September 07, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC I was just a kid when SlimFast meal replacement shakes were popular, but I still remember the commercials. It always involved a svelte looking woman excitedly popping open the can—as if a slice of cake would jump out of it—gulping it down, and leaving a big chocolate milk mustache above her smiling mouth. Back then, I was a big fan of chocolate milk—more of the Nesquik variety—but I still couldn’t understand why someone would want to drink their meal instead of eat it. Then, I grew up, became a Working Girl myself, and understood the concept (kinda). Sometimes, mornings or afternoons were just so crazy that there didn’t seem to be enough time for a proper sit- down meal. Eating on-the-go was necessary, sometimes, and salads aren’t exactly ideal for that. Only meal replacement shakes weren’t popular anymore; protein bars had replaced them. It stayed this way for a long while until 2013 when Rob Rhinehart, a young, hungry (both metaphorically and physically) Silicon Valley entrepreneur decided to take meal replacement to the next level with Soylent, a drink that contains all the nutrients someone needs for the day all in one go. Now, we’ve landed somewhere in the middle of the SlimFast and Soylent mentality: post-protein bar success, food startups like Mēle, Gemini, and Huel, are reinventing the meal replacement shake category with products that have more substance than the ’80s canned options but still left room for eating later in the
Category: Vegetarians
Soup up your usual order at Hale & Hearty with these healthy, nutritionist-approved picks
September 06, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Walking into a Hale & Hearty midday can feel like an extreme sport. There are an overwhelming amount of options (15 soups!), which is a lot to navigate when your lunch break isn’t exactly lengthy. If you’re not strategic, you might panic and walk out with something you don’t even want. (Chowder? Did I want chowder?) Special dietary requirements, such as sticking to a vegetarian, Mediterranean diet, or gluten-free meal plan, can add an extra layer of ordering stress. And soups are often known to be total sodium bombs, regardless of what eating plan you follow. To its credit, Hale & Hearty’s menu has handy little graphics indicating what items are dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan. (Very helpful.) But as you know, just because something has a cute graphic next to it doesn’t mean it’s actually healthy. That’s where registered dietitian Sharon Palmer, RD, comes in. Here, Palmer helps simplify the Hale & Hearty menu by giving her top recs for the three aforementioned eating plans. Even if you don’t stick to any specific diet and instead have an overall goal to eat generally healthy, her tips can help you figure out what to order. Vegetarian Menu picks: Three lentil chili; farmers’ market quinoa What an RD says: Hale & Hearty has a lot of soups, but according to Palmer, not all of them have the nutrient density to be a full meal. One that does—and is not only vegetarian, but all-out vegan—is
This easy high-fiber cheesecake doesn’t even require an oven to make
September 05, 2019 at 10:30PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nklEUEoZLpU] Didn’t think a healthy, delicious cheesecake existed? Think again. There’s a reason why The Cheesecake Factory has a 45-minute wait during prime time dinner hours at every major mall across America. Who doesn’t love cheesecake? But when I called up a dietitian a few months ago to ask if there was a somewhat healthy dessert order at the beloved chain restaurant, all I heard were crickets on the other line of the phone. Thankfully, cheesecake isn’t automatically off the (healthy) table. Leave it to Alt-Baking Bootcamp hosts chefs Mia Rigden and Jenny Dorsey to give the classic dessert a healthier twist as well as make it 100-percent vegan and high in fiber and protein. For the crust, they use raw walnuts, pitted medjool dates, sea salt, cinnamon, and cardamom, key warming spices for rounding out the flavor. Those dates aren’t just a great way to add sugar without using the refined stuff—they also offer up lots of other nutrients, says Rigden. “[Dates are] a wonderful source of fiber,” she says, key for a healthy digestive system, while also adding in some antioxidants and vitamins and minerals (like potassium). Plus, with the walnuts in the crust and the cashews in the cashew cream base of the cheesecake, you’re getting lots of protein along with omega-3 fatty acids, copper (which is good for collagen production), and yes, more antioxidants. That means every slice of this dessert is both high-protein and high-fiber—a major nutritional
You can buy every fall wardrobe essential you could possibly want on Amazon, and we’ve got the proof right here
September 05, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC Before you start jumping on the trends of the season (hiya, fall!), it’s important to make sure you’ve got a solid fashion foundation to build on. Not only will it help give your wardrobe longevity—because, let’s be honest, nothing says “forever” like a good leather jacket—but it will also give you few go-tos that will make getting dressed a far easier endeavor… especially on those late-in-the-year mornings when you need to do so before the sun is fully up. What’s more, while you might add or subtract layers as seasons come and go, the essentials are totally season-less and can be worn with ease all 365 days of the year. While building your ultimate wardrobe from the ground-up might seem like a daunting task, we are happy to report that you can one-stop-shop everything on your must-have personal style list on Amazon. The company has upped its game on shoes, apparel, and accessories of late and—might we add—it shows. Not to mention that most of the items below can be ordered through Amazon Prime, which means that you could have a little black dress on your doorstep practically as fast as your take-out sushi order. Below, find your eight ultimate wardrobe essentials, and the pieces of each we’re currently snatching up on Amazon. Leather Jacket Buy Now Mackage Baya Leather Jacket $950 Buy Now Cupcakes and Cashmere Vivica Vegan Leather Moto Jacket $118 Buy Now BlankNYC Moto Jacket, $113 A leather jacket is
Put those mushy bananas on your counter to good use with this vegan banana bread recipe
September 04, 2019 at 09:45PM by CWC Here’s my one problem with bananas: Even though I love the idea of grabbing a banana as a snack, it’s nearly impossible for me to use up a whole bunch before they go bad. They just sit on the kitchen counter until they’re completely brown. Thankfully, that’s why we have banana bread. Now, even though bananas themselves are healthy as all hell—Potassium! Fiber! Healthy carbs!—traditional banana breads are, mm, less-than-great. They’re usually made with lots of butter and refined sugar and skew a little far from vegan (see: BUTTER). Luckily, chefs Jenny Dorsey and Mia Rigden created a gluten-, grain-, and refined sugar-free version of the classic treat in a recent episode of Well+Good’s YouTube series Alt-Baking Bootcamp. Gaze upon the OG healthy rendition below, but what final tweak would make for some delightful vegan banana bread? [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzRLZdwygNQ] “You should be able to make the banana bread vegan by substituting flax eggs and coconut oil,” Dorsey tells me. Only two changes? Seems do-able. At this moment in history I will be shocked if you don’t have a vat of coconut oil in your pantry; you’ll only need two teaspoons here to substitute the butter or ghee. As for the flax eggs (which helps baked goods bind together like a regular egg), Rigden shares that you can make one by combining one tablespoon ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of warm water, then letting it sit for 15 minutes. For a recipe that
Mushrooms aren’t just for cooking—here’s why you’re about to put them on your face
September 04, 2019 at 04:30AM by CWC Grilled on skewers, whipped into an omelette, or acting as a vessel to stuff in even more veggies—is there any way you don’t love mushrooms? Newsflash: There’s about to be a new one, because they want in on your face. That’s right, the potential benefits of mushroom (and other forest-grown ingredients) are making their way into your skin care, and it couldn’t be happening at a better time. “Stressors from environmental pollution, digital pollution, and our fast-paced modern lifestyles [can] create barriers to the natural world and wreak havoc on our health and our skin,” says Natalie Pergar, lead skin care trainer at Eminence Organic Skin Care. So are Netflix and smog doing not so-great-things for your skin? Pergar thinks so—but says that exposing your skin to nature, like the Japanese practice of forest bathing, can help. “The Pure Forest Collection brings the restorative properties of the forest directly to the skin, allowing us to release the stress of urban living and reconnect with nature.” That’s why Pergar and the team at Eminence Organics took things back to basics with their latest collection. “The Pure Forest Collection [helps] bring the restorative properties of the forest directly to the skin, allowing us to release the stress of urban living and reconnect with nature,” she says. And the star ingredient? Mushrooms, of course—specifically supercharged reishi and snow mushrooms, both of which have been buzzed about for their potential radiance-boosting powers. Keep scrolling to learn more
This paint company has your wellness in mind—here’s why that’s important
September 04, 2019 at 03:01AM by CWC You’ve been doing everything you can to make sure your home is as free of toxins as possible, creating a plant-filled indoor jungle to help keep the air clean and making sure your water is always filtered. One thing you probably haven’t thought about, though, is the paint on the walls within your sanctuary. You may not realize it, but paint, cleaning items, and many other common items emit gases called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can impact the air quality inside your home for years. That’s why Backdrop—quite possibly the most millennial paint company, ever—is bringing wellness to the forefront in the expansive world of home improvement in order to make sure adding a little personality to your home doesn’t come at a cost for your health. Backdrop currently offers 50 shades, all of which are low-VOC. A gallon of paint (packaged in a recyclable can) isn’t exactly cheap at $59, but the company is certified by Green Wise, which means the paint went through robust testing to ensure it limits VOCs as well as prohibits certain chemical compounds and heavy metals, including formaldehyde, phthalates, mercury, and methylene chloride. As an added bonus, all paints are also vegan and cruelty-free. View this post on Instagram @cocoandbreezy’s new backdrop 36 HOURS IN MARRAKESH @thelorca A post shared by BACKDROP (@backdrop) on Jun 14, 2019 at 12:02pm PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js Before committing to a color, you can skip the messy paint samples and go for Backdrop’s
Pycnogenol is the collagen-stimulating ingredient to add to your skin-care routine pronto
September 03, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC Were there an Atlas Obscura for skin-care ingredients, rest assured that you’d find an entry for pycnogenol. Because while retinol, vitamin C, and hyaluronic acid might get most of the buzz, the collagen-stimulating ingredient offers up the road less traveled (so to speak) when it comes to skin care. And it could pay off big time to add it to your routine because it’s got a lot of clout for plumping, hydrating, and protecting your complexion. Pycnogenol is a research-backed ingredient that’s a potent antioxidant, so it helps to fend off free radicals, and it’s also been shown to restore elasticity within the complexion. According to Rachel Nazarian, MD, a New York City-based dermatologist, it’s derived from a maritime pine bark and can be applied topically or taken as a supplement to absorb its good-for-skin benefits. “It’s been studied for several years to determine its effects on skin and aging,” she says. “Many studies have supported its use as a supplement taken orally that enhances the skin’s ability to produce more hyaluronic acid to maintain hydration and water in the skin.” Similarly, the ingredient has been found to help with collagen production in the skin, which keeps your complexion looking plump and youthful. “I call it one of my desert island supplements because of its multitude of health benefits,” says Fred Pescatore, MD. “When pycnogenol’s applied topically, it works at the cellular level to selectively bind to collagen and elastin. Its natural anti-inflammatory
Produce doesn’t come with an expiration date—here’s how to tell what you can still eat
September 03, 2019 at 05:58PM by CWC For healthy eaters, a trip to the farmers’ market during the summer is like walking through a nutritious wonderland. Crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, strawberries glistening like rubies—there’s a colorful bounty to discover at every turn. But the crisper in your refrigerator is a notorious graveyard for summer produce, serving as an unpleasant memory for all the beet salads, peach pies, and baked eggplant you really did have every intention of making. An avocado doesn’t come with an expiration date, but it would be helpful to know when exactly produce goes bad. That way, you can plan your cooking accordingly, reaching into the crisper before the fruit or vegetable you’re craving has turned to mush. That’s where Registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, posted a handy little chart that explains how to know when popular summer fruits and veggies have gone bad—and when you still have time to use ’em. ad_intervals[‘420168_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘420168_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); Avocados, for example, are still good when they’re mushy, Jackson Blatner points out. But if they’re black, it’s time for the compost bin. When it comes to greens, they’re still fair game if they’re droopy, but if they’re wet or slimy, toss it. Same goes for cucumbers: if they’re soft, it’s okay, but if it’s wet and squishy, it’s not good anymore. //www.instagram.com/embed.js View this post on Instagram It’s my GUIDE TO ALMOST SPOILED PRODUCE Part 1! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1.
The plant-powered food that fuels a dance cardio instructor every day
September 03, 2019 at 05:30PM by CWC When it comes to healthy eating, DanceBody trainer Sam Ostwald doesn’t count calories. She doesn’t log her macros or mentally calculate her carbs. In fact, she doesn’t track anything. “I eat when I’m hungry and definitely treat myself when I’m craving it,” she says, the embodiment of an intuitive eater—even though she doesn’t explicitly label herself as such. “My main focus is eating whole foods that I like, and that give me the energy I need to teach the best classes possible,” she says. For Ostwald’s daily routine, energy is a must. On an average day, she’ll have three classes on her schedule to teach. “DanceBody is the only workout I do,” Ostwald says. “It’s everything: a mental release, amazing cardio, full body toning, bomb music…” Growing up as a dancer, she was always in shape, but DanceBody has made her feel more than that; both athletic and strong. “The combination of pushing myself physically and mentally is the ultimate endorphin high,” she says. “I leave class feeling like I can take on anything!” ad_intervals[‘418390_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘418390_div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8891272-3’);}); } }, 100); View this post on Instagram A post shared by DanceBody® Sam (@sam_dancebody) on Jun 21, 2019 at 2:49pm PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js To fuel this routine, Otswald swears by a plant-based diet. “After reading Chew on This in middle school, I decided I couldn’t eat meat anymore,” she says, name-checking the popular fast food exposé. “In