+
Well Being

2022 is the return of New Year's resolutions. Here’s an easy way to keep your wellness goals.

2022 is the return of New Year's resolutions. Here’s an easy way to keep your wellness goals.
via Blue Apron
True

The trials and tribulations of the pandemic have forced many to put off their personal growth goals because life has been far too overwhelming. But it looks like things are slowly turning around and people are beginning to feel hopeful about the new year.

Many are looking forward to January 2022 as a time they can once again focus on self-improvement. Joanna Dickerson, Associate Professor of Psychology at Edith Cowan University, says that more than half of people’s annual resolutions are focused on either “diet” (29%) or “exercise” (24%).

Dickerson also says that our goals will “more likely endure” when “linked to higher personal values.” So if you’re looking to set a health-related resulution for 2022, why not give yourself a better chance at success by committing to the loftier goal of making wellness a way of life?

Dickerson adds that one of the most important things to do to achieve your wellness goal is to “set yourself up for success.”

“Set resolutions are specific plans,” Dickerson writes. “These should account for factors such as time, place, and people. Specific plans provide the mental cues needed to stick to our goals.”


via Blue Apron

Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to make wellness your new way of life in the new year by having balanced meals sent regularly to your front door? Even though that seems like a budget-buster, Blue Apron has made eating right affordable with home-delivered meal kits starting as low as $7.49 a serving.

Blue Apron’s Wellness meals are well-balanced and nutritionist-approved, with vegetarian and 600 calorie or fewer options.

These Wellness meals allow you to keep your New Year’s goals on track with pre-portioned dinners that fit your lifestyle. Sticking to a day-to-day wellness routine is so much easier when you aren’t tempted to run out and grab fast food because you didn't have enough time to go shopping.

A big reason why people love Blue Apron is that cooking their meals is a lot of fun and helps them learn new skills. However, cooking Blue Apron meals also has wonderful therapeutic benefits. "Cooking is self-care at its most basic and nourishing," Meg Bowman, a clinical nutritionist at Nourish Integrative Solutions, tells Bustle. "It is alchemy—you take ingredients and transform them into something delicious that feeds body and spirit."

Psychologists also say that cooking has amazing benefits for mental health because it has a tangible benefit. It’s called “behavioral activation” which means finding meaning in tasks instead of breezing through them. Plus, there’s nothing that feels better than preparing a balanced, delicious meal for your family.

Blue Apron Wellness meals are also great for your mental well-being because you won’t get stressed out about last-minute meal planning or exceeding your monthly meal budget.

Wellness isn't just about what you eat but the love and care that goes into preparing the meal, too.

via Blue Apron

The great thing is with Blue Apron Wellness you can stick to your holistic health goals without sacrificing taste.

How do Tahini Chicken and Warm Kale Salad sound? How about a Seared Shrimp and Orzo Pasta? Doesn’t Sheet Pan Yuzu-Orange Salmon with Roasted Vegetables sound amazing?

But for those nights when you just don’t have enough time to throw a pre-prepared meal together, Blue Apron also has new Wellness Heat & Eat options that are ready in just a few minutes.

If you’re looking to make 2022 the year you recommit to reaching your holistic health and wellness goals, Blue Apron can help you get started and keep you on track by delivering balanced, affordable, and easy-to-prepare meals right to your door. They taste incredible and cooking them is great for the soul, too.

Blue Apron is a fun and turnkey way to make your commitment to wellness in 2022 a reality.

Sign up for Blue Apron now to receive $110 off across your first four boxes and free shipping on your first box!

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

Keep ReadingShow less
Today Info/Youtube

Taylor Swift "diving" below the stage of her Eras Tour concert

The highly anticipated, Ticketmaster-bustingTaylor Swift Eras Tour has officially begun. And it’s looking like the pop star is pulling out all the stops to deliver a heap of spectacle.

Case in point—a video from the “Anti-Hero” pop star's kick-off concert that’s making quite the splash online.

In a mesmerizing blend of live performance and hologram wizardry, audiences saw Swift, clad in a flowy red dress, dive into a pool built into the stage. She then swam across to emerge through waves in a shimmery jumpsuit, just before climbing a ladder and disappearing into a cloud.

Basically, it was like a romantic fairy tale brought to life.

Keep ReadingShow less
Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

Keep ReadingShow less
via Pexels

A mom takes a selfie with her two children.

France’s National Assembly has passed a new law that could seriously impact parents’ ability to share photos of their children online. If passed by the Senate and signed by the president, it would give courts the power to ban parents from posting pictures of their children online.

The bill is controversial because it takes away parents’ rights and puts them in the hands of the government. But supporters believe there are more than a few good reasons for the potential ban.

First, it keeps the child’s image out of the hands of unsavory characters. Member of Parliament Bruno Studer, who proposed the bill, told Le Monde, “'A 13-year-old child has an average of 1,300 images of themselves circulating on the internet. These are photos that can be misused for child pornography or that can lead to bullying in the school environment.”

Keep ReadingShow less

Bruce Willis recently celebrated his 68th birthday.

Back in March 2022, legendary action actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia and took an official step away from the spotlight. Then, in February 2023, the beloved "Die Hard" star progressed into frontotemporal dementia, an incurable brain disorder often mistaken for Alzheimer’s that mainly affects personality, behavior and language, according to the Mayo Clinic.


Despite the tragic news, Willis is supported by loved ones, as seen in a video posted by ex-wife Demi Moore. The clip, posted to Twitter on March 19, captures Willis' family surrounding him in celebration of his 68th birthday.
Keep ReadingShow less

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

Keep ReadingShow less