A Simple Feast: Seared Scallops and Chanterelle Pasta

The perfect feast can be built with a few simple foundational elements: loving and thoughtful intentions, clean and fresh ingredients, and good company. These tools help us fully embrace what this season is all about - celebrating life with the people we love. So when it comes to food, we turn to Diana Yen's latest cookbook, A Simple Feast. A Simple Feast is filled with wonderful heartfelt stories, taking you on the ultimate culinary journey that unfolds with the seasons. From a trip to an antique market and a visit to the apple orchard, to a rooftop barbeque and a day spent inside during a snowy winter, each event inspires simple and elegant food. Between these pages we discovered this recipe for Seared Scallops and Chanterelle Pasta. The purity and beauty of this dish is as enticing as its call for deep nourishment and comfort. It reminds us to make time for small indulgences in life, starting with the dinner table. Whatever the occasion or audience, this recipe will provide incentive for your own simple feasts. Here's Diana with a few culinary notes... Chanterelles have a slight finish of pepper on the tongue and a smell of apricots. With their fruity and woody flavors, these mushrooms are excellent in pasta dishes and their tulip shape makes them a beautiful addition to the plate. Scallops are lovely here too, as they lend a delicacy to the earthiness of the chanterelles. Chanterelles are just one of an incredible variety of wild mushrooms. When you see wild mushrooms pop up at the market, explore the different varieties. Morels with their spongy cones absorb flavors from sauces wonderfully. And king trumpets sliced and sautéed in butter are splendid as a main course. Or if you’re curious to forage your own, find an expert guide and go picking for them - early fall is usually best, right after the first rain.



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Would You Or Wouldn’t You: Drink Bone Broth Instead of Coffee On The Go

This is the stuff our dreams are made of. As nutrition geeks, we often daydream of a world where Italian restaurants offer spiralized, raw veggie noodles. A world where dive bars pull kombucha from taps and our fave brunch spot makes French toast out of sprouted bread and fertilized eggs. Basically, the hard-core healthy treats we crave that are either a huge pain to make at home or are only available at grocery stores - not the cafes we'd rather meet our pals at. Most of these healthy foodie dreams are yet to be realized (steamed fonuts and Pressed Juicery Freeze not withstanding.) But, this fall, we discovered a little culinary hotspot in NYC that is absolutely thrilling us - and revolutionizing New Yorker's morning beverage routines. It's a walk-up window called Brodo NYC that is serving up old fashioned, slow-food bone broths in paper coffee cups. It's like these guys been reading our diary (our food journal is intense.) Restauranteur Marco Canora has a passion for wellness that is authentic and well-informed, Brodo's offerings of grass-fed beef bone broth and organic chicken stock are proof positive. Visitors to Brodo's street-side window can order broths (from $4-9) with optional additions like fresh ginger, chili oil or beet kvass. Is this real life? The broths are served in the adorably utilitarian paper coffee cups we all adore, adding up to one of the most charming holistic habits New Yorkers can get into for 2015. Let's catch up on the whole topic of BONE broths. Vegans and non-vegans alike may be a little behind on the topic, but we assure this is one superfood you should get cozy with this winter! The bones of healthfully-raised animals (aka grass-fed cattle and responsibly-raised chickens) have been used to create broths for centuries. Bone broths were once a vital staple in the human diet - back in a day when our ancestors made responsible use of a whole animal, not just a couple of entrees (now that's sustainability.) Using bones to create nourishing broths is the stuff of healing magic (veggie broths too, read more about it here.) Bones contain collagen, which turns to gelatin and is packed with amino acids and a host of bio-available minerals. In broth, protein-rich collagen breaks down and becomes gelatin, considered a "functional food." This stuff is incredible for our own bones, as well as our joints and skin. Want that glow and to keep skin resilient? Get into bone broths. Gelatin is incredibly soothing and nourishing for the gut as well, an area of concern for so many of us with our modern diets. The gut is the root of too many health issues to name. Gelatin helps to nourish and repair the gut like nobody's business. There's a reason your grandma was a fan of this stuff. Kids today. Where did we go left? In the whir of excitement over all the new foods and conveniences we've created over the last couple of generations we've lost some of our most important traditional healing foods. Our ailing digestion and immunity are all telling signs of these missing foods. Many of the deficiencies in our modern diet, and the conditions often associated with them, are met perfectly with many of the foods we've simply come to neglect as old-fashioned or that no longer fit into our convenience-driven diets. The trend back toward nutrient dense, traditional foods - from cultured veggies to fermented drinks - is one we're all about. Add to that list all the concoctions available at Brodo's new pop-up window and it seems we're headed in the right direction. What do you say, readers? Would you or wouldn't you swap out that americano for a hot cup of grass-fed bone broth?

drink bone broth

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Collard Wraps: The Healthy New Lunch Trend We’ve Loving

We used to think we were pros in the post-holiday feast department. From soul-warming soups to cranberry-spice smoothies, our leftover game seemed pretty strong season to season. That is until we met Jeanne Cheng, the holistic mastermind behind the brand new Kye's in Santa Monica. Kye's opened with the goal of serving just about everyone: there are vegan, paleo, gluten-free and 'all-American' options on the menu - truly something for everyone. If you're a health nut with non-health nut friends - or a vegan married to a paleo, an all-American with a gluten-free child - you know how important this is. Kye's menu is super-flexible, but most importantly to us, centers around their signature collard green or nori sheet wraps. Genius! Kye's wraps everything from veggies to grass-red burgers, macrobiotic combos to breakfast ingredients, in their healthful leafy green wraps and we're in love. Match that with black bean brownies, healing herbal teas, and raw shakes to die for and you've basically got our ideal lunch spot. For the post-Christmas crowd, Kye's has collard wraps made entirely of holiday leftovers. Made with turkey, cranberries, cornbread, kabocha squash, and a host of other seasonal treats wrapped up tight in a collard leaf, this "Kye-rito" is pretty much the quintessential "day-after" lunch - fitting in all the holiday feast essentials while still sticking to a healthy, clean diet. And let's get real - this collard wrap is so delicious and crazy-simple to make, we'll be whipping it up whether we've got a fridge filled with food scraps or not. Here's how to create this new version of the burrito that's blowing our minds...



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NYE Redux: Candle Cafe’s Vegan Blinis with Crème Fraîche + “Caviar”

The quest for the picture perfect, plant-based appetizer is over! Shake off that fear of feeding a room full of vegans and plan on making this fool-proof vegan blini. Topped with dairy-free creme fraiche and inventive hijiki caviar, even the most die-hard meat-eaters will go crazy for this tasty twist on the classic New Year's-worthy treat. This recipe is our ticket to a night free of deprivation and full of festive celebration. Developed by none other than the famous Candle Cafe's team of talented chefs-Joy Pierson, Angel Ramos and Jorge Pineda - for their cookbook Vegan Holiday Cooking, this collection of recipes blends holiday tradition with a sexy, modern style. Make these bold, satisfying vegan blinis to ring in 2015 with health-conscious intentions. Here's the author with a note on this New Years-ready recipe... Blini and caviar are a New Year’s tradition, and we love to serve these lovely little pancakes topped with vegan crème fraîche and caviar made with hijiki during cocktail hour. You can make the toppings and the blini batter ahead of time so everything will be ready when it’s time to cook and assemble this dish.



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20 Cozy Home Ideas with Designer Jenni Kayne

The quiet, precious days between Christmas and New Year's are a few of our favorite. Whether you're spending time tucked at home with loved ones or are taking a much needed holiday, bookmark these home tips from the ever-so-stylish Jenni Kayne to look over and implement in the new year. Jenni's home is a remarkable space filled with a cozy balance of natural materials and well-curated objects. If you've been a Chalkboard reader long, we know you've been wanting insights from Jenni as you've perused the images from throughout her gorgeous home. Here are a few of her tips, ideas and personal favorites to keep things stylishly cozy for 2015...



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Fit Solutions: 10 Quick Workout Routines We Love For The Day After Christmas

It's the day after Christmas. The presents have been unwrapped, the stockings have been unstuffed, and after all that merriment of the month, you're craving a quick sweat. Finding the time to work out can be hard enough during the other 51 weeks of the year - but considering the fact that these next seven days are usually spent far from our normal routines, it can seem especially hard to fit in fitness during the week between Christmas and New Years. Never fear: Team TCM is here! Whether you had a few too many sweets, sipped on a touch too many treats, or are staying away from home throughout the next few days, here are our favorite fast workout routines so you can get in a sweat wherever you are, whenever you can, without sacrificing moments with family, friends...or your oh-so-comfy bed.



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Superfood Spotlight: Peppermint

What you need to know: Candy canes are a health food! Well, no, only in a perfect world, but our favorite holiday candy's main ingredient, peppermint, is a superfood and we're talking all about it. There's a fifty percent chance you're eating a candy cane while reading this story, so why not celebrate the benefits of mint? Peppermint has been a foundational tool in medicine since ancient-Egyptian times, utilized as a carminative and expectorant, and valued for its antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It not only freshens the breath, but its oil can be used to stimulate memory and relieve stress. Why you should try it: Peppermint is a gentle herb, safe for both children and pregnant mothers. It's quite versatile too, offering benefits when used both internally and externally. When its oils are diffused into tea or water and consumed, it brings fast relief from nausea, including morning sickness and motion sickness, irritable bowel syndrome, gas, indigestion, infant colic and respiratory conditions including tuberculosis and asthma. Peppermint oil is also effective when applied topically, proven to reduce pain from shingles, headaches and muscle pain. Another potential use is blending peppermint oil into your shampoo or body wash. Some studies have shown that rubbing the oil into your skin can help reduce dandruff and dry skin. Let’s get together: Now that we know how healthy peppermint really is, let’s have a little fun with it! While you can always go traditional by adding fresh peppermint or its essential oils to water or tea, we are dying to use it for making homemade candy canes. When made with natural sweeteners, real organic food coloring and therapeutic-grade peppermint oil, candy canes may just be healthy (or healthy–ish) for you after all. To get started, try this recipe by Real Fit Mama.



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Merry Christmas From All of Us At The Chalkboard

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Spruced Up: 6 Tablet Hotels That Go All Out For Christmas

Part of the magic of the holiday season is about the elaborate decorations, window displays, and bright lights we see around town! From New York to London, it seems as if the entire world is uniting in festive cheer. Take your holiday travel to the next level this year and visit one of these hotels that go all out for the most wonderful time of the year. We're talking giant toy soliders, candy canes as far as the eye can see, and trees that will knock your socks off. Our friends at Tablet Hotels have rounded up the best of the best for some serious holiday eye candy... When the holiday season rolls around, we can’t help but peep in hotel lobbies around town to see if they’re doing anything special. Some places turn out blindingly glitzy traditional decor. Some places go for a conceptual, modern display. But the decorations that stand out in our minds are the ones that reflect the personality of the hotel or the place. This coming season, whether you’re traveling away from home or trying to avoid putting up a tree yourself, these six hotels will instantly jazz up your holiday spirit with their original trees and decorations.



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How To Make Dry Shampoo: A Lavender Hair Potion DIY

As devotees to the concept of the quick workout and even quicker beauty routine, we've been looking for a recipe telling us how to make dry shampoo for eons - one that actually works. So you can imagine our delight when we discovered this DIY by Heather Crosby and our friends at Darling Magazine that not only delivers, but gets our locks both sweat-free and smelling amazing! Perfect for those post-yoga dates or just a normal day sans shampoo, here's how to make dry shampoo for both light and dark hair. Bonus? There's only 2-3 ingredients! Now that's what we call a quick fix: As a woman with fine hair, the second I tried dry shampoo I was swooning. Not only was the oil gone, but my hair’s texture was the stuff of dreams. Dry shampoo is a lifesaver for busy women, active women, and women who prefer the way their hair looks a day (or three) after a shampoo. If you aren’t familiar with dry shampoo, picture yourself running late to meet your girlfriends for dinner post-yoga and sans shower. Or, throwing in that top-knot before work and the sides are looking a little too slick to be safe. With dry shampoo you not only dry out the oil and add fabulous texture to your hair in minutes, but you save some water, too. However, we don’t need to use chemicals to dry up oil and get that gorgeous volume. Our skin is our largest organ — what it comes in contact with (pollution, chemical cleaners, beauty products, fragrance) eventually makes its way into our bloodstream and can manifest as acne, mood swings, thyroid issues, developmental and reproductive harm, autoimmune disease and even cancer. Most beauty and personal care products on the market, including our beloved dry shampoos, contain known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and other toxins, so skip the chemical-laden dry shampoos and make your own out of a few ingredients so safe you can eat them. And they smell so good that you’ll want to. So skip the chemical-laden dry shampoos and make your own out of a few ingredients so safe you can eat them. Making your own beauty products is empowering and easier than you may think. It’s also a commitment to being accountable for your health, and it’s a way you can connect a bit more not only with yourself, but also with those you gift with homemade goodies (hint, hint). All you need to make your own dry shampoo is a container (an empty salt shaker, a recycled seasoning jar with a shaker top, a store-bought shaker, or a glass jar with a lid) and a large makeup brush to apply. Feel free to double or triple these amounts to fill the container you’ll be storing it in. [olists num=1]

For tips on how to apply and customize your dry shampoo, read the rest of the DIY on Darling by clicking over here!

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On My Wishlist: Chic Gift Ideas From Tastemaker Jenni Kayne

If you've ever stepped foot into a Jenni Kayne Home store, you know what incredible taste our December guest has. We've been sharing Jenni's style notes all month and hope you've been loving. Take a page from Jenni's own holiday shopping list and check out her own personal wishlist below. From the neutral home goods to the printed footwear, we're guessing you may need to wedge a couple more gifts on to your own list! From the artisan details and festive decor she uses at her own tasteful dinners, to the innovative inspiration from her own blog Rip + Tan,you can find hints of it all in this round-up of chic and simple gifts. Read at your own risk - you may have some last-minute shopping to do...



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A Cozy Holiday Gathering With Jenni Kayne: Get All The Recipes

It's one of our favorite weeks of the entire year. Christmas is here and we've got a few cozy ideas for you to make this week the best it can be. We're brewing up a batch of this spiked and spiced cider from Valleybrink Road, tying up little bundles of evergreen and sage like Bash, Please showed us, and making this incredible farro salad with persimmons - an easy addition to our healthy holiday spread. For this holiday gathering, our December Guest Jenni Kayne decked the halls like nobody's business. Moon Canyon hung winter swags on the hearth and along the center of Jenni's dining table. Bash, Please (one of our event styling duos) created adorable gift boxes and a table as full of winter wonder as things get in LA sans the snow. In the kitchen, Barrett of Valleybrink Road impressed as usual, walking us through an incredible menu of dishes as beautiful as they are healthful and delicious. This farro and radicchio salad is one we'll be making for years to come - ideal girl food for the holidays and beyond. Get inspired by this tabletop and find all of the other recipes from Barret over at Jenni's ripplustan today. Don't miss the spiked and spiced cider!



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Milkin’ It: 3 Dairy-Free Recipes That Are Rich In Calcium

Getting enough calcium into your diet - especially if you're a woman - is hard enough as it is. If you're dairy-free, the challenge multiples. When the holidays roll around and our calcium-rich leafy greens are a bit more few and far between, it's essential to find ways to fit more of this super-powered mineral into our diets. Our Body Book's McKel Hill (also of Nutrition Stripped, one of our favorite foodie blogs - try her Stripped Green Smoothie!) has three delicious dairy-free recipes for the season: a smoothie that tastes just like gingerbread, a sweet tahini drizzle perfect for a dressing or dip, and a nut milk with one secret ingredient (spoiler: it's figs). Try out McKel's calcium-filled recipes this holiday season, then head on over to Our Body Book for more nutritious recipes for all palates and plates... My Gingerbread Molasses Smoothie is not only delicious and tastes like a cookie in a glass, but contains 1-2 tablespoons of blackstrap molasses giving you a hefty serving of calcium. Also, this smoothie contains chia seeds, which not only contain calcium, but also give this smoothie fiber and protein making a good balance of the simple sugars found in the molasses. The recipe for Sweet Tahini Drizzle is perfect to use as a salad dressing, a dip for fresh or roasted vegetables, or one of my personal favorites, stirred into quinoa or rice. It contains tahini as the main ingredient, which is sesame seeds! Sesame seeds contain calcium, healthy fats, protein, and a bit of fiber as well. [olists num=1] [olists num=2]

After you try these two calcium-rich recipes, head on over to Our Body Book to check out McKel's recipe for Fig Nut Milk by clicking here!

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Fit + Festive: 21 Fitness Gifts To Give (And Get!) This Year

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...except you, fitting in your evening spin class. Ok, so maybe you won't be spending Christmas Eve working up a sweat in the gym, but your holiday visions definitely look more like sneakers than sugarplums. For the fitness-minded, the holidays are when we ask Santa for all those printed leggings, high-tech shoes, and covet-worthy cover-ups we've had our eyes on for months. After all, you can never have too many activewear staples or on-trend training gear... Whether you're looking for the perfect gift to give your gym BFF, your athletic mom, your Crossfit-loving sister, or treat yourself to something special, here are 21 fun, functional, and festive fitness gifts any workout warrior would want to see under the tree this year...



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Surviving the Holidays: 10 Delicious Paleo Swaps We Love

We are huge fans of eating the way our ancestors ate, following the principles behind a Paleolithic (Paleo) diet. That means steering clear of all refined sugar, dairy products, cereal grains, potatoes, legumes and processed foods. This presents quite a challenge when facing a celebratory meal, especially when the traditional dairy-filled casseroles, gluten-laden stuffing, candy canes and sugar cookies are involved. But with some smart planning and a little imagination, it is possible to enjoy a holiday dinner with all your favorites without compromising your health. Whether you’re a seasoned Paleo devotee or a newbie approaching your first holiday without mashed potatoes, here are 10 paleo swaps for meeting your goals.



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Butter Roasted Chicken: In The Kitchen with Model Kirsty Hume

We love discovering shops like Chay Wike's. Aptly named Chay and nestled into a great shopping neighborhood on West 3rd in Los Angeles, the shop houses a devastatingly chic mix of home and lifestyle goods including Japanese brass servingware, lucite blocks, felt hats, and an exclusive line of jewelery by Kathleen Whitaker. Forget that she's curating a shop full of some of the best gifts of the season, Chay has also launched a fun and stylish food blog we love. It's called Butter and highlights the kitchens and recipes of a few of our favorite local tastemakers. Join Chay and - speaking of devastatingly chic - model Kirsty Hume at her home above, in one of the first of a series we'll be sharing here called Butter Kitchen. Chay will be visiting a number of women we love here at The Chalkboard, talking about the art of cooking, entertaining, and how to keep the whole thing feeling simple, yet elevated. [olists num=1] [olists num=2]



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Superfood Spotlight: Cranberries

What you need to know: Aside from their foundational role as a holiday side, cranberries have a profound effect on the health of the body. Cranberries are rich in a wide range of phytonutrients including phenolic acids, proanthocyanins, anthocyanins and flavanoids. These phytonutrients have been found to prevent cancers such as breast, colon, lung and prostate; lower inflammation; protect against heart disease; lower cholesterol levels; and protect cells from damage. Cranberries can also prevent gout and the development of certain types of kidneys stones by reducing uric acid excretion. Why you should try it: Cranberries are one of the most effective and potent agents for addressing conditions of the urinary tract. They contain a compound called proanthocyanidins, which forms a barrier on the urinary tract lining. This barrier inhibits harmful bacteria from latching on, thus preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs). Research also hypothesizes that proanthocyanidins may be effective in preventing stomach ulcers. Ulcers can be caused by a bacteria called H. pylori, which adheres to the stomach lining. In the same way cranberries prevent bacterial attachment to the lining of the urinary tract, they may prevent attachment of bacteria to the stomach lining. Let's get together: Research has discovered that eating whole cranberries is more therapeutic than isolated cranberry nutrients found in liquids and powders. There is a synergy among the cranberry nutrients (rather than individual cranberry components) that is responsible for cranberry's health benefits. This is great news because we've been loving this Cranberry Almond ‘Leftovers' Smoothie. Made with fresh Pressed Juicery almond milk, tart cranberries and superfoods spirulina, goji and chia, this smoothie is our answer to staying healthy throughout the holiday season.



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Health at all Costs: The 3 Best Zinc Sources at Every Price

We are pounding down our fair share of green juice, adding oil of oregano to our tea, and getting plenty of sleep this winter season. All this in all-out effort to keep our bodies in tip-top shape, staying committed to a healthy and flu-free existence. That means taking all the necessary measures, including a boost to our zinc levels. Zinc is a mineral that's crucial to a healthy immune system. While less familiar than vitamin C and vitamin D, even a mild deficiency of zinc can have far-reaching health implications. In less than four weeks, a deficiency in zinc can compromise immunity, leaving the body susceptible to any invading pathogen including infections from the flu, pneumonia and bronchitis. Zinc affects multiple aspects of the immune system, from the barrier of the skin to gene regulation within the immune cells. Zinc is critical for the normal development and functioning of immune cells, initiating the death of any disease-causing agents while protecting tissues against damage. Zinc deficiency is not that uncommon and is something to be mindful of. Infections, pregnancy or breastfeeding, anemia, grain-heavy diets, use of antacids, stress and steroid medications are just a few factors that create a relative deficiency. Gastrointestinal problems such as IBS, Celiac, Crohn's or other inflammatory bowel disorders can also cause a deficiency. They impair the ability of the body to absorb zinc from foods, so supplementation is needed. Boosting your zinc levels will not only help keep superhuman immunity, but zinc is also essential for healthy sperm and prostate, reproduction, acne-free skin, collagen formation, liver detox, night vision and a good sense of taste and appetite.

High: Zinc Supplement

When diet is not adequate for meeting daily requirements, or if conditions are present that lead to deficiency, consider using a zinc supplement. Look for zinc citrate, zinc acetate, or zinc picolinate. These forms are believed to be the most easily absorbed - unlike zinc sulfate. Note: When taking zinc long-term it is advisable to take 1 mg to 3 mg of copper daily as well, because zinc supplements can cause copper deficiency. Great food sources of copper are sesame seeds, tahini and raw cashews.

Midpoint: Grass-fed Beef or Lamb

Grass-fed beef or lamb are excellent food sources of zinc, and have higher concentrations than their conventionally raised alternatives. Both beef and lamb are absent of any compounds that inhibit zinc's absorption, making their bioavailability quite high. Grass-fed beef and lamb also rich in sulfur-containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine), which help to quickly raise zinc levels in the body.

Low: Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds or Pumpkin seed Butter If you are vegan or vegetarian, pumpkin seeds will be your best food source for zinc. The only issue is that the zinc is less bioavailable than grass-fed beef or lamb. Pumpkin seeds and other plant-based proteins have a high content of phytic acid, a compound that inhibits zinc absorption. Soaking and sprouting the seeds reduces the phytic acid content, so make sure to add this process in before eating.



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Ottolenghi’s Fig and Goat Cheese Tart Recipe From Plenty More

Oh, Ottolenghi. We're singing the praises of this UK chef and restauranteur once again--because he make it so easy. This gorgeous tart is one of those recipes we know our readers will use right away. It will either provide the perfect solution for a harried hostess with a holiday party tonight or give a group of friends a little Instagram-fueled inspiration for this week's girl's night in. We love featuring Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbooks. Every time he throws the world a few new pages, we do our best to get you a few insights on his latest recipes. His incredible cookbook, Jerusalem, still makes the perfect gift for foodie friends with wanderlust, and this barley and mushroom dish from his first, namesake cookbook is season-less and delicious. Enjoy this recipe from Ottolenghi's Plenty More, the follow up to his instant classic, Plenty, that had us all at hello with that pomegranate and eggplant-festooned cover! The last time I had to make this fig and goat cheese tart was in front of two television cameras and amid the most dreadful of hay fever attacks. It was part of my Mediterranean Feast program and I was in a bakery in Tel Aviv. I soldiered on and managed to shoot the whole scene, with regular face- and nose-wiping intervals and not-so-charming snivels that were later masterfully edited out. More important, the pie looked and tasted fantastic. And if I could make it in that state, anyone can. If you don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook, or don’t want to make the yeasted pastry, it can be replaced with a commercial all-butter puff pastry sheet of similar dimensions.



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The Ideal Home Bar: 7 Ideas with Pharmacie LA

tis the season for holiday parties! If you're throwing one of your own, then pay attention to these tips from one of our favorite LA cocktail pros! On any given night in LA there are countless parties and events happening. Keeping life in balance means keeping our event calendars in check, but one thing that always brings our team out to play is reading Pharmacie LA's name on an invitation. If this creme de la creme cocktail crew is behind the bar - we're there! Jenni Kayne has her finger on the pulse of this kind of thing and shares our love for a perfectly crafted cocktail. Jenni invited Pharmacie's Talmadge Lowe to join us at her home one afternoon earlier this month where Talmadge taught us to create a few delicious drinks that are holiday party ready. Find Talmadge's two simple juice cocktail recipe below and take his advice on stocking the perfect home bar... [olists num=1] The reason I like these drinks is that they walk the lines between seasonal/fresh and classic/nouveau. The key to a good cocktail is its ingredients. The same, of course, is true of fresh juices. You can always add vodka to anything for a little kick, but the two recipes below feel a little more like "adult beverages." The pineapple pear ginger mint combination seems so classically winter, though with a Southern California twist. Adding the bourbon emphasizes the wintery feel with its rich flavors. Feels so much like an after-dinner sipper to me. And the strawberry apple lime combination feels like orchard meets ocean. A little tropical and a little traditional, again, just like L.A. Rum is also very reminiscent of the holidays with nogs and punches and cakes. This sunny day cocktail is perfect for bright holiday afternoons. [olists num=2] [olists num=3]



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Introvert Problems: A Guide To Soul-Satisfying Socializing

On One Hand...You're an introvert through and through, along with about half the population. You gain energy from within yourself instead of from interaction with others in the outside world. You need time to make decisions and mentally rehearse what you want to say, instead of making decisions quickly and thinking out loud. Most importantly? You have a private self that is only revealed to your inner circle, the people you trust - which can make it hard to want to be social when you don't know many people. The people who don't understand might peg you as aloof or shy. However, you know that shyness and introversion are not the same thing. Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, and introversion is a preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments - your thoughts and ideas, the way you react to a piece of music or a string of words, that is stimulating enough. You do your best work in your head, with deep reflection. You are truly your own best friend. On The Other Hand... Just because you're a bona-fide introvert doesn't mean you want to shun socializing. And you know, introvert, that being your personality type doesn't mean you're necessarily quiet or shy. As an introvert, you truly enjoy being around others and benefit most from deep connections. Small talk doesn't really interest you and the quantity of connections aren't so much as important to you as the quality. You get high off of those instances that just seem to click - and even though you are at your best when given time alone, sometimes you feel your trait is shutting you off from a whole world that awaits. The Balancing Act: Introversion and extroversion are not black and white; every single person has a bit of both inside them. The trick is not to try and change yourself into an extrovert or go against what feels true to you, it's to know how to play up your strengths no matter the situation. We live in a culture that pays the most attention to extroversion - one that tells us that the signs of a thriving personal life are having a large social circle, bustling days filled with activity, and jam-packed nights filled with soirees. As an introvert, going to an event or getting yourself into a social situation "just because" is usually a set up for disaster, guilt, and low self-confidence. In reality, we actually live in a culture that is filled with scenarios made for introverts: one on one interactions, solo commutes, independent choices. Pop culture caters to extroverts, so you may believe you're the odd (wo)man out. But introverts are the ones who instinctively know how to navigate the deepest of waters in any social scenario. You'll gain the most value from your social activities if you not only recognize your strengths, but find a purpose behind why you're going. Because you, dear Introvert, have so much to add to the world, and every social situation can benefit from your insight and worldview. Here are eight ways to stay social, this holiday season and beyond, while still being true to who you are at your core:

introvert problems

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Farm To Holiday Table: Win This Summerland Delivery Box From Local Farms

For the kitchen whiz, there's no better gift to receive than one that's ready to hit the butcher's block. Whether you're a home cook or just a foodie ready to eat, we're swooning over these three gift boxes from Summerland. Filled with organic produce, natural and sustainable snacks, and ingredients to last long into the new year, these fresh-from-the-farm gift boxes are a major upgrade from the delivery box norm. Stale, sugary popcorn tins are a relic of the past: this holiday season, it's all about gift sets like these that are good for both you and the planet. This holiday season, Summerland has created three foodie-riffic gift ideas we're loving : a Winter Pasta Box perfect for savory suppers, a Summerland Sweets Box you can break out on Christmas morning for french toast that will blow your mind (recipes included!), and a Taste Of The West Coast Box with bread and jam from California artisans we love. We're giving away the Taste of the West Coast box to one lucky reader - give it as a gift or keep for yourself! More details below... [olists num=1] [olists num=2] [olists num=3] [olists num=4]



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In The TCM Kitchen with Top Foodie Gail Simmons

If you're even the slightest bit of a foodie, you're probably already on a first-name basis with Gail Simmons. Gail is the culinary expert, food writer, and woman to watch when it comes to all things cooking related. We've been inviting Gail into our homes for years as one of the first judges on BRAVO's Top Chef (check out our In The Kitchen with her pal, Tom Colicchio here!) and as host of Top Chef Just Desserts. Tonight, Gail's brand new venture hits the air waves for the first time, a hilarious, informative talk-show-slash-culinary-adventure called The Feed. Set your DVRs, folks - just like the Top Chef series, this show is majorly addictive. Join us for a peek inside Gail's kitchen to learn how she handles her own holiday kitchen - maple whiskey and all! Then take your holiday prep up a notch by tuning into The Feed's Christmas special tonight on FYI! [olists num=1] [olists num=2]



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Good Karma: 21 Yoga Gifts To Give This Year

Maybe it's the anticipation of new breakthroughs, the camaraderie in the room, or just the dim lights and candles - but in our opinion, there's no better (or healthier) way to tap into the holiday spirit than to flow through our fave poses. For the devoted yoga girl, receiving a new mat or pair of leggings under the Christmas tree is like making the very top of Santa's nice list. This holiday gift guide is truly om-azing: hot yoga essentials for the Bikram lover, festive leggings that put your ho-hum holiday sweaters to shame, mats to inspire, even jewelry that takes your yoga practice off the mat and into the world. No joke: our list was originally 50+ items long. We don't want to overwhelm Santa (even St. Nick has a budget!), so we've narrowed it down to the top 21 mats, malas, apparel and accessories we're hoping to see under our tree come December 25th. Whether you're in the studio weekly or just aim for a life of zen , steal a peek at what might just be the only yoga gifts guide you'll ever need...



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The Buff Up: A Quick Session with Celebrity Trainer Don Saladino

Celebrity trainer Don Saladino has worked with everyone from Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, to Ryan Gosling and Hugh Jackman, as well as some of today's hottest athletes. As a trainer for Cosmopolitan's fitness and lifestyle channel, COSMOBODY, he blends the best of both the star-studded and sport-focused worlds of personal training down into info we can all use. Whether they're hitting the red carpet or the winning shot, Saladino is training clients to acheive peak condition - and he's sharing a few of his insights with us! One of Don's go-to methods is called split training. Instead of hitting every body part in one session, split training dedicates one full workout to each set. Not only does this give your muscles ample time to recover, it means you can devote all your attention to each body part without worrying the clock will run out - get out of the gym faster! Try Saladino's upper body workout - focusing on your chest and biceps - throughout the holiday season for enviable arms and a decolletage you'll want to show off come New Years Eve. Here's Don... This is a workout I do with Liev Schreiber, star of the Showtime hit TV series, Ray Donovan, to keep him in tip-top shape all season long. For Liev's workout, the focus of Day One is chest and biceps. Day Two is legs, Day Three is shoulders and triceps, Day Four is back, with abs thrown in twice a week. Steal this weekly split the next time you hit the gym - here's how to get started on Day One:



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The Chalkboardiest Gift Guide Ever: 12 Hard-Core Holistic Gifts We Love

We're sharing gift guides galore this month, from our December Shop to yesterday's stocking stuffer round-up. But this guide's the one we've been most looking forward to sharing: our Chalkboardiest gift guide yet. We know our readers are down to try new things and lust over all things wellness-enhancing (and we mean all things.) Avid TCM readers, this one's for you. From an infrared tent and Step And Go stool (exactly what you think it is) to grounding sheets and EMF cell phone protectors, this gift guide is filled with all the seriously healthy swag that only the most hardcore wellness warriors are hoping to see under the Christmas tree. Get ready to shop our top holistic gift picks in this Chalkboardiest of gift guides ever...



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Healthy Holidays 101: Create This Beautiful Flavored Water Station

The funny thing about the holidays is that, despite all the feasting, there seem to be vast swathes of day in which everyone is starving. Relatives roam like wolves through busy kitchens to find snacks to tide them over til dinner and holiday guests pop from party to party without so much as a pig in a blanket before they realize they're famished - and possibly tipsy too. We've got tons of recipes for little holiday bites, find them throughout the Chalkboard, but one real key to keep everyone feeling happy and healthy throughout the day - or night - is to provide guests with plenty of hydration. Dehydration often masks itself as hunger. Especially during the holidays, when rich desserts, salty snacks, and strong cocktails are always within arm's reach. We've all got to go to greater lengths to keep our water intake at a healthy level and one way to do that is to make it more fun. We love the trend toward homemade flavored waters. The possibilities are endless and the nutrition benefits from adding fruits, spices and herbs are of great benefit. We've created this beautiful flavored water station as a kind of healthy bar cart alternative (or addition) for those long holiday days. Set up this adorable station for cozy Christmas day or a New Year's Eve party. Your guests will thank you, your holiday decor will go to the next level, and you'll get all the lingering kiddos excited about drinking water! What could be better. We used a combination of IKEA's glass stoppered bottles, simple glassware, and sweet holiday decor touches to create this water station in a snap. Make these waters in advance and simply lay everything out so that guests can help themselves. For the station: select a bar cart, rolling kitchen cart or small table and cover with a tablecloth. We used burlap, but anything festive will do! We hung this adorable little felt wreath from IKEA to give the station a sense of place. Just plug it in behind a mirror, piece of art, or chalkboard like this one, and let it shine! Gather natural materials: for the station's top we laid out fresh branches and wildflower stems. We also love the idea of using trimmings from the Christmas tree or holly branches - just watch those holly leaves around kids. We're suckers for tea lights and went to town here laying about a dozen among the branches and glassware. Stack the glassware high and let the candlelight shine through. Other natural materials used here include the leftover ingredients from the flavored waters themselves: apples, cranberries, fresh mint and other herbs. The supplies: These flavored water bottles are so gorgeous they'll do most of the work for you. The key is to select glass water bottles like these picks from IKEA that let the fresh ingredients remain visible. The stoppers are perfect because they won't get lost in the holiday fray and keep any accidents to a minimum. Set out your flavored water bottles like rows of cocktail mixers. Surround the bottles with all the necessary glassware and some festive napkins and you'll have everyone surprisingly excited about staying hydrated!



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Read Your Labels: Instant Hot Chocolate

Hidden Dangers: Snuggling up by the fire with a hot cup of cocoa — what a wonderful way to thaw a frosty winter chill! But before you stir in an instant hot chocolate packet this winter, think twice. Along with the savory chocolate, you'll get trans fatty acids, artificial flavors and sugars, GMOs, preservatives and hard-to-digest dairy and casein - more than you bargained for, no doubt. These toxic ingredients are known to lead to more than just a sugar high, so ditch those conventional packets to keep your health on track. What you should avoid: Similar to most pre-made and packaged foods, instant hot chocolate is made with trans fatty acids (also labeled as partially hydrogenated oil), which are known to raise bad (LDL) cholesterol, increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease, strokes and heart attacks, and cause metabolic syndrome and obesity. The next ingredient to avoid is corn syrup. Made with genetically modified corn, this sugary syrup can cause diabetes, and may lead to infertility, and cancer. Just like corn, non-organic sugar is also a GMO food, believed to damage the liver and kidney. Finally, ditch the artificial flavors and sugars, including sucralose and acesulfame potassium. These fake sugars made with chemicals can cause weight gain and sugar cravings and may lead to bladder cancer, blurred vision and neurological issues. Avoid: Partially hydrogenated oil (trans fats), corn syrup, non-organic sugar, artificial flavors and sugars (sucralose and acesulfame potassium) Here's what to do: Go traditional by keeping it simple. Buy instant cocoa mixes made with unsweetened cocoa (chocolate or cacao) and organic sugar, that are free of the other chemical additives and toxic fats. Also consider using a superfood powder made with cacao. There are many to choose from that contain adaptogenic herbs, roots and nutrient-dense foods to boost your hot chocolate drinking experience. These superfood chocolate powders taste just like the real thing, and can help improve energy, relieve stress, balance hormones and strengthen immunity! TCM Picks: Divine Cocoa Powder, Philosophie Cacao Magic, Coco Mojo Energy Elixir, Xoco Blue



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Handmade Holiday: DIY Paper Lanterns From Crafting Community

Craft projects are one thing, "immersive design experiences" are another. Over the last few years, Crafting Community's events, including their incredible annual retreat for families at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, have been thrilling children and parents with crafting workshops that are next level. Karen Kimmel's whimsical sense of design guides the organization's event esthetics - usually characterized by explosions of dreamy colors in everything from dip-dyed string to frothy tissue paper garlands. If you're a design lover with kids, get in on all this crafting goodness with this weekend's Handmade Holiday event here in LA - think Martha Stewart ornament bar, Sugar Paper photo booth, and cookie decorating like you've never seen before. We've got a special code for Chalkboard readers to use below - get in on some kid-friendly, but intensely design-oriented fun! Not available this weekend? Try your hand at Crafting Community's DIY paper lanterns below. It's the perfect family project for those cozy days between Christmas and New Year's! Paper chandeliers, or pajaki, are a traditional Polish folk craft designed to brighten up the home with bold spring blooms during the long winter. Traditionally made from reeds, tissue paper and foil, these ornate decorations can be made from many supplies found kicking around the craft closet. Once you’ve mastered the principles, it is easy to adjust their scale and materials to make the perfect pajak for your home! [olists num=1] [olists num=2]



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Salty, Sour, Crunchy, Sweet: Pickled Veggies From A Winter Produce Box

We fell in love with Farm To Table Baby Mama and her sweet recipe videos for PBS Family as soon as we laid eyes on them. Patricia's simple style is right up our alley and, kids or no, everyone on our team loves to make her recipes at home. Earlier this month, we decided to send Patricia one of our favorite home deliveries: one of Summerland's organic, local produce boxes. Lo and behold, she whipped up this gorgeous winter recipe for us (and our friends at PBS Family) - these simple pickled veggie jars with citrus and spices. Stock up your fridge with jars of these healthful, seasonal veggies and you're just a hop, skip and a jump away from the perfect spread for visiting friends and family through the holidays. Watch Patricia's adorable video above, then pop over to Summerland for an exclusive special on first time orders (details below)! I’ve always loved the intense burst of salty, sour, sweet and crunch that comes with a good pickle. On more than one occasion my mom caught me drinking juice straight from the pickle jar, and I can’t say I’m not still tempted to do that today. These pickles are packed full of flavor from ingredients like thyme, orange, coriander and mustard seeds, and have a nice pucker thanks to some rice wine vinegar. They make a great appetizer alongside some toasted bread and cheese (goat cheese, whipped ricotta, crème fraiche, or yogurt would all be perfect creamy counterpoints). The best part? They can be made way in advance, so last minute entertaining is easy peasy. Feel free to use any vegetables you fancy, toss in a bit of fruit for sweetness, and now let’s get to pickling! [olists num=1] [olists num=2]



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Ready, Set, Give! 9 Holiday Gift Sets Worth Gifting

Come the holidays, every brand on earth has it's version of the ready-to-go "gift set." Trouble is, as convenient as these little gift sets might be, they're all too often filled with half a dozen things we don't want. In a deluxe set of goodies, we might find one amazing product - and fourteen that we could have lived without. To help you avoid those holiday gift sets voted most likely to be upcycled as a birthday gift in 2015, we've rounded up nine incredible little sets that are totally gift-worthy. Each gift set below is gorgeous, filled with more than one product worth drooling over, and from a brand we trust to create clean, natural products. Get to shopping these green goddess-worthy beauty gifts and a few of our perfect picks for burgeoning green thumbs...



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Glendale Goes Green: Join The Pressed Juicery Americana Grand Opening Party!

You’ve feasted on Freeze. You’ve gone coo-coo for Green and Rose Coconut. And after four year of crawling up and down the coast from Los Angeles to Santa Barabara all the way to San Francisco and the OC, Pressed Juicery is opening its doors in the heart of Glendale: the shopping mecca Americana at Brand! Not only is Pressed Juicery heading to the Americana at Brand, they’re bringing with them the frozen juice concoction we're flipping over, Freeze! That's right Los Angelenos - you're finally getting a taste of the frozen dessert we've been gushing about since it's launch earlier this year. In a city that's famous for being 72 and sunny most days out of the year, we could not be more thankful for this healthy, produce-filled treat to cool us down no matter what the season. Join us this Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of Pressed Juicery Americana with free juice, tote bags, gift cards, prizes, and of course, free Freeze! Here’s what you need to know to join in on the festivities…



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Holiday Entertaining With Joan: A Chat With The Woman Behind Joan’s on Third

All the best Sunday afternoons, chick flicks, and hostess gifts have one thing in common: they center entirely around places like Joan's On Third. An old-fashioned, tree-lined facade, a cozy shop stuffed to the brim with perfectly curated pantry and entertaining staples, and a cafe to linger in for hours. This Paris-inspired eatery is one of LA's most beloved cafes and the woman behind it all, Joan McNamera, runs the place in style with the help of her two daughters who've grown up, as they say below, whipping cream before they were tall enough to reach the kitchen counter! We're in the mood to linger at charming spots like Joan's year round but, during the holidays, idyllic cafes and cozy shops are especially appealing. Joan and her daughters Susie and Carol crank into high gear this time of year catering half the holiday parties in town. This year, to add to the holiday mayhem, they've opened a second location of Joan's just over the Hollywood Hills in Studio City. The place feels instantly a part of the neighborhood and is filled with the same chic esthetic we've all come to love from the original Joan's. We had the pleasure of gathering for dinner and a chat with the inimitable Joan herself recently, and we asked her and her daughters to let us in on a few of their holiday entertaining secrets and to tell us what keeps them inspired. Here are Joan, Carol and Susie - we hope fans of this francophile hotspot will love their anecdotes and, hostesses, take a few of their tips before planning your next soiree! The Chalkboard Mag: What are your three must haves for the perfect holiday gathering? the mcnameras: Abundant fresh flowers, plentiful unscented candles and a seasonal cocktail (with a festive twist) - and a crackling fireplace, if you have one. TCM: What are a few of the best hostess gifts holiday party guests can give? THE MCNAMERAS: The best gift you can give is to show up, share your presence and enjoy the warm, welcoming, wonderful experience. A few of our favorite hostess gifts are our gift crates and smaller gift totes - bring one stuffed with midnight snacks the host can munch on once the crowds have cleared! A bottle of wine is also always appreciated. TCM: Do you have any favorite family recipes that have made it into the shop over the years? THE MCNAMERAS: The chocolate roulade is decadent and perfect for holiday entertaining. Joan made the chocolate roulade in her NYC restaurant days and we were always beating the freshly whipped cream (by hand with a very large whisk) as children growing up. We learned to roll the chocolate roulade before we could reach the kitchen counters (the kitchen stool came in handy). Joan’s chocolate roulade is a flourless chocolate cake rolled with fresh whipped cream. Delicious. TCM: What's included in the perfect gift box? THE MCNAMERAS: The perfect gift is always something that you would love to receive yourself. We love to give gifts and to create something that is perfect for the recipient. We like to include something sweet and something savory. A gift full of pantry items is something festive and fun (and useful, too). TCM: What are your fave holiday treats/sweets: THE MCNAMERAS: Gingerbread boys and girls, peppermint bark, peppermint ice cream, decadent hot chocolate with handmade vanilla marshmallows, warm chocolate dream cookies, pumpkin loaf breads right out of the oven, berry cobbler, rustic apple pies… TCM: What do you suggest as the perfect gift for the Joan's-obsessed foodie? THE MCNAMERAS: Our large gift crates are abundantly filled with wonderful gourmet treats…they can be lavishly filled with handmade items from our kitchen. Joan’s crates are the perfect gift for your favorite foodie. Sometimes adding a gift card is a fun way to make the gift even more spectacular by allowing the recipient to hand select more of their own favorite items. TCM: What's a good cooking tip for big dinners at home that you can share from all your catering experience? THE MCNAMERAS: Try to make most of the dishes ahead; I do love to spend time with my guests so I try to plan ahead, and just put on finishing touches right before dinner. Our guests always love to be in the kitchen! All the life and love of the party come from the lovely kitchen preparations. TCM: What are some of your favorite catering locations? THE MCNAMERAS: The Book Bindery in LA and Lotus Land in Montecito. TCM: What's THE perfect meal to order at Joan's in the winter? THE MCNAMERAS: For breakfast, the bonne femme omelette, filled with potatoes, onions, bacon and jack cheese. It is fluffy — great for cooler mornings. The turkey meatloaf sandwich has been a customer favorite for years; comfort food is always good in the winter! And our soups are comforting and wonderful… lentil soup, farro with roasted vegetable, beef chili, Italian wedding soup, chicken noodle soup, matzo ball soup, the list is endless.



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In My Gym Bag: Getting Fab With The Co-Founder of Fabletics

Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand - especially when it comes to working out. Yet we still believe we need to sacrifice style for comfort, comfort for style, or dish out a small fraction of our savings to get the best of both worlds. Enter Fabletics, co-founded by superstar mom, athlete, and designer Ginger Ressler and actress extraordinaire Kate Hudson, that's providing one of our favorite fitnesswear solutions yet. Fabletics is subscription-based and suggests gear to go with your unique profile - so whether you're running, hiking, lifting, yoga-posing, or just bopping around town, you're ready for action. As Fabletics' Chief Stylist, Ginger is passionate about creating fitnesswear that's right for everybody and every body. Ginger is an fitness-lover to the core, having developed a passion for running at an early age, which then led her to compete as a Division I Track athlete in college as well as graduating with a degree in Kinesiology. After years of teaching physical education classes and modeling for top fitness brands (while simultaneously raising three young, sports-loving boys; NBD!), Ginger has a keen sense for what's needed in great fitnesswear. Fitnesswear pieces need to roll with the punches, function at a high level and keep a girl looking great. Together with Kate, Ginger rolled all her experience, passion and great taste into Fabletics. Their line of comfortable, cute, functional and affordable clothes cater to the day-to-day life of active women perfectly. Whether you're a Crossfit champ, a mom on the go, a weekend warrior, or yoga fiend, Fabletics has got a little something for every woman. Take a peek into Ginger's gym bag and steal a few tips from her tried-and-true fitness routine to get you feeling fab.



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Fit Or Fiction: The Truth About Breaking A Sweat

The Claim: The more you sweat, the more out of shape you are. What's more? If you're sweating, you're getting a brutal workout. The Fiction: Blame it on tv shows, movies, or those hokey deodorant ads - but somewhere between workouts we got all the wrong ideas when it comes to sweat. We're conditioned to not only believe that those of us who are sweat-drenched after five minutes are less fit than our drier counterparts - but that the sign of a workout well done is a soaked towel and puddle below the spin bike. Hate to break it to you, but both of these claims are completely fit-fictional. The Facts: Sweating is our body's natural way of cooling down and preventing our core body temperature from rising into the (dangerous) stratosphere. When we exercise, we generate heat - and that heat needs to be released. If not, much like a car that's missed way too many servicing appointments, we'll eventually overheat and break down (dramatic, but true!). Sweat brings down our core body temperature and cools the body down, helping to carry heat out us. The more fit we get, the more heat we are producing on a regular basis - meaning the body slowly starts to acclimate to prevent overheating. Therefore, our bodies become super-efficient at cooling ourselves down - meaning we may sweat more (and sooner). So while you might think that sweat pool on the treadmill is a sign you're in need of some gym therapy, in reality, it could be that the opposite is the real truth. You might not only sweat more as you get more fit, you might sweat sooner - which leads us to the second half of this fit myth. Yep, you guessed it: sweat is not an accurate indicator of how hard you're working. A number of reasons besides fitness level come into play when beads of sweat start to form: your gender, the clothing material you're wearing, the number of sweat glands you have, the temperature of the room, your body chemistry and composition, even whether you've downed a cup of coffee or two (caffeine, smoking, and alcohol can increase perspiration - since sweat is also the body's natural detoxification method!). And of course, if you're truly concerned about your levels of sweat, please be sure to speak with your doctor. We're sorry to break it to you, but while that hot yoga sesh or scorching spin class might leave you soaking wet and has numerous other benefits, it's not a very accurate indication of how hard you're actually working in the moment. The Verdict: Who knew that the hows and whys of sweating could be so confusing! The more fit you are, not the less fit you are, the more you might sweat and the sooner it might start up. But just because you're super in-shape doesn't mean that whenever you start sweating, you're working hard. No matter your fitness level, sweating is not indicative of how tough your workout is or isn't. The better, more reliable, more personalized way to gauge how hard you're working? Pay attention to how the workout feels in your body and what's happening with your breath. We like to use the intensity scale of Easy, Moderate, Hard, and All-Out (also referred to as Maximum Effort or Breathless) because it can be applied to any activity at any time, with any level of fitness. Here's a quick breakdown:



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Superfood Spotlight: Pine Pollen

We are lucky to have wellness pros like Lacy Phillips of Free + Native just lingering around in our lives, ready at moment's notice to enlighten us on such random, yet incredible little topics as today's superfood, pine pollen. We love everything Lacy does as founder of Free + Native Journal, a holistic guide and forum and when we heard her gushing about this incredible tree pollen, we asked her to dive in and tell our readers all about it. Pine pollen has been a staple of Chinese and Korean medicine for more than 2,000 years, utilized for its adapotgenic properties and its ability to boost peak physical performance while balancing mental health. When taken over time, it has been shown to restore vitality, lessen the signs of aging and increase energy and immunity - all the benefits we are looking for in a superfood. Here's Lacy to tell us more about this superfood and to share a transformative healing tonic... I’m absolutely in love with pine pollen and use it for a number of my clients’ tonic recipes - along with my own daily adaptogenic tonic or smoothie! Derived from the pollen of a pine tree every spring, it serves up a list of magical properties: vitamin-rich with A, D, E, B-carotene, B1, B2, B3, B6, and folic acid, making it incredibly skin-feeding and balancing. Wonderfully rich in minerals, it also provides bioavailable calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, phosphorous, potassium, silicon, sodium and zinc. It also contains over twenty amino acids, including all eight essential amino acids making it a complete protein. As an incredible adaptogen and androgen, it can be consumed on an ongoing basis to balance meridians and combat stress, without stressing the body. Being a natural source of testosterone, it can dramatically improve athletic performance, mood, normalize weight and protect the organ and gland systems in both men and women. Pine pollen has also been found to protect against breast and prostate cancer by inhibiting and halting cancer cell growth and multiplication. It may also reduce the size of the prostate gland, while supporting normal functioning. One last note, it also contains phenylalanine and arginine. Phenylalanine stimulates dopamine levels in the brain promoting happiness and feelings of well-being. Arginine is used to improve fertility in men and women, as well as increasing the release of growth hormone. As you can see, pine pollen is quite a powerful substance and a very safe one at that. It has a very neutral flavor profile, which makes it the perfect addition to any festive holiday tonic. Try the recipe below - one of my favorites: Spiced Pine Pollen Tonic. How to use it: Pine pollen can be found in powder, capsule or tincture form. Make sure to purchase one that has broken cell walls in order to ensure its potency and bioavailability. A couple Chalkboard favorites are Pine Pollen powder by Surthrival and Sun Potion, which we'll definitely be mixing into Lacy's Spiced Pine Pollen Healing Tonic.



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On My Wishlist: Holiday Shopping with Maria Rodale

We're asking a few of our favorite wellness warriors to share what they've giving (and hoping to get!) this year. We've got the perfect wishlists from a top men's fitness pro, a girl who's got 'living well' down pat, one of our mind-body heroes, and natural health leader, Maria Rodale - a pioneer in the world of healthy living and a Chalkboarder to the core. Maria's grandfather, JI Rodale began Rodale's in the 1930's to inspire and enable folks to achieve a better life. Since then Rodale's has become a natural living empire, leading the way for countless individuals in the pursuit of clean, natural living. Rodale has published books by several of our own Guest Editors, from Jessica Alba to Alicia Silverstone, and publishes gold-standard health magazines like Prevention, Women's Health and, the most widely read gardening magazine in the world, Organic Gardening. They also run Rodale News, one of our go-to resources for green and natural news. Part of Rodale's organic empire includes a hidden gem of an online natural shop, filled with everything from gardening gear to delicious pantry staples. If you haven't heard of it yet, get into it. We've found natural wonders galore inside their comprehensive catalog. We asked Maria, Rodale's third generation leader, to let us in on what she's asking for this Christmas - and what she's getting everyone on her list. Here are Maria's solid, all-natural choices - take note!



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Meet our December Guest Editor: Jenni Kayne

Season's greetings to our entire TCM clan! As the merriest month of the year begins, we can't help but be swept away by all the touchstones of the season: decorations that glimmer and gleam, sights and smells that fill our hearts with delight, old traditions that span generations and new ones to carry on into the future. And what are the holidays without family? December is all about connecting with those we love most of all, the family we're born with and the family we choose. It's in that spirit we introduce this month's guest editor, a woman who has become like family to us here at The Chalkboard: the lovely Jenni Kayne ! Over the last three years, we've shared quite a bit from Jenni on TCM. This fashion designer infuses her sensible and super-chic style into everything she does, from hosting creatively healthful dinners (her In The Veggie Kitchen series has become a mainstay in the Chalkboard lineup) to conjuring up the latest trends (we credit Jenni's now-famous d'Orsays with popularizing our footwear obsession of the moment). But before her role as style maven, creative genius, or hostess with the mostess, Jenni is first and foremost mama of two and a family woman to her core. Her blog Rip + Tan (named after her kids, Ripley and Tanner) is our go-to for inspiration on how to turn a house into a home and create traditions that last a lifetime. Stay tuned all month long for Jenni's sage advice, innovative tips, DIYs to celebrate the season, and tons of ways to make this holiday your brightest one yet - including a Pinterest contest that starts today! From our family to yours, here's Jenni... Dear Chalkboard readers, I am thrilled and honored to be guest editor for December. My connection to The Chalkboard and its founders runs deep – they are truly like family. Apart from the personal relationships, however, are other connections that are just as strong – I begin each day with a Greens 1, and do not go a single day without reading this beautiful study in living well. I am learning as I go that living well is not simply a destination, rather a journey filled with new discoveries and, often, good lessons learned. As a wife, mother and designer, I am forever working towards balance and harmony in all areas ­– something that I know I am not alone in attempting to achieve. It is for all these reasons that I love The Chalkboard… not to mention the insanely delicious recipes and incredible finds. Which brings us to December. Perhaps my favorite month of the year, it is a time filled with equal parts joy, gratitude and love. It is also a time filled with wrapping and gift giving, dressing up and decorating, and cooking and entertaining. I’m so looking forward to sharing with all of you this month – from the perfect sip to the perfect gift, I’ll be doing my best to make sure your season is especially bright. Jenni Kayne



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