet face. Sure, each body pillow is more extra than the next. But if you ask me, we all deserve to be a little extra in our pre-bed ritual. Ready to shop some of the best body pillows the internet has to offer? Keep scrolling. Best Body Pillows Buy Now Onory Full Body Pregnancy Pillow $56 Buy Now Side Sleeper Contour Hypollergenic Pillow $30 Buy Now C-Shaped Full Body Pillow $40 Buy Now Velvet Body Pillow $70 Buy Now Signature Series Lumbar Pillow $75 Buy Now “Stranger Things” Steve