Faux fur is a very real trend right now—and we have a more conscious consumer to thank for it

November 16, 2018 at 09:18AM Maybe it’s because more fashion brands are jumping on the cruelty-free bandwagon, entire cities are going fur free (looking at you Los Angeles), or the fact that it’s so dang plush and cozy, but faux fur coats are one of the most popular winter jacket styles this year. Even before the weather outside was frightful enough to make you want to turn into a teddy bear, eBay saw a 105-percent spike in interest for faux fur. It sold over 50,000 fuzzy vests, coats, backpacks, and other fashion items that closely resemble stuffed animals from September to July alone, as revealed in its 2018 shopping report. It’s not just eBay, either. Designers Amélie Brick and Lauren Nouchi, co-founders of the French fashion brand Apparis, specialize in faux fur coats and say they’ve seen an uptick in interest, too. They believe a major reason why faux fur is finding so much favor right now is because it doesn’t look as fake as it used to. “The vegan products of the past have tainted a generation of consumers into thinking that vegan leather or faux fur isn’t as soft or as warm as the real thing, but technology has come a long way,” says Brick. She and Nouchi add that it’s not just vegans who are interested in faux fur anymore, but also younger and more conscientious consumers. “We strongly believe that the new generation thinks and buys differently,” says Nouchi. “They are becoming more and more aware of

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3 protein-packed vegan snack recipes that will energize you through the holidays

November 16, 2018 at 05:07AM Protein is vital to your overall health, whether you’re an athlete or a marathon Netflix-er. It’s filling, fueling, good for the gut, and essential in maintaining a healthy metabolism. Because protein is so important, one of the most commonly-voiced concerns about diets that exclude animal products is that they can make it difficult to consume sufficient levels of this vital nutrient. To make the argument otherwise, I challenged three prominent vegan chefs to come up with protein-packed recipes you can make to grab on the go. Yes, these yummy snacks were created by expert hands, but don’t worry: They’re quick and easy to create no matter your skill level in the kitchen. (Seriously—two of the three recipes require no cooking whatsoever.) Keep reading for 3 protein-packed vegan recipes from world-class chefs. Photo: Stocksy Curried White Bean Hemp Hummus by chef Lauren Kretzer of by CHLOE This high-protein twist on traditional hummus swaps chickpeas for a combo of cannellini beans and hemp seeds and packs a major flavor punch with the addition of curry powder, spicy cayenne, and tart lime juice. It makes a healthy mid-day snack, can be spread onto sandwiches and wraps, or even used as a salad dressing. Ingredients 1 15 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed ¼ cup shelled hemp seeds 1 large clove garlic 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice 2 tsp curry powder ½ tsp salt 1/8 tsp cayenne powder 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp water 1. Place all ingredients

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How to power through your day after a sleepless night like a total boss

November 16, 2018 at 03:00AM Is there anything worse than rolling out of bed after not sleeping well the night before, only to realize you have to get it together and be a functioning member of society for what feels like an infinite number of hours ahead? There’s no rolling over and going back to sleep. You can’t just turn off your responsibilities for the day. Instead you have to put on your brave if not totally bleary-eyed face to take on your to-do list, regardless of how much you want to curl back under that weighted blanket. But when you’re coming off a night plagued by a particularly wicked case of insomnia, how can a productive day even be possible…like biologically? Because needing shut-eye is a straight up, scientific fact of life. Well luckily, there are a few ways to ensure you get through the rest of the day (even if you do feel a little drunk at work) without collapsing into a pile of goo. Check out 5 experts tips to keep your sleepless night from ruining today. Photo: Getty Images/People Images 1. Change your attitude Truthfully, a lot of the bad feelings you have about taking on your day can be completely mitigated by one simple thing: your mind-set. “The most important thing to remember is that everybody has a bad night’s sleep now and then,” says Nathaniel Watson, MD, an advisory board member for SleepScore Labs. “Perception is reality. If you go into the day positively,

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9 ketogenic-friendly recipes to bring you comfort and joy this holiday season

November 15, 2018 at 02:00PM Celebs, doctors, and yes, even Well+Good’s own editors extol the mind and body benefits of the high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet. But what does eating keto look like during the holidays, when carb-y comfort foods (traditionally) reign supreme? Incredibly delicious, if ketogenic food bloggers have anything to say about it. You don’t have to miss out on any of the holiday cheer at the dinner (or dessert!) table—even if that means passing on the mashed potatoes this year. Keep reading for 11 keto-friendly recipes that will make your holiday meals merry and bright. Photo: ruled.me 1. Cinnamon Roll “Oatmeal” This take on “noatmeal” swaps keto-unfriendly oats for a concoction of chia seeds, flax seed meal, and riced cauliflower. Plus, warming spices like vanilla, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon make this breakfast taste like hygge in a bowl. Photo: Keto Diet Blog 2. Carrot and Thyme Mini Loaves Not only is the carrot and thyme combo delish, but eggs, olive oil, and flax seeds keep these loaves chock-full of healthy fats and proteins. Sounds like the perfect make-ahead breakfast for super-busy mornings. Photo: My Keto Kitchen 3. Cinnamon Keto “Granola” Almonds, coconut, pepitas, and chia seeds are just handful of the ingredients that make this take on granola absolutely delish. Plus, cinnamon and vanilla extract help to warm up those frosty mornings. Pass the almond milk, please! Photo: Gnom Gnom 4. Sweet and Crunchy Candied Pecans Candied pecans just scream holiday treat, IMO. This recipe swaps run of the mill brown sugar for

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NYC and LA fave salad bar Sweetgreen just got $200 million and plans to expand

November 15, 2018 at 05:00AM The obsession with Sweetgreen is real. Since the company first opened its doors in 2007,  it’s been showcasing a totally new side of fast food—one that serves up fresh, seasonal veggies, wholesome grains, and hearty proteins that make you feel good. While the restaurants are currently found on the coasts, a new funding round could soon let you score a healthy bowl in a city near you. According to a press release, Sweetgreen just received a $200 million investment from Fidelity Investments bringing the company’s value to more than $1 billion. Yeah, pretty big deal, huh? With this money, it’s planning on continuing to invest in its tech—as 50 percent of orders come through the app or online—its social impact (like expanding its “Sweetgreen in Schools” program, which educates kids about healthy eating and sustainability), and—maybe the most exciting part of all—building even more restaurants so people can get their fix even easier. “Recent funding will assist in expanding our footprint in existing and new markets,” Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen, tells me. “We’re always eager and open to explore new neighborhoods and have some exciting ones coming up in 2019, including additional stores in New York and Los Angeles. The South is certainly on the horizon as well. We want customers to be able to have Sweetgreen whenever and wherever they choose with an offering that’s personalized to them—truly creating intimacy at scale. To achieve this, the way we do things will evolve, but what

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Whole Foods’ 2019 trends are here and they’re good

November 15, 2018 at 03:00AM Supermarkets are looking a lot healthier these days, in large part to chains like Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods that are willing to test innovative products and see if they resonate with consumers, who vote with their dollars. Curious as to see what the big offerings will be in 2019? Get ready: Whole Foods just released its trends report, indicating what their primary focuses will be when stocking their shelves for the year ahead. Last year, adaptogenic mushrooms, flavored sparkling beverages, and floral flavors all took center stage at the retailer. (So feel free to blame your La Croix addiction on them.) Scroll down to see Whole Foods’ 2019 wellness trends. 1. Pacific Rim flavors: Last year Whole Foods was all about expanding #TacoTuesday into an all day, everyday trend. This year, the Pacific Rim is serving up major food inspo. Expect to see more products made with tropical fruits, like dragonfruit, not only being featured in juices and smoothie bowls, but also other beverages and in nutrition bars. Another Asian staple Whole Foods says you’ll see popping up more is jackfruit. 2. Shelf-stable probiotics: Whole Foods predicts that supplements and yogurt will no longer be the only ways consumers will get their fill of good bacteria. “New strains of probiotics such as bacillus coagulans GBI-30 and bacillus coagulans MTCC 5856 are making more shelf-stable applications possible,” the retailer says in a press release. “Wellness-focused brands are making it easier to get more probiotics in your

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How to eat your way through Mexico City—the vegetarian way

November 15, 2018 at 01:00AM Mexico City is a hot (as in temperature and high vibe) international tourism destination at the moment, and the cultural epicenter is only forecasted to grow in popularity for years to come. Beyond access to ancient ruins and world-class museums, Mexico’s capital is home to a lush climate that supports a variety of local fruits and vegetables that color its rich traditional dishes, which—it’s worth noting—are abundant just about everywhere. With street vendors hawking affordable, authentic, finger-licking meals on nearly every block, it’s impossible to go hungry here…if you follow the meat-loving paleo diet, perhaps. But don’t despair yet, vegetarians. If your wanderlusting pursuits bring you to Mexico City, where the lion’s share of both high- and lowbrow offerings indeed focus on meat-derived dishes, just be prepared with the right questions about the food anywhere and everywhere you go. Hey, just consider it a welcome reason to freshen up your Spanish skills. (Pro tip: Practice while exercising because the multitasking has been shown to improve foreign-language recall.) Check out 4 vegetarian-friendly tips for enjoying all the food in Mexico City Photo: Getty Images/Tony Anderson 1. Ask the right questions When ordering food, be super inquisitive about how the food is made, but also take care to ask the right way. Simply inquiring whether something is vegetariano won’t help you because the server or food vendor may harbor a different definition than you. For example, some may think that you’re not okay with red meat but are perfectly

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The Definitive Self-Care Holiday Gift Guide From A Clean Beauty Connoisseur

November 14, 2018 at 06:30PM Racking your brain for gift ideas that are the perfect combination of thoughtful, useful, and unique is pretty much the most stressful part of the holiday season. But if you’re retreating to the bath to recover from epic internet gift-scrolling, you may have already found your answer. Pictured: Beautycounter founder Gregg Renfrew As in, self care. To curate the ultimate guide, we asked Gregg Renfrew, founder of clean-beauty brand Beautycounter, to share the products she’s actually gifting to her loved ones this year—and her recommendations are legit. Just like she founded Beautycounter on the premise that women deserve products that make them look and feel good (and aren’t harmful to their health), she applies the same philosophy when she’s shopping for the women in her life. “Giving a gift they are going to love that’s also good for them is so much more compelling than a bottle of wine or cocktail napkins,” she says. “It shows that you care.” Consider that an automatic holiday win. Scroll down for her self-care holiday gift guide—and click the hotspots to read more about why she picked each gift. @import url(“https://www.wellandgood.com/wp-content/plugins/imagelinks/lib/imagelinks.theme.dark.css?ver=imagelinks”); Beautycounter Charcoal Essentials With a purifying charcoal cleanser and clay mask, this is the detoxifying skin-care set she’ll be using through the New Year. Buy Now $49 Beautycounter Shimmer & Shine Body Set The women in your life already shine on the inside thanks to their glowing personalities, but this set of skin-care essentials will help with their outer glow. With

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The dermatologist-approved solution for taking collagen if you’re vegan

November 14, 2018 at 10:47AM Collagen is a bona fide skin-boosting star. For a while now, the protein has been coveted by beauty aficionados and celebrities alike, sprinkled into smoothies, gulped down in supplement form, and even infused into pillowcases all in the name of a more radiant complexion. That’s great and all, but the superstar ingredient also happens to be kind of polarizing—because it excludes vegans and vegetarians. “Collagen has been recognized for its powerful ability to boost glow and radiance by increasing skin elasticity for a youthful bounce,” says Angela Caglia, celebrity facialist and Tweezerman skin-care ambassador. “It’s a natural, abundant, and essential part of the composition of all of our bodies, and helps to provide support to our bones, muscles, and especially our skin.” The thing is, it’s most commonly made from animal byproducts. “Vegans can certainly get the same benefits as those who ingest collagen.” —Dendy Engelman, MD That’s not to say that everyone can’t enjoy its benefits—the more inclusive ways are just going to be slightly different. “Vegans can certainly get the same benefits as those who ingest collagen, but the ways will work differently than collagen sourced from bovine or fish,” says Dendy Engelman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist. “Usually they use phytoceramides and silica to support collagen synthesis as opposed to introducing collagen into the bloodstream. These ingredients help replenish lipids for supple skin.” Of course, she notes that most studies on the skin benefits are about collagen sourced from fish or bovine. The easiest way

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Veggie-crunching and lip-smacking videos are the ASMR obsession that has got to stop

November 14, 2018 at 01:00AM When ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response, first started to gain traction a few years back, I’ll admit I was skeptical. ASMR describes the feeling you get when certain sounds produce a relaxation effect—some folks even explain it as a tingling sensation, or a brain orgasm. I was more likely to describe it as giving me the heebie-jeebies. There was something unnerving to me about hearing someone whisper into a microphone while rubbing their hands across a balloon or untangling earphones or applying makeup. But the more I explored, the more the videos broke me down, and I started to understand. I’ll even admit to feeling kind of relaxed when listening to a woman whisper while running her fingers over the bristle of a brush. This was all good and fine (but, like, honestly still pretty weird) when noises were limited to innocuous tappings and crinkles—but then things went haywire. Unceremoniously, feathers on a microphone and fingernails drumming against food-storage containers gave way to far less ear-pleasing sounds when I came upon…wait a sec, I have close my eyes and focus on not gagging. Okay, …when I came upon food-noise videos. Yep, YouTubers are combining mukbangs, the South Korea-born trend of eating a large quantity of food and livestreaming it to millions (millions!), with ASMR. Suddenly, instead of soft, comforting noises, I was visually and sonically assaulted with gulps from a straw or the wet chewing of a cheeseburger. There are no shortage of extreme crunch

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