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
Tag: Well+Good
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
Do this 3-move strength series between cardio intervals for a full-spectrum workout
November 10, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC There’s a reason why most gyms have TVs attached to their cardio machines: It is really, really easy to get bored when you’re doing the same motion, over and over and over again, for thirty minutes straight. And while watching a rerun of a Friends Thanksgiving episode for the 200th time is certainly one way to keep yourself occupied while logging miles on the treadmill or elliptical, distracting yourself by way of strength training intervals is a great way to spice things up and get a better bang for your buck (and more importantly, for your time). Instead of doing however-many-minutes of cardio and then heading to the floor or bench to build some muscle, you’ll actually get more out of both elements of the workout if you intersperse them. This is exactly the principle behind Rumble’s new studio, Rumble Training (in San Francisco and New York City), which alternates between treadmill and floor training over the course of a 45-minute class. “Strength and cardio are not enemies and actually help each other—we need both!” says Julia Stern, a coach at Rumble. “When you strength train and activate your core, you’ll actually perform better on the treadmill. When you have cardiovascular endurance, it’ll help you lift the weights. Your body needs both.” In addition to the two modalities building on each other, doing strength training between cardio intervals can help your body recover from the previous interval while prepping it for the next one. Stern
“Coat-veralls” are the most useful winter-wear feature since the down insert itself
November 10, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC It’s that time of year: We’re all making 3,987 references to the fact that winter is coming like we haven’t been saying it since 2015, Netflix queues are brimming with holiday movies, and we finally (finally!) get to break out our cozy coats and jackets. The latter is all fun and games until you get on the subway or some other enclosed area where taking your jacket off and holding it could not be anymore inconvenient. All of the sudden, that coat that was keeping you cozy in the chilly weather is now an inferno burrito. So thank heavens that “coat-veralls” or overall straps in winterwear are saving us in this predicament. While this isn’t exactly a new concept, backpack straps in coats and jackets are becoming more commonplace—and they’re so smart. The straps let you take off the coat so you don’t overheat, without having to totally strip down. And with that, you don’t have to try and free up the hands that are busy schlepping around your work bag, a change of clothes for your date later, and that assortment of receipts you keep swearing you’ll expense some day soon. “Thanks, it has backpack straps” is winter’s version of your “thanks, it has pockets” summer dress. Shop five jackets and coats with interior straps below. Photo: Mango Mango Water Repellent Quilted Coat, $130 Puffer coats are in—and this one has the added bonus of suspender-like straps that make it easy to carry
The ‘Grecian goddess’ snack a dietitian eats to fight acne
November 10, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC As a healthy food writer, I’ve heard before that certain foods could be sneaky acne-causing culprits. In high school, the teen mags I read loved to make the connection between greasy food and zits. And (many) years later, at Well+Good, a colleague marveled at giving up dairy to get rid of her reoccurring outbreaks. On the other end of the spectrum registered dietitian Meg Hagar’s ‘Grecian goddess’ anti-acne snack, which includes figs, olives, and a plum, definitely won’t cause breakouts, she says. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Skin+Gut Health Dietitian (@megthedietitian) on Oct 29, 2019 at 12:01pm PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js I reached out to find out how this simple Mediterranean diet-approved snack is connected to clearer skin. Hagar tells me the food combo has three important anti-acne factors. First, it’s low-glycemic. “This means it keeps blood sugar from spiking too high. When that happens, a series of internal events in the body can lead to too much oil production,” Hagar says. Second, it’s high-fiber. “Fiber is great for keeping full, but for acne sufferers specifically supporting the body’s natural detox processes is vital,” she says. “Fiber helps promote bowel motility and having one or more good quality bowel movements every day is essential for healthy and clear skin.” And third, Hagar says the snack is packed with protective and anti-inflammatory antioxidants and polyphenols, which help lower inflammation overall, skin included. Here, Hagar—along with two other experts—break down why