Tag: organic

Categories
Healthy Relationships Wellbeing

3 Key Questions To Ask Yourself Before Reuniting With Your Ex

The pain that comes after a breakup is, sadly, universal. But that doesn’t mean navigating your feelings is easy. A widely used mental health inventory ranks separation from a romantic partner as one of the most stressful events in the course of adult life. Sigh.
It’s normal to get to a point where you consider what life would be like if you got back together. But breakups can leave all parties involved in a vulnerable state, which can make good decision-making hard. We think it’s best to consider expert opinions and ask yourself some helpful clarifying questions as you reconsider re-coupling.

1. What’s changed?

You probably broke up for a reason. Was it a heat-of-the-moment decision you now regret, or has something fundamental changed since then? If cheating was a part of the breakup, that doesn’t necessarily have to be a deal-breaker, although the underlying reasons that caused one partner to stray can’t be ignored.
Couples therapist Kelley Kitley told Women’s Health that serious issues like these should be processed with the help of a professional if you truly want to invest in a healthy relationship with your ex, no matter who or what you think was at fault in your breakup.
“Having a third party who is neutral and who can avoid the blame game is extremely beneficial,” Kitley said.
Be honest with yourself and each other about why you want to get back together and about what feelings and behaviors have (or haven’t) changed.

2. Are you putting someone else ahead of yourself?

It’s common for partners with ties that go beyond the emotions (like children or property in common) to feel pressure to be together for the sake of others or because sticking together is logistically less complicated than separating. Maybe your breakup hurt your former partner so badly that you feel compelled to get back together to make them happy, or perhaps your parents and friends loved—and still love—your ex. If this is the case, you need to be honest with yourself about your reasoning.
Marriage and family therapist Susan Pease Gadoua wrote in Psychology Today that her favorite piece of advice on the matter is: “The world doesn’t need more married people. The world needs more happy people.”

3. What’s motivating your temptation to return?

Lonely? Bored? Undersexed? Disappointed by the other fish in the sea who’ve passed through your net since the breakup? These in themselves are not good reasons to get back together with an ex.
Are you driven by your eagerness to “settle down” or return to a sense of stability? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have your romantic life figured out, but if there’s a possibility you’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole because you’re just looking for a relationship in general, you’ll want to pause and reflect first.
That said, according to licensed marriage and family therapist David Klow, who spoke to Women’s Health about getting back together, if you truly see something healthy worth pursuing with your ex, it can be worthwhile to settle in and make sure to communicate, communicate, communicate. “It is important for a couple to build on the past relationship,” he said, “warts and all.”

You do you.

And while you’re in the business of asking yourself introspective questions, here’s another one: How are you holding up? Diana Kirschner, PhD, recommends these five ways of recovering from heartache faster: sharing, meditation, sleep, exercise, and even “having imaginary conversations” with your ex.
Finally, consider for a moment that there may be no absolute “right” or “wrong” outcome. There may not be a secret fate, plan, or way things are “supposed” to turn out between you and your former lover. The best you can do is ask yourself a few hard questions, communicate openly, and, ultimately, take care of yourself before (and while) making any big decisions.
Categories
Fitness Advice x Motivation Sweat

5 Myths We Often Believe About Exercise, Debunked

Remember how women were once banned from long-distance running because it was thought that our uteruses might fall out? Maybe not, considering we’ve come a long way from believing that exercise myth, but here are five more we need to ditch—and one that actually deserves some reconsideration.

1. Myth: It’s gotta hurt to work.

The widely popular “no pain, no gain” attitude toward workouts might not be doing your fitness any favors. Somewhere along the way we got the idea that exercise should be an all-out grunt-, sweat-, scream-fest in order for it to be effective. No thanks.
Fact: That delayed muscle soreness (DOMS) is “your body adapting to better prepare your muscles for further physiological stress,” which is “not a bad thing,” according to Angela Ioannou, a fitness expert interviewed by WebMD.
She goes on to warn exercisers not to be “fooled into thinking that DOMS is a strong indicator of how hard you have worked in the gym. The effects will vary from person to person, and the pain often lessens over time as your muscles become conditioned to a higher volume of resistance training.”
So, pick your workouts based on your unique goals and thorough research, not how groan inducing they are.

2. Myth: You should crunch your way to a six-pack.

We know that having a strong core is part of better overall physical performance, but it turns out that all that repetitive crunching you’ve been putting yourself through ever since middle school gym class might not be the best way get you there.
Fact: Abs only show when you have a pretty low body fat percentage, so it makes sense that Wayne Westcott, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Quincy College, told Health you’d be better off hitting other moves that tone more of your core, like planks and bridges.

3. Myth: You can melt fat by targeting trouble zones.

Focusing on specific “trouble areas,” as we often hear them called, with targeted workouts sounds great, but it’s really not that simple.
Fact: According to an article in Yale Scientific, “there are a few basic physiological reasons why targeted fat loss does not work.”
Those reasons have to do with the way our fat and muscles cells work. You can add shape and tone to your muscles with targeted exercises, but according to the article, “Fat loss comes down not to targeted exercises, but to the basic principle of how many calories you expend versus how many you take in.”

4. Myth: Cardio, cardio, cardio is the secret to weight loss.

Few of us are up for committing to the marathons stereotypically associated with lean runners’ bodies. But fear not, you don’t necessarily have to endurance train if you’re making smart choices when it comes to nutrition.
Fact: While a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology did pinpoint aerobic training as the most effective means of decreasing fat and body mass for sedentary and obese or overweight participants, Cris Slentz, PhD, one of the study’s authors, told CNN, “Exercise by itself will not lead to big weight loss. What and how much you eat has a far greater impact on how much weight you lose.”

5. Myth: If you’re not sweating, you’re not burning.

Sweat is so strongly associated with working hard—and working hard with burning calories and getting built—that a lot of us assume the more we sweat, the closer we are to our fitness goals.
Fact: “Sweat is a biological response that cools your skin and regulates internal body temperature,” Jessica Matthews, spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise told Health. So how much you sweat may be more of an indication of how hot you are.
Part of this has to do with how hard you’re working, but it also has to do with the temperature you’re working out in.

6. One “Myth” That Might Actually Be True:

Think rest days are integral to avoiding over-training? Well, you may not have that excuse to laze around in bed all day Sundays—or whatever your rest day is—anymore.
We don’t necessarily need full rest days in our exercise routines after all. According to an article by Jonathan Ross, American Council on Exercise senior consultant for personal training, “active rest” days or “active recovery” days may actually be more effective at aiding recovery and getting you back in the gym or on the road—unless you’re really injured, in which case passive recovery (aka “doing almost nothing”) is warranted.
If you’re just sore and tired from the previous days’ workouts, then active recovery, like walking or an easy bike ride, may be more helpful than complete rest. As Ross explained, “Muscles and joints love circulation. And they really love it when they need more of it. And they need more of it when they are recovering from a challenging workout.”
And if you’re not positive if something you’ve heard about fitness is fact or fiction, it’s always best to run it by a trusted health or wellness professional to make sure.

Categories
Nutrition x Advice

4 Ways Bone Broth Is Beneficial To Your Health (And How To Make It At Home)

If you grew up sipping on homemade broth when you were sick or as the base for your favorite soup, chances are you’ve probably tried bone broth before without even knowing it. What is it that differentiates bone broth from regular broth or stock? Bone broth is made with roasted beef bones that are gently simmered in water for at least six hours all the way up to 24 hours and beyond, resulting in an incredibly soothing and rich broth that could potentially be beneficial to your health.

Bone broth is great for your skin.

Bone broth contains an abundance of collagen, a protein that is found in our bones, tendons, skin, digestive systems, and muscles. You might remember seeing it in skincare products or in supplement form and with good reason. Collagen has been proven to help maintain aging skin’s elasticity and prevent overly dry skin.

Sip on bone broth for healthy hair.

The collagen found in bone broth has also shown potential as a hair thickener in women who are dealing with hair loss. In a double-blind study where some women were taking a placebo and other women took a collagen supplement, those taking collagen in supplement form reported significant increase in hair growth after 90 and 180 days of supplementation.

Bone Broth and Glycine

Bone broth is rich in glycine, an amino acid that makes up protein in your body. Glycine is considered a non-essential amino acid, which means that it can be made by other amino acids in the body. Recent studies have suggested that our bodies might actually need some additional outside help with producing enough glycine, giving you one more reason to include bone broth in your diet.

Glycine and Gut Health

If you’re prone to stomach ulcers and other similar inflammatory conditions, the glycine found in bone broth may be a beneficial supplement to any other course of treatment you might be pursuing. Glycine plays a huge role in preserving and protecting your intestinal walls by inhibiting gastric secretion, which can eventually lead to leaky gut syndrome, persistent stomach ulcers, or other inflammatory diseases.

Making Bone Broth at Home

Bone broth couldn’t be simpler to make. All it requires is beef bones and time. Beef bones can be purchased from your local butcher or they can be saved in the freezer as leftovers. Bone broth doesn’t need as many vegetables and aromatics as a soup stock because it has so much time to develop its deeply savory flavor as it simmers.

Don’t skip the roasting!

Begin by roasting the bones in a 450-degree oven for 40 minutes, turning once or twice to ensure even browning. Aromatics such as garlic, onions, and leeks may also be roasted alongside the bones.

Low and Slow Heat

Transfer the contents of the roasting pan to a slow cooker or stock pot and cover with 12 cups of water. Simmer the bone broth, covered, for 6 to 24 hours over very low heat before allowing the bone broth to come to room temperature. Carefully pour the bone broth through a sieve and store in the fridge for up to three days or the freezer until your next bone broth craving hits.

How to Enjoy Bone Broth

Bone broth can be consumed on its own, sipped piping hot from a mug on a cold day, or it can be used as the base for any of your favorite soup recipes. Cooked rice, noodles, or tofu can be added to give the broth some heft. Bone broth can also be blended with roasted or steamed vegetables to make a creamy, protein-rich soup in under five minutes.

Categories
Life x Culture Lifestyle

5 Strategies To Master Work–Life Balance

Ever feel like you’re working furiously to keep a stack of plates spinning high in the air and if you slow down for just a second, each and every one will go smashing to the ground? Behold the eternal struggle of women everywhere.
Whether we’re toiling in office buildings, sticking it out at home, or doing a little bit of both, we are constantly trying to make work and home life balance out. More often than not, we end up feeling like it’s impossible to make that happen. Some 89 percent of workers confessed in one online survey that they struggle with work–life balance.
So that’s the bad news. Ready for the good stuff? Work–life balance exists.
Even in that survey, 11 percent of workers seemed to be able to find it. Consider this your guide to joining the 11 percent.

1. Get moving.

When you barely have enough time to make dinner, fitting in time to exercise might seem like the polar opposite of balancing your juggling act. But consider this: Researchers from Saint Leo University, Saint Louis University, the University of Houston-Victoria, and Illinois State University took a look at how exercise affects our feelings about work and home life. Not only did they find that people who took time to work out reported lower levels of stress, their study determined that people who worked out also had higher confidence in their abilities to handle work–family conflicts.
The researchers concluded that exercise enabled people to detach from work and it was empowering them to feel more in control of their day-to-day struggles. Who couldn’t use a little more faith in themselves?
Whether it’s taking a brisk walk around the block on your lunch break or hitting a quick yoga class in the morning, that kind of boost to your confidence level can help you focus more easily on projects that you might otherwise have pushed off. It can also help you find your voice when your boss pushes you to stay late or work that extra shift that would cause you to miss your kid’s last soccer game.

2. Nip time-wasting in the bud.

Let’s face it, we all waste time. Sometimes that can be good for us, allowing us the chance to think outside the box and be more creative.
But if you routinely find yourself at 5 o’clock wondering where the day went, it might be time to do a quick review of your daily routine. Do you find yourself checking Facebook in the middle of the day? How about sending emails to your BFF?
In one survey conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder, a quarter of workers admitted they spend at least an hour of the workday on personal calls, texts, and emails; another 20 percent fessed up to whiling away work hours on the internet.
Stealing that time back from yourself could be the key to getting out the door at 5 without feeling like you’ve got to bring work home with you.

3. Plan that vacation now.

Signing on with a company that offers paid vacation time is exciting, but Americans finish every year with about 658 million paid vacation days that they didn’t use. Of those, more than 222 million are completely forfeited by employees who work for companies that don’t let them carry paid time off from one year to the next.
Worse? Researchers have found that taking less vacation time can actually hurt your chances of getting a raise, even while that extra time on the job hikes your stress level.
Need a break, but the money is tight? Plan a staycation with a few day trips or stick out your entire time off at home, binge-watching Netflix and puttering around the house. You don’t have to spend big to regain that sense of yourself outside of work, but you do have to do a little advance planning. About 51 percent of people who pre-plan time off actually make use of all of their vacation time, but just 39 percent of non-planners do the same.
So get thee to HR and put in your vacation request!

4. Harness your technical side.

Studies have shown that employees who have power over the technology they use on the job tend to be happier and more productive and have better life balance. Getting in on that action means taking the tech that’s in smartphones, smart cars, and smart homes and using it to make life a little easier.
Prove to your boss that access to Slack and Google Docs is enough of a tether to allow you to work from home a few days a week. Or use Rover to find a dog walker and let Instacart grocery shop for you, taking away some of the stressful daily errands that make it hard to really enjoy your family time.

5. Secure your squad.

People in Denmark have the best work–life balance in the world, so what do they have that we don’t have (aside from the LEGO headquarters, that is)? A whopping 96 percent of Danes say they have friends and/or relatives they count on in times of trouble.
Building a team of friends and family to help us out when we’re swamped means taking the burdens of daily life and spreading them out across a bunch of shoulders so they’re just a little bit less of a burden.
Propose a babysitter swap with the mom on the playground who says she never gets a date night. Ask a friend who works from home to let the cable guy in your house in exchange for grabbing her groceries on your drive home from work. If they can count on you and you can count on them, work–life balance may be possible after all.

Categories
Mom x Body Motherhood

6 Practical Postpartum Fitness Tips For New Moms

I have never been all that fit, but I have been blessed with a healthy dose of self-confidence. When I look in the mirror, I see Ashley Graham’s twin looking back at me. My cousin calls it reverse body dysmorphia.
But the self-confidence went right out the window when I gave birth two months ago.
I was warned about how my postpartum figure might look, but I wasn’t prepared for the reality of my new body.
I was really sad that I might never be able to squeeze into my favorite romper with the strategically placed cut-outs ever again, but I was also sidelined by the physical and mental stress of having a new baby. While I wanted to get back into working out, I didn’t know how fit postpartum exercise into my exhausting routine as a new mom.
“Postpartum fitness is important for safety and sanity,” Christine Bullock, a certified pre- and postnatal fitness and nutrition expert and creator of Body Re-Born, tells HealthyWay. “Moms need a few minutes to themselves to relax mentally while increasing natural endorphins, our feel good hormones.”
But new mamas, take heart!
It may not seem like it as you’re icing your lady bits and crying over a detergent commercial, but you will feel like working out again postpartum, which benefits both body and mind.
Experts and doctors share these postpartum fitness tips.

1. Wait for Aunt Flo to go.

Most pregnancy books, like What to Expect When You’re Expecting, say that heavy postpartum bleeding will only last for a few days before tapering off to light spotting and discharge.
Honey, please.
My heavy postpartum bleeding lasted about two weeks and started to taper off around week four. But every woman is different. Postpartum bleeding can last anywhere from four to 13 weeks. But if you notice you’re bleeding heavily again after exercise, it’s probably a sign you’ve overexerted yourself.
If this happens, take a rest break for a few days, and ease back into activity once the bleeding has subsided again.

2. Diastasis-what?

Oh, that same pregnancy book that told you postpartum bleeding wasn’t going to be so bad also failed to mention that your abs might completely separate, causing your tummy to look like a bowl of Jell-O Jigglers.
That tummy pooch is called diastasis recti, aka separation of the abdominal muscles that can happen during the stress of labor. Many women quickly resume ab exercises to try to flatten their tummies postpartum, but Jessica Valant, Pilates instructor and licensed physical therapist, tells HealthyWay, “Crunches are actually the worst thing you can do for a diastasis recti! When the abs are already separated, they can’t contract properly to help you do a crunch. So when your body tries that ‘crunch’ motion, the abs end up separating even more.”
Instead, Valant recommends the exercises introduced in this video to help you strengthen your abdominal wall.

3. Squeeze…and release.

Your pelvic floor is ultra important during birth, as those muscles help guide the baby’s head down for delivery. They’re even more important during postpartum recovery, which is why kegel exercises are so important.
During my pregnancy, I had to go to physical therapy for severe hip pain. It turns out I had an extremely weak pelvic floor, which had thrown my hips out of alignment. My physical therapist recommend kegel exercises to help tone my pelvic floor.
No one tells you how much you’ll pee on yourself every time you cough or laugh or try to sneak a toot and blame it on the baby, so it is important to keep doing kegels postpartum. They’ll help you regain bladder control and strengthen your pelvic floor, which can reduce hip discomfort during other exercise as well.

4. Maybe don’t stretch it out.

Bullock says new moms shouldn’t overdo it when getting back into an exercise routine:
“The hormone relaxin is still present in the body as long as mothers are breast feeding. This hormone is released in the first trimester to loosen the joints in order to open the pelvis and make room for baby. But it also has an impact on the stability of all your joints. Therefore, a joint can still be overstretched, even though it feels great hitting that yoga pose at the time.”

5. Bring baby along.

“I love bonding with my daughter Remington while exercising,” says Bullock. “Remi loves hanging out in my Ergobaby carrier, so I take her to the park for playtime workouts. While she is in the carrier I can do all sorts of exercises like step ups or tricep dips on a bench, pushups on a picnic table, or squats.”
Walking with baby is also a great way to ease your way back into postpartum exercise. Bullock says she and her daughter take at least three walks a day. “Remi loves the fresh air and activity all around and I can sometimes get up to 22,000 steps in a day. Win–win: bonding and biceps!”

6. Did we just become best friends?

“I know it can be hard to get out of the house, but I find classes are great because of the social interaction that new moms lack,” says Bullock.
One of the hardest things about sticking to a postpartum fitness routine is going it alone. Even if you don’t have mom friends yet, there are several groups like Stroller Strides that help new moms get fit together.
Or if you can’t make group classes because they don’t fit your schedule, download an app like Hey! Vina to help find other moms who share your workout interests and availability.

Categories
Mindful Parenting Motherhood

How To Introduce Your Pet To Your Baby

Brittny Drye spent hours playing YouTube videos of a baby crying while she was pregnant, but it wasn’t to prep her body for baby. Drye’s 11-year-old cat, Scout, was about to become a big brother, and the founder of Love, Inc. wanted to make sure her fur baby and her “real” baby would get along when she introduced the two.
Raising kids in a house full of pets has gotten a giant thumbs up from the scientific community. Dogs and cats can do everything from helping babies develop healthy immune systems and reducing the chance that they’ll develop allergies to helping kids develop empathy.
But first they have to meet, right?
Here are some ways to facilitate a smooth first interaction between your beloved pet and your newborn baby.

Don’t stop at babyproofing.

You don’t want your pet learning to navigate a home that looks totally new at the same time they’re adjusting to a new arrival. That means some animal-proofing action should begin as soon as you’ve got a sense of where baby is going to be spending most of their sleeping hours.
If you plan to let your pets roam free throughout your home, set up the bassinet, changing table, and the like as soon as possible. Let Fluffy explore, sniffing the furniture so she can get used to the new layout while it’s still baby-free.
If you plan to set down some firm boundaries, put up baby gates or start closing doors weeks before baby’s arrival to help your pet transition. In addition to barriers, you’ll want to work on commands at the door to the baby’s nursery or your bedroom so they’ll become accustomed to you warning them away from the threshold.
Planning to move your pet out of your bed? Invest in a brand new dog or cat bed and start getting them used to their new sleeping arrangements ahead of time.

Piling on the Stuff

Babies come with a whole lot of gear, and the best time to figure out how to use it all is before they actually arrive. Side benefit to trying things out before they show up? You’ll be getting your four-legged friend familiar with it all, too.
If you have a dog (or even a cat) who joins on you regular walks, you can add the stroller to the mix on your next few trips around the neighborhood. They’ll get used to sharing your attention, and by the time you’re ready to nestle baby inside, you’ll be a total boss at opening and closing your stroller.
Next, grab a baby doll and some of the blankets from your baby shower to practice your swaddling technique. Walking around the house and perching on the couch with a “baby” in your arms will get your Fluffy used to your arms being full. This is another chance to practice commands that you can use if you need your jumping dog to stay down when you’re sitting with a real baby in your arms or your curious cat to stop pawing during nursing or snuggles.

Make some noise.

Babies make a lot of noise. It’s nature’s way of ensuring they can alert their parents that they need diaper changes, food, and someone to hold them close. But cats and dogs are both sensitive to sounds—more sensitive than most humans. Animals who are used to a home without that type of noise can be particularly stressed by the sudden introduction of a crying child in what up to this point felt like their environment.
This is where a little old-fashioned exposure therapy can make all the difference. Take a page out of Drye’s book and get your buddy used to baby noises in the house. YouTube videos, visits from friends’ babies, and even movies with noisy babies can do the trick.

The nose knows.

While you’re homing in on your pet’s senses, don’t forget to consider their nose. Dogs in particular relate pleasure with the scent of their owners, so take advantage of that by adding baby scents to your body pre-baby. You can borrow baby’s lotion for your after-shower routine or try out baby shampoo (hey, you need to get used to it yourself!)
Start washing your clothes in the soon-to-be baby’s detergent, and do the same for any animal bedding or toys that you send through the laundry.
Once baby’s born, ask a friend or partner to take one of the blankets your newborn has been snuggling in at the hospital home to your pet so they can sniff it and begin to get used to the scent of their new sibling before you make the actual face-to-face introduction.

Keep calm and carry on.

Putting in the work ahead of time will make your pet feel less like they’re being replaced and more like they’re a part of your changing life. And when it’s finally time for that first face-to-face, your calming presence can make all the difference.
Just remember: Don’t put too much pressure on anyone—your pet or yourself. Sparky may or may not be interested, and that’s okay. Showing them plenty of love and attention, at least the sort of love you showed pre-baby and as much attention as you can give for the time being, is key to making sure your pets don’t feel abandoned in favor of the new baby.
Soon, baby will be big enough to learn all the fun that comes with having an animal companion around their home and in their heart.

Categories
In the Kitchen Nosh

Wine Wisdom: The Ultimate How-To Guide For Pairing Wine With Healthy Dishes

When I first started learning about pairing wine and food, I was so focused on what wouldn’t work together that I forgot to enjoy learning about what did taste good. Once I was able to relax and enjoy the process, I realized how easily a few easy rules could simplify pairing wine with food, including healthy go-to recipes that were already a part of my weekly routine.
So if you’re intimidated by the thought of weekday wine pairing on top of selecting and executing healthy favorites when it comes to meals, relax and let this handy guide take you through the basics.

Pair like a pro.

When it comes down to it, wine pairing is about enhancing the pre-existing flavors and aromas in both the wine and the food. Generally speaking, lighter-tasting foods and wines work well together while more intensely flavored foods and more robust wines pair with equal ease.
HealthyWay
Keeping your wine at least slightly sweeter than your meal is also a good general guideline to follow, as overtly acidic wine will taste sour when paired with food that’s on the sweeter side. But that same acidic wine will taste much better if it’s paired with fattier dish where it will have a chance to cut through some of the richness of the meal.
Also, open the bottle and give your wine a chance to breathe for at least half an hour if possible! No fancy decanters needed—this super-simple step will change the taste of your wine for the better, allowing the wine to mellow out, losing some of its sharpness before it’s time to wine and dine.

To organic, or not to organic?

According to the Organic Consumers Association, organic wine can either be labeled “organic” or “made with organic grapes.”
HealthyWay
Wine that is 100 percent USDA certified organic must be made from organic grapes that have been grown without herbicides or pesticides, and it cannot contain added sulfites.
Be aware that wine labeled “made with organic grapes,” on the other hand, must use organically grown grapes but can involve the addition of sulfites during the winemaking process.

Enjoy the sweeter side of roasting.

Unassuming yet delicious, roasted vegetables get sophisticated when lightly browned in the oven and paired with a naturally sweet wine such as Gewürztraminer or Riesling.

Eat your greens (and drink your wine)!

Who says you can’t have wine with a green salad? Add a baked or poached chicken breast and pour yourself a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris, as the higher acidity in those wines won’t be overwhelmed by a tart vinaigrette.

Fish and white wine? Not so fast!

Grilled salmon—along with other oily and stronger-tasting types of fish—can handle both white wines and red ones that are bigger in flavor. Try pairing salmon with an oaky Chardonnay or an earthy Pinot Noir that’s been slightly chilled for the occasion.

Bright and light wines pair perfectly with avocado.

Even breakfast-for-dinner or a just-got-home snack is wine worthy when it comes to avocado toast or guacamole! Think citrus-forward and brightly flavored wines for this duo—a dry rosé or ultra-light Vinho Verde and avocado mash makes a perfect pairing.

Chocolate and wine are a match made in heaven.

One of the best parts about being an adult is that you can decide to have dessert for dinner without guilt, right?
HealthyWay
Dark chocolate and strawberries are treats worth savoring, especially when accompanied by a late-harvest red wine such as Beaujolais or Merlot. Fruity notes in those wines eagerly accentuate the sweetness of chocolate and berries.
The best way to figure out the pairings that you like? Pick up a couple bottles of vino and start experimenting!

Categories
Refresh x Recover Sweat

Here's How Best To Recover From Those Tough Workouts (Hello, Spa Day)

Disclaimer: Just so you know, if you order an item through one of our posts, we may get a small share of the sale.

Earlier this week, I wandered into the gym a little later than my usual class. No biggie, I thought to myself as I changed into my workout gear. I’ll just join a different class tonight. It’ll be a fun change!
Little did I know that I was walking into a class called “Heavy Weights Only.”
GULP.
Instead of my typical workout class, I was in for a full hour of solely heavy lifting through three exercises and three exercises only: squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts. It was an entire 60 minutes of badass women lifting their hearts out, and while I loved every minute of it, I have to admit that after endless sets and a blur of more and more numbers on my bar, I was afraid of what kind of pain I would be waking up to.
I was not wrong to be afraid. The muscle soreness was real, and now, as I sit here on day two, the most notorious day of all for soreness, I’m practically crying in pain and dreading using the bathroom because that means squatting (or at least bending down to make it to the toilet seat). However, because I definitely foresee even more lifting in my future—and also because I will eventually need to deal with the porcelain throne—I’ve become a pro at tending to sore muscles.
Here are a few of my favorite strategies that you can turn to the next time you too try to be the Incredible Hulk at the gym.

Take a plunge.

After my first experience with muscle pain, I went to my local Walmart and picked up a giant bag of Epsom salts. I specifically choose one that also has peppermint oil in it, and I assure you that if you also choose a peppermint Epsom salt soak, you will not be disappointed.
Not only is it thought that Epsom salts help relieve muscle soreness by increasing magnesium in the body, but peppermint is also a natural muscle relaxer. If I’m still sore, I will even rub some diluted peppermint oil on my muscles after the bath, which feels like a good treatment with nature’s own Icy Hot.

Go with ginger.

Not to go all “crunchy” on you, but natural solutions can really help by reducing the inflammation in your body. Turmeric and ginger are two spices that contain compounds that are especially effective at decreasing inflammation. Rather than rubbing ginger all over your body (tempting, I know), try swapping out your morning coffee for a cup of ginger tea or switching to a turmeric latte as you swing into work.
A study by the American Pain Society found that consuming raw or heat-treated ginger in particular is effective for reducing muscle soreness caused by exercise. Eating turmeric in food or as a supplement has also been found to help reduce that pesky delayed-onset muscle soreness.
For an easy way to get your turmeric, Starbucks is now offering turmeric lattes. The company explains that the warm, golden drink is just as delicious as it is photo-ready for your feed. Just think of all the bragging rights you’ll enjoy… (Or make one at home with our golden milk recipe here!)

Know your enemy.

Although many of us have been taught that lactic acid is the culprit behind our sore muscles, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), lactic acid is actually not the reason our muscles get sore.
Instead, delayed-onset muscle soreness is thought to be caused by the repair processes happening within the muscle fibers. Who knew, right? Lactic acid is no longer the enemy, friends!
The good news is that, according to the ACSM, you’re due to have some relief from your soreness in about three to five days, and if you are just experiencing your typical, run-of-the-mill muscle soreness from exercising (and not an actual injury), a light activity such as yoga, Pilates, walking, stretching, or swimming is perfectly fine and won’t impede your muscle repair.
If you experience increased pain as time passes or pain that intensifies with certain movements, stop whatever you’re doing and call your doctor. Injury prevention is always key.

Find a helping hand.

Here’s the thing—while getting a massage might sound like a lovely little act of pampering for yourself, after you’ve worked out to the point where your muscles are so sore you can hardly move, a massage may not be relaxing. I’m sorry to break the bad news, but the good news is that even if it’s a grit-your-teeth-and-get-through-it experience, it will help relieve some of your muscle soreness.
A study featured in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that getting a massage does help reduce the intensity of sore muscles after exercise. The theory is that because muscle soreness is caused by all sorts of intense repair processes happening at the cellular level in your muscles, massage might help speed up those processes by increasing circulation and reducing inflammation.
Overall, muscle soreness after an intense workout is not necessarily a bad sign, depending on your workout goals. However, it is important to give your body plenty of time to recover after a workout so your muscles can repair themselves. One study showed that with CrossFit-style workouts (intense exercise focused on weightlifting), taking a rest day not only helps prevent injury but also allows athletes to train more effectively the next time they are in the gym.
The risk of injury if you don’t take it easy is very real. If you’re so sore you can barely move your arm, your form is not going to be stellar and you’re more likely to hurt yourself. The ACSM also supports the idea that you will get more out of your next workout and your muscles will be able to operate better if you follow a proper training schedule overseen by a professional who emphasizes at least one or two complete rest days per week.
In the meantime, soak in a hot bath, sip some hot ginger tea, and marvel at your amazing muscles that are working so hard, even if you wish you weren’t feeling them quite so much at the moment.

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Conscious Beauty Lifestyle

5 Fast Fixes For Longer, More Luscious Hair

Full disclosure: I’m literally sitting in a salon chair right now as I put the finishing touches on this article, proving I am indeed an ultimate multitasker. My hairstylist, Gret Cook of Bouffant Salon in Portland, Oregon, is touching up my roots and weighing in on some of the best tips and tricks for nourishing and regrowing long hair—fast.
Maybe you’re over your summer bob. Maybe you have badly damaged hair and want to start fresh. Or maybe (sigh, the way it happened to me) you love your recently born mini-me but aren’t loving the way your hair has been falling out in handfuls after giving birth.
No matter the reason you need help with your hair, if you’re determined to go from high and tight to long and luscious in the least time possible, ditch the harsh chemicals, old wives’ tales, and expensive treatments. Instead, check out these clean and green, research-backed lifestyle fixes that can help you get “that look” on the quick.

1. Adjust the water temp.

Not only can that old familiar culprit—the harsh heat of styling tools—damage your hair’s growth process, the ahhhmazingly hot shower you love taking in the evening could also be to blame for breakage. Instead, advice from a dermatologist has us considering switching to cold showers for smoother hair with more moisture locked in.
Another great way to prevent breakage post-shower is to use either a cotton t-shirt or these fantastic anti-frizz microfiber hair towels to dry your locks without the added friction and stress caused by a regular towel.

2. Rapunzel, let down your ponytail.

Even if you’re doing everything else right, sneaky saboteurs like tight ponytails and harsh brushing could be messing with your mane. Prevent breakage by swapping your old rubber hair ties for a new snag-free variety. Cook suggests you can also cut down on breakage by switching to a Wet Brush, which she says “has bristles that are meant to be more flexible and move with the hair while detangling without causing breakage.”

3. Oily hair for the win!

Going through puberty likely gave you the impression that oily hair is an embarrassment to be corrected. But with studies now showing how specific oil treatments can regrow short or thinning strands, you’ll want to give your haircare routine a grown-up makeover.
Rubbing peppermint oil into your scalp can help stimulate growth without any dangerous side effects, according to a 2014 study. Similarly, Cook has personally witnessed great results from using jojoba oil to help hair growth and recommends choosing natural hair products, such as the Kevin Murphy line, that list jojoba as a main ingredient.

4. Supplement your way to glam.

Lack of vitamin D can make hair grow more slowly, according to a 2012 study. Make sure you’re getting enough through your diet, time in the sun, or in an easy hair supplement pill that also contains biotin—another vitamin that may help in hair growth. Cook says she has taken a biotin pill in the past and gotten noticeable results. HUM Nutrition also offers a supplement, Hair Sweet Hair, formulated to support healthy follicles and hair growth.

5. Trim, baby, trim.

You’ve heard that claim that getting frequent trims will help your hair grow out. But haven’t you ever wondered if salons made up this story to drum up more business? My stylist says we should believe the hype, and she’s not alone. “Trimming doesn’t necessarily stimulate growth at the scalp, but since you’re preventing breakage, your hair will grow out faster overall,” Cook tells me. She says depending on your particular hair, shoot for a snip every 6 to 12 weeks.
Remember: How lustrous your hair looks and feels is partially a reflection of how healthy the rest of your body is. Limit and protect against negative environmental factors, like harsh chemicals or styling tools, and boost your haircare routine with healthy additions like vitamins and oils. You should treat your hair holistically, according to Cook, who says, “If you keep your hair in a healthy state overall, it will just generally look better and fuller.”
Following a few of these tips will help you find a winning regimen to take care of your hair and your whole self.

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In the Kitchen Nosh

Wine Wisdom: The Ultimate How-To Guide For Pairing Wine With Healthy Dishes

When I first started learning about pairing wine and food, I was so focused on what wouldn’t work together that I forgot to enjoy learning about what did taste good. Once I was able to relax and enjoy the process, I realized how easily a few easy rules could simplify pairing wine with food, including healthy go-to recipes that were already a part of my weekly routine.
So if you’re intimidated by the thought of weekday wine pairing on top of selecting and executing healthy favorites when it comes to meals, relax and let this handy guide take you through the basics.

Pair like a pro.

When it comes down to it, wine pairing is about enhancing the pre-existing flavors and aromas in both the wine and the food. Generally speaking, lighter-tasting foods and wines work well together while more intensely flavored foods and more robust wines pair with equal ease.
Keeping your wine at least slightly sweeter than your meal is also a good general guideline to follow, as overtly acidic wine will taste sour when paired with food that’s on the sweeter side. But that same acidic wine will taste much better if it’s paired with a fattier dish where it will have a chance to cut through some of the richness of the meal.
Also, open the bottle and give your wine a chance to breathe for at least half an hour if possible! No fancy decanters needed—this super-simple step will change the taste of your wine for the better, allowing the wine to mellow out, losing some of its sharpness before it’s time to wine and dine.

To organic or not to organic?

According to the Organic Consumers Association, organic wine can either be labeled “organic” or “made with organic grapes.”
Wine that is 100 percent USDA certified organic must be made from organic grapes that have been grown without herbicides or pesticides, and it cannot contain added sulfites.
Be aware that wine labeled “made with organic grapes,” on the other hand, must use organically grown grapes but can involve the addition of sulfites during the winemaking process.

Enjoy the sweeter side of roasting.

Unassuming yet delicious, roasted vegetables get sophisticated when lightly browned in the oven and paired with a naturally sweet wine such as Gewürztraminer or Riesling.

Eat your greens (and drink your wine)!

Who says you can’t have wine with a green salad? Add a baked or poached chicken breast and pour yourself a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris, as the higher acidity in those wines won’t be overwhelmed by a tart vinaigrette.

Fish and white wine? Not so fast!

Grilled salmon—along with other oily and stronger-tasting types of fish—can handle both white wines and red ones that are bigger in flavor. Try pairing salmon with an oaky Chardonnay or an earthy Pinot Noir that’s been slightly chilled for the occasion.

Bright and light wines pair perfectly with avocado.

Even breakfast-for-dinner or a just-got-home snack is wine worthy when it comes to avocado toast or guacamole! Think citrus-forward and brightly flavored wines for this duo—a dry rosé or ultra-light vinho verde and avocado mash makes a perfect pairing.

Chocolate and wine are a match made in heaven.

One of the best parts about being an adult is that you can decide to have dessert for dinner without guilt, right?
Dark chocolate and strawberries are treats worth savoring, especially when accompanied by a late-harvest red wine such as Beaujolais or Merlot. Fruity notes in those wines eagerly accentuate the sweetness of chocolate and berries.
The best way to figure out the pairings that you like? Pick up a couple bottles of vino and start experimenting!