New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Have To Be An Exercise In Frustration

We’ve all heard the crack about how gyms (and their upscale siblings, “Fitness Centers”) make a fortune because of people who – with the best of intentions – sign up, but then give up. Most of us have fallen into the trap of setting sky-high New Year’s resolutions, only to find they’re too much to bear/impossible to fulfill. But New Years’ resolutions don’t have to be an exercise in frustration.

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Why (and How) You Need to Wash Your Water Bottles – Yes, Every Night!

YOU KNOW THOSE REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES you drink from throughout the day? (You *are* drinking water throughout the day, right?) Here's why – and how – you want to wash them every night: Each time you drink from them, bacteria go into the bottle. (Eww) And they breed if you don't wash the bottle. (double Eww – triple Eww in flu season) SIMPLE SOLUTION: When you get home…

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Cracking The Hard-Boiled Egg Code

I’ve tried more methods of hard-boiling eggs than I can count. Every single one has worked … for a while. BUT, to my surprise and delight, I think I’ve finally, once and for all, cracked the hard-boiled egg code (pun intended).

I’ve used this method consistently for the past few months and have gotten consistently excellent results. (I will not say “eggcelent”, I will not say “eggcelent”, I will not say “eggcelent”. Okay, I will.)

Part of the secret is to keep the water at a boil the entire time you’re cooking the eggs, which helps prevent the albumin (the thin membrane that drives you crazy when you try to peel off the shell) from sticking to the egg. The process is surprisingly easy once you know how.

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What's In Your Drawers? (aka being kind to your body and the planet doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg)

Not long ago, Bloomberg ran a video piece* that made me angry. It purported to address concern for the environment, but really it was an example of narrow-minded, classist and defeatist nonsense. Think I'm being harsh? Let's take a look:

Bloomberg’s video maintains that most Americans can’t afford to make eco-conscious choices. As proof of this, they cite:

  • a $95 water bottle with a UVC light in it to kill germs, “so you don't have to wash it as much”;

  • a collapsible metal straw costing nearly $25, as an alternative to banned plastic straws;

  • a $150 comforter (which they erroneously call a “duvet cover”) made from recycled plastic bottles with a eucalyptus shell.

Really? If these are the products Bloomberg considers the best options to save the planet, no wonder climate change is kicking our collective butts. Meanwhile, they’ve completed ignored the small daily choices we can make — ones that don’t require plunking down large amounts of money and are kind to both consumers and the environment.

(I promise, once you get through the disturbing section — necessary for context — there’s good stuff: Easy alternatives and some of my favorite Healthy-Hacks!)

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