How to Cook the Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

It's the centerpiece of the dining-room table and, well, let’s face it: Thanksgiving simply wouldn’t be the same without turkey. Americans gobble up more than 45 million birds every Thanksgiving. Sleep easy though, while turkey’s known for inducing sleepiness, it doesn’t actually contain that much tryptophan. Before you dive into your bird, someone's going to have to cook it. We've pulled together the best tips and hacks for how to craft the most beautiful, tastiest Thanksgiving turkey, from fridge to table. (If you're not cooking, just forward this on to your mother.)

Buying

Bird, Bird, Bird… Bird Is the Word

Since turkey is the main event, it’s important to pick the right one to fit the bill. Frozen birds are generally cheaper and more convenient, but look for air-chilled birds (find them at specialty markets and butcher shops), which will yield juicier and more flavorful meat—freezing dries out the meat. Steer clear of labels that read “salt-injected”—they’re just another sneaky drier-outer and can add a lot of extra salt and artificial flavoring.

Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Quick lesson: Toms are male turkeys, and hens are the ladybirds. Toms are usually bigger and can weigh more than 30 pounds, while hens usually weigh in around 12 to 14 pounds. Shoot for a pound to a pound and a half per person. If you’ve got a ton of guests, it may be best to roast two small birds instead of one big guy. Two small birds are easier to maneuver and take less time to thaw and cook (assuming you can fit both in the oven!).

Prepping

Thaw Completely

The common way to thaw a turkey is in the refrigerator, breast-side up, in an unopened wrapper on a tray. For crispier skin, unwrap the turkey the night before Thanksgiving (or Friendsgiving) and let it chill in the fridge uncovered overnight. But if you’re in a pinch (a 15-pound bird can take three to four days to thaw in the fridge) then the next best bet is cold-water thawing. Fill a large tub with cold water (hot water can start to cook the meat), and gently let your turkey go for a swim, making sure the turkey is sealed in a leak-proof package. Plan on 30 minutes per pound to thaw (that’s seven and a half hours for a 15-pounder). Change the water every 30 minutes to keep it chilled. The key here is to avoid thawing at room temp on the counter, which can allow bacteria to grow.

Stuff Just Before Roasting, but Beware!

If your fam loves stuffing that’s been, well… stuffed, try wrapping the stuffing in cheesecloth before placing it in the turkey. When the turkey’s done, you can cleanly remove it in one swoop.

Pro tip: Since stuffing is all the way in the center of the bird, it takes longer to cook, and the meat around it can dry out. Instead, try dressing, which contains the same ingredients—usually cubed bread, broth, seasoning, celery, and onions— just minus the whole stuffing action. But if you do choose to go the traditional route, stuff the bird right before it goes in the oven so bacteria doesn’t grow (which can happen if the bird is stuffed the day before).

Pass on the Brine

Brining—soaking a turkey in a mix of salt and water—plumps the meat with moisture before the oven can dare dry it out. But there are some tradeoffs. While brining allows for juicy meat, it can result in over-salted meat and stuffing.

Season Smart

Skip the saltshaker like it's the plague. Not only will salt dry out the bird, it’ll jack up sodium levels on a day that may already involve some salty side dishes. Using flavorful rubs, especially ones with herbs such as rosemary, oregano, and parsley, can cut fat and salt compared to basting with oils.

Ice the Breasts

Since the dark thigh meat needs longer to cook than the white breast meat, it’s helpful to chill the turkey breasts with ice packs before roasting. Yeah, we said it. Once the turkey is thawed to room temperature, cover the breasts with ice packs and secure with an (unused!) ACE bandage to hold them in place. By icing down the white meat, you’re creating a temperature difference so the legs and breasts have a better chance at reaching the right temps at the same time.

Cooking

Use a Thermometer

While many turkeys come with a cute and convenient little pop-up thermometer, they’re not so accurate. By the time it pops, you’re beloved bird will likely be overcooked. For a masterpiece turkey, use an oven thermometer to ensure a proper roasting temp (the oven should be set to 325 degrees for slow, even cooking). Then place a meat thermometer in the deepest part of the thigh (careful not to touch the bone), and pull the turkey out of the oven when the thigh reading reaches about 175 degrees (160 in the breast). Since internal temp will rise by 5 to 10 degrees after it’s been removed from the oven, it’s important to pull it out before reaching 180 in the thigh (which is the temperature the FDA approves).

Baste With Caution

While basting a turkey may sound fun (mostly because of its likeness to gin bucket), it might mess with even cooking. Continually opening the oven door to squeeze on hot pan juices (mostly fat) releases heat, which slows down the roasting process. Try to leave the oven be and admire your glistening bird getting all toasty and delicious with the help of the oven light.

Tent the Bird

For a golden turkey, shape heavy-duty aluminum foil into a tent and place on top of the bird. Some people even lay the tent so it attaches at each side of the roasting pan, and covers more of the bird. The fancy tent will keep the skin from burning while allowing the turkey ample time to finish cooking. Make sure to pop off the tent once the bird is removed from the oven, otherwise it will start to steam and you’ll be left with soggy skin.

Chose a Low Rack and Large Pan

Set the turkey in a large roasting pan to promote maximum air and heat circulation and to bank on even cooking. A sturdy pan with good handles will make it easier to transfer the bird into and out of the oven. Make sure the rack is on the lowest level to prevent burning and drying out.

Grill It

While the oven seems like the go-to hang out for all the turkeys on the block, all the cool turkeys are hitting up the grill. Grill-roast a bird by heating a fire in a charcoal or gas grill, and cooking a small (10 to 12 pound) turkey over indirect heat. Throw a shallow pan on the charcoal or burner covers to catch any drippings. Grill for about 2 hours, but use a thermometer to be precise.

Serving

Give the Turkey a Breather

Listen, we understand the family is famished (or drunk already from cocktails), but your turkey needs a little resting time after it’s been violated by stuffing, rubbed, and thrown in an oven for hours. Your bird will also continue cooking while it’s chillaxin’, and 20 minutes of rest or more keeps the juices where they should be—in the meat, not on the carving plate.

Don’t Carve at the Dining Room Table

Everyone wants to be the Thanksgiving hero, but it may be wise to avoid an uncomfortable performance in front of family. Instead, carve the bird in the comfort of a secluded corner of the kitchen. Carving tableside may mean messy juices on Grandma’s tablecloth and arguments over carving technique.

Carve Like a Pro

To successfully carve a turkey, it’s important to enlist the proper arsenal of knives—a chef’s knife or a carving knife, and a carving fork. Ironically, a sharper knife is safer and more effective, and the longer the better for easy, even slicing. Celebrity chef Bobby Flay suggests cutting meat into thick slices to keep the moisture in. While traditional slices are usually 1/4-inch thick, he recommends cutting it much thicker. When carving, it’s best to go against the grain. Meat is made up of bundles of long, parallel muscle fibers. Slicing against the grain produces more tender meat because the fibers in each piece will be shorter.

Skip the Entire Bird

If you’re having a small party and would rather not wrangle a big ‘ole bird for the occasion, it’s completely OK to use just a part of the holiday staple. Try our herb-stuffed turkey breast to cut down on time, expense, and an irrational amount of leftovers (can there be such a thing?).

Originally posted November 2012. Updated November 2016.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2gosuUV

Ryan Reynolds Is Spot On With the Things Guys Should Never Do in the Delivery Room

Ryan Reynolds is known for his acting, sense of humor, and those good looks that leave us swooning. As a father of two, he's also somewhat qualified to share a few parenting tips. In this video for GQ, Reynolds tells dads exactly what not to do when their partner is giving birth ("Your wife will never think it’s funny or charming if you tip your imaginary top hat and say, ‘At your cervix.’"). He manages to sneak in a Mad Men reference and make you laugh, but we think most moms would agree that this is actually A+ advice.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2eOUujY

The Pep Talk Generator Is the Only Thing Helping Us Make It to the Weekend

Sometimes adulting sucks. No one puts little notes in your lunchbox anymore or buys you an ice cream to cheer you up. Lucky for us, there is a lot of amazing stuff (read: cat videos) on the internet to help us power through, but few things top this incredible pep talk generator:

The site, from the geniuses at Babe Vibes, handpicks motivational phrases that range from emotional and inspirational ("You're smarter than you think you are. You're more beautiful than you'll ever know") to snarky and hilarious ("Listen. You are an amazing, immaculate, motherf*cker").

A cool site that helps you procrastinate work and acts as a personal cheerleader? Sounds like a win-win to us.

I Want a Pep Talk!

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fN9NGK

Finally, a Lingerie Ad That Shows What Women Really Look Like in Their Underwear

Fact: The women in most lingerie ads don't look like the people who end up buying the underwear. (The way the internet freaked out over a Victoria's Secret model's stretch marks shows just how far the industry has to go.) That's the reason we're so thrilled with Curvy Kate's #TheNewSexy campaign, which is all about diversity and inclusivity.

"Diversity is something the fashion industry has been guilty of disregarding, and few have appeared to challenge that," the company said in a statement about the launch of the campaign. In 2016 runway shows, just one in four models were women of color, barely 4 percent were 50 or older, and a shockingly low 3 percent were plus size. #TheNewSexy finally shows these women sporting lingerie, and we hope it signals some bigger industry-wide changes around the corner. For now, let’s all just admire how real (and sexy) these photos are:

Photos: Curvy Kate

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fbVr4t

The 10 Best Apple Recipes We Can't Stop Making

Peace Out, Packaged Foods. Hello, 7 DIY Recipes That Are Way Better

The 5-Minute Stretch Series for When You're Stuck Sitting at a Desk All Day

OK, we already know that sitting all day is bad for our health. But instead of the doom and gloom, focus on ways you can make a desk-job situation better, like incorporating this quick 5-minute stretch series into your daily routine.

These seven simple stretches are easy to do with limited space, and they won't make you look totally crazy when you bust them out in the office (swear). Still feel a little weird? Recruit another desk-confined coworker to do them with you. They'll not only relieve the physical pressure on your spine from sitting all day, but they'll also offer you a mental relief from the stress of a hectic day. Just hit play to get started.

Looking for more short and effective at-home workouts? Grokker has thousands of routines, so you’ll never get bored. Bonus: For a limited time, Greatist readers get 40 percent off Grokker Premium (just $9 per month) and their first 14 days free. Sign up now!

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2g3Gv7n

Chill Big-Batch Drinks for Hours With This Killer Cranberry Ice Block

Naming the Unnamable - Sugar Addiction

The time has come to name the unnameable. To start talking about the 'elephant in the room' - the addiction that people are reluctant to talk about - SUGAR ADDICTION!

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2g2gWCt

10 Things Gilmore Girls Taught Us About Food

What Is Beauty To You?

Defining beauty across many cultures can be tricky. This is a different take on how to look at beauty within yourself and with your own unique perceptions' and challenges.

from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2g36Hlx

9 Ways to Use Leftover Pasta Sauce So It Never Goes to Waste Again

What It's Really Like to Work Out for the First Time Ever as An Adult

The first time I ran for four minutes I almost threw up. And cried. And planned to quit working out right then and there. It was September 2016. I was 29, wildly out of shape, and attempting to get fit for the first time in my entire life.

I made the decision to commit to exercising this summer at, yes, 29 years old. I own exactly one real sports bra, two pairs of athletic shorts, and one pair of expensive sneakers I bought a few years back when I attempted to complete a Couch to 5K Challenge. (Spoiler: I never made it to the 5K part of the challenge.) The only time I ever wore these items together was when I wanted to run errands and not be judged for looking like a mess. “Oh, she must’ve just come from the gym,” I imagined everyone in the grocery store line saying. “Why else would she be wearing sneakers?”

Now, in my defense, I’ve tried intermittently throughout my life to be the kind of person who enjoys fitness. After all, it seemed to come up again and again throughout my childhood in the form of “recess,” “gym class,” and “high-school graduation requirements.” Yet, without fail, I always quit as soon as possible.

Sure, I dabbled with the elliptical in college to offset my newly adopted diet of alcohol mixed with alcohol, but once I left campus, I decided that walking around New York City would be my only workout. In the spirit of full disclosure, I flew under the radar from societal pressures to “hit the gym” because I have a fast metabolism. Basically, I’m the epitome of skinny fat.

But this year, I started to notice my body changing in subtle ways. And I could see myself at 35, 40, 60, wishing I’d just started working out in my 20s when I had the time and energy. After all, no one wakes up on their 75th birthday and says, “Everything’s in the right place. Thank goodness I never wasted time doing those cardio classes!”

Even after acknowledging that, I continued to come up with reasons why it wasn’t a good time to start. It was too hot, too cold, too humid, or too nice to even think about wasting my day sweating. But underneath all of the excuses (and the above is truly just a small sampling) was the fact that I was scared. I’d missed the workout boat that everyone else seemed to jump on years ago, and realizing that that ship had sailed was terrifying.

Besides the elliptical, I wouldn’t even know what to do upon entering a gym. And I hate not knowing what to do. Just the thought of embarrassing myself at the weight machines made me break out in a cold sweat (excuse #45: I didn’t need to start exercising because merely thinking about it made me sweat).

Until one day, I just decided it was time. And before I could talk myself out of it, I signed up for a 10-session package with a personal trainer. How did I go from pondering joining a gym to this? Four reasons:

1. The gym’s located in my apartment building, meaning that I couldn’t use the weather as an excuse not to go.
   
2. Working with a trainer made me accountable to another person, and part of being a perfectionist means I hate disappointing people.
   
3. The only thing I detest more than exercising is wasting money. By paying for 10 sessions in advance, I’d be holding myself to at least that many workouts.
   
4. All of the above forced me to find time in my schedule to work out (invalidating excuse #3: I have no time) and make it a habit—a habit I hoped to keep up when the 10 sessions ended.

Before the first session, I got on the phone with my new trainer.

“So, what’s your routine like now?”

“Uh, I walk to work?”

“Walking isn’t exercise.”

“Then, um, nothing?”

“Nothing, so like... cardio machines?”

“No.”

“OK, what did you used to do?”

“Is walking still a bad answer?”

“Let’s try this: What sports did you play in high school?”

“Benchwarming. One time my coach made another player stay on the field with a twisted ankle because that was less risky than putting me in.”

Needless to say, the bar was set low on day one. “I bet you can’t even do one push-up,” he said to me. I looked right back at him, straight in the eyes, and agreed that I probably couldn’t. After all, I have a two-year-old jar of tomato sauce that I’ve never used because I can’t open it—I’m not in any denial about my strength (or lack thereof).

So we started with the basics. And not the basics of working out, but the basics of human movement. For example, I did “stairs.” (“The stair climber?” my friends asked me when I told them how it went. “No,” I replied, “Literally, he had me walk up and down the stairs.”) We also did "sitting down and standing up," correct planking form, and my least favorite activity, jump rope.

“Jump—OK, but this time jump over the rope, don’t just jump...OK, jump with both feet...OK, jump again with both feet...that’s it...but this time jump with both feet over the rope...where is the rope? How did you even get it over there?”

I left the first session feeling very defeated, regretting buying that package, and truly wondering why I thought this was a good idea. It was too hard, I wasn’t good at it, and I did not under any circumstances enjoy myself.

But as I tried to justify never going again, I also heard a small voice in the back of my head that said it was never going to get easier than this. It sucked to do this at 29, but it would suck more to do it at 33, at 45, and so on. Not to mention that based on my life experience thus far, I wouldn’t ever become more athletic—therefore I’d never be in the mood to get in shape. And that would only put me more at risk for heart disease, diabetes, depression, and—according to internet headlines—um, 4 million other bad things.

So I returned to the gym for my next nine sessions. If this was a movie montage instead of an essay, the scenes would play out of me rapidly improving once I put my mind to it. And at the end of the experience, I'd sign up to run a full marathon, where my coach would be standing at the finish line and say, “When I met this girl, I had to teach her how to walk up the stairs, and now she’s finishing marathons in record time!”

But this isn’t a movie montage, and that’s not what happened. Sure, I evolved past “sitting and standing.” I moved onto “doing two stairs at a time,” and seven weeks in, I was finally allowed to touch actual weights. However, I don’t think anyone would’ve been impressed with my routine at the end of 10 weeks, nor with my before-and-after photos.

Except for me. I noted each and every improvement—no matter how small. I went from barely being able to do a plank to being able to actually hold it for a minute without wanting to die. I could jump rope for 60 seconds without tripping over myself, and I could run for four minutes without feeling the need to vomit (until that last 30 seconds).

About six weeks in, I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed a little more definition in my arms and legs. At eight weeks, a friend told me she thought I might have shoulders for the first time ever (I blushed), and at 10 weeks, a buddy threw a water bottle at me from across the room, and I caught it without flinching. She looked at me, shocked, and said, “You were never able to do that before you started working out.” And it was true. As sad as it is to type, I lacked the hand-eye coordination to pull that off.

And those little moments made waking up earlier in the morning worth it. They made the side-eye from other gym-goers watching me “stand and sit” worth it. They made the true discomfort I felt when exercising totally worth it.

Committing to getting in shape is by far the most challenging thing I’ve ever chosen to do. But because of that, the rewards have been so much greater than I expected. Don’t get me wrong, I still hate it. I don’t think I’ll ever be someone who wants to go to the gym. I’d estimate that I’m probably three years away from being able to go to a spin class (and infinity years away from running a full marathon).

However, pushing myself to do what I truly believed was impossible—in this case, getting in shape—taught me that I’m capable of more than I realized; that there is a different kind of satisfaction in pursuing a new skill I’d probably never excel at; and that if I only set goals for myself I know I can achieve before even starting, I'm selling myself short.

Just because something’s hard and just because it doesn’t come naturally to me doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. Because the feeling I have every time I wrap up a workout—which mind you, now consists of a trainer-free, 30-minute improvised routine in my living room—isn’t like anything I’ve felt before.

So, to all the unathletic people out there, to the people who are intimidated at the thought of even stepping foot in a gym, who got taunted by their own gym teacher in elementary school (true story), who got called Prancer by their eighth-grade soccer coach because of how they ran (again, true story), know that you have it in you to just start. Because if you don’t measure yourself against anyone but yourself, there’s only one direction you can go when you’re completely out of shape—and that’s up.

Corny? Of course. But I’m saying it because it’s true, and I wish someone would’ve told me this years ago when I resigned myself to just always being out of shape. You don’t have to be athletic to go to the gym, you don’t have to be coordinated (seriously, ask anyone who's seen me jump rope), and you don’t even have to want to be there. All you have to do is commit to improving yourself—and you will.

Jenni Maier is an editor and writer living in New York City who never in a million years thought she'd have a byline on a health and fitness website. You can follow her on Twitter @MayorJenni.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2f3HIcC

Why Working Out In The Morning Doesn't Give Me "Morning Glory"

No, I don't mean it like that, you dirty-minded thing, you;) So what am I talking about when I say no "morning glory" for me? Well, I'll tell you in a second. But it's to do with a question I get asked quite a bit. Here it is: "What's the best time to workout?"

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fYYTNg

5 (Healthier) Puppy Chow Recipes for When You're Feeling Nostalgic

If You’ve Ever Dealt With Harassment on Twitter, You Need to Know About the Mute Button

Celebs deal with a lot of haters, but social media makes it way too easy for vicious trolls to harass everyday people too. Finally, Twitter is doing something about it with the launch of the mute button.

Here's how it works: Next time you come across a troll, hit the little carrot on the right side of the tweet (it's the ellipses next to the like button on desktop), and you'll have the option to mute that account. If you mute a user but choose to continue following them, they'll still pop up in your notifications when they mention you in a tweet. If you don't follow them, they'll disappear from your feed entirely. You can also filter out triggering hashtags and keywords. You'll find "muted words" as a new option when you go into settings and toggle to the notifications tab. Add the words or phrases you don't want to see, hit save, and boom, they're gone from your feed.

For people who deal with abusive comments online (from racism to fat shaming to sexual harassment), this feature could make Twitter a much safer space. But the mute button doesn’t actually stop the trolls, it hides them. The pervasiveness of hate speech is arguably a bigger issue we need to tackle as a society.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2gigpAp

Khloé's New Show About “Revenge Bodies” Is All Sorts of Messed Up

It’s no secret that Khloé Kardashian has been on a fitness journey since separating from Lamar Odom. “The gym was my only refuge,” she told People in April 2015. At the time, she wanted to be clear: She was doing this for herself, not to please or impress anyone else.

Then came the trailer for Revenge Body, Kardashian’s knockoff of The Biggest Loser:

If the title wasn't obvious enough, the trailer proves that Kardashian wasn't getting fit just to be stronger and healthier. It was her way to get back at Odom, to show him what he's missing. (And to be fair: Khloé isn't alone in this pursuit. You don't have to look very hard to find dating advice that says getting a revenge body "is the best thing you can do after a breakup.")

The show seems to promote two totally different narratives. On the one hand, Kardashian says, “It’s not about a weight number. It’s about how you feel." This had us ready to stand up and cheer (yes, Khloé, that number on the scale is bullsh!t), but then she asks, "This revenge body, who is it for?" And she tells the contestants (and presumably the viewers) to "make our haters our biggest motivators."

Um… what?! Getting in better shape and eating healthier are admirable goals, but it's super messed up if your reason to make such serious lifestyle changes is to get back at an ex or prove a family member wrong. What about doing it for yourself, your quality of life, your future?

There are glimmers of hope here (like Kardashian saying, "Sometimes you gain weight because you're now gaining muscle"), but if the trailer is any indication, this show won't be anywhere near body-positive. Maybe let's just agree to get rid of the idea of revenge bodies altogether. Deal?

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fYnxBk

This Is Not a Before-and-After Photo. It's Inspiration to Love Yourself

We love a good Instagram filter, but that means the photos in our social feeds can be super deceiving. As Ashlie Molstad (a.k.a. Foodie Girl Fitness) shows, a slight change in angle can completely alter a photo—and the way we view someone:

Even though Molstad is showing her stomach rolls to the world, she admits she's not immune to social pressures that make us want to look a certain way. "This doesn't mean I don't also struggle with embracing this body I was given, but it does mean that I understand working on loving me is the most important job I will ever have," she says.

Her body-positive message has led thousands of fans to share their own stories, and it's all leaving us pretty inspired:

Photos: Facebook

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fhlrZT

5 Healthy Pumpkin Bread Recipes That Hit the Sweet Spot

5 Unheard Of Medical Benefits Of Tummy A Tuck

Tummy tuck surgery not only removes the excess skin and fat from the abdomen area, but it also offers multiple medical benefits. Let's take a look at the 5 medical benefits offered by tummy tuck in Mumbai.

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fViK14

Popular Beard Styles For Black Men

Keeping a beard has become a trendy fashion today. There are many popular beard styles of black men who have always drawn inspiration from people who are not hesitant to push the boundaries. These unique styles help them to have an attractive personality.

from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fgxSFc

23 Fall Recipes That Seriously Up Your Squash Game

The 3 'Fat Loss Foods' Sabotaging Your Results

Many people try to lose weight but unfortunately they don?t see any results. But why? The problem is that they are letting certain foods into their diet plan that are sabotaging their results. Often these foods are designed to be fat loss foods but they really aren't. Instead, they're holding you back from success.

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fSjLqU

The Ashley Graham Barbie Has Thighs That Touch (Like Most of Us)

Barbie got a major update this year, and we're all about it. The doll comes in tall, petite, and curvy, and now Ashley Graham, one of our favorite body-positive role models, has her own custom Barbie:

When it came to designing the doll, Graham wanted to make sure it was as raw and unedited as she is. "She had to have her thighs touch,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “And I asked for cellulite, but obviously plastic and cellulite don’t go hand in hand."

Mattel made Graham the custom doll for Glamour's Women of the Year Awards, so it's not available for purchase, but popular special-edition Barbies have ended up on store shelves in the past—fingers crossed that happens again!

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fSRUFE

Affordable Care Act - How Will It Affect the Healthcare Industry?

The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) was passed in March of 2010 contrary to the wishes of the general population. The majority of people were not in favor of this program but the Democratic Congress and President Obama found away to get it passed. The President made promises such as "it won't cost you a nickle more" and "if you want to use your current doctor, you can use your current doctor" and "you can keep your current insurance company".

from Health and Fitness:Healthcare Systems Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2eWEt6N

9 Cool Tech Gifts That Won't Cost an Arm and a Leg

Here we go again. It's time to watch your checking account drop dangerously close to zero as you anxiously count down the days to Chrismukkah.

If the thought of splurging on electronics for friends puts fear in your heart, don't you fret: This crop of tech gifts won't drain your rainy-day fund. They're the Furby of presents: small, fierce, and inexplicably fun. (Editor's note: There are no actual Furbies on this list.)

Solight SolarPuff

Sure, it's a bit weird to have an emotional reaction to a light. But this thing is so. damn. cute. More than that, it's remarkably useful. Made from a sustainable, high-performance fabric, SolarPuff is a completely collapsible and portable LED lantern that provides up to 14 hours of light on one charge. As its name suggests, it's also solar powered and needs only eight hours in the sun for a half day's worth of light. It's great for people who love the outdoors—or that friend who hates getting caught in the dark.
Available at amazon.com, $27.35.

Lexon In-Out Alarm Clock

Most alarm clocks create a feeling of dread, but there’s something about this one that's remarkably calming. It could be the minimalist design or the simple LCD display. Or maybe it's the pop-up mini-alarm that hides within the body of the clock à la Alien 3. Either way, this guy belongs on your best friend's bedside table.
Available at amazon.com, $45.

Native Ad

Flybrix Drone

You and everyone you know played with LEGOs as a kid. This year gift them the adult version. The Flybrix drone kit contains all the essentials: LEGO blocks, propellers, a pre-programmed flight board, and a minifig pilot. All your friends have to do is put it together, connect it to their phone via Bluetooth, and make it fly. Best part? If they crash it, it's easy to put back together.
Available at flybrix.com, $189.

3Doodler Create 3D Pen

Doesn't everyone have an innate desire to create toys out of thin air? (No? Just us?) The 3Doodler satisfies that longing in the form of a sleek pen. Think of it like a glue gun without the glue: The pen pushes plastic through its hot metal tip, then the plastic cools as soon as it touches a surface, creating a solid 3D object. Give it to your most creative friend and watch them go to town.
Available at amazon.com, $99.99.

Polaroid Snap Instant Digital Camera

Perfect for the friend who's serious (but not too serious) about photography, the Polaroid Snap Instant is a reimagining of the company's original design that offers way more than its predecessor. First off, it doesn't use film—this is a 13-megapixel digital camera that prints 2x3 full-color photos with ZINK Zero Ink technology. You can also record 1080p high-definition videos and store them within the cam's 128 gigabyte micro-SD card, which you certainly could not do with the original 1947 Polaroid.
Available at amazon.com, $99.99.

Sleepace Sleep Dot

There's true nobility in befriending an insomniac, but their frequent late-night texts and 3 a.m. phone calls aren't helping anyone. Introduce your nocturnal bestie to the Sleep Dot. The little device monitors the amount of rest you get on an average night by measuring your sleep cycles and body movements—and lulls you into sweet, sweet slumber with its original music. Tell your bud to stick it on the corner of their pillow and start counting sheep.
Available at amazon.com, $49.99.

Boostcase Leather Stickers

Look at your BFF's phone. Sad, isn't it? Make them feel extra fancy (even if they don't have an iPhone 7) with Boostcase's embossed leather stickers. Your friends can adorn their phones with the praise hands emoji, a dancing shark, or—naturally—a winking taco. The only hard part is trying to Instagram a photo of these once they're on your phone.
Available at boostcase.com, $10 each.

Kikkerland Blue Bike Speaker

This nifty little wireless speaker puts the power of music in your hand—literally. It's perfect for your pal who loves camping, biking, or just listening to podcasts in the shower. It also has a hearty battery life and a wireless range of up to 32 feet, making it super versatile. The only question is which song to play on your tandem bike rides. (Stop wondering. It's "All Star" by Smash Mouth. On repeat.)
Available at kikkerland.com, $20.

Google Home

This is how you buy your friend a new everything without dropping loads of Franklins. Google's answer to Amazon Echo can play music, check the weather, set an alarm, estimate your morning commute, find restaurants, search the interwebs, and even order an Uber.
Available at store.google.com, $129.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fRnQM4

A Simple and Easy Way Towards Weight Loss

Grooming could make a difference to your life. It could make you feel good. Out of this world. Light and comfortable on your feet. Confident about meeting people. Confident about being in a new scenario. Confident about interacting with strangers. Confident about taking up new tasks, or even something unique.

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2f0BP3l

3 Times You Need to Speak Up for Yourself

As a life coach, my friends often call me for business advice. Just recently, my pal Jason asked: "My boss took a booking from my client when I was on vacation, and now he's claiming the commission is his... should I say something?"

In life, when our feathers get ruffled—a relative makes a judgmental remark, an arrogant colleague takes credit for your work—we can either react or not react.

It's that simple—and that difficult. When you see red and don’t know what to do, let these factors help you decide what to confront and what to let slide (and see how it worked out for Jason).

If money is involved...

When to Speak Up: Ever had a friend owe you money, then turn around and buy some clothes? Not OK! When it comes to your hard-earned dough not being paid back or a broke friend going too far and taking advantage of your generosity, say something!

Giving should leave you feeling blissful, not resentful.

A simple, “Hey man, I'm headed on vacation soon, and I'd love to get everything settled before I head out” or “Your turn to buy lunch!” will do. They’ll get the hint. And if not, you might want to re-evaluate how important your friendship is to that person.

When to Let It Slide: It’s a different story in a professional context. Do you want a raise? Or do you need to bring up a financial issue at work (like my friend Jason)? If so, you have to choose your timing wisely and be selective about how often you raise the topic with your manager. Being compensated fairly counts. But this has to be done sparingly so you are heard. (Jason frequently complained, and over time, his requests were drowned out.)

Choose the most important matters to speak up about. There should not be more than two serious occasions that pop up per year. In the case above, I asked Jason if this was an important enough issue to raise—given he only gets a couple of opportunities each year to contend with his boss's decision. If it's a yes—do it! If not, forget about it and move on (and don't spend a single second dwelling on it). Turns out the answer in this case was the latter!

If some criticizes you or makes a joke at your expense...

When to Speak Up: If someone is unkind repeatedly, even in "jest," it's time to take up the issue. Is someone being passive-aggressive on purpose (and not because you’re just feeling touchy today)? The best way to confront someone who is upsetting you is openly and without a hint of anger.

First, breathe. Wait until you’re calm and ask the person if you can talk privately. Once you're one-on-one, you can say, "Catherine, I’ve noticed you’ve made a few comments about X lately. I’ve felt it’s a bit X toward me. Am I reading this properly?"

Your kindness and openness will disarm the other person, and the less defensive you are, the more likely you will reach a resolution (and the truth).

Likewise, if someone is being overly critical, it's OK to lovingly say that you appreciate their advice, but you're doing OK as you are. I love what an entrepreneur friend said to me recently: "Please check out my new website today! It’s complete, so I don't need feedback, but would love you to leave a comment or tweet it out!"

The same goes when you see someone else who can’t or won’t stand up for themselves being treated unfairly. The world needs people who are willing to stand up for others too.

When to Let It Slide: Sometimes we can all be a little sensitive. My friend's peer recently made a comment about her parenting that left her reeling for weeks. A different friend got upset when someone joked about her hat at dinner.

If we let a joke slide, we're not a pushover. Heck—if we let every perceived snub, jab, or jibe bother us, I don't know if we'd get out of bed in the morning. Just remember it's OK to tell people when their feedback is not required.

If something unfair happens...

When to Speak Up: You get home late from a stressful day at work, and your spouse forgot to take out the trash. An employee failed to send a report on time, and now you’re late getting back to a client. Perhaps a friend returned a borrowed t-shirt or dinner platter, and it's come back with a small stain or chip. Gah! I hear—and feel—your internal scream! You just have to ask yourself: Is this worth a fight/terse words/angry text?

Consider whether these events have become the rule versus the exception in your relationships. If you’re calm and these events still feel totally unfair, it could be worth voicing your feelings. (Just make sure your reaction isn't unrealistic—if life were "fair," I'd be Kendall Jenner rollin' in my Rolls Royce). Don’t rush a rant that you might regret later and have to repair. If something still bothers you one week, two weeks, a month after it happened—it could be a sign it's time to express yourself.

When to Let It Slide: Don't make a hasty decision when you’re tired, annoyed, or hungry. You won’t be rational. When you’re in a calm mindset, you’ll probably realize it's not worth the energy of an argument. Nor the potential ramifications.

Don't make a hasty decision when you’re tired, annoyed, or hungry.

Maybe your spouse is overworked too right now, so he or she forgot to take care of some chores. No big deal. Maybe your assistant is on top of things 95 percent of the time, when you consider it. And hey, didn’t you break a friend's expensive wine glass just last month? Or still have her cardigan in your closet from last fall? These things happen! If you can, let those puppies slide, slide, slide.

Remember: Any confrontation involves some risk, so the risk has to be worth the potential reward to you—a silenced bully at work, a more reliable friend, or increased support from a partner. But the older I get, the less confrontational I become. I just don't sweat the small stuff like I used to.

Hey, I’m in no way easy like Sunday morning. I’m uptight. I’m Type A. I’m sensitive. But I do know that people are mainly good-hearted and that life isn’t always fair—but it’s still good.

Susie Moore is Greatist’s life coach columnist and a confidence coach in New York City. Her new book, What If It Does Work Out?, is available on Amazon now. Sign up for free weekly wellness tips on her website and check back every Tuesday for her latest No Regrets column!

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fQU9KW

7 Starbucks Copycats You Can Make Way Healthier (and Cheaper) at Home

Weight Loss - Three Post-Pregnancy Weight Loss Points To Remember

If you are just coming out of pregnancy and welcoming home the new joy in your life, you may be overwhelmed with feelings right now. One of those feelings may be how you will manage to shed the excess weight you gained during your pregnancy. The good news is you will have lost a significant amount of weight during the birthing process, so you should not have more than 10 to 20 pounds to lose at this point. If you gained more weight during the pregnancy period, you might have more to lose, but for most women, this is a relatively accurate. So how can you get those pounds off - without sacrificing the health of your baby?

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2eVHOmD

An Olympic Wrestler Won Gold in Rio Because of Her Anxiety, Not in Spite of It

We tend to think of anxiety as a bad thing—stopping us from hanging out with friends or keeping our minds racing when all we want to do is sleep. Anxiety feels like a burden, but in a personal essay in Sports Illustrated, Olympic wrestler Helen Maroulis explains how the disorder actually helped her win gold in Rio:

Before the opening ceremonies, I was pinned. My journal entry read:

“I can’t stop crying. I’m making myself sick. For the first time in my life, I explained to Terry [my Coach] what my anxiety was like. What it felt like to be afraid of irrational things. I was always afraid to tell him, because I was afraid he wouldn’t think I was mentally capable of a gold medal. And at the Olympics, I didn’t want to look weak.

He said that I was strong to reach out and talk to him. He also said when we are hyper-sensitive to everything, it’s our bodies way of preparing for battle.”

He was right.

Maroulis's story isn't meant to downplay the seriouness of anxiety, but rather show the advantages it can bring (so long as you deal with it in a healthy way, like she did):

My journey brought me to a definitive realization: We live in an illusion that champions are fearless, and that any admission to the contrary is defined as weakness...

There’s a stigma that only tough girls wrestle. There’s a stigma that only fearless people win. Yet here I stand in front of you. In front of our country. In front of the world—distinguished by my gold—and by the overwhelming feeling that all of my fears and all of my anxieties in that moment rolled down my body with every tiny bead of sweat, one by one.

Read the Rest

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2ez3KZi

A Perfect Strategy to Losing Weight

When it comes to weight loss, we all tend to get all weary and stressed out. Wondering why? Because deep down in our heart and mind there exists this presumption that losing weight is a long and tedious journey.

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2f9WOhN

Soda Is Getting Taxed Like Cigarettes (Because They’re Both Bad for You)

While most media coverage after the election focused on Donald Trump’s surprising victory, four cities quietly voted to pass soda taxes. Voters in San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany, California passed a one-penny-per-ounce tax on sugary soft drinks. In Boulder, Colorado, it's two cents per ounce. (The Cook County Board of Commissioners, which oversees Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, approved a similar tax last week.)

Soda is packed with sugar—a can of Coke, for example, has 39 grams of the sweet stuff. For years, scientists have blamed soft drinks as one of the main culprits behind America's obesity epidemic. They're the epitome of empty calories.

The thinking is: If we add a tax to soda (in the same we do to a pack of cigarettes), prices will go up and people will drink less. It's worked before. In low-income neighborhoods in Berkeley, California, soda drinking dropped by one-fifth after the city passed a tax on sugary soft drinks.

But economists caution that this is just the first step. When you look at the example of cigarettes, excise taxes (which made a pack more than $10 in some states) had a small impact on smoking rates, Roland Sturm, a senior economist and professor of policy analytics at RAND, told Vox. The bigger shifts happened when smoking became less socially acceptable.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2eY7Ysf

5 Simple and Best Weight Loss Tips for Getting a Perfect Figure

No matter where you are located and what your climate conditions are, keeping your body in a shape is not an easy task. This is the reason why I have prepared a draft of some of the best weight loss tips so you can understand the art of getting a slim and smart body without doing any hard exercises or going for a crazy workout. So let's get started.

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fSihxn

Why Should You Eat Parboiled Rice Every Day?

People often question that how come the Japanese are so fit and slim despite eating rice and noodles on a daily basis? While there are numerous reasons behind their physical dexterity, one vital fact is that they don't consume the regular white rice but parboiled rice.

from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fySKZ6

Would You Like to Hire a Celebrity Makeup Artist?

No matter how badly you try to emulate your favorite celebrity's look, the harsh reality is that you always end up falling short. That's because of the fact that celebrity make-up is always about a string of secrets that regular people will never know unless and until they are hiring celebrity makeup artists themselves.

from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fyXApg

Why You Still Feel Insecure Even After Getting in Shape

When most people think about having a fit body, they assume it comes with heaps of self-assurance. We’ve been conditioned to believe that when you work hard and transform your body to look a certain way, you will automatically feel happy and secure. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works.

Having helped hundreds of people go through fitness and weight-loss transformations, I can say with absolute certainty that most people do not automatically arrive at a place of self-love and body confidence when they reach their goals. In fact, fairly often, the exact opposite is true. Many of my clients actually feel worse after reaching their goals—either right away or later down the line.

How are we getting this so wrong?

The biggest reason is that the $60 billion-per-year weight-loss industry floods you with advertising designed to manipulate you into thinking the only thing standing between you and your dream life is the shape of your body. It’s effective marketing, because it’s what people want to believe: Your problem isn’t hard to solve! Self-love is just on the other side of losing a few pounds.

After all, when you see a person who exudes confidence and and is physically fit, you might (incorrectly) assume which quality caused which outcome. “She’s happy and confident because she has that rockin’ bod! If I had her body, I would be happy and confident too!” But more often than not, we get it backward. Maybe joy and self-acceptance made it possible for her to achieve the body she has.

This isn’t to say that nobody feels confident when they change their body. It’s just that the way we think the transformation works is wrong. Figuring out how to take better care of your body and learning to set and reach goals can be an extremely empowering experience. But the confidence that arises throughout that process doesn’t come from the changes to your body. It comes from your ability to shift and improve your self-concept along the way. Without making those deep, internal adjustments, no amount of transforming your body will give you what you’re looking for.

Here are some of the most common reasons people feel insecure, even after reaching their fitness goals.

1. Your expectations were unrealistic.

There is something kind of wonderfully hopeful about believing that if you work hard enough, someday you will look “perfect.” Sure, you don’t look perfect now, but if you find the right workout, diet plan, or supplement, you'll finally look exactly the way you want to.

This already-unrealistic goal is usually compounded by another unfair expectation. Once you achieve that physical goal, you'll feel how you've always wanted to feel: whole, connected, happy, alive.

I once had a client who was convinced that when she finally got into shape, she would also become an extrovert. It’s pretty humbling to realize that even though you worked hard to succeed, you’re still just… you. Expecting that you’ll suddenly become a different person upon reaching your physical goals sets you up for disappointment and self-criticism.

2. Your self-talk didn’t change.

Plenty of people believe that when they achieve their physical goals, they’ll finally stop being negative and self-critical. They assume their body is the cause of their negative self-talk, so changing their body will automatically change that behavior. But negative self-talk is a well-practiced mental habit.

If you’ve spent a lifetime focusing on your flaws, comparing yourself to others, and criticizing yourself, then you’re going to be very skilled at doing so. You’ll also probably be unskilled at positive self-talk or self-acceptance. It takes time and conscious practice to break negative mental habits, and even more time and conscious practice to get better at positive ones. If you change your body without changing your mind, your brain will simply find new flaws to focus on, new people to compare yourself against, and new things to criticize.

3. Your new habits weren’t sustainable.

See if this sounds familiar: You get into "the best shape of your life" during a focused time period—a wedding, high-school reunion, spring-break beach vacation.

But whatever you do to achieve your body transformation, you must continue doing it forever to maintain it. If you work out six days per week, stop boozing, and eat Paleo for six months, you’ll probably need to continue working out six days per week, going booze free, and eating Paleo to maintain that shape. It’s a simple concept, but it's often overlooked. If those habits aren’t sustainable for life, then neither is your shape.

That being said, you’re not necessarily supposed to maintain that shape. People often think there will be an “end point” to their goal, and that when they arrive at their destination, they get to stay there forever. There is no end point though; it’s just one long journey.

Sometimes health and fitness will be your top priority, and sometimes it won’t. That’s OK.

Fluctuations happen. Life happens. We're constantly aging and changing, and we’re meant to ebb and flow accordingly. Sometimes health and fitness will be your top priority, and sometimes it won’t. That’s OK. You might gain a little weight when you’re focusing on your career and lose a little weight when you fall in love. You might have a six-pack on a day you wake up dehydrated, but then a round belly later that day after you hydrate and eat something. Fluctuations are normal, and comparing yourself to one exact vision is a recipe for endless self-criticism and insecurity.

4. You focused exclusively on looks.

People who focus on strength or performance gains—like deadlifting a certain weight or running a half-marathon—often experience a much bigger correlation between goal achievement and genuine self-confidence. This is because making yourself “look better” is loaded with heavy emotional baggage. For anyone who has spent years dealing with this insecurity, it’s difficult to focus on changing how your body looks without going down a slippery slope—like thinking your body must be a certain size in order to be loved, or attaching moral labels to certain foods.

On the other hand, when you focus on what your body can do, it’s much easier to celebrate successes! Track your increasing sprint speed or celebrate the fact that you can squat 80 pounds this week when you could only squat 65 last week. Over time, focusing on performance instead of looks tends to shift your self-talk from “I suck” to “Wow, I’m pretty impressive.”

5. You hyper-monitored your own life.

When you begin making changes, the effort is conscious—you’re paying close attention to each behavioral choice. This is normal, but eventually your new behaviors should become second nature, and the focused effort should relax.

When it comes to the body, however, people often become hyper-vigilant about staying on top of the behaviors that brought them success instead. Aware of how much effort it took to get this far, they become very afraid that if they don’t obsessively continue to pay attention to every little detail (think: daily weigh-ins, 45 minutes of cardio, counting calories), they will ruin everything.

In some ways, they might be right. Remember what we said about natural fluctuations? Your body might change a bit if you allow yourself to move from conscious effort to unconscious effort. But if you reject all fluctuations, you’ll end up living in constant fear. For example, if you desperately want visible abs, after losing some body fat and gaining muscle, you might experience more body anxiety than you used to every time you eat a meal and notice your belly puff up.

Focusing on how you look all the time—even in a positive way—strengthens the attachment between appearance and self-worth. Compliments like “Wow, you look so skinny!” are tricky, because while they're intended to be kind, they seem to subconsciously say, “You're so much better/more valuable now than you were before!”

It's easy to ride the high of positive feedback about how you look as you’re losing weight and getting into shape, but what happens when everyone gets used to your new body and the compliments slow down? Who else are you? What else do you have to offer people? What else is your confidence tied to? Your sense of self-worth must be tied to something that can’t be taken away—not to something that is naturally meant to change.

from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2fyQ6T6

47 Healthy(ish) Holiday Cookie Recipes You'll Want to Hide From Santa

Planning Your New Years Resolutions Again

Every year, people declare their intentions to lose weight, exercise more often, stop smoking, or make some other change in their habits. We are aware of a few key areas in our lives that could benefit by some improvement and we resolve to make the change. Yet, nothing changes and we come back to the mirror, or to family gatherings, seemingly resigned to our fate. Inside the frustration grows at our inability to affect change.

from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2eTdr0i

4 Interesting Facts on Umbilical Cords

Ever wondered if there is a relationship between your umbilical cord and the belly button? Of course there is! When you have your little one inside your womb, it needs a life-support system to survive the pregnancy gestation period. This support is comprised of the placenta, the umbilical cord and the amniotic sac filled with amniotic fluid.

from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2fRcrOw