March 02, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC Transitioning to a plant-based or flexitarian diet has been a big priority for many healthy eaters in 2020. But just because there’s a new interest in eating less meat doesn’t make it easy, especially if it’s been a big part of your plate for most of your life. Which is where the OG concept of “meat extenders” comes in. I admit, whoever came up with the term meat extenders isn’t winning any awards for marketing. (Feel free to wince at the image of a cut of beef engaged in some weird, unholy calisthenics.) Still, the concept behind this term is actually a great one for your health, your wallet, and the environment. What is a meat extender? Basically, it is a plant-based protein sources like lentils and beans that can be added to meat in home cooking to “extend” its reach—and reduce cost—in recipes. See? No creepy meat aerobics involved. It’s a practice that dates back to at least World War II, when government agencies encouraged mixing additional ingredients into the precious supply of beef and pork to make them last longer. (There were entire cookbooks published on the subject.) “Cooking for victory” became the rallying cry for winning the war in the kitchen. This has been a “eating cheap and healthy” hack that cooks have relied on for decades. But it’s one that can actually be treated as a way to make eating more plants and eating less meat a bit easier.
Tag: Well+Good
5 moisturizers that double as primers for makeup
March 02, 2020 at 08:00PM by CWC The two-in-one shampoo and conditioner in my boyfriend’s shower always makes me a little jealous. Imagine having a routine so simple that washing your hair is a one-step job. My eight-step morning skincare routine could never, but there is one way to cut down on time that’s actually worth it: using a moisturizer that doubles as a primer. “Primers are a targeted fix; moisturizer is a necessity,” says makeup artist Mary Irwin. “If I need the makeup to last a long time, or if someone has large pores, or gets very shiny or oily then I definitely prime.” Irwin says she considers primer a part of the skin preparation before applying makeup. You have to asses your skin, and see what needs, and find a primer that fits. If you’re dry, she says you’ll want a hydrating primer. If you’re oily, an oil-controlling primer or even a balancing moisturizer will help your makeup stay put. When your moisturizer doubles as a primer, you can make your routine a little bit faster. Shop our favorite moisturizing primers below. The best moisturizing primers for a flawless finish 1. DR. JART+ V7 PRIMING MOISTURIZER, $48 This vitamin-infused moisturizer blurs the look of pores and imperfections, brightens and evens out your complexion, resulting in healthier looking skin. It also includes tomato leaf cell extract to protect against pollution. 2. Heir Atelier face Primer, $42 “Heir Atelier is a beautiful, demi-matte formula, that increases hydration as well,”
The one body part you’re not foam rolling but should, according to a physical therapist
March 02, 2020 at 06:52PM by CWC Foam rolling effectively soothes sore muscles, helps with lymphatic drainage, and banishes pain in your hips. Most people typically stick to the back side of their body when using a foam roller, focusing on areas like shoulders, calves, and glutes for that sweet, sweet relief. But according to Vinh Pham, physical therapist and co-founder of Myodetox Clinics, you should’t ignore the front side—most notably your stomach. “Everyone understands that they need to stretch their back, but rarely do people stretch the front of their body—in particular their stomach area—and that’s a big mistake,” he says. “Your stomach tissue often gets tight and compressed over time due to long periods of sitting or endless set of crunches.” When you have a compressed midsection, Pham says it will limit the ability for your ribcage to stay upright. This, in turn, pushes your neck forward. “It gives you a hunchback appearance—the dreaded forward head posture,” he says. The good news is foam rolling your stomach can counteract this from happening, and then some. “Opening up your stomach tissue will not only help you feel more relaxed overall, but it might also relieve some of your chronic neck and shoulder stiffness that you feel from working at the office all day.” Because your ribcage will be more mobile, Pham says foam rolling your stomach can even help you breathe easier by allowing you to take deeper breaths. Something that not only benefits you in your day-to-day life,
Dermatologists say everyone in their 30s should be using *this* skin-care product
March 02, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC Plenty of ingredients are glow-inducing multitaskers that give your skin more than one benefit (think: vitamin C, which brightens while fending off future damage from free radicals or glycolic acid, which resurfaces while plumping up skin by creating new collagen). But there is only one beauty product that dermatologists will recommend, whether you want to zap redness, plump up fine lines, or even out skin texture—and that ingredient is retinol. “Retinol is the best multitasker that exists,” says Loretta Ciraldo, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Dr. Loretta Skincare. “It’s excellent for acne, for anti-aging, and for pigmentation.” She points out that retinol is one of the two most studied ingredients (the other is vitamin C) in skin care that have been written about in peer-reviewed literature, “so we know it’s not a marketing gimmick—it really works.” And though you can use it preventatively in your 20s, she says you definitely want have a tube by the time you’re in your 30s to keep your complexion healthy. As collagen production slows late in our 20s, often we need to supplement skin to help it make more. Retinol does just this, which in turn, helps with the aging process.”You actually get a molecular response where your skin starts to make collagen,” says Dr. Ciraldo. This reaction occurs because retinol is a bioavailable ingredient to our skin. That means that once we slather it on, skin knows exactly how to utilize it to promote
Politically Charged: Super Tuesday is *super* during Mercury retrograde—here’s what to expect
March 02, 2020 at 03:00PM by CWC With Politically Charged, a new monthly column by QueerCosmos astrologer and Well+Good Changemaker Colin Bedell, you’ll get a look at what’s happening in the 2020 election cycle, not through the lens of any specific issue or party or scandal, but rather through the energy of the universe. First up is the astrology of Super Tuesday, which rather dramatically falls during a Mercury retrograde cycle. Find out how that transit may influence the March 3 results below. The first politically powerful Tuesday is upon us in the 2020 presidential election year. Known as “Super Tuesday” since 1976, Tuesday, March 3, will host 14 state primaries— Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia—and the American Samoa caucuses, together accounting for 33.8 percent of the country’s total. But what does the astrology of Super Tuesday have in store for how those votes may sway? Well, crucially, let’s not forget Mercury will be retrograde on Super Tuesday, and there have been several seminal moments of past election cycles that transpired during Mercury retrograde. To name just two, take Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment in 2012 (talk about miscommunication!) and the Bush vs. Gore recount in 2001. With history in mind, expect that this Super Tuesday may bring any number of surprises, inaccuracies, and word blunders. From a voter perspective, it means we’ll want to carefully discern the intentions behind the discourse and stay focused on the
Ever wonder what to eat before barre? A Pure Barre instructor shares her food diary
March 02, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC There are some fitness classes that leave you drenched in sweat and feeling totally depleted—and ravenous. Spinning, bootcamp, or a long run all require careful attention to pre- and post- workout fuel. Barre, however, is a little different. Is it hard? Hell yeah. The 45 minutes classes force you to work muscles that are usually overlooked (and perhaps that you didn’t know you had) until they’re quaking. But because it doesn’t create the same type of intensity as some other workouts, figuring out what to eat before and after barre can be tricky. If anyone has it figured out, it’s Pure Barre instructor and franchise owner Griffin McKenzie Hill, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As interested in nutrition just as much as she is fitness (she studied nutrition in graduate school), Hill typically teaches about five or six classes a week. She recently had a baby and is taking some time off from teaching, which she says has also changed how she eats. “I’ve experimented with about every type of eating plan under the sun, but there isn’t one specific diet I follow religiously,” Hill says. “I had a baby a month ago and find that my body has different needs now. My caloric intake has stayed the same, but I’m eating more complex carbohydrates, which wasn’t something I ate a lot of before, outside of vegetables. But I feel like it’s something my body needs more of now because I’m breastfeeding a lot
How to stop gaslighting yourself, because you wouldn’t let anyone else talk to you this way
March 02, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC I’m of the conviction that a little bit of self-doubt is healthy, like a little bit of coffee or a little bit of wine. But there comes a point where self-doubt transforms from a check-in to keep your expectations realistic to just gaslighting yourself, wherein you baselessly let yourself believe you’re wrong or that you’ve missed something. As a reminder, gaslighting is a psychological term that refers to manipulating or undermining someone in a way that questions how they’re reacting. It can happen at work, in romantic relationships, or really anywhere. The idea is to make you feel like your reactions are invalid, your emotions are unimportant, your talents aren’t real, or that certain situations literally did or didn’t happen. With self-gaslighting, it’s kind of like your inner voice is your own tormentor. Derailing and destructing that tormentor can require a lot of work, and the first step in that process is to be especially discerning about where your thoughts are originating. From there, here’s what to consider: 5 steps to stop gaslighting yourself and start loving yourself 1. Ask yourself whose opinion this really is Very often, these contradictory thoughts don’t just manifest out of the ether. You’ve heard them before, and they’re ingrained in your psyche. Take it from someone who’s been told “You are not your mother” from two psychologists and three astrologers this year: We absorb the beliefs of others even if they counteract the truth we hear inside
This 10-minute treadmill HIIT workout will get your heart *literally* racing
March 02, 2020 at 12:01PM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5Nr89HESUY] Treadmill workouts are having a moment. In 2018, we saw a run-aissance that made it the hottest piece of equipment in the boutique fitness world, with running studios popping up all over, including Precision Run, Mile High Run Club, and most recently, Rumble Training. But you don’t need to book yourself a spot at Barry’s Bootcamp every time you want to treat yourself to a treadmill-based HIIT workout, because in this month’s Trainer of the Month series, Nike Run coach Jes Woods is leading us through four treadmill-based workouts that you can do in the gym or at home if you’ve got a machine of your own. First up? A 14-minute series that takes place both on the treadmill and the mat, so that you can your cardio and strength training in in the course of one quick session. The workout uses short bursts of high intensity followed by even shorter recoveries, and is sure to leave you breathless. “The whole point is to get your heart rate up and keep it up,” says Woods. “Right when that heart rate is about to come down, you’re going to bring it right back up.” Ready to try it for yourself? Hop on the treadmill and watch the video above. 10 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill 2-minute warmup: Take an easy warmup in either a walk or a light job (or some combination of the two). Ease into the run—be sure not to start off
With Mars in Capricorn all of March, planetary energy is blazing—here’s how to channel it for good
March 01, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC As we enter March, one of the most potent months of the year, we step into unprecedented astrological opportunity. Cosmically speaking, the next few weeks don’t mess around, so neither should you. Mars, who represents passion, vigor, aggression, and action, travels at 9 degrees of Capricorn on March 1 and moves into Aquarius on March 30. Throughout this month of Mars in Capricorn, he’ll ignite three of the most massive planets—Jupiter, Pluto, and Saturn—who also travel in the practical sign of the sea goat. This astrological phrase for three or more planets acting as one is known as stellium, and as Mars conjoins each, he ignites fury, adding his force to an already dynamic combination. While yes, this means certain tense situations will reach a boiling point, when it comes to unleashing your ambition, consider now the best time to devise a plan for action. Even with Mercury being retrograde until March 9, use this first week of the month to consider your deepest hopes, dreams, and wishes. With focus and dedication to work at hand, you can evolve your life during the next few weeks. The planets offer the conditions that govern the atmosphere, but the outcome is in your hands: How will you use this high-octane planetary fuel? While Mars is in Capricorn, he’ll also ignite three of the most massive planets, igniting fury, and adding his force to an already dynamic combination. So consider now the best time to devise
Finding community—and resolving conflict—in the bleachers at Wrigley Field
March 01, 2020 at 09:20PM by CWC On a beautiful Thursday afternoon in August, I decided to do what any Chicago North Sider in their right mind might do—I closed my computer, donned a cap and some sunscreen, and headed to the Cubs game at Wrigley Field. When I purchased my ticket that morning, there was only one section I checked for availability—the bleachers. Bleachers seating at Wrigley Field, for me, was a no-brainer. They were where my friends and I had stationed ourselves for the better part of our adult lives, ever since we were old enough to navigate the “L” train to Addison Street and walk the single block to hometown revelry. We’d grab hot dogs, nachos, and peanuts, find seats, and, elbows on knees, spend the next three-plus hours mesmerized by Sosa’s swings, Farnsworth’s fastballs, and Alou’s sans glove batting style. It was all it took for several of us to later rent an apartment two blocks from the stadium, which served as home base for us for our first year out of college. If prime sun and an unhindered vantage point drew us to the bleachers, it was the fans that caused us to stay. In every Wrigley Field outing, it seemed as though my friends and I left with new game-day acquaintances, whom we had befriended somewhere between the home run high fives, 7th-inning stretch singalong, and requisite, post-win chanting of “Go Cubs Go.” The bleachers beckoned camaraderie. It didn’t matter the fronts we were