Gym Classy Lady: How I Learned To Love Aerial Yoga (AKA Hanging Upside Down In Silk Hammocks)
Jennifer Aniston Caught With Cupping Marks…But What IS Cupping?
Sleep Paralysis: What Rapid Eye Movement and “Demons” Have in Common (Nothing)
Brave, Badass Teen Speaks Out Against Her Principal’s Abstinence-Only Sex Education
The Solution To Existential Angst? It Might Be Tylenol
Don’t Blame Your Relationship if You’re Gaining Weight: You Have Control (But it’s Not Easy)
Catholicism is getting a lot of attention right now, mostly due to the new pope. But the fact is that the month of March is always kind of a big time for Catholics, because it’s the time of the year when they contemplate the life and death of Jesus Christ by observing Lent. But it can also be a triggering time for those who suffer from an eating disorder. More
In keeping with the Lenten spirit, I thought I’d feature some sort of non-fried fish recipes this Friday. I think salmon is a great fish for anyone just starting to eat or cook seafood beyond fish sticks, because it can be at its best with just a little olive oil, lemon and herbs. But it’s also a versatile fish that works as well in Asian dishes as New England-style chowder. Here are six varied takes on easy, healthy salmon dishes for winter nights. More
For devoted Catholics who struggle with disordered eating, giving up foods for Lent & the Lenten focus on fasting can make the lead-up to Easter difficult. More
I’m not very prissy about sexy ladies in TV commercials when it serves a narrative or marketing point. But the latest Lenten ad from Carl’s Jr. works the other way around — “plot” and slogan tacked on at the end of an ad clearly conceived of as “hot topless model engages in foreplay with cod fish sandwich.” More
If you’re giving up meat or gluten for Lent this year, you might be running out of recipes—and time to cook them. This is why we’re big fans of rice: It’s easy to make, versatile, and you can make a huge batch on Monday that will last you the rest of the week. To help you get inspired, we found eight vegetarian, gluten-free rice recipes to get you through Meatless Monday, Lent, or just to add to your arsenal of healthy recipes. More
I must admit that I don’t know enough about Passover. In fact, I don’t know much about Passover at all, except that it’s a springtime Jewish holiday that usually falls somewhere around Easter, and that when Passover arrives, the hideous street parking situation in my New York City neighborhood improves tremendously. I was raised Catholic and attended eight years of Catholic grammar school, four years of Catholic high school, and four years at a Jesuit university. Sue me. And because, as an adult, I became a good lapsed Catholic, I can barely remember what I’m theoretically supposed to eat and not eat during Lent leading up to Easter. (Something about no meat on Fridays, and maybe giving up chocolate or booze for a month. Then you get to break out the Paas Easter Egg Dye kit on Saturday, and gorge yourself on candy on Easter Sunday — after Mass, of course. Thank you, Jesus!) But I do know that Passover involves food (and a lot of it). And, because I run a health and wellness website, I wondered if there were any particularly healthy Passover foods in which one might indulge throughout the week. (And they have to taste good.) So I asked our resident nutritionist and Fearless Foodtrainer, Lauren Slayton, if she had any diet-friendly Passover tricks up her sleeve. Turns out, she came up with ten, and none of them even slightly resemble the creme-filled chocolate eggs I used to devour as a kid on Easter Sunday (after kicking ass in the annual egg hunt, I’ll have you know). More
Nearly two weeks into Lent, I’m feeling major sugar separation anxiety. I don’t have a wildly abusive relationship with sweets, and I’ve never thought I had a food addiction, but now that I’ve given sweet stuff a 40-day adieu, I’m realizing that I may be more dependent than I thought. (I have the night sweats for sugar. Seriously.) So I asked nutritionist Lauren Slayton to help me curb my sugar cravings and satisfy my sweet tooth the all-natural way.
“The biggest rule with sugar is that sweet begets sweet,” she burst my bubble right off the bat. “If we replace it it’s like methadoning instead of detoxing.” But Slayton’s not a strict Catholic when it comes to Lent or nutrition, and she knows we need helping pulling it together if we’re going to make it to Easter without a grain of sweet. Here’s her sugar craving survival guide (with recipes!) to get you from now through the end of Lent More
Today’s the first Friday of Lent. But even if you don’t follow Lenten traditions, eating fish on Friday is a good idea. Fish offers a different nutritional profile — many varieties are high in beneficial omega-3s while being low in overall fat and calories.
Unfortunately, the easiest way to get fish into your diet is often the unhealthiest. Fried fish and chips platters and greasy fast food sandwiches may be cheap and plentiful, but there are plenty of healthier (and still tasty) ways to enjoy seafood at home. Click through to see a few. More
Drink Joe to Stave Off Stroke – Drinking soda might increase your risk for stroke, but it’s probably not the caffeine: A new study shows that drinking coffee could reduce stroke risk in women. (TIME)
Supplements for Depression – Find out which supplements could cure the blues, and which are just a waste of money. (Huffington Post)
How to Eat Green – Check out nine eco-friendly diets for your health and the environment. (Mother Nature Network) More
8 Things You Shouldn't Do Before Bed
The Sweetest Twitter Marriage Proposal You’ll Ever See
True Or False: Marathoners Can Eat Whatever They Want
Clueless Mom Gives Birth on a Bike Without Realizing It
Why Don’t More Women Talk About Masturbation?
If you’re a hardcore observer of Lent (and not just using it as an excuse to binge and diet), then you’re probably gearing up to cook a lot of fish over the next few Fridays. But we challenge you to make one more sacrifice: Ditch unsustainable seafood. As SlashFood reports, several restaurants are embracing sustainable fish for Lent this year, serving locally raised fish to make the Lenten tradition a little more eco-friendly. If you’re not lucky enough to live near one of their suggested restaurants, though, you don’t have to give up on having a sustainable fish-fry. More
As you probably know, yesterday was the first day of Lent. It was also the first day I tried very hard to not eat a single piece of chocolate or have a sugary dessert until Easter Sunday, all in the name of God. No hot chocolate, not a single M&M, not one cookie, nothing. Good Lord, this is going to be hard, but I guess that’s the point, right? It seems wrong to use a high holy holiday as a reason to go on a diet, and yet many of us do. We’re not big fans of dieting at Blisstree, but who are we to argue with the eating traditions that are basically directives from The Man Upstairs? People tend to commit to diets twice a year – either as a New Year’s Resolution or for a religious purpose. I’ve never kept a resolution for longer than a week, but I’ve fulfilled a Lenten promise for the full 40-ish days (barely). According to researchers, the average woman gives up a “healthy” resolution six days into each New Year, but keeping a religious fast tends to be somewhat easier because you’re doing it for a higher purpose. It also helps that religious fasting usually comes with a specific time period and rules to follow, making that commitment easier to focus on, rather than the nebulous “I’m going to eat carbs in 2011.” (Good luck with that.) Many religions have different fasting holidays with specific dieting, fasting, and bingeing requirements, and here are eight to check out if you need a higher power to keep your eating habits in line for a time: More
Mardi Gras may be fun, and giving up chocolate for Lent might be virtuous, but I say it’s all bad for you. I have nothing against New Orleans, nor am I calling out the weight or health of Louisianians, but Fat Tuesday is making us fat, and so are all the other holidays that celebrate a binge-and-purge mentality.
Most people who celebrate Fat Tuesday are probably in it for the beads, beer, and bingeing; not the 40 days of sacrifice that follow. But even if you could care less about tonight’s revelry or tomorrow’s start to fasting, you’ve probably participated in a similar tradition: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s are like the trilogy behind America’s perverse relationship with indulgence and penance. We love to work hard then play hard, eat hard then diet hard, and then we like to justify our bipolar behavior by talking about how we’ve found “balance.” But toggling back and forth between extremes isn’t healthy, balanced, or sane. (And it’s more than likely going to make you look and feel like shit, too.) More
