November 11, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC The holidays are a time for giving—but our desire to connect and give thanks, in the absence of a budget, can often lead to that too-familiar overwhelmed, under-water feeling. Studies show that much of this “festive stress“—as worry related to the holidays is called—can be attributed to gift-giving and receiving. Merriment can be expensive. This year, it doesn’t seem as though we’re poised to rein in our spending. Roughly half of shoppers have already started searching for gifts on their friends’ and family’s wish lists, per a new online survey from The Harris Poll and OpenX. The poll also found that consumers plan to spend 5 percent more this year than in 2018. To help reduce money-related holiday stress, here are some budget-friendly moves to successfully navigate the season—call it my early holiday gift to you. 1. Craft a plan—and stick to it Really, though. It’s one thing to create a list of the important people in your life and a budget for each gift, but the true test is being able to stick with the plan, especially as marketers bombard us with deals and offers. Walking into the holiday frenzy without a clear set of goals and budgetary limits will make it very easy to feel ambushed and impulse purchases are more likely to be made. A plan of action will ensure you spend more intentionally and within budget. Pro Tip: Save your list in your phone and desktop so that you
Category: Your Regeneration
Actually, casual conversations are legitimately helpful for keeping you healthy
November 11, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC Society at large seems to harbor a collective goal of limiting human connection as much as possible. We ask people out through dating apps instead of striking up conversations IRL. We board planes avoiding eye contact with our seat-mates, fearing they may have a crazy idea: saying hello. We place our Starbucks order ahead so we can just pick up our coffees and go, and if we do stand in line, it’s almost certainly with earbuds in and eyes glued to a screen—i.e., the universal code for “don’t talk to me.” Starbucks, taking note of what customers clearly want, recently opened its first pickup-only location in New York City, completely removing even the notion that humans are meant to interact. That innovation comes on the heels of Uber’s Quiet Mode rollout earlier this year, a feature that lets drivers know passengers are opting for the sound of silence. And ‘quiet chairs’ at various hair salons have allowed for getting a new ‘do without a side of dish. On the one hand, limiting low-stakes interactions can make life easier, faster, and more efficient. But it’s hard to ignore the potential link between Americans being lonelier than ever (especially millennials) to epidemic proportions and our simultaneous desire to minimize our interactions with one another. Maybe the two situations aren’t related, and talking to strangers is an annoying fact of life that’ll become extinct? in the not-so-distant future. That way, we can persist moving about, headphones
5 healthy foods you should always buy in bulk, according to a sustainable dietitian
November 11, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC It’s super common—even among non-card carrying Costco members—to buy items like toilet paper, tampons, and soap in bulk, but for some reason, the same logic doesn’t often carry over to healthy food staples. Some believe that in order for something to be healthy that it has to be bought fresh, and therefore buying in bulk doesn’t really apply. But it turns out that this isn’t always true. According to The Conscious Dietitian blogger Rachel Dickens, RD, it’s actually cheaper and more sustainable to buy healthy bulk foods. Here, she gives the five she recommends to buy this way 5 bulk foods a sustainable dietitian recommends 1. pumpkin seeds While you’ll often find pumpkin seeds sold in little bags, Dickens recommends buying them in bulk because they don’t go bad and it’s an easy way to add more zinc into your diet, which she says most people don’t get enough of. “I love making pumpkin seed butter for a big dose of these healthy seeds,” she says. “I love buying my pumpkin seeds in bulk so I can make big batches of pumpkin seed butter to add to my smoothies, toast or just eat it by the spoon.” Giving your morning smoothie the pumpkin pie treatment? Done. 2. chickpeas “Canned foods, [including chickpeas] are often lined with BPA, which is a known endocrine disruptor, so I like purchasing dried chickpeas in bulk instead,” Dickens says. To cook with them she recommends soaking the dried chickpeas
Work your full body in 13-minutes flat with this plank-happy, jump rope workout
November 11, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve5i1gbJgxE] #TBT to elementary school recess, when jumping rope was the best possible way to pass the time. What you may not have realized while you were bouncing around in your light-up sneakers while your friends spelled out the name of the boy you were going to marry, though, is that you were actually getting a full-body workout. Jumping rope torches your body by way of toning and cardio at the same time, which is why AK Fitness founder Amanda Kloots is such a massive fan of the seemingly old-school modality. For this week’s trainer of the month workout, she’s put together a jump rope routine that’s so much fun that you’ll forget you’re working out. But don’t be fooled by the fact that it’ll make you feel like you’re nine years old again—by the time it’s over, you’ll be sweaty and sore for sure. What makes Kloots’ workout so great (and effective) is the fact that you won’t *just* be using the jump rope for jumping around: You’ll also be using it as a strength training tool. The workout starts with a two-minute warmup (featuring everyone’s favorite workout: planks!) followed by two rounds of arms and abs, two round of squats and jump squats, and two rounds of coordination jumps. While this particular jump rope workout (sadly…) doesn’t require a rendition of “Strawberry Shortcake” or “Bubblegum, Bubblegum in a Dish,” it will definitely get your heart pumping. Follow along with the
The gift to get yourself based on your holiday plans (because you deserve it)
November 11, 2019 at 04:30AM by CWC You’ve racked up lists on lists of what to gift the VIPs in your life, but all that caring for others leaves you forgetting one other very important person in this whole equation. You, silly. Since the most wonderful time of the year would be more aptly referred to as the busiest time of the year—between traveling to and from home, pencilling in parties every other day, and attempting to put together presents that don’t look like a toddler wrapped them—self care is a must during this season. So why not use this opportunity to treat yourself to a gift that isn’t just okay (like when your grandma buys everyone in the family the same shampoo), but instead helps you thrive amidst your slew of holiday plans. Do yourself a favor and pick up a clean, self-care inspired present, like one of Josie Maran’s holiday skin-care gift sets featuring non-toxic, dew-inducing ingredients like CBD and argan oil that you’ll look forward to making time for no matter how packed your schedule gets. Because admit it: When you’re glowing on the outside, you’ll be feeling it on the inside, too. Keep scrolling to see which clean skin-care gift set you need this holiday season. Photo: Josie Maran (100% Pure Argan Oil) If you’re flying home to visit the fam… In movies, stars hop off the plane looking immaculate despite having been cramped next to someone who was snoring the whole flight. You too can
Can’t get your hands on cauliflower gnocchi? Try its tasty cousin: plantain gnocchi
November 11, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC Gnocchi is definitely the It food of the moment. I mean, there are entire Instagram accounts dedicated to Trader Joe’s beloved cauliflower-based option alone. But if you can’t get your hands on it (it still seems like it’s selling out every other day!) there’s a solution: Make some at home with its high-fiber, potassium-rich cousin. Plantains might not seem like they’d make for great gnocchi, but they just so happen to be one of the best replacements for potatoes in the traditional recipe—maybe even better than cauliflower. (Gasp.) Just ask Micah Siva, the London-based registered dietitian and certified chef behind Nutrition x Kitchen. “You can easily find green or darkly-spotted yellow plantains, and both are delicious,” she says. “While green plantains are starchy, yellow plantains are sweeter and softer—much more similar to a banana. Green starchy plantains, on the other hand, taste similar to a potato with a hint of fruity banana, making it a great substitute for potatoes in some of your favorite dishes.” That’s why she knew plantains, with their subtle sweetness and low starch factor, would be the perfect addition to a gnocchi recipe. Better yet, Siva says you can also reap plenty of health benefits from using plantains in gnocchi. “Green plantains are a source of vitamins A, C, and B6, and the minerals magnesium and potassium,” she says. “They’re also high in resistant starches—a type of fiber that’s beneficial to gut health. Fiber and complex carbs are digested
The astrological reason to listen to your intuition about your sex drive this week
November 10, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC On Monday, November 11, the sun and Mercury join forces, highlighting the climax of Mercury retrograde. This midway moment of Mercury’s retrograde puts the essence of its lesson in the spotlight, so with the week kicking off with Mercury in its inferior conjunction to the sun, hold on tight and expect deeply buried secrets to arise. Simultaneously, the cosmos asks you to re-evaluate how you are, relating to your sex life. And, be warned: Romantic ghosts from the past may resurface. Aside from a lingering love interest or two coming back into your periphery, consider how satisfied you are with your sexual expression and your sex life at large. No matter your age or relationship status, learning about your body, especially sexually, is a lifelong journey. And thanks to Mercury’s extended stay in Scorpio, due to his retrograde, it’s a good time to intentionally re-evaluate your intentions needs, wants, and desires regarding arousal. Are you aware of what your body actually craves now, or are you perhaps more so operating on autopilot? When it comes to pleasure, desire, and sexual power, your needs change throughout life, and because of this, relationship dynamics often require massive recalibration from time to time, as well. Now’s the time to stay open, curious, and aware of this. Speaking of sexuality, on Tuesday, November 12, the full moon in Taurus illuminates the sky. Known as the beaver moon, this full moon occurs at 8:34 a.m., EST, at 19
The meditative act of baking bread
November 10, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC When I was traveling in India ten years ago, I learned a lot about meditation. More than could inform a lifetime, I had thought. But while so many of those lessons, lectures, and hours I spent in contemplative pursuits have slipped away, something that English meditation teacher Christopher Titmuss said has stuck, coloring, even, my days on the faraway coast of Maine. “If you want to know about your life,” he told a crowd of seekers gathered in a Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, “simply watch your hands.” What you value, how you spend your time, your habits, your kindness, creativity, or agitation are so easily—and almost unnervingly so—revealed through what your hands do all day. Do they help or hurt? Do they bring happiness into your life? Over the years, I’ve used his technique as a diagnostic tool whenever things have felt out of balance, asking myself, “Well, to start with, what are my hands doing?” Training my mindfulness on this physical expression of my life, for the most part, I’ve seen that the issue at hand is a matter of too much texting, typing, or driving, and not enough of the good stuff. At my most happy and serene, however, my hands knead bread. Baking at home is one of the pleasures I’ve found in choosing a quieter life in Maine, one outside of my old city job as a fashion editor and its high-intensity lifestyle. Baking from scratch is a
7 recipes that prove your air fryer should part of *all* holiday cooking, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s
November 10, 2019 at 06:00PM by CWC The air fryer has been used to perform many miracles in the kitchen: turning onion rings into a legit healthy snack, kale into a crunchy sandwich companion, and even making tofu the perfect amount of crispy. But all of that is amateur hour compared to the marathon that is holiday cooking. Holiday cooking is in its own league. There are some foods people look forward to eating only this time of year and they expect it to be prepared right. Then there’s the problem of not having enough time—between big end-of-year projects at work, holiday parties, present shopping, and family commitments, who has time to prep and plan any kind of meal, let alone holiday cooking? But rest assured, these are challenges the air fryer is up for. Don’t believe me? Check out these holiday dishes that won’t create a whole sink full of dishes or take all night to perfect, all thanks to your favorite cooking appliance. (Cover your ears, Instant Pot.) Scroll down for seven air fryer side dishes perfect for all your winter holiday needs Photo: Strength and Sunshine 1. Air fryer Chanukkah latkes Similar to how it works to make classic French fries healthier (less oil, no deep fryer), the air fryer health-ifies latkes the same way. This recipe from Strength and Sunshine is vegan and gluten-free, so eaters of all diet types will be able to enjoy. Photo: Glue and Glitter 2. Air fryer green bean casserole Most
These hair ‘tattoos’ are the next best thing for women losing their hair
November 10, 2019 at 05:00PM by CWC Hair loss among women, like sex and periods and polyamory, is one of those things that we are finally talking openly about in 2019. And it’s about damn time: A headline from last year declared that “Millennials are going bald from too much stress” and a 2007 study found that up to 45 percent of women in America experience hair loss at some point in their lives, with a notable 12 percent by the time they turn 30. While the fact that we’re losing our hair due to stress is enough to cause even more stress, there is a silver lining: The rise in demand for hair loss solutions has made way for new technology in the industry, from hair growth supplements to scalp serums, and now, scalp micropigmentation and microblading. You may be familiar with the term “microblading” in regards to eyebrows. The process, which one practitioner referred to as, “the finest form of eyebrow tattooing,” uses a “micro-blade” to etch thin lines into your skin, mimicking real eyebrow hairs. The treatment has gained popularity in the beauty community over the last few years, and one of our own editors even tried it for herself (to stunning results, I might add). Now, the technology has been translated to be used on people’s scalps, too—basically giving them the appearance of hair where there isn’t any. “Scalp micropigmentation is essentially a cosmetic tattoo using black or dark-colored dye [to give the] appearance of a close