RS - February 2018

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SWEET LITTLE BEAUTY BUYS FROM $3

Best Ways to Be Healthy Delicious Diet Swaps Bedroom Makeovers for More Sleep What Your Skin Really Needs

FEBRUARY 2018

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Thoughts

“In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

STO C K SY

— A L B E RT C A M U S, “ Re t u r n to T i p a s a ”

2 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photograph by Chalit Saphaphak

ċĝĥħĪġĝī ęĪĝ ĥęĜĝ ęĪħĭĦĜ ĥĝęĤī ĒĠĝ đęĮħĪ ěęĪĜ ĥęģĝī ĬĠĝĥ ĥħĪĝ ĪĝįęĪĜġĦğ đċ

ăęĪĦ "v ěęīĠ Ěęěģ ħĦ ĜġĦġĦğ × !v ħĦ ğĪħěĝĪġĝī × v ħĦ ęĤĤ ħĬĠĝĪ ĨĭĪěĠęīĝī

āĪĝĜġĬ ęĨĨĪħĮęĤ ĪĝĩĭġĪĝĜ čĞĞĝĪĝĜ Ěı āęĨġĬęĤ čĦĝ ĀęĦģ ÕēđÿÖ Č ÿ ƣ ! & āęĨġĬęĤ čĦĝ

You probably forgot what you ate.

But you remember everything else.

H

AV E YO U E V E R S E E N A 3 -Y E A R - O L D

scream and thrash on the floor like something from The Exorcist? I have. Nearly every night. For months. And it was my 3-yearold. There was an unpleasant stretch a few years ago when, almost every night, my husband and I would bolt out of bed to the sound of our daughter screaming in the throes of a night terror. We would try to comfort her, usually to no avail. During extra-violent ones, we would carry her to the thick living room rug so she wouldn’t hurt herself as she writhed in apparent psychic agony. We felt powerless and, of course, completely exhausted. It wasn’t as unnerving as it might have been—we knew my husband had gone through these episodes as a child. So I asked my mother-in-law how many months it would take for our girl to outgrow this phase.

“Months? Try years,” she said, laughing, and explained that my husband didn’t sleep consistently until he turned 5. I didn’t laugh. I was too busy calculating all that future lost sleep.

Fortunately, our daughter grew out of the phase sooner than that, and now I, too, can laugh at our misery—while being thankful it’s over.

4 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

But sleep can still be elusive; like nearly everyone I know, I wish I got more of it. Don’t you?

It’s of course essential for feeling and looking your best, and when it doesn’t happen, it can throw everything off-kilter. (I blame insomnia for the time I locked the keys in the car…while it was running.) And while most of us have heard about the importance of good sleep routines (which is why my iPhone sleeps in the kitchen and not the bedroom), less attention has been paid to the positive impact your bedroom decor can have on your sleep. In “Design Your Bedroom for Better Sleep” (page 88), we offer three distinct room styles, with tips for creating a more restful experience. And to help kids of any age get better sleep, check out our story “How to Beat the Bedtime Blues” (page 61). Whenever I don’t sleep well, I overeat, and I don’t reach for a salad or a nice piece of fruit—crinkle fries call my name. In “Healthy Little Food Swaps That Taste So Good” (page 82), you’ll find crave-worthy yet nutritious options. Since February weather sometimes means staying in and getting cozy, our food editors bring you “Staples from Scratch” (page 96), with recipes for basics like chicken stock and hot cocoa mix. If you’re the type of person who cooks to relax, you may find them especially calming. Enjoy!

SWEET DREAMS On February 8, I’ll be at the West Elm store in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood bringing Real Simple’s sleepbetter tips to life with a panel of experts from West Elm, Leesa, and Mindfresh. For more about this and other events, visit westelm .com, where you can also enter to win prizes such as a $1,000 West Elm gift card.

Follow me on Twitter @lyazel and Instagram @leslieyazel

Photograph by Rob Howard

F A S H I O N S T Y L I N G B Y A LY S S A D I N E E N ; H A I R B Y M AT T H E W M O N Z O N ; M A K E U P B Y K AT I E J A N E H U G H E S

E d i t o r ’s N o t e

I

LOVE

YOU

This year, say it in chocolate.

Love has never been so delicious. Come see our language of silky smooth DOVE Chocolate at sayitindovechocolate.com ®

© 2018 Mars or Affiliates

Contents February 2018

O N T H E C OV E R

Delicious diet swaps

82

Bedroom makeovers for more sleep

88

What your skin really needs

44

Sweet little beauty buys from $3

20

88 Create your own sleep sanctuary

96

104

31

Snowed-in staples

Reasons to love where you live

A Valentine’s Day treat

C OV E R C R E D I T S 8 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Prop St yling by Chloe Daley

Cover Photograph by Chelsea Cavanaugh Food St yling by Sue Li for Sarah Laird and Good Company

33

53

82

The pantry you always wanted

A pretty bra that really fits

Your new favorite foods

Thoughts Editor’s Note

2

the realist

4

How to Make a Heart Cake

Real Simple 24 /7

10

Your Words

12

The Short List

14

what we love Seven things to do, see, and enjoy this month Pretty Smart Beauty buys to save your sanity

Now What?!?

Solutions for life’s mini disasters Organize This Streamline your kitchen pantry

17

20

Things Cooks Know The best way to load a dishwasher

31

32

33

38

The Staple Long-grain white rice 22

Real Simplifier How to drive safely in the snow

Little Helpers Clever items that make every day better 27

Road Test Our editors pick the best night treatments 42

My Favorite Piece Interior designer Young Huh styles nesting tables for any space 28

What Your Skin Really Needs Navigate the skin-care aisle with confidence 44

40

Drugstore Insider Shop with dermatologist Joshua Zeichner 48

Organizing Challenge Four ideas for getting control of Lego bricks 50 All Your Bra-blems, Solved Innovative designs for every body 53 The Essential Style your turtleneck for any occasion 58

relating How to Beat the Bedtime Blues Get kids of all ages to fall (and stay) asleep 61 Modern Manners Catherine Newman offers advice

66

The Vets Will See You Now

68

Good Read The hobby that helped define Chloe Benjamin’s modern marriage 71 5 Questions to Ask Your Adult Siblings

74

balance Save on Groceries (Without Clipping Coupons) Spending less on food is possible with these tips and tricks 77 Making It Work How do you pull yourself out of a work rut?

80 Healthy Little Food Swaps That Taste So Good Lighten up your plate with these delicious options 82 Ahhh Take a breather

features Design Your Bedroom for Better Sleep Small changes to your space that improve the quality of your z’s 88 Staples from Scratch Stay in and make our better-than-storebought basics 96 The Place I Call Home Four writers reflect on why they love where they live 104

food 5 Easy Dinners

115

Make It Yourself Ramen

121

Big Batch Shepherd’s pie

124

Road Test Chips

125

Rituals

128

87

REAL SIMPLE® (ISSN 1528-1701) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY TIME INC. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 225 LIBERTY STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10281. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW YORK, NY, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ALL UAA TO CFS (SEE DMM 507.1.5.2); NON-POSTAL AND MILITARY FACILITIES: SEND ADDRESS CORRECTIONS TO REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE, P.O. BOX 62120, TAMPA, FL 33662-2120. CANADA POST PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40110178. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADA ADDRESSES TO: POSTAL STN. A, P.O. BOX 4015, TORONTO, ON M5W 2T2. GST#888381621RT0001. SUBSCRIBERS: IF THE POSTAL SERVICE ALERTS US THAT YOUR MAGAZINE IS UNDELIVERABLE, WE HAVE NO FURTHER OBLIGATION UNLESS WE RECEIVE A CORRECTED ADDRESS WITHIN TWO YEARS. U.S. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $28.95 FOR ONE YEAR. YOUR BANK MAY PROVIDE UPDATES TO THE CARD INFORMATION WE HAVE ON FILE. YOU MAY OPT OUT OF THIS SERVICE AT ANY TIME. MAILING LIST: WE MAKE A PORTION OF OUR MAILING LIST AVAILABLE TO REPUTABLE FIRMS. CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: FOR 24/7 SERVICE, PLEASE USE OUR WEBSITE, REALSIMPLE.COM/CUSTOMERSERVICE. YOU CAN ALSO CALL 1-800-881-1172 OR WRITE TO REAL SIMPLE AT P.O. BOX 62120, TAMPA, FL 33662-2120. © 2017 TIME INC. FOR INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AND SYNDICATION REQUESTS, PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.TIMEINC.COM/SYNDICATION OR CALL 1-212-522-5868. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. REAL SIMPLE® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF TIME INC. VOLUME 19, ISSUE 2. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

9

Real Simple 24/7 FOLLOW US ONLINE FOR E XCLUSIVE IDE A S, TIP S, A N D W AY S T O M A K E L I F E E A S I E R — E V E RY D AY.

MEET

RINA STONE E X EC U T I V E C R E AT I V E D I R ECTO R AT R E A L S I M P L E

Give your valentine something homemade and clever, like cards with punny statements.

You might already have the materials (e.g., birthday candles) at home.

My go-to dish: Carnitas served with a creamy polenta. It’s so easy, yet guests rave.

Favorite thing in my house: My midcentury daybed.

It provides extra seating during a party and also doubles as a bed for guests. @RINAJSTONE ON INSTAGRAM

Watch the how-tos at realsimple.com/ valentinecards.

Snow-day crafts and treats When it’s too cold for the playground and the kids are getting antsy, some fun and easy DIYs will save the day.

Go to realsimple.com/snowdaycrafts.

TUNE IN Catch us on Instagram Live every Wednesday to see our food editors in action. You’ll learn new recipes and some genius cooking tips and tricks.

Plus, get the chance to ask them any kitchen questions.

Muffins, reimagined PINTEREST @REALSIMPLE

We came up with new dishes to make with English muffins, like this s’mores panini.

Check out realsimple.com/ englishmuffins.

10 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Open

and tap

for gift ideas.

TWITTER @REALSIMPLE

FAC E B O O K @REALSIMPLE

S N A P C H AT @REALSIMPLEMAG

I N S TA G R A M @ R E A L _S I M P L E

C L O C K W I S E F R O M B O T T O M L E F T : P H O T O G R A P H B Y B R I E PA S S A N O , F O O D S T Y L I N G B Y J E S S D A M U C K ; C O U R T E S Y O F M I C A E L A R O S S AT O ; P H OTO G R A P H BY P H I L I P F R I E D M A N , ST Y L I N G BY B L A K E R A M S E Y; C O U RT E SY O F R E A L S I M P L E . C O M

H E A RT F E LT C A R D S

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Yo u r W o r d s

What’s your favorite memory with your significant other?

I was sad, and he took me to an animal shelter to pet cats even though he was allergic to them.

I had no idea until I saw his eyes swelling! @ K AT I E S H O W B LO G

We were on our honeymoon, driving through Michigan’s very rural Upper Peninsula, and we passed a road sign that said Low Shoulder. Without saying a word, we both dropped our shoulders lower as we passed. The feeling that I had married exactly the right person has stayed with me more than 28 years.

JENNIFER SULLIVAN, HARTL AND, MICHIGAN

# R S L OV E

“ G A R D E N R O S E S A N D R A N U N C U LU S F O R T H E W I N ! ” @ G I N G E R R O S E F LOW E R S

When we were days back from our honeymoon, our Christmas tree fell on my (Jewish) husband.

He laughed. He still helps put it up every year. @JULESB SCHWARTZ

Releasing sea turtle hatchlings under a star-filled sky.

We founded and host a hatchery to save nests from poachers and to educate.

ODE T TE GORD ON, NAYARIT, ME XICO

My now husband and I went on a monthlong backpacking trip through Europe right before we got married. We drank limoncello, cliff jumped, and slept in a camper in the woods.

BE TH Z ARLING, TACOMA , WASHINGTON

When we first started dating, my girlfriend and I drove to the beach for the day. When we got there, her dog and I went in first. Suddenly the tidewater rushed in all around us and rose up to our waists. We were completely soaked and in shock but laughed so hard together after the fact, thrilled by the experience.

HANNAH SERAPHINA , P ORTL AND, OREGON

Singing “Happy Birthday” at the birth of our first granddaughter.

ROSELLEN STORM, SOUTHOLD, NE W YORK

Fly-fishing brought my husband and me together. On our wedding day, we sneaked away to our favorite spot and danced in the river.

VEE YANG, HELENA , MONTANA

The night my husband proposed—in a hardware store.

He’ll never live that down.

S A R A H S C OT T, H A N STO N , K A N S A S

12 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

I met my wife over the phone through work. Julie was living in Las Vegas, and I in Tulsa. We talked frequently, then daily, for three months, until I had the opportunity to attend a meeting with her in Las Vegas. It was the moment she walked into the office that I will never forget.

I knew.

B.L ., TUL SA , OKL AHOMA

My husband was a union carpenter before retirement, and he often left the house very early. He would leave me sweet little good-morning notes in the coffee cup because he knew it would be the first thing I grabbed.

ANGELINA DELLIVENERI CAPUTO, WO OD-RID GE, NE W JERSEY

When we first started dating, he read his favorite book, The River Why, to me. I know sharing that book with me was very intimate for him.

RACHEL CRAVEN, TOLED O, OREGON

On our second date, seven years ago, my now husband and I went for a hike up a mountain. It was the middle of winter, freezing, and challenging because of the recent snowfall.

When we got to the top, he pulled out a thermos with hot homemade chai tea.

It was then I knew he was a keeper!

REBECCA COHEN, FRAMINGHAM, MAS SACHUSE T TS

Right after I found out I was pregnant, my husband and I spent a few days alone in Philadelphia exploring the city and eating (a lot) of great food. It was nice to be together with our little secret before letting the cat out of the bag.

Dinner Made Simple 35 Everyday Ingredients, 350 Easy Recipes by the Editors of

NICOLE LOWERY, DENVER

Seeing his face when I came home from deployment.

Pure joy. @MILMOM79

The women who share photos for this column receive our book Dinner Made Simple. Tag Instagram posts with #RSLOVE to be considered for future columns.

NEXT QUESTION...

What’s the best beauty advice your mother gave you?

Send an email to yourwords@ realsimple.com and let us know your answer to this question. Your response could appear on these pages.

The Short List F I V E B O O K S T H AT W O N ’ T D I S A P P O I N T

By Nora Horvath

Romantic gift Timeless tale

Great for book club Newlyweds Celestial and Roy are living a perfect life in Atlanta when Roy is wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to 12 years in prison. An American Marriage explores how their union unravels as Roy’s life is put on hold while Celestial’s moves forward. In this unforgettable novel, Tayari Jones tackles hard questions about pride, betrayal, and our capacity to forgive.

When a gunman opens fire at 7-year-old Zach Taylor’s school, killing his older brother and many classmates, he is torn from the naïveté of his childhood. In Only Child, Rhiannon Navin shows, through Zach’s eyes, how his family and town fall apart after the tragedy. Perfect for fans of Room, this heartbreaking but important novel offers a new perspective on trauma and reminds readers that hope can be found in even the darkest moments.

Alaskan opus In The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah’s latest since The Nightingale, we meet Leni Allbright; her mother, Cora; and her struggling Vietnam veteran father, Ernt. It’s 1974 and the world feels uncertain. The family moves to Alaska in hopes of living off the grid and finally finding Ernt some relief from his inner demons. But the frontier offers far from a simple, backto-the-land lifestyle, and the unprepared Allbrights struggle to survive. This epic, atmospheric novel examines humans’ will to endure the unthinkable.

For more book recommendations, visit realsimple.com/books.

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y H E L E N Q U I N N F O R PAT B AT E S & A S S O C I AT E S

Tom Hazard ages very slowly: While he looks 40, he’s actually more than 400 years old.

To stay safe, he belongs to a secret society that forces members to move often—and to never fall in love. But Tom has. Despite his extraordinary life (he worked for Shakespeare), Tom wishes only to be ordinary and find his missing daughter. In the captivating How to Stop Time, Matt Haig asks: How would you live your life if you had more time?

We kiss to show our affection for all kinds of people in our lives, from children to husbands and wives.

In the anthology The Kiss, Brian Turner collects stories and quotes from dozens of writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pico Iyer, and Toni Morrison, that capture the physical and emotional sparks that occur when we touch lips.

Timely perspective

14 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photograph by Addie Juell

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E V E RY T H I N G O U R E D I T O R S A R E B U Z Z I N G A B O U T T H I S M O N T H

1 Put pen to paper.

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y C E C I L I A E L G U E R O F O R K AT E R YA N I N C .

When a text just isn’t enough: Send a love message, condolences, or a story on a card from Nicely Noted, a monthly letterpress-stationery subscription service. Each curated snail-mail set includes three cards, envelopes, and stamps. Order it for yourself or as a thoughtful gift for a loved one.

TO BUY: From $20 per month; nicelynoted.com.

Photograph by Addie Juell

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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W H AT W E LO V E

more

2

to love

Finally preserve your family photos.

Bring your Polaroids and home videos into the digital age with the Memory Makeover Kit from Legacy Republic. Send your VHS tapes, photos, and rolls of film, and the company will digitize and archive your memories in an online account.

TO BUY: $100 for up to 4 projects (e.g., a videotape, film reel, or 50 photo prints); legacyrepublic.com.

4 P.F. Candle Co. is going green with its new collection, Terra: for the Love of Plants.

Each terra-cotta pot has a candle scented with geranium, juniper, lavender, olive, or rosemary. Once you’ve burned the candle, reuse the pot as a planter for your next gardening project.

TO BUY: $42; pfcandleco.com.

3 Roll with it.

Giving back has made its way to the bathroom.

Who Gives a Crap is a toilet-paper company that makes its products with 100 percent recycled paper and donates half the profits to help build toilets and improve hygiene and water access in developing countries. (The patterns are much prettier than the name.)

TO BUY: $30 for 24 rolls of 3-ply toilet paper; us.whogivesacrap.org.

6

5 Meet a champion.

Kick off the Winter Olympics with Team USA’s WinterFest. The multistop festival arrives in Park City, Utah, on February 10 for a meet and greet with Olympians, a bobsledding ride, curling, and a concert. If you can’t hit the slopes, follow the action by searching #TeamUSAFest on Instagram and Twitter.

Lather up.

Smooth your skin with L’Occitane’s collaboration with Rifle Paper Co.’s creative director, Anna Bond. The Valentine’s Day gift sets feature soaps, creams, and a manicure collection, all with signature Rifle Paper Co. prints. Available January 24 to February 14.

TO BUY: From $24; usa.loccitane.com.

18 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

7 Charm someone.

Juju Supply Co. delivers jewelry with a hopeful message. Founded by a cancer survivor, the brand makes charms and crystals that are meant to feel like pieces of armor. Collections are named after what the brand encourages: healing, tranquility, compassion, fresh starts, protection, and intention.

TO BUY: From $25; juju supply.com.

C L O C K W I S E F R O M B O T T O M : P H O T O G R A P H S B Y B R I A N H E N N , S T Y L I N G B Y PA U L P E T Z Y ( 2 ) ; A L B E R T O P I Z Z O L I / G E T T Y I M A G E S ; C O U R T E S Y O F P. F. C A N D L E C O .

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See what’s possible. Visit Neutrogena.com/Retinol

*Among OTC cosmetics; greater improvement on fine lines. © J&JCI 2017

Pretty Smart A N O I L T H AT ’ L L B R I N G F R I E D H A I R B AC K T O L I F E A N D S E V E N O T H E R B E AU T Y B U Y S T O S AV E YO U R S A N I T Y

By Heather Muir Maffei

If you spend more quality time with your flatiron or colorist than with your friends, your hair needs this superlight yet potent healing treatment. Dab it onto your ends post-styling, leave it on dry hair overnight, or apply to damp hair before you blow-dry to transform straw-like strands into silk. TO BUY: $68; soilhair.com.

20 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photograph by Addie Juell

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y H E L E N Q U I N N F O R PAT B AT E S & A S S O C I AT E S

S .O I L S E RU M + O I L IN ASPEN

W H AT W E LO V E

FRE SH LOTUS YO U T H P R E S E RV E RESCUE MA SK

S M E A R S , F R O M T O P : J M U C K L E ; J O N PAT E R S O N ; B R I A N H E N N . P R O D U C T I M A G E S C O U R T E S Y O F M A N U F A C T U R E R S

LIZ JONES DAY T I M E FA C E K I T

This palette takes the guesswork out of getting ready, thanks to universally flattering cream blush, concealer, two shadows, brown liner, mascara, lip gloss, and a giant mirror— all in one place.

TO BUY: $85; lizjones cosmetics.com.

O L AY W H I P S LU M I N O U S

This cream-to-liquid moisturizer feels as airy as a cloud while it infuses skin with serious hydrators and brighteners.

Bonus: It leaves skin matte (no greasy T-zone come noon).

TO BUY: $29; at drugstores.

LIP SMACKER KISS THER APY BALMS

If Dr. Pepper–flav vored Lip Smacker was s always in your bac ackpack, you’ll love th he brand’s grown-up editions, which have cococo nut and jojoba oils for fo flake-free, supple lip ps.

TO BUY: $3 each; at Walmart.

A five-minute facial for tired, dull skin, this exfoliating mask brightens (with red algae) and smooths (with lotus seeds). Slick onto damp skin, multitask for a bit, then rinse.

TO BUY: $62; fresh.com.

TPSY BE GONE MAKEUP ER ASER

A long-lasting lipstick is great…until you try to remove it and it won’tt budge. Enter this won mark ker, which helps break k down stubborn formu ulas and acts as a magic eraser to clean up lip and eye mistakes.

TO BUY: $20; at Nordstrom.

R I T UA L S T H E R I T UA L O F AY U RV E DA F OA M I N G SHOWER GEL

Yes, its scent of Indian rose and sweet almond oil transforms a shower into a spa.

But it’s the gel’s ability to double as a frothy shaving cream that has us stockpiling it.

TO BUY: $15; rituals.com.

FUNCTION OF B E AU T Y S H A M P O O AND CONDITIONER

Imagine a dating site for your hair—take a quiz to personalize the formulas based on your hair goals.

They’re mailed to your door with your name on the bottlles!

TO BUY: $ $36 for 8-oz. set; function nofbeauty.com.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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W H AT W E LO V E

Quick Ideas

The Staple A warm pot of freshly cooked long-grain white rice is at once comforting and endlessly versatile.

The grain pairs well with myriad flavors in all sorts of dishes—including some that might surprise. Make a creamy rice porridge for breakfast or form rice into spicy meat-and-cheese patties. Top salads and proteins with crispy puffed fried rice for tasty crunch. Uncooked white rice keeps best in a wellsealed airtight container; store in a cool, dark place for up to three years.

1 B R E A K FA S T R I C E PORRID GE

Combine 6 cups water, cup packed 1 cup rice, brown sugar, 1 tsp. tsp. cinnamon, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very thick, 40 minutes. Stir in 1 cup half-and-half. Top with chopped mango and toasted almonds.

2 C H O R I Z O -A N D C H E E S E R I C E PAT T I E S

Cook 12 oz. fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed, in a large skillet over medium-high, stirring to crumble, until browned, 6 minutes.

Let cool. Combine with 3 cups cooked rice, 4 oz. shredded Monterey Jack, 2 beaten eggs, and 1 tsp. salt. Form into 8 patties. Dredge in 1 cup panko. Cook in skilcup olive oil let with over medium-high until golden brown, 8 minutes.

Top with guacamole.

Dry 1 cups cooked rice on paper towels, uncovered, for 2 hours. Fry rice, cup at a time, in 1 inch of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven at 375°F. Using a fine wire-mesh strainer, transfer rice to a paper towel–lined plate. Season with tsp. each salt and pepper.

By Ananda Eidelstein Recipes by Paige Grandjean

22 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photograph by Corey Olsen

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y C E C I L I A E L G U E R O F O R K AT E R YA N I N C .

3 THE REAL FRIED RICE

Enjoy Heart-Healthy California Walnuts During American Heart Month This February

Walnut Raspberry Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

California Walnuts

FOR THE BEST SIMPLE SALADS EVER For flavor, texture and heart-healthy* goodness, toss in chopped or toasted California walnuts. For these recipes and more visit Walnuts.org Per one ounce serving.

So Simple. So Good.™

*Heart-Check food certification does not apply to recipes unless expressly stated. See heartcheckmark.org/guidelines. Supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. (FDA) One ounce of walnuts provides 18g of total fat, 2.5g of monounsaturated fat, 13g of polyunsaturated fat including 2.5g of alpha-linolenic acid – the plant-based omega-3.

Romaine Salad with Walnuts and Beets

Lemony Zucchini Salad with Walnuts

Kale, Apple, Pancetta and Walnut Salad

A DV E RT I S E M E N T

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W H AT W E LO V E

LU N C H B OX C O M PA N I O N

C O M PA C T J U M P S TA RT E R

This small wonder jump-starts cars, motorcycles, and boats, guiding you through the process with a series of lights and sounds. Plus, it juices up your phone and has a built-in flashlight that lasts up to 14 hours.

A single charge gets you a year of standby power.

TO BUY: Weego 22 jump starter, $100; myweego.com.

K U B E : P H O T O G R A P H B Y K E V I N S W E E N E Y, S T Y L I N G B Y M I A T R A N ; A L L O T H E R P R O D U C T I M A G E S C O U R T E S Y O F M A N U F A C T U R E R S

M A G N E T I C WA L L B L O C K

Hang keys or jewelry or keep your phone charger at the ready with this multipurpose fixture. It holds up to six pounds, and no t l are needed tools d d tto mountt it it.

Comes in three weather-safe finishes. TO BUY: Kube, $10; etsy.com/shop/woodnetics.

This stainless-steel cutlery set makes eating on the go a snap. The knife has a magnetic handle to keep the utensils together, and they all fit neatly inside a silicone case.

Dishwasher safe.

TO BUY: GoEat cutlery set, $12; amazon.com.

Little Helpers S I X S M A RT P RO D U C T S TO M A K E YO U R L I F E E A S I E R

By Brandi Broxson

WEAR ABLE B O O M B OX

C L E A N - H A N D S C R E AT U R E

Kids aren’t always the best at handwashing—this cute tool helps.

The sponge lathers up soap, and the soft bristles clean dirt from under tiny fingernails. Stands on end for easy drying. TO BUY: Scrub Bug, $10 th $10; thegrommet.com. t

Clip this Bluetooth speaker to your shirt for a bike ride or spring-cleaning spree when you want tunes but need to hear ambient sound. Charges via USB. TO BUY: Polk Boom Bit, $30; polkaudio.com.

S PA C E - M A K I N G T O I L E T RY B A G

Not enough counter space in the hotel bathroom? This case fits all your essentials and smartly expands to create a usable surface over a sink—or even your lap when you’re in transit. Water-resistant and wipes clean.

TO BUY: ORGO, $36; everythingorgo.com.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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W H AT W E LO V E

My Favorite Piece

SLEEK

LUX E

The clean-lined Parsons shape makes this trio of tables easy to incorporate in any room.

TO BUY: Astair nesting tables, $200; zgallerie.com.

Arrange this mixed-materials set next to an upholstered side chair for a bit of Hollywood Regency flair.

TO BUY: Acrylic nesting tables, $200; pier1.com.

POLISHED

R E T RO

These half-moon tables nestle neatly against the side of a sofa.

TO BUY: Marla nesting side table, $289; potterybarn.com.

Place a lamp on the larger surface and use the smaller one as a landing pad for your laptop.

TO BUY: The Lexi Collection modern nesting tables, $130; amazon.com.

Young Huh Interior designer in New York City Hammered metal nesting tables taller table provides a purposeful space to store and showcase items, while the lower one is at the ready when I need an additional surface,” says Huh. Place them next to a sofa as a set of side tables, in the entryway as a compact console, or along a bare wall to display flowers or artwork.

Bonus: When you’re entertaining, they’ll provide extra surfaces for refreshments.

WHAT:

WHY: “The

28 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

T R A N S PA R E N T

C O N T E M P O R A RY

Versatile pieces that practically disappear are a great option for small-space dwellers.

TO BUY: Baxton Studio clear 3-piece nesting end table, $115; homedepot.com.

The chic combination of light wood and white lacquer will elevate a modern space.

TO BUY: Beckett nesting tables, $560; luluandgeorgia.com.

Photograph by Brian Ferr y

P R O D U CT I M AG E S C O U RT E SY O F M A N U FACT U R E R S

A P RO ’ S P I C K F O R O N E M U ST- H AV E D E S I G N E L E M E N T

Moen® MotionSense Wave™ Kitchen Faucet in Spot Resist™ Stainless. Other finishes available online.

A NEW WAVE IN KITCHEN FAUCETS

The new Moen® Essie™ touchless kitchen faucet turns water off and on with a simple wave of the hand, making it easier to keep your hands clean and germ-free.

The spot-resistant, stainless finish means your faucet will stay cleaner longer.

The Moen® MotionSense Wave™ Kitchen Faucet in Spot Resist™ Stainless and new Power Clean™ technology is available exclusively at The Home Depot.®

$'9(57,6(0(17

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U N C O M M O N S O L U T I O N S T O E V E RY D AY P R O B L E M S

H OW TO M A K E A H E A RT C A KE You don’t need a special cake pan to bake up this Valentine’s treat.

Just fill a round pan and a square pan of similar widths with your favorite batter and bake. Once they’re done, let the cakes cool completely, F O O D S T Y L I N G B Y A N N A H A M P T O N ; P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y H E AT H E R C H A D D U C K

then remove them from the pans. Cut the round cake in half, creating two semicircles. Position the square cake like a diamond, then place the semicircular halves on adjacent sides of the square cake. Use frosting to “glue” the pieces together, forming a heart shape. Frost, add sprinkles, and enjoy with a loved one.

By Brandi Broxson

Photograph by Greg DuPree

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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THE REALIST

Now What?!?

S M A RT F I X E S F O R L I F E ’ S L I T T L E D I S A ST E R S

By Blake B akkila

There’s a lingering odor in my fridge.

K .D., VIA EMAIL

Take out all the food, drinks, shelves, and bins, says Mary Marlowe Leverette, a laundry and housekeeping expert at TheSpruce.com. Then mix one tablespoon liquid chlorine bleach with one gallon of water and wipe down the removable parts and the fridge’s interior.

Rinse well with a cloth dipped in hot water and let dry. Still smelly?

It might be the drip pan. “Sometimes odors can permeate the evaporator coils, and spoiled food can drip into the evaporator catch pan,” says Leverette. Unplug your fridge and, using a flator Phillips-head screwdriver, remove the panels that cover the coils (they’re usually located at the bottom of the refrigerator).

Pull out the drip pan and clean it and the coils with a cloth dipped in warm, soapy water. Allow the fridge to air out completely before you plug it back in.

THE FIX:

32 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

There’s burned fabric stuck to my iron.

B.G., VIA EMAIL

F.G., VIA EMAIL THE FIX: Bring a balloon for your child to blow up during takeoff and landing, says Alyssa Hackett, a doctor who specializes in otolaryngology at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.

The blowing helps equalize pressure in the ears.

Have an infant or toddler? Give her a bottle or pacifier to suck on. When the plane descends, wake up a sleeping child so her ears can adjust. “A fussy, sleepy child is better than one screaming in pain from the sudden change in pressure,” says Hackett.

GET T Y IMAGES

My child’s ears always hur t when we fly.

THE FIX: Set the iron to the lowest heat setting, says Becca Napelbaum, a cleaning expert at Handy, an online service that connects consumers to house cleaners and handymen. As the iron warms, the fabric should start to soften. Take a wooden spatula and slowly scrape the burned fabric off the iron. If there are still remnants, mix together a paste of equal parts baking soda and water and scrub with a cloth once the iron has cooled. If the fabric is polyester and the stain is more plasticky, try wiping the cool iron with a cloth dipped in acetone nail polish remover.

Finish with a damp cloth to remove any leftover cleaning products that could stain clothing.

1 E M P L OY C A N I S T E R S

Decant baking supplies and cereal into see-through, airtight containers so you can view what (and how much) you have at a glance.

When an ingredient looks low, add it to the grocery list. TO BUY: Clear round acrylic canisters, from $10; containerstore.com.

2 C R E AT E Z O N E S

1

2

Compartmentalize the space using baskets and arrange the contents by category (“sweet treats,” “salty snacks,” “baking,” “rice and grains”). Stash the stuff you reach for most often at eye level.

3 L A B E L E V E RY T H I N G

Identify what goes inside each container with labels or hangtags—this will make it easy for everyone in the house to maintain order.

For extra organizational points, give the interior walls a coat of chalkboard paint to denote where the baking bin or soup cans should live.

3

4 G E T V E RT I C A L

4

Elevate cans, jars, and condiments atop a multitier riser to keep everything visible and easy to access.

TO BUY: Copco nonskid cabinet organizer, $6; bedbathandbeyond.com.

M A R I S A B E L L E P H OTO G R A P H Y

5 LIGHTEN UP

Organize This N O M O R E S P E L U N K I N G : M O L LY G R AV E S A N D A S H L E Y M U R P H Y, C O F O U N D E R S O F N E A T M E T H O D , S H A R E T H E I R P L A N F O R A N E N V I A B L E PA N T R Y S E T U P.

It’s hard to know what food you have when you can’t see it. If there’s no electricity in the pantry, consider battery-operated lighting to shed light on things. TO BUY: Project Source battery puck lights, $20 for 2; lowes.com.

Stock your pantry like a pro.

Find a list of 10 essentials at realsimple.com/pantry.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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THE REALIST

Things Cooks Know ST R AT E G I E S, T E C H N I Q U E S, A N D T I P S F O R L OA D I N G A D I S H WA S H E R — F RO M T H E R E A L S I M P L E T E ST K I TC H E N TO YO U R S

By Grace Elkus

5 Things to Never Put in the Dishwasher WOODEN CUT TING BOARDS:

How to Load a Dishwasher

Can warp and crack.

Wash with hot, soapy water and wipe dry.

TO P R A C K

CAST-IRON COOKWARE:

Best for drinking glasses, mugs, and bowls, plus anything glass or plastic, which could break or warp on the bottom rack (where heat is higher).

Can rust. Scrub with soapy water, wipe dry, then lightly coat with cooking oil and heat on stove until totally dry.

HARD-ANODIZED ALUMINUM COOKWARE: Can discolor.

Scrub with hot, soapy water (avoid harsh detergents) using a nonabrasive sponge.

DON’T REST ITEMS OVER THE TINES. Use them as dividers to save space and prevent breakage. Place small bowls between tines, tilted downward toward the water spray.

COPPER OR BRONZE COOKWARE: Can dent. Smear a thin layer of ketchup over tarnished surface, let sit for five minutes, then rinse.

such as whisks and ladles, can be laid in the top rack.

L ARGE UTENSIL S,

Can dull.

Hand-wash with blade facing down; wipe dry.

SHARP KNIVES:

B OT TO M R A C K

Best for larger items, such as dinner plates, casserole dishes, cookie sheets, serving platters, and pots and pans.

Do I Need to Prerinse?

COOKIE SHEETS AND

should be placed toward the back or along the sides of the dishwasher so they don’t block the water spray.

PL AT TERS

should face inward toward the spray. Load plates together by size.

DINNER PL ATES

38 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

S I LV E RWA R E B A S K E T

O U R E X P E RT S

Group like silverware together to save sorting time when you unload.

Keep some forks and spoons pointing up and some pointing down to prevent nesting.

Always load knives with handles up for safety.

JILL A . NOTINI, VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING AT THE ASSOCIATION OF HOME APPLIANCE MANUFACTURERS DONNA SMALLIN KUPER, CERTIFIED HOUSECLE ANING TECHNICIAN AND AUTHOR OF CLEANING PL AIN & SIMPLE

Clean dishes signal a dishwasher to shorten its cycle, reducing performance. In lieu of rinsing, simply scrape away large pieces of food (particularly spinach, egg, yogurt, and pasta), then place in the dishwasher and let the machine do the work.

For no-stress meals that dirty only one dish, head to realsimple.com/onepot.

I l l u s t r a t i o n b y J a n e We b s t e r

SNACKMASTER

®

Gluten-free crackers crafted for your lifestyle. Find them in the deli and “better for you” cracker aisle. Get recipe ideas at Crunchmaster.com

THE REALIST

Real Simplifier

How to Drive in the Snow C O N S I D E R T H I S Y O U R C R A S H C O U R S E — O R A N T I - C R A S H C O U R S E , W E S H O U L D S AY — I N H A N D L I N G W I N T E R R O A D S W I T H N A RY A S K I D , S P I N O U T, O R F R E A K- O U T. B y Yo l a n d a W i k i e l

1 I T ’ S P R A C T I C A L LY A W H I T E O U T.

Before you venture out, refill windshield washer fluid, clear snow from the roof, windows, windshield wipers, and front and back lights, and turn on low-beam headlights (high beams reflect off the snow and into your eyes). Once you’re on the road, don’t tailgate.

“It can take up to nine times as long to stop in ice and snow, compared with ideal weather,” says Robert Sinclair, media relations manager at AAA. Your rule of thumb: When the car ahead of you passes a road sign, start counting; if you reach that sign before you get to 8, you’re too close.

40 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

3

2 O M G, I N E E D T O P U L L OV E R !

Whether you’re facing engine trouble or treacherous weather, pull over onto the right shoulder, as far off the road as possible while remaining on level ground, and turn your hazards on. So you don’t freeze or waste fuel, run the heat for 10 minutes every hour— first check that the exhaust pipe is clear of drifting snow to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Stock the trunk with a collapsible shovel, an ice scraper, water, granola bars, and a windup flashlight for situations like this, says Kurt Spitzner, a driving instructor at Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

MY CAR IS STUCK I N T H E S N O W.

Gently reverse the car a bit, then slowly move forward a little. Continue this rocking motion, occasionally wiggling the steering wheel to help the tread gain grip, until you make progress. Still nothing?

For added traction, shovel out the tires, then sprinkle sand or nonclumping kitty litter in front of and behind the tires (or use the floor mats as a last resort). That should do it. Sinclair recommends investing in winter tires and swapping them in once cold weather begins, to prevent this situation.

5 I’M WORRIED ABOUT BL ACK ICE.

4 THE CAR IS SKIDDING!

The old rule to “turn into a skid” is from the days when most vehicles were rear-wheel drive.

Today, new advice applies to all: Look where you want the car to go and steer in that direction. To avoid scary skids and spinouts in the future, never stomp on the gas or brake pedal, and slow down dramatically well before making a turn or heading down a hill. “To prevent fishtailing when you know you’re about to go downhill, instead of braking, select a lower gear and let the engine manage the speed for you,” says Spitzner.

That notoriously slippery stuff usually forms when the temperature fluctuates above, then below, 32 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing snow to melt and refreeze to a clear glaze on the road. Be extra careful on bridges, at the bottom of hills, and in shady areas, where ice tends to accumulate. “If you encounter a patch, ease off the gas pedal to reduce your speed, and maintain smooth, steady steering,” says Spitzner.

Driving an SUV doesn’t give you license to be a hot shot: “All- or fourwheel drive isn’t a magic technology that allows you to have traction no matter what,” says Sinclair.

Illustration by Federica Bordoni

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THE REALIST

R o a d Te s t

Night Treatments W E T E S T E D 5 0 P RO D U C T S T O F I N D O U R FAV O R I T E S .

WHILE YOU’RE DRE AMING, THE Y’RE WORKING H A R D TO R E V E A L A B R I G H T E R , M O R E W E L L- R E ST E D L O O K I N G Y O U B Y T H E T I M E Y O U R A L A R M G O E S O F F.

By Lisa D eSantis

B E S T A N T I -A G E R

Estée Lauder Perfectionist Pro Rapid Firm + Lift Treatment This peptide-packed lotion promises firmer skin in just 14 days.

Two weeks in, our tester referred to it as a “mini face-lift.”

TO BUY: $75 for 30 ml; esteelauder.com.

B E S T H Y D R AT O R

Elemis Peptide4 Night Recovery Cream-Oil

Pat on this cooling gel with your ring finger (it’s the gentlest finger for applying eye cream) at bedtime. You’ll look brighteyed in the morning no matter how tired you feel.

TO BUY: $27; at drugstores.

BEST REDNESS REDUCER

Dr. Brandt Skincare Hydro Biotic Recovery Sleeping Mask

realsimple ROAD TE ST

Learn how to style hair while you sleep at realsimple.com/sleep.

42 RE AL SIMPLE FEBRUARY 2018

This leave-on gel absorbs into skin before your head hits the pillow.

Soothing grapeseed extract plus green tea help calm inflammation and fight UV damage, which means fewer lines and brown spots.

Antibacterial manuka honey nixes bad bacteria without drying, so you wake up clear and refreshed.

TO BUY: $52; drbrandtskincare.com.

BEST LIP SOF TENER

Dermalogica Nightly Lip Treatment

BEST BRIGHTENER

Drunk Elephant TLC Framboos Glycolic Night Serum Good for all skin types, this formula (made with glycolic, lactic, and citric acids) helps brighten dull skin and diminish age spots and broken capillaries.

TO BUY: $90; sephora.com.

Treat dry, chapped lips with the mother of all lip balms. Its metal tip feels cooling and dispenses cream that’s laced with healing shea butter.

TO BUY: $49; dermalogica.com.

S M E A R , J M U C K L E ; P R O D U CT I M AG E S C O U RT E SY O F M A N U FACT U R E R S

BEST EYE CREAM Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel

The most pampering of the products here, this cream-tooil formula, rich in omega-3 and vitamin E, melts into skin for a hydration boost.

TO BUY: $59; elemis.com.

THE REALIST

What Your Skin Really Needs When it comes to skin care, certain products (cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen) are musts. After that, it can be hard to tell whether you really need a particular product—and easy to be seduced by ads that make you believe the answer is yes.

But some products could be a waste of time and money or even irritating to your skin.

Here’s the insider scoop on who truly needs which products and who doesn’t.

By Stacey Colino

44 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photograph by Florian Sommet

T H E P RO D U C T

Exfoliant T H E P RO D U C T

Toner T H E P RO D U C T

Micellar water It looks and feels like ordinary H2O but contains tiny oil molecules, called micelles, that capture dirt and makeup when the product is swiped onto skin with a cotton ball.

T R U N K A R C H I V E ; P R O D U CT I M AG E S C O U RT E SY O F M A N U FACT U R E R S

WHO NEEDS IT

Micellar water is great if you have sensitive or dry skin, and especially if you use retinoids or other exfoliants, because it removes dirt and oil from the face without stripping. “It’s a good on-the-go product because it doesn’t need to be washed off,” says Arielle Kauvar, MD, director of New York Laser & Skin Care in New York City. A few dabs can boost skin hydration during the day. One pick: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water All-In-1 Mattifying ($9; garnierusa.com).

WHO D OESN’T

If you have very oily skin, live in a highly polluted area, or wear heavy makeup, it’s not ideal, says Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, director of Capital Laser & Skin Care in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

In those instances, “a foaming or creamy cleanser is better.”

For many of us, the cotton-ball-and-toner routine began during adolescence, when we wanted our faces to be squeaky-clean. But “while toners can feel refreshing, they really don’t have functional or structural benefits for your skin,” says Lisa Donofrio, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Medicine.

WHO NEEDS IT

Those with acne-prone or very oily skin might benefit from a toner.

If you break out from sweat, use one on your back and chest after exercising, says Kauvar.

Try OleHenriksen Balancing Force Oil Control Toner ($26; olehenriksen.com).

WHO D OESN’T

If you have dry or sensitive skin, toners could cause irritation, since some contain alcohol or witch hazel. To remove lingering makeup after washing your face, Donofrio recommends using a cleansing wipe instead.

When you remove dry cells, your skin is clearer (fewer breakouts and clogged pores), more even (bye, brown spots), and smoother. Chemical exfoliants use retinol or acid (such as alpha hydroxy acid or salicylic acid) to promote cell turnover, whereas enzymatic exfoliants (like papain and bromelain) dissolve the bond that holds dead cells to the skin surface, explains Donofrio. Meanwhile, brushes and scrubs that contain beads or abrasive agents (like rice bran) buff away dead skin and unclog pores.

“The challenge is to find the right method for you,” says Kauvar.

WHO NEEDS IT

Someone who has acne or rough, dull skin should exfoliate once a week.

It’s important not to overdo it with pressure or frequency—you could end up with peeling or irritation. We like Renée Rouleau Triple Berry Smoothing Peel ($86.50; reneerouleau.com).

WHO D OESN’T

For those with dry or sensitive skin, a chemical exfoliant or facial scrub may be too abrasive and irritating.

Instead, remove your cleanser with a soft washcloth.

T H E P RO ODUCT

Antipollu p ution serum “Chemicals in the air can make your skin look tired and dry,” explains Anthony Rossi, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City. Antipollution serums, which contain antioxidants as well as hyaluronic acid, combat the harmful effects of bad air quality.

WHO NEEDS IT

If you live in an area with high smog levels, adding an antipollution serum to your routine might do your skin a world of good. Ditto if you’re exposed to smoke, exhaust, or chemicals at work, says Kauvar.

Try Chantecaille AntiPollution Finishing Essence ($125; chantecaille.com).

WHO D OESN’T

If you live where there’s fresh air, these products aren’t necessary, notes Doris Day, MD, a dermatologist in New York City.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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THE REALIST

T H E P RO D U C T

Neck cream

T H E P RO D U C T

Topical wrinkle filler Just as you use spackling paste to fill cracks in your walls, you can apply a topical wrinkle filler to temporarily hide crevices in your skin. Then you’ll have a more even surface for makeup. “It’s especially helpful if you’re taking photos,” says Mary P. Lupo, MD, a dermatologist in New Orleans. Many wrinkle fillers rely on silicone; others use humectants to plump the skin and camouflage fine lines.

WHO NEEDS IT

“Topical wrinkle fillers are good if you notice that your makeup is settling into wrinkles when your face isn’t animated,” says Donofrio.

An added perk: These products can minimize the appearance of pores temporarily. Try Olay Regenerist Instant Fix Wrinkle & Pore Vanisher ($27; olay.com).

WHO D OESN’T

If your skin is smooth or if you get wrinkles around your mouth or eyes only when you smile, skip it. Using too much “can look masklike,” warns Lupo.

46 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

The skin on the neck is especially susceptible to sun damage, as well as to sagging, thanks to the downward pull of gravity. Plus, the skin “has few oil glands, so it dries out and gets damaged easily,” notes Kauvar. Neck creams often contain antiinflammatory or antioxidant ingredients, brighteners, and peptides to strengthen collagen and reduce lines.

WHO NEEDS IT

Try it “if you have bumpiness or brown or red discoloration on your neck,” says Lupo. Also, if the skin on your neck is dry, a neck cream may moisturize better than a regular face cream.

We like StriVectin TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream ($95; strivectin.com).

WHO D OESN’T

“If you have lots of cross-hatching wrinkles on the neck, you need a stronger, professional treatment, like filler or laser,” says Donofrio.

Also, you can skip neck cream if your face cream is working just fine. But “sunscreen is still mandatory for the neck and chest,” says Tanzi.

T H E P RO D U C T

Night cream T H E P RO D U C T

Face mist The latest generation of face mists are formulated with “thermal water that contains vitamins and minerals you don’t find in tap water,” says Tanzi. Face mists have various perks, from adding hydration to setting makeup to refreshing skin.

WHO NEEDS IT

A face mist can be very soothing if you live in a dry climate, if your skin is super dry, tight, chapped, or itchy, or if your face feels dry on a long flight. Try Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist ($48; tatcha.com).

WHO D OESN’T

Skip it if you are oily.

And “avoid using mists if your hair frizzes, because it’s hard not to get some in your hair,” says Day.

Besides being noteworthy for what they don’t contain (sunscreen), night creams tend to be thicker and more emollient than day creams.

The extra thickness and active ingredients are a plus because “while you’re sleeping, you lose more water from your skin, and it goes through a lot of repair,” explains Day. Night creams often have ingredients like topical retinoids (which are deactivated by sunlight), fruit acids, plant stem cells, or DNA repair enzymes to treat skin damage or boost the skin’s natural recovery process.

WHO NEEDS IT

Night creams are a boon for those with dry or damaged skin or wrinkles. And they’re especially helpful in dry climates and during the winter, when humidity is low and the heat is on 24/7. A good one: RoC Retinol Correxion Max Daily Hydration Crème ($25; walmart.com).

WHO D OESN’T

If you have active acne or very oily skin, avoid night creams and stick with a lighter hydrating serum, advises Lupo.

Find out the true causes of dry skin at realsimple.com/dry.

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THE REALIST

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L A RO C H E - P O S AY REDERMIC C

“Antioxidants are like fire extinguishers for skin inflamed by environmental factors like UV light and pollution. Wear under sunscreen for the best protection.”

TO BUY: $55; cvs.com.

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“SPF is crucial all year round.

This one gets the job done while also hydrating.”

TO BUY: $15; at drugstores.

48 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

“Retinol strengthens the skin to both fill in wrinkles and prevent new ones from settling in.”

TO BUY: $23; at drugstores.

P RO M I S E O RGA N I C B A BY R E P L E N I S H I N G C O C O N U T B U T T E R 2- I N -1 B A BY WA S H

“Winter weather can leave skin feeling sensitive. Switch out your face cleanser for a soap-free formula that’s pH-balanced. I often recommend cleansers formulated for babies, as I know they’ll be gentle enough.”

TO BUY: $8; cvs.com.

VA S E L I N E I N T E N S I V E C A R E A DVA N C E D R E PA I R

“This formula creates a protective seal over elbows and knees without feeling greasy.”

TO BUY: $5; at drugstores.

C O U RT E SY O F J O S H UA Z E I C H N E R ; P R O D U CT I M AG E S C O U RT E SY O F M A N U FACT U R E R S

RO C R E T I N O L C O R R E X I O N D E E P W R I N K L E S E RU M

“Skin loses moisture at night.

Apply this before anti-aging products to prevent irritation.”

TO BUY: $14.50; cvs.com.

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THE REALIST

Organizing Challenge

LEGO BRICKS There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for dealing with these beloved (by your kids, at least) building blocks. We asked four professional organizers to share their favorite strategies so you can find a system that works best for you and your budding architect.

By Stephanie Sisco

1 SPREAD OUT OR STORE AWAY If your child’s play space often becomes a minefield of painful obstacles strewn across the floor, Erin Doland, author of Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter, recommends the Swoop Bag. This drawstring play mat provides a surface for creative kids to build on and, when they’re done, collects the bricks left on top into a sturdy carrying case. Pull the string to cinch the sack and store it away until the next building session. Opt for the smaller, tabletop version (at right) for on-the-go play. TO BUY: Original Swoop Bag, $44, and Mini Bag, $24; swoopbags.com.

50 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

P h o t o g r a p h s b y Ke v i n S w e e n e y

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y M A I T R A N . F A R R I G H T : L E G O C L A S S I C C R E AT I V E B U I L D I N G B A S K E T, $ 6 0 ; S H O P. L E G O . C O M .

2

4

COMPARTMENTALIZE

AMUSE THE MEGA-FAN

If your kid wants to arrange her bricks by color, type, or set, Beth Penn, author of The Little Book of Tidying, suggests stackable drawer units. “They’re so easy to open, close, and label by category,” she says. Designate one color per drawer or, for additional sorting options, install clear plastic dividers to separate categories within each. This solution also helps limit the number of bricks that can live within your space. If there’s no more room and your child wants to add a new set, a purge is in order.

TO BUY: Rainbow 4-drawer units, $40 each; container store.com.

Cover walls in a play space with 15-inch square Lego baseplates to act as a building and display surface, suggests Andrew Mellen, author of Unstuff Your Life! The pro stresses that “the more challenging you make it for kids to put things away, the less surprised you should be when they don’t comply.”

So make it simple and keep a large rolling bin nearby to collect the unused pieces and catch any designs the kids are ready to disassemble. TO BUY: Advantus Rolling Storage Box, $40; walmart.com. Lego Classic Gray Baseplates, $15 each; shop.lego.com.

3 PREVENT THE BIG SPILL Lisa Zaslow, founder of Gotham Organizers in New York City, likes a half-size under-the-bed bin that can be stashed beneath a sofa or stacked in the corner of a playroom. The shallow container is easy to sift through (no dumping the bricks all over the floor).

Keep tiny pieces—wheels, windows, and other accessories—in a zippered pouch.

Designate a surface to display Lego creations, but institute a rule that when the space fills up, your kids have to decide which projects to dismantle to make room for their latest masterpiece. TO BUY: Stor-nSlide Under Bed Box, $13 (small), and Zippered Vinyl & Mesh Pouch, from $2; containerstore.com.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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THE REALIST

All Your Bra-blems, Solved F RO M B E T T E R F I T S TO M O R E C O M F O RTA B L E C O N ST RU C T I O N , T H E S E L AT E S T I N N O VAT I O N S ME AN THERE’S A PERFECT B R A F O R E V E RY B O D Y.

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y C E C I L I A E L G U E R O F O R K AT E R YA N I N C .

By Rebecca D aly

T H E S T RU G G L E

One Universal “Nude” That pale-pink hue is not actually everyone’s skin tone.

Photograph by Addie Juell

F O R A B E T T E R M AT C H . . .

Aerie’s Real Me line makes bras (and undies, too) in nine different neutral shades.

TO BUY: Real Me Full Coverage Lightly Lined Bra, $40; ae.com.

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THE REALIST

T H E S T RU G G L E

Hard-to-Fit Sizes Good news: There are plenty of options out there—even if you’re not a 34B.

FOR IN-BET WEENER S...

FOR BIGGER CHESTS...

F O R T H E S M A L L- B U S T E D. . .

With standard as well as half-cup sizes (like C ), ThirdLove provides a near-custom fit. TO BUY: 24/7 Lace T-Shirt Bra, $72; thirdlove.com.

A supportive underpinning without an uncomfortable underwire. In sizes all the way up to 44DD. TO BUY: Olga Cloud 9 Wire-Free Bra, $42; macys.com.

Starting at 28A and designed on a petite scale, the Little Bra Company’s offerings still give full coverage and support.

TO BUY: Heather Bra, $62; thelittlebracompany.com.

T H E S T RU G G L E

Bulky Foam Padding

F O R A N AT U R A L S I L H O U E T T E . . .

F O R A B A R E LY-T H E R E F E E L . . .

F O R L I G H T W E I G H T L I F T. . .

A new mesh textile, called spacer fabric, creates shape sans padding.

TO BUY: OnGossamer Sheer Bliss Mesh Spacer T-Shirt Bra, $46; dillards.com.

A combination of tulle and spacer fabric makes this one supersoft.

TO BUY: Temptation Spacer Bra, $98; shop.hanrousa.com.

Breathable, spacer fabric–lined cups provide a boost with no added volume.

TO BUY: Amour 3D Plunge Bra, $99; simoneperele.com.

P H OTO G R A P H S BY J U ST I N P I C C I OT T I ; ST Y L I N G BY S A B R I N A G R A N D E

Contouring and coverage shouldn’t have to bump you up a full cup size.

T H E S T RU G G L E

Unwearable Lace Pretty picks that won’t show under clothing (or irritate your skin).

FOR SENSITIVE SKIN...

FOR UNDER A TEE...

Lightly padded inside, this full-cup style also has thicker (read: more comfortable) straps and smooth trimmings to prevent chafing.

TO BUY: Triumph Amourette Charm Padded Bra, $68; journelle.com.

DKNY’s exclusive lace design lies flat under clothing, just like a T-shirt bra.

TO BUY: DKNY Intimates Sheer Lace Balconette Bra, $46; macys.com.

F O R L O U N G I N G. . .

F O R A L L- DAY W E A R . . .

This bralette has soft, mesh-lined cups, so the lace doesn’t sit against your skin.

TO BUY: The Long-Lined Lace Bralette, $35; wearlively.com.

Lightly lined for a soft touch, True & Co.’s lace style even has a padded clasp. (Plus, scalloped edges make this one disappear under tops.)

TO BUY: Gramercy Balconette, $64; trueandco.com.

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THE REALIST

T H E S T RU G G L E

BulgeCausing Bands Look to shapewear styles for a smoother silhouette.

F O R E X T R A S I D E C OV E R A G E . . .

Wider side straps and a crisscrossing panel design keep you sleek from every angle.

TO BUY: Ultimate Side Smoother Seamless Underwire T-Shirt Bra, $68; wacoal-america.com.

F O R A F L AT B A C K . . .

A front closure and a wide, seamless back banish any bumps. In cup sizes up to G. TO BUY: Montelle Intimates Pure Plus Ultimate Back-Smoothing Bra, $52; herroom.com.

FOR A SE AMLESS LO OK...

Raw edges make this bra lie flat all the way around, eliminating the digging that can cause bulges.

TO BUY: Vanishing Back Full Coverage Bra, $56; soma.com.

56 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

T H E S T RU G G L E

Tricky Necklines Plunging? Strappy? Backless? Don’t worry—there’s a bra for that.

FOR LOW-CUT ST YLES...

Made for dresses and tops with sweetheart or deep-V necklines, this strapless option has a silicone-lined band, so it will stay put.

TO BUY: U Plunge Convertible Bra, $20; yandy.com.

F O R A L M O S T A N Y T H I N G. . .

F O R A C O M P L E T E LY B A R E B A C K . . .

This reusable, self-adhesive bra offers not only coverage but also actual support and lift.

TO BUY: Seamless Backless Bra, $42; nubra.com.

Convertible in six different ways, this pick can range from a regular bra to a low-back halter style.

TO BUY: Jezebel Embrace Bra, $38; felina.com.

Are you wearing the right bra size? Find out at realsimple.com/size.

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THE REALIST

The Essential T H AT B A S I C H A N G I N G I N YO U R C L O S E T I S M O R E V E R S AT I L E T H A N YO U T H I N K .

T H I S M O N T H : H O W T O ST Y L E YO U R T U RT L E N E C K F O R A N Y O C C A S I O N

By Rebecca D aly S TA RT W I T H T H E T U RT L E N E C K . . .

TO BUY: 525 Am merica

ribbed tu urtlen neck sweate er, $92; 525america.c com.

A striped button-down under the turtleneck lends interest and dimension that make a simple top-and-jeans combo look more pulled together.

TO BUY: Jones New York top, $70; jny.com.

Aeropostale jeans, $28; aeropostale.com.

Rosena Sammi cuff, $45; rosenasammi.com. A New Day satchel, $40; target.com. Universal Thread sneakers, $20; target.com.

. . . A D D A B RO C A D E P E N C I L S K I R RT A glimmering brocade skirt and nd a an eye-catching statement necklace turn this staple into an outfit that’s anything but boring. (It’s nice and warm to boot.)

TO BUY: Bishop Collective top, $260; bishopcollective.com. Banana Republic skirt, $88; bananarepublic.com.

Lulu Frost necklace, $395; lulufrost.com.

Zara stilettos, $100; zara.com.

. . . A D D A JA C K E T A N D C RO P P E D T RO U S E R S Style the turtleneck with a tailored velvet blazer and ankle-length pants for a borrowed-from-the-boys look with gamine appeal. TO BUY: Old Navy velvet blazer, $50; oldnavy.com. Zara trousers, $50; zara .com. & Other Stories belt, $39; stories.com.

Soko earrings, $64; shopsoko.com.

Deux Lux messenger bag, $90; deuxlux.com. Vionic kitten heels, $140; vionicshoes.com.

For more great capsule wardrobe pieces, head to realsimple.com/essential.

58 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photographs by Dyad Photography

ST YLING BY SABRINA GRANDE

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Family Organizer

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MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS IN A MODERN WORLD

H OW TO B E AT TH E B E DTI M E B LU E S Getting your baby to sleep through the night is a major win—but it can be just the beginning of an ongoing battle for bedtime. From toddlers fighting lights-out to overscheduled teens racing against the clock, there’s always something stealing kids’—and parents’—rest.

Here’s how everyone can get the heck to sleep.

OFFSET

By Michelle Ruiz Andrews

Photograph by Sarah Driscoll

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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R E L AT I N G

To d d l e r s (Ages 2 to 4) T H E B AT T L E :

They go to bed but refuse to stay there.

They’re stalling.

Preschoolers are infamous for delaying bedtime by begging for one more kiss or one more story.

It’s one of the many ways they test their parents’ limits. “They know exactly which buttons to push and how much to push them to get their parents’ attention,” says Iqbal Rashid, MD, assistant professor of sleep medicine at UCLA. But stalling reduces lightsout time, meaning less total sleep (which can make your toddler even crankier in the morning) and less time for your child’s brain to convert what he learned that day into a long-term memory.

“Your 3-year-old is going to function better at preschool the next day if he’s able to make those neural connections at night,” says Brooke Nalle, a pediatric sleep consultant at the Seleni Institute in New York City.

T H E F I X : Make a bedtime chart—and stick with it.

A standard routine can reduce the chaos of bedtime: “Repeating the same three or four activities in order every single night will help

62 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

keep kids on track,” says Jodi Mindell, PhD, professor of psychology at Saint Joseph’s University and associate director of sleep medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Establish the routine with a chart on which you check off tasks like taking a bath, brushing teeth, and reading a story, so when your child asks for a last-minute Lego session, you can kindly point out that—oh, well!—it’s not on the chart.

Maggie Strong, a mom of three in Charlottesville, Virginia, has another trick to keep her 3-yearold from stalling endlessly: bedtime passes (index cards decorated with stickers). “One pass is for the bathroom before bed, and one is for a hug,” says Strong. “Once she uses the passes, she can’t leave her bed again.” Bedtime passes can also provide extra motivation for kids to stay put: If they don’t use the passes at night, they can redeem them in the morning for a small treat. That stash of toys from the dollar store will be so worth it.

There’s nothing like waking at 2 a.m. to see your toddler peering at you in the dark. Many little escape artists leave their rooms because, suddenly, they can.

Blame the independence that comes from moving from a crib to a “big kid” bed. “It takes a high level of development to understand the imaginary boundaries of a bed,” says Mindell. Other kids wake up and can’t fall back asleep without Mom’s help. “Parents tell me, ‘I have to hold my child’s hand so he can fall asleep, and then he’s up every other hour at night looking for my hand,’” says Nalle.

T H E F I X : Make them comfy sleeping on their own.

It’s tempting to let your kid crawl into bed with you. “But if you give in, you reinforce that behavior,” says Rashid. Quietly walk your child back to her room. It might take a few painful nights, but it’s important to be consistent, says Rashid. (If she really won’t stay put, you can install a safety gate in her bedroom door to discourage wandering.) Try finishing the night with “sweet talk”— recapping your favorite parts of the day or talking about what you’re looking forward to—“so you end on a positive note,” says Harvey Karp, MD, author of the Happiest Baby on the Block books.

F R O M L E F T : G A L L E RY STO C K ; G E T T Y I M AG E S

T H E B AT T L E :

Big kids (Ages 5 to 10) T H E B AT T L E :

Their nightmares wake everyone up.

T H E B AT T L E :

Your sleep schedules are completely out of sync.

Says Rashid, “Some of us are morning larks, and others are night owls, and sometimes there’s a mismatch in the family.” You might have a third grader who wants to party past 9 p.m. and sleep through breakfast, messing with your “Early to bed, early to rise” motto. Or you might be a night owl, but your kids are cock-adoodle-doing at 5 a.m., stealing your precious prework shut-eye.

T H E F I X : Shift the schedule—then keep it consistent.

“You can try to shape their schedule so it’s more in line with yours,” says Nalle. Gradually push back (or bring forward) meals, baths, and bedtime, first by 15 minutes, then 30, then 45, then 60. This can be a monthlong process, but it could help oversleepers perk up earlier or buy you an extra hour of z’s in the morning. Some families invest in blackout curtains to shield their kids’ rooms from early-a.m. sun. For kids who might be tempted to bounce on your bed as soon as their eyes open, Mindell suggests putting a nightlight on a timer and saying, “When the light switches on, that’s when you can wake us up.” Until then, they can quietly play in their room or watch TV. Once you develop a schedule that works for everyone’s sleep needs, it’s crucial to stick with it, even on weekends, says Nalle. “If kids really want to sleep late, let them do so on Saturday, but by Sunday, return to your regular wake and sleep times.” Exposure to sunlight resets your body clock, so taking a brisk walk on Sunday morning or having breakfast in the sunniest spot in the kitchen should keep everyone on schedule.

As children get older, “fears can become a big thing,” says Karp.

“They start listening to your conversations and hearing the news.

They realize there’s an entire world out there.” If they were scared by something they saw on TV, says Rashid, kids can reconstruct it during sleep in the form of nightmares, which usually happen in the late-night-to-earlymorning hours. Nightmares are not to be confused with night terrors, which typically happen an hour or so after kids zonk out— though they are frightening to watch, kids usually don’t remember them in the morning.

THE FIX:

Use night “magic.”

Sleep deprivation and poorquality sleep are common causes of both nightmares and terrors, so first make sure your child is getting enough rest. Then use creativity to fight the demons. For younger kids, Karp suggests putting “magic” water in a bottle and spraying it at night to keep monsters away.

Rashid recommends that older children write down nightmares in a notebook, in as much detail as they can remember, but with alternative, happy endings. For example, if your child dreamed she was drowning, she could write an ending in which she becomes a mermaid. If nightmares are constantly getting in the way of daily functioning, consult your pediatrician to see if something else—like bullying—is going on.

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R E L AT I N G

T H E B AT T L E :

They’re staying up late, staring at their screens like zombies.

T H E B AT T L E :

They’re overscheduled and skimping on sleep.

With soccer, debate team, band practice, and dance—not to mention endless homework—it’s no wonder tweens and teens are constantly sleep-deprived. Plus, raging hormones and social stresses, like fitting in with friends and dating, can keep teens up at night. “Anxiety trickles into bedtime,” says Nalle. “Whatever they were carrying around all day suddenly floods their minds.”

THE FIX:

Hack the routine.

Puberty shifts the internal clock toward a later sleep time, says Rashid. So instead of trying to enforce a too-early bedtime, adjust schedules however you can. One mom drives her daughter to school in the morning rather than waking her for the earlier bus, which gives her daughter an extra 45 minutes of sleep. Others find that if their kids do homework during lunch or even before school, it means they get to bed by 11 p.m. rather than 1 a.m. To de-stress after busy days, teens can try showering 30 to 45 minutes before bed, flipping through a magazine, or doing 10 minutes of meditation (the free Headspace app can help) to clear their minds for better sleep.

64 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

The phenomenon of teens staying up all night watching YouTube and Snapping with their friends has been called “vamping,” as in acting like a nocturnal vampire. The screens themselves add to the problem: The blue light beaming from phones and tablets “is strong enough to block a good chunk of melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy,” says Jess P. Shatkin, MD, author of Born to Be Wild: Why Teens Take Risks, and How We Can Help Keep Them Safe. Sleep deprivation is particularly dangerous to teens because it blurs their ability to concentrate, which can lead to risky behaviors like drowsy driving or drug and alcohol use, says Mindell. And a 2017 study in the journal Development Psychology found that children with TVs or videogame consoles in their rooms did worse in school and weighed more.

T H E F I X : Remove the temptation.

Make it a family rule that everyone’s phones and tablets be put to bed—that is, plugged into a communal charging station—on the kitchen counter at least 30 minutes before lights-out, suggests Mindell. To make sure stealthy teens don’t hide their laptops under the covers, some parents switch off the household Wi-Fi, making it harder to get online. Alyceson WeinfeldReyman, a mom of two in New York City, literally takes matters into her own hands: She takes her 16-year-old son’s phone away at 10:30 on weeknights and keeps it in her room so he can’t grab it back.

You can also help wean teens off that sleep-stealing screen glare by enabling the “grayscale” function on Androids and Night Shift mode on iPhones (both found under Settings) and adding the f.lux download to computers.

All three reduce blue light, so melatonin is allowed to flow, says Shatkin. To help transition from the digital world to the dream world, encourage bedtime rituals (drinking decaf tea, reading) to prep for sleep. “Bedtime routines aren’t just for toddlers,” says Nalle.

For tips on how to tell a great bedtime story, go to realsimple.com/story.

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Modern Manners R E A L S I M P L E ’ S E T I Q U E T T E E X P E R T, C AT H E R I N E N E W M A N , O F F E R S HER BEST ADVICE ON YO U R S O C I A L Q UA N DA R I E S.

K.A. A SKS...

I’m an elementary school teacher.

I teach my students to cough and sneeze into their elbows instead of their hands because of germs. But some adults in my life sneeze into their hands all the time, which makes me want to avoid contact. Can I ask them to contain their coughs in a less germy way without sounding like I’m talking to a student?

66 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Over the past few months, we have sent money for wedding gifts and new babies.

One person thanked us face-to-face; one person thanked us via text. No one sent a thank-you note. Is writing a thank-you card old-fashioned? Has it gone out of style, replaced by modern technology?

ABOUT C AT H E R I N E The author of One Mixed-Up Night, Catastrophic Happiness, and Waiting for Birdy, Catherine Newman has shared her wisdom on matters ranging from family and friends to happiness and pickling in numerous publications. She gets advice from her husband and two opinionated children in Amherst, Massachusetts.

I have held out on this for a long time, insisting on paper thank-you notes while cobwebs spun around my sepia-toned values and the world wheeled into the apocalyptic future.

But I am finally changing with the times enough to say: Yes, writing a thank-you card is old-fashioned, and yes, it has largely gone out of style, replaced by the immediacy of texts and emails. It is still a lovely thing, a handwritten card, still my ideal expression of gratitude. But no, you shouldn’t expect to receive one, even if you still write them yourself or make your poor teenagers sit down like ye olde weirdos to write them. (Sorry, kids!) In fact, I now find myself fretting that a card takes relatively so long to arrive that someone might take offense at the perceived absence of thanks! Ironic, no? But even if texting is the new normal, not thanking someone at all should not be—with the exception of new parents, who are losing their minds, and the newly bereaved, who are lost to grief.

Anyone who needs slack cut for them? Just go ahead and cut it.

C AT H E R I N E N E W M A N I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y U L I K N Ö R Z E R ; O T H E R I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y Y O C O N A G A M I YA

I’m laughing, picturing you summoning the other teachers for a read-aloud of Curious George Coughs into His Sleeve.

Alas, while your students are with you to learn—including whatever you’re teaching them about courteous habits— your fellow adults, as childlike and runny-nosed as they may be, are not.

There’s no polite way to teach them proper cough and sneeze containment.

That said, if you’re talking about coworkers, you can encourage the administration to hold a meeting or post guidelines about maintaining a healthy work environment, and you can solicit everyone’s thoughts via email (thereby singling nobody out). Otherwise, your main job is taking care of yourself to keep your immune system strong: Get enough sleep, eat healthy food, wash your hands a lot. And, if passive aggression is your thing, conspicuously squirt yourself with hand sanitizer every time someone sprays their germs around.

M . P. A S K S . . .

K .T. A S K S . . .

My sister-in-law is a hairdresser and has been cutting my hair for the past three years. She never cuts it the way I ask, and my most recent haircut was so bad that I’ve been wearing my hair up so I don’t have to see it. I want to switch to a different salon, but I don’t want to hurt her feelings. If I say nothing, she’ll eventually figure it out. But I don’t know what to say. Her salon is closer than the salon I’d like to go to, so I can’t use convenience as an excuse. I can’t go on getting bad haircuts forever, but I don’t want to damage the relationship.

Judging from letters to this column, infidelity is a problem primarily between hair clients and salons. You are not alone!

Lots of folks cheat on their barbers and stylists, and plenty leave them altogether, skulking past neighborhood storefronts, all but wearing mustache glasses. The problem in your case is that this person will remain in your life even after you part professional company. Do stop seeing her—you deserve the cut you want— but prepare for awkwardness. I recommend saying nothing up front, since I can’t think of anything true to say that wouldn’t make her feel worse. Hopefully she’ll be too gracious to ask about your new ’do, but if she does, you might say something like “I was looking to change up my style a little, but I was too shy to mention it to you.” It might offend her a little (fair enough), but she’ll get over it— and you’ll get better hair.

S .C . A S K S . . .

A coworker and friend I’ve known for a few years has taken to divulging all her marital issues to me. She recently got promoted and is now my supervisor.

I want to be a supportive friend, but it feels a bit awkward now that she’s my supervisor. How do I navigate this and maintain the friendship?

HAVE AN E TIQUE T TE QUE STION? Submit your social conundrums to modernmanners@ realsimple.com. Selected letters will be featured on these pages every month.

Are you otherwise comfortable with her, feeling awkward only when she unloads marital issues? I’m not sure why that particular aspect of the friendship would become newly complicated while the rest remains acceptable—unless she’s married to, say, another coworker. So maybe you never wanted to be her confidant, or maybe the power imbalance is making you uncomfortable, but either way, you need to do something. Ideally, your supervisor would be the person who best understood that what you should do at work is work.

But if she doesn’t seem to, you might try the strategy used in my kid’s fourth-grade classroom: Wear headphones, which signals to those around you that you don’t want to be disturbed. That is not going to help you outside of work, though. You may have to steer the conversation toward topics you feel more comfortable discussing or invite another friend along as a buffer.

If the only way to protect your boundaries is to make a direct statement, however, then go ahead and make it: “Now that you’re my boss, I feel I might not be the best person to talk to about this. I need time to get used to this new dynamic.” If she doesn’t respect this request, then—not to sound like your mother—she probably wasn’t such a great friend to begin with.

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R E L AT I N G

The Vets Will See You Now A N SW E R S TO YO U R H A I R I E ST P E T Q U E ST I O N S

BUGGING OUT

(D ON’T) CHEW ON THIS

NAILING IT

My landlord is sending an exterminator to spray for bugs while I’m at work. Is it safe for my cat to be in the apartment?

Is it ever OK to give my dog bones? I’ve heard raw bones are safer than cooked ones.

Is that really the case?

No matter how many cat scratchers I buy, my kitty continues to use the upholstered furniture as a scratching post. How can I deter her and save my furniture?

It would be best to remove your cat from the situation, says veterinarian Andy Roark. While a good exterminator “should use chemicals at a low enough dose that it won’t be a problem,” he notes, “get your cat out to be on the safe side.” If that’s not an option, ask the exterminator what compounds he uses and search the Pet Poison Helpline’s poison list (petpoison helpline.com/poisons) to see if they’re safe. (Among the most toxic to cats, says veterinarian Ann Hohenhaus: organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethrins, and pyrethroids.) Keep your cat in an untreated area until the spray dries, and be on the lookout for signs of a toxic reaction— they can appear within an hour of exposure or up to four days afterward. If you notice twitching, tremors, or seizures, head straight to your vet.

Cooking bone-in meat—like chicken or pork chops—softens the bones, making them more likely to splinter and potentially puncture your dog’s esophagus or intestines. And with raw varieties, your pup can easily fracture a tooth. “I tell clients, ‘You give your dog a bone, you need to give me $2,500 to do a repair in their upper fourth premolar,’” says veterinarian Donna Solomon. For safer chewing, toss him a Kong (Kong Extreme Goodie Bone, $7; chewy .com) or a flat, compressed rawhide, which is softer and more tooth friendly. (Try Pet-Ag Chicken Chew Chunky Chip, $10; jet.com.)

Just keep an eye on his progress.

If he gobbles up the treat too quickly, it could lead to intestinal blockage, says veterinarian Gayle O’Konski: “Rawhide chunks can take a very long time to digest.

And sometimes we have to go in surgically.”

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O U R E X P E RT S ANN HOHENHAUS, DVM, ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER, NEW YORK CITY GAYLE O’KONSKI, DVM, MORRIS ANIMAL HOSPITAL , GRANGER, INDIANA ANDY ROARK, DVM, CLEVEL AND PARK ANIMAL HOSPITAL , GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROL INA DONNA SOLOMON, DVM, ANIMAL MEDICAL CENTER OF CHICAGO, CHICAGO

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A simple change of location may spare your sofa. “The biggest mistake people make with scratchers is hiding them,” says O’Konski. “Wherever your cat is most often, that’s where the scratcher should go.” So place it next to the upholstered furniture and make the scratcher more enticing by giving your cat treats there or sprinkling the post with catnip. Make your settee less desirable by spritzing it with Claw Withdraw scratch-deterrent spray ($13; chewy.com) or lining the nearby floor with double-sided tape (like Sticky Paws Tape, $9; petco.com). “You want her to think her usual scratching place isn’t as attractive,” explains Roark.

If that doesn’t do the trick, try placing her food and water bowls near the sofa; according to Solomon, cats tend not to scratch where they eat and drink.

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R E L AT I N G

Good Read

To Have and Preserve C H L O E B E N J A M I N F I N D S A W AY T O C O N T R I B U T E T O

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y C E C I L I A E L G U E R O F O R K AT E R YA N I N C .

H E R M O D E R N M A R R I A G E — W I T H O U T S A C R I F I C I N G H E R VA LU E S .

I M E T NAT H A N when I was 21. I had just moved to Madison, Wisconsin, for grad school; he was handsome and inquisitive, a PhD student with a background in construction work and a study full of books. Three years after we met, he proposed during a downpour. In 2014, when I was 25, we were married.

I was the first of my friends to get married, but I had no doubts; loath as I am to use clichés, I knew Nathan was the one. Besides, I had always craved depth and security over experimentation and adventure, at least outside the bounds of my fiction. So the notion that Nathan would be my partner for life didn’t scare me. But the word “wife” did. It made me think of outdated expectations and sexist magazine ads from the 1950s.

Photographs by Corey Olsen

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R E L AT I N G

I wanted to find ways, however small, of holding our new family together, creating the pectin-like gel that would situate us between runny and rigid.

I grew up in San Francisco in a big, modern family with two sets of parents—one gay, one straight. My dad’s house was the more normative: He was the breadwinner, and my stepmother, Ellen, managed the domestic sphere. My mom and her partner, Molly, took on similarly delineated roles— Molly worked full-time while Mom juggled acting with being the primary caretaker of us kids—but the fact that they were both women upended traditional narratives.

I had various models when it came time to create my own family. Nathan and I agreed that the allocation of responsibilities needed be based not on gender norms but on personal preference and familial circumstances. Early in our marriage, while Nathan worked part-time and reassessed his career, my pay served as our primary income. Meanwhile, he did almost all the cooking; I contributed little more than my great-grandmother’s party mix and tuna pasta, a childhood favorite whose slogan should be “It’s better than it sounds.”

Nathan managed our home life, too. He knew when the cat needed a checkup, when the car needed an oil change or new winter tires.

As a fiction writer, I lived as much in my head as I did in our apartment. I frequently put the scissors in the snack drawer or the matchbook in the freezer, while Nathan puttered after me, moving things to their rightful locations and closing the cabinet doors I always left open. I was a city kid to the bone, more comfortable on sidewalks than on hiking trails, never happier than when I was curled under a blanket with a good novel. If I were an animal, we often joked, I’d be an indoor cat. Meanwhile, Nathan was passionate about the outdoors, and I could see his love of cooking came from his appreciation of nature: The wild ramps he picked in April were sautéed in butter and olive oil or turned into pesto.

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A S I S E T T L E D into our marriage, I found myself wanting to make a similarly food-driven contribution. The instinct confused me. Was I betraying my feminism? After all, I loved my unconventional upbringing, and I took pride in having a modern marriage. Why did I care that I didn’t cook? If Nathan enjoyed it, why not let him take the lead?

I found myself thinking about my own parents. I remembered how the making of food was an act of love as well as a way of carrying on family history. Tuna pasta calls up the few memories I have of the days when my mom and dad were still together. After my parents split, food differentiated their houses, creating distinct memories and traditions. My dad moved into a small apartment far from my elementary school. On those earlier mornings, we bought olive rolls brushed with salt, a special breakfast to eat in the car. Ellen, my dad’s wife, once endeared herself to my brother and me by covering the table with newspaper and serving messy barbecued chicken we could eat with our hands. Meanwhile, my mom’s partner, Molly, and I had “our” pasta recipe: penne with cream and scallions.

My parents each had an area of expertise, something I still associate with them. My dad specialized in fish and meat—tuna steaks and grilled salmon, pork tenderloins we bought at Roundman’s Smokehouse on trips to Mendocino.

My mom was a master of baked goods: From The Moosewood Cookbook and her secret weapon, The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking, she made Italian loaves studded with olives and Easter bread the color of egg yolks. I wanted a specialty of my own. Bread had always been my most beloved food, but in my early 20s, I went gluten-free to combat migraines. My experiments in gluten-free baking were so disastrous that I decided to stick with premade mixes. Still, there were several things a gluten-free lifestyle couldn’t take away from me. They included fruit and sugar.

Two springs ago, my friend Rebecca mentioned that she was gearing up for canning season. Every June, she made her mother’s strawberry jam. She swore I’d never tasted anything like it, that it was an entirely different species from what you bought in a store. I offered to help.

The first order of business was to pick the strawberries the same day as the canning. Lumps or soft spots didn’t matter; what mattered was that the berries were ripe to bursting. We brought home four quarts and set up a workshop on my dining room table: two cutting boards, a bowl for chopped strawberries, another bowl for their toothy green leaves. We heated the chopped strawberries in a pot with what seemed like an illegal amount of sugar.

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I L O V E F E E L I N G PA R T of a tradition that stretches back generations; when I told my grandmother about my new hobby, she instantly recalled her own mother’s canned jams and dilly beans. I love how it connects me to the outdoors: Every fall, I go to a nearby apple farm to collect 15 pounds of fruit—and pet the Black Welsh Mountain sheep grazing near the orchard—before returning home to make apple butter, as caramelized and thick as pâté. I love decorating the jars, finding printable labels and customizing them with the date and name of the jam, then tying a piece of baker’s twine around the lid. I love giving them as gifts, knowing they’ll be incorporated into my loved ones’ breakfast rituals.

Perhaps most of all, I love creating something that will last. Though I was lucky to grow up in two loving homes, my parents’ divorce showed me that families can be fragile.

Subconsciously or not, I’m soothed by the very notion of preserving.

It was this instinct, I realized, that drove my desire to contribute domestically. I didn’t want to replicate the strict divisions of earlier generations, didn’t feel I would be a better partner if only I cooked. After all, canning doesn’t represent a fundamental change: Nathan still makes dinner almost every night, and I still wash the dishes, the Hamilton soundtrack blaring. What I wanted was to find ways, however small, of holding our new family together, creating the pectin-like gel that would situate us in that middle place between runny and rigid.

Preserving, I’ve discovered, is not so different from writing. Both are ways of documenting. Now, tucked away in the guest room, is a box full of memories: a record of the past, kept in the present, to be enjoyed in the future—together.

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At first I was dubious: How could sugar and hunks of fruit become liquid? But liquid they became. We kept stirring, drenched in steam as the air conditioner fought its losing battle and the pot exhaled an aroma so intoxicating that to smell it felt almost like eating jam itself: sweet but not saccharine, clear as a soprano. When we added a packet of pectin, the mixture thickened, producing plump, glossy bubbles. We spooned a quarter’s worth onto a small plate and put it in the freezer until it cooled, then nudged it with a finger. When it wrinkled, we filled our just-boiled jars.

I became hooked. I haven’t always had success—my garlic dill pickles were too sour to eat, and I have yet to find a preserved salsa that doesn’t taste predominantly of vinegar— but trial and error led me to a swoon-worthy version of apricot jam, in which lemon juice and not-quite-ripe fruit perfectly balance out the requisite ton of sugar. Every August, Rebecca and I can 25 pounds of whole tomatoes. Over the course of the next year, Nathan retrieves them, tightly packed in quart jars, to use in his pasta sauces and chili and soups.

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R I C E V I N E GA R . C O M

R E L AT I N G

1

What can I do to help us grow closer?

5 Questions to Ask Your Adult Siblings A LOT H A S C H A N G E D S I N C E YO U B I C K E R E D I N T H E B A C K S E A T. U P D A T E Y O U R R E L A T I O N S H I P W I T H T H E S E C O N V E R S AT I O N STA RT E R S.

By Sarah Robbins

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The beauty of having siblings is that they teach us to deal with conflict. We’ve been vying for our parents’ attention since we were born!

There can be tensions or disappointments that create distance, and sometimes someone must take the first step in renewing and enriching an old bond. “What can I do to help us grow closer?” is a profound question, but it doesn’t have to carry the weight of an international summit. There are so many possible answers, from “I think we’re close enough” to “You might help more with Mom” to “You should apologize for hitting me when I was a kid.” If you feel resistance, then just shut up for a while and try again later.

It’s still an expression of love— an opening of a door.

JANE ISAY IS THE AUTHOR OF UNCONDI T IONAL LOVE: A GUIDE TO NAV IGAT ING THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF BEING A GRANDPARENT TODAY. SHE LIVES IN NEW YORK CITY.

Illustrations by Jasu Hu

2 4

What’s the long-term plan for Mom and Dad? We all go through transitions in life, and at a certain point, it becomes natural to discuss how you and your siblings might support your parents as they age. The ability to help pay for that support may differ; one of you might work for a nonprofit, for example, while another is an executive. When the conversation is triggered by an event—say, Mom falls and breaks her hip—it can quickly become emotional. It’s far better to be proactive and have a discussion when everyone is still healthy.

You should ask, “What do we know about Mom and Dad’s financial circumstances, and what responsibilities might we have to bear, as a group, to support them as they age?”

JIM SANDAGER, A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PL ANNER, IS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AT THE WE ALTH ENHANCEMENT GROUP. HE LIVES IN WEST DES MOINES, IOWA .

How can I best include your partner in family meals?

3

What do our family heirlooms mean to you?

My brother and I are both in the antiques business, but when it comes to our own family’s estate, we think about it the way most people do: We prefer not to think about it! Dealing with heirlooms can be a charged situation. If your parents are downsizing or you’re dividing an estate, have everything appraised before anyone walks away with anything. Everyone is different: One sibling’s connection to a teddy bear might be worth far more to her than a $1,000 candelabra—but what if that candelabra is worth $5,000? Or $50,000? Having the facts about how much something is worth can help lower the risk of bad blood later.

NICHOLAS D. LOWRY IS PRESIDENT OF SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES IN NEW YORK CITY AND A REGUL AR APPRAISER ON PB S’S ANT IQUES ROADSHOW.

As brothers and sisters grow up, their significant others become an important part of the sibling relationship. If you take the time to learn about them, they can help strengthen your bond. For me, that has meant asking my brother Eli what his wife Stephanie’s favorite meal is and making sure I try to bring it to the table whenever we’re together. Stephanie is Filipina, and her mother is an incredible cook. Chicken adobo, a classic dish from the Philippines, often figures into our family meals now; when my brother and I were working on the Project Foodie app, a video of that recipe became a big part of it.

DANIEL HOLZMAN IS CHEF AND CO-OWNER OF THE ME ATBALL SHOP. HE LIVES IN NEW YORK CITY.

5

What do you wish I knew about you now?

Intense yet not frequently discussed, sibling relationships can be ignored for long stretches of time, but eventually we need to deal with each other again. Our impressions of one another can get frozen in time: What we know about our siblings—or what they know about us—could now be woefully outdated or just plain wrong. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to give your sibling the opening to say, “Here’s what I’d like you to understand about me”? Don’t interrupt. It’s very loving to just sit back and absorb the answer.

KELLY CORRIGAN IS THE AUTHOR OF TELL ME MORE: STORIES ABOUT THE 1 2 HARDEST THINGS I’M LE ARNING TO SAY. SHE LIVES OUTSIDE OAKL AND, CALIFORNIA .

For more tips on strengthening ties with your siblings, go to realsimple.com/siblings.

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BAL ANCE

Avoid overbuying perishables—even if they are on sale—and keep quick-to-spoil ingredients in clear containers on one shelf in the refrigerator so you’ll be reminded to use them.

Shop at more than one store.

Ticking every box at a single location is tempting—but it’ll cost you.

“Never pay full price at the grocery store for things like laundry detergent, paper products, cleaning supplies, and personal-care items,” says Stephanie Nelson, author of The Coupon Mom’s Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half.

That merchandise is typically cheaper online, at bulk membership clubs, or at discount retailers, like Target and Walmart. Nelson suggests jotting down essentials, then consulting store circulars and websites for sales. Always make a list; nearly one-third of female shoppers surveyed don’t. Then separate the items on your list by store so you can get in and out quickly and avoid overbuying.

Don’t dawdle.

Time really is money, says Rachel Cruze, a personal-finance expert and the author of Love Your Life, Not Theirs. She says the average shopper spends about $2.71 per minute in the store. Try setting a timer on your phone for, say, 25 minutes. Avoid grocery shopping on Saturday, the busiest day of the week—but if you must shop then, go near opening or closing time, when there’s less of a crowd to slow you down. Bring earbuds and listen to something upbeat.

“Research has shown that when customers shop under the influence of slow, smooth tunes, they spend about 38 percent more because the tempo encourages relaxing and browsing,” says Lisa Rowan, a savings expert for the website The Penny Hoarder.

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Think seasonally.

Buy in-season fresh produce to avoid overpaying for import costs.

Case in point: The price of strawberries can more than double following the peak harvest months in spring and summer, usually topping out in December, January, and February. To know what’s growing near you, hit the farmers market—especially at closing time, when vendors are more amenable to negotiating, says Alice Figueroa, RDN, founder of AliceinFoodieland.com. Or simply plug in the month and your state at seasonalfoodguide.org.

If there’s something you positively can’t live without? Look to frozen produce, which is lower-priced all year round and just as healthy.

Meal-plan like crazy.

One report found that as much as 40 percent of food in the U.S. ends up in the trash! To reduce waste, consumer-finance expert Andrea Woroch suggests planning meals with a common denominator: A package of prosciutto could go on pizza on Monday and in chicken saltimbocca on Wednesday. Get a month’s worth of easy-to-prepare recipes with shopping lists at realsimple.com/mealplanner.

MAKE A LIST Cozi, a free app from Time Inc., allows anyone in your household to see and update the grocery list in real time.

(Available for iOS and Android.)

Stop throwing shade at store brands.

Many consumers avoid store brands because there’s a misconception that they’re lower-quality, says Woochoel Shin, PhD, associate professor of marketing at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “But over the last decade, many retailers have introduced midtier and premium store brands that are comparable to name brands.” (Psst: Often the items are even made by the same manufacturer.) In fact, a blind test conducted by Consumer Reports revealed that in some cases, people actually preferred the store brands.

Store brands tied with national brands in 10 food categories.

Avoid prepared foods.

“You’ll always save by buying the most basic form of an item and doing your own slicing, shredding, and peeling,” says Nelson. At a New York City–area Whole Foods Market, cored and cubed organic pineapple was recently going for $8 a pound, whereas an entire organic pineapple was $5. Says Nelson, “I’ve calculated the added cost of prepared foods, and it’s the equivalent of paying someone $35 to $55 an hour to peel your carrots.”

The caveat: If there’s no chance you’ll get around to making that salad unless veggies come prewashed in the bag, then know thyself and purchase accordingly.

Three things worth the added expense

Extra-virgin olive oil: “Since it’s exposed to less heat during production than cheaper olive oils, it’s healthier for you and tastes better,” says Figueroa.

“To make sure that you’re getting pure extra-virgin olive oil—and that it hasn’t been diluted with lesser oils, like rapeseed—check for a term like ‘stonepressed,’ ‘cold-pressed,’ or ‘unfiltered’ on the bottle.”

Certified organic and certified humane chicken: “The term ‘certified organic’ guarantees that the birds are given organic feed, allowed exercise and access to the outdoors, and raised without antibiotics,” says Maryn McKenna, author of Big Chicken. “We should all be worried about the rise of drug-resistant bacteria.”

(Bonus points for phrases like “no antibiotics ever” on the package, since even organic chicken can be given antibiotics while still in the shell.)

Turn a blind eye to displays.

Ever notice how endcaps seem to magically anticipate your desires?

“Retailers assume you’ll spot an item there, grab it, and mark it off your list without doing any price, size, or brand comparisons,” says Rowan. Ditto for cross-promotional displays, says Josh Elledge, founder of SavingsAngel.com, such as steak sauce at the butcher counter. “The items are rarely a decent value—if you really need the extras, check the correct aisle.”

Be mindful at checkout.

“With all the overpriced candy bars and lifestyle items, it’s not hard to see why it’s reportedly the most profitable part of the store,” says Cruze. It’s perfectly fine to budget in some splurge items— like your monthly issue of Real Simple or your favorite lip balm.

Just don’t load up your cart with extras on the fly. Switching to self-checkout could help: A study from IHL Consulting Group found that spur-of-the-moment splurges dropped (by 32.1 percent among women and 16.7 percent among men) when customers did their own scanning.

Select fruits and veggies: “Buy organic whenever the skin or peel of the vegetable or fruit is edible,” says Figueroa. Don’t worry about produce with hard, inedible skins, like bananas and avocados.

But if organic is too pricey, keep in mind that it’s still healthier to eat nonorganic produce than to skip it out of fear of pesticides.

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BAL ANCE

M a k i n g I t Wo r k

How do you pull yourself out of a work rut?

“When I’m in a rut, I try to do something that makes me feel really uncomfortable.

Most recently, I took an improv class and did a comedy set at a fundraiser for my kids’ school in front of an audience of about 1,000 people.

That experience gave me a year’s worth of energy.

Doing something that makes you feel uncomfortable forces you to use a new skill set. I realized that the reason I felt so nervous backstage was that I cared so much.

Sometimes when we get into a rut, we forget that we care.”

RANDI ZUCKERBERG, 36, AUTHOR AND FOUNDER OF ZUCKERBERG MEDIA

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“Sometimes there is a big, looming task you need to check off so you can become more productive and creative. You’ve got to take some time to clear the deck a bit. I do retreats for myself when I need to write. I will go away for three days and I’ll say, ‘Don’t call me unless the place is burning down.’

Coming back, I feel really rejuvenated because I’ve had an opportunity to focus on myself. It’s not always exciting— sometimes I will just go to Panera and plant myself at a table for four or five hours. Being away from the chaos and turning the ringer off helps a lot.”

“A work rut can mean a lot of things for me.

It can be feeling overwhelmed by what needs to get done, or it can be a creative rut, when the synapses are just not firing. I find when there is a lot of output, whether I’m developing a story or content, I need to take time to recharge and refill the creative well. To do that, I watch a lot of television. I also listen to a lot of podcasts when I’m cooking and cleaning. That’s really helpful for getting my creative juices flowing. I get my best ideas when I’m linking them to real-life stories.”

GREGORY HICKS, 46, PROFES SOR AND CHAIR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY AT THE UNIVERSIT Y OF DEL AWARE

SANA AMANAT, 35, VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AT MARVEL COMIC S

“I believe fear often holds us back, and to get myself out of that space, the thing I have to do is literally create space.

That usually means achieving the high of some sort of a workout, getting out of the building and pushing myself. I live in San Francisco on a big hill, and when I walk or jog to the top of that hill, it’s the closest I feel to being on top of the world.

When I push up the hill and see a view of the city, I feel like I have the space and drive to think about what I need to tackle next. It really helps me get those endorphins going. That’s when I feel most powerful.”

“If I am in a rut at work, I change my schedule for the day.

We ship everything out of our office, so if I’m feeling like I can’t think of what our next photo shoot should be or I’m stuck on a design concept, I’ll leave my space and help pack shipments.

Sometimes I will head down the street to people watch. In New York City, there is not a second during the day that’s dull. I will put my jacket on and go outside, and right there in my face is so much to take in.

Leaving the office and using my brain in a different way frees up room for new ideas.”

CAS SIE DIVINE, 40, HE AD OF QUICKBO OKS SELFEMPLOYED AT INTUIT

MIGNONNE GAVIGAN, 36, A JE WELRY DESIGNER IN NE W YORK CIT Y

Illustration by Andrea Mongia

P H OTO G R A P H S C O U RT E SY O F S U B J ECTS

By Jane Por ter

Healthy Little Food Swaps That Taste So Good B EC AU S E YO U R TO N G U E H A S F E E L I N G S, TO O

By Alice O glethorpe Re c i p e s b y M i n d y Fox

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We could probably all stand to eat a little more healthfully, but traditional nutrition swaps are kind of a bummer (no, rice cakes are not an acceptable substitute for rice pudding, thank you very much).

And, really, the key to sustainably cleaning up your diet is adding in more healthy foods that you actually enjoy eating. Ahead, you’ll find delicious food swaps and a few healthy recipes—precisely zero sad rabbit food required.

Photographs by Jennifer Causey

FOOD ST YLING BY CHEL SE A ZIMMER; PROP ST YLING BY CL AIRE SPOLLEN

BAL ANCE

S WA P S WA P

Coconut water for juice Just a couple of decades ago, a glass of OJ was considered an essential part of breakfast—and too many of us still think of sugar-laden juice as a healthy drink or smoothie ingredient. A better choice: plain old coconut water. “It has electrolytes, including potassium, and a lot less natural sugar,” says Sharon Collison, RD, clinical instructor of nutrition at the University of Delaware. To compare, a cup of coconut water has nine grams of the sweet stuff, while a cup of apple juice has 25. “Just don’t grab coconut milk or coconut oil by mistake,” says Collison—you’ll get a lot more saturated fat than you bargained for. (Pro tip: You can also add a splash of coconut water to regular water for a little extra flavor and electrolytes.)

MAKE IT

Coconut-Kale Smoothie with Ginger and Mint S E RV E S : 2

1 cup chilled coconut water 2 cups packed stemmed and chopped kale 1

cups chopped pineapple (from about medium pineapple) 1 ripe banana, chopped 2 Tbsp. packed fresh mint leaves 1 Tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice Pinch of kosher salt

Place coconut water in a blender, then add kale, pineapple, banana, mint, ginger, lime juice, and salt. Puree until smooth, about 1 minute, adding ice water if needed to reach desired consistency.

A BLAT for a Cobb salad A Cobb salad is always a colorful riot of flavor and texture, but by the time you’ve eaten the eggs, bacon, chicken, avocado, blue cheese, and creamy dressing, you’ve gone way beyond a healthy limit of saturated fat. Plus, there’s more protein than you probably need in a single meal, says Collison. Here’s a surprise: You can get a similar flavor combination by switching to a BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato) sandwich on wholewheat bread—and consider it a health win. Not only will you consume a more balanced amount of fat and protein, but you’ll also be more satiated.

“The whole grains in the bread mean the sandwich will hold you over longer than the salad,” says Collison.

Experimenting with arugula or watercress in place of lettuce for a peppery kick.

TRY:

S WA P

Cacao nibs for chocolate chips Cacao nibs are bits of unsweetened, unprocessed cacao (the seed used to make cocoa and chocolate), so they have the health benefits of dark chocolate and a chocolatey flavor but no added sugar. “Cacao is a rich source of magnesium and has tons of antioxidants, phytochemicals, and flavonoids, which boost your mood and cognitive function and may even help lower blood pressure,” says nutritionist Beth Warren, RD, author of Living a Real Life with Real Food. Because cacao nibs are slightly bitter, they pair well with sweet things.

TRY:

Mixing cacao nibs into trail mix, granola, or yogurt.

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BAL ANCE

MAKE IT

Bison Burger S E RV E S : 4

Making healthier food choices doesn’t have to mean sacrificing flavor—and you might even discover some new favorites.

1 lb. ground bison 2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion 1

tsp. Dijon mustard tsp. kosher salt tsp. freshly ground black pepper tsp. dried thyme 1 Tbsp. olive oil

S WA P

Ground bison for ground beef S WA P

Homemade dressing for bottled dressing The salad dressing you pick up at the grocery store may contain much more sodium and sugar than you imagine.

Luckily, salad dressings are easy to make yourself—and especially tasty. “If you want a vinaigrette, you can use healthier oils, like olive or avocado,” says Kelly Pritchett, PhD, RD, assistant professor in nutrition and exercise science at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. “And if you want a creamy dressing, you can use yogurt as a base.” Yogurt is packed with probiotics, protein, and calcium, and it also makes dressing taste extra decadent.

TRY: Drizzling herbed yogurt dressing on salad or using it as a topping for grilled chicken, fish, and burgers.

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Whenever people want a healthier meat to use for burgers, meatballs, or tacos, the natural tendency is to reach for ground turkey. No shade to turkey, but if you miss the hearty taste of beef, a better idea might be ground bison. Compared with 80 percent lean beef, bison meat contains less total fat and saturated fat, and it even has a few extra grams of protein per patty.

4 hamburger buns, split and toasted Tomato, avocado, onion, and lettuce, pea shoots, or microgreens, for serving Gently mix together bison, onion, mustard, salt, pepper, and thyme in a large bowl. Shape into 4 -inchthick patties. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add patties and cook until well browned, about 3 minutes per side for medium rare.

Serve burgers on buns with tomato, avocado, onion, and lettuce, pea shoots, or microgreens.

S WA P

Corn tortillas for flour tortillas Corn tortillas have fewer calories than flour tortillas and are lower in total fat and saturated fat. “They’re also high in fiber, which can help balance blood sugar levels and keep you feeling full while lowering cholesterol,” says Warren. They taste rich in corn flavor and have a satisfying bite. These tortillas are a little less pliable than their flour cousins, so make sure to heat them up (either in the microwave or on the stove) before you add your fillings.

TRY:

Using them for quesadillas or baked tortilla chips.

MAKE IT

Arugula and Apple Salad with Spiced Toasted Pepitas

S WA P

S E RV E S : 4

cup raw pepitas 2 Tbsp. plus tsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided tsp. ground coriander tsp. ground cumin Pinch of cayenne tsp. kosher salt, divided 5 oz. baby arugula 1 sweet-tart red apple (such as Pink Lady), thinly sliced

S WA P

Pepitas for croutons Croutons might be your favorite way to add crunch to your salads, but you’re mostly topping your veggies with a bunch of refined carbs and oil. How to get the same satisfying texture without the nutritional drawbacks?

Look no further than pepitas (a.k.a. pumpkin seeds).

“Pepitas are a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and ounce for ounce they have as much protein as meat,” says Collison.

“They are also a great source of fiber, magnesium, and iron, which women run the risk of being deficient in.”

And when you toast them with some spices, they’ll add a punch of flavor and crunch to every bite.

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice tsp. freshly ground black pepper Preheat oven to 325ºF with rack in middle position. Toss teaspoon pepitas with oil. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden and toasted, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately toss with coriander, cumin, cayenne, and teaspoon salt. Let cool, about 10 minutes.

Gently toss together arugula, apple, lemon juice, pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons teaspoon salt in oil and a large bowl. Arrange salad on serving plates. Sprinkle with pepitas.

Tahini for mayonnaise A smear of chipotle mayo on a sandwich may taste zingy, but it’s low in health benefits and tends to be high in calories and fat. Instead, get the creaminess and flavor punch with a spread containing tahini—a paste, made from ground sesame seeds, you can find in the grocery store.

“Tahini has fiber, calcium, magnesium, and protein and is a great source of healthy, monounsaturated fats, which help lower cholesterol,” says Warren. And then there’s the amazing taste. “People tend to use a smaller amount of a tahini spread than mayo because it has so much flavor,” says Collison.

Spicing up tahini with minced chiles and/or herbs and using it as a spread.

TRY:

For more easy changes that can make your diet healthier, visit realsimple.com/swaps.

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*(7 62&,$/ :,7+ 86 )ROORZ XV IRU H[FOXVLYH SURPRV RɅ HUV DQG JLYHDZD\V IDFHERRN FRP WKHFRRELHVWRUH #VKRSFRRELH #VKRSFRRELH

Ahhh...

Often it’s the very situations in which we most want to be calm and relaxed that incite nervousness. This breathing method can work as an antidote by promoting feelings of tranquility and repose. Begin by sitting down or lying on your back with your eyes closed. Turn your palms up so they face the ceiling. Let out a long, slow breath, like a big sigh. Then begin breathing in slowly. Count to four on the inhale. As you inhale, draw your fingers into your palms to form soft fists. Do the opposite on the exhale: Breathe out to a count of four as you slowly unfold your fingers. Repeat this several times. Moving your fingers gives you something to do to refocus your anxious energy, and breathing evenly, in and out, relaxes your system.

Doing these two things together helps reintegrate your body, breath, and mind so you feel composed and are ready to meet whatever is ahead.

KERRY AND LUIS/OFFSET

—CYNDI LEE, cyndilee.com

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D e sign Your B e d ro om for B et t e r Sle e p TO S S I N G A N D T U R N I N G ? L E T ’ S F I X T H AT. A FEW THO UGHTFUL T WE AKS C AN TR ANSFORM YO UR RO OM INTO A DRE AMY REFUGE.

BY N A N C Y R O N E S P H OTO G R A P H S BY C H R I S TO P H E R T E S TA N I

Y

O U K N OW T H E T R I E D -A N D -T R U E A DV I C E for getting better sleep: Limit before-bed screen time, skip afternoon caffeine, stick to a schedule. It’s all effective, but only to a point—because your bedroom environment may actually be sabotaging your shut-eye. “The bedroom is becoming less of a sanctuary for sleep and more of a second living room, office, and kitchen,” says James Wyatt, PhD, director of the Section of Sleep Disorders and Sleep-Wake Research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. And try as you might, it’s really hard to get decent sleep in Grand Central Terminal.

So we tapped experts for advice on setting up a bedroom that promotes deep, restorative sleep and looks gorgeous, too. You’ll see those ideas in action in these three inspiring rooms. Nighty night.

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St yling by Christina Lane

CLASSIC CONSIDER YOUR ART WORK Opt for soothing abstract pieces or landscapes, and avoid anything too contrasting or dramatic.

TYPE OF BED Upholstered headboards help muffle sleepinterrupting sounds.

Interior designer Paige Schnell suggests using low-maintenance fabrics, like distressed leather or the easy-to-clean tweed options by Sunbrella.

D E C O R AT I V E PILLOWS

Limit the mash-up of patterns in your bedroom by maxing out at two shams and one oversize lumbar pillow, says Schnell. Place a bench at the foot of your bed to catch those cushions at night, rather than tossing them on the potentially dusty floor.

T O B U Y: Paint: Solitude by Benja-

min Moore (AF-545); benjamin moore.com for info. Anemone by Denise Wong (framed art), $237; minted.com. Lula white and brass gourd table lamp, $70; lampsplus .com. Hampshire white nightstand, $299; landofnod.com. Herringbone indigo woven cotton rug, $588 (9 by 12 ft.); annieselke.com. Harbour bench, $898; serenaandlily.com.

The Soft White Pleated bed skirt, $89 (queen); craneandcanopy .com. Butterfield duvet in ocean, $498 (queen), and standard sham, $144; matouk.com. Oscar/Oliver Theodora bolster throw pillow, $70; bedbathandbeyond.com. Tamsen Curve upholstered headboard, $1,149 (queen); potterybarn.com.

The Real Sleep by Real Simple mattress, $995 (queen); realsleep .com. The Leesa bed frame; $125 (queen); leesa.com.

ROMANTIC

WINDOW COVERINGS “The darker your bedroom is, the easier it can be to fall asleep, and the better your sleep quality will be,” says Wyatt.

The light from a street lamp or the glow from a neighbor’s TV still filters through your closed eyelids. And exposure to light, even if it’s dim, can interfere with the secretion of the sleepinducing hormone melatonin and your body’s internal clock.

N I G H T S TA N D S

These clutter zones can feel like a to-do list, and the resulting distraction makes it harder to sleep. Schnell recommends side tables that have at least one shelf (to stash a book or magazine) as well as one drawer or cabinet (to keep papers and personal items out of sight). Edit down the top of the table to a lamp, alarm clock, glass of water, and feel-good photo.

90 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

NO PHONE S, PLE A SE Keep your device on sleep mode overnight and stash it out of sight in the nightstand drawer.

BED PLACEMENT

“Placing our bed against a wall where we have a clear view of the door and, if it’s feasible, the window can make us feel safer and alleviate worry that prevents complete relaxation,” says design psychologist Sally Augustin, PhD. Avoid backing your bed up against a window; drafts or blaring sun might disturb your slumber.

FLO ORING Define your sleep zone with the help of a soft area rug, suggests Augustin. It lends a cozy feel to the space, provides a warm landing pad for your feet, and helps buffer noise while you’re asleep. Opt for plush fibers—like soft wool or a wool blend—for maximum comfort.

T O B U Y: Paint: Magnolia Home in

Ella Rose, from $42 per gallon; shop.magnoliamarket.com. Cotton Luster Velvet blackout curtain in platinum, $139 (96 in.); westelm .com. Vienna full-spectrum modern crystal column table lamp, $150; lampsplus.com. Parada upholstered panel headboard in beige, $270 (queen); wayfair.com.

Mums hemstiched Supima percale sheet set in aqua mist, $178 (queen); garnethill.com. Fossil embroidered ivory decorative pillow, $116; annieselke.com. Jadeite velvet throw pillow, $10; world market.com. Shelly round velvet pillow, $39; urbanoutfitters.com.

The Valencia Porcelain Green pintuck duvet cover, $139 (queen); craneandcanopy.com. Forest Floor gray rug, $399 (5 by 8 ft.); landofnod.com. Celine Collection nightstand, $350; pier1.com.

O U R E X P E RT S

Sally Augustin, PhD, design psychologist and principal of Design With Science in La Grange Park, Illinois Laura Benko, feng shui expert in Brooklyn, New York, and author of The Holistic Home: Feng Shui for Mind, Body, Spirit, Space Terry Cralle, RN, certified clinical sleep educator in Washington, D.C., and coauthor of Sleeping Your Way to the Top Melanie Kaplan, chief creative officer at the Company Store, a bedding retailer Rebecca Robbins, PhD, sleep researcher at NYU School of Medicine and Beautyrest sleep expert Paige Schnell, interior designer and owner of Tracery Interiors in Rosemary Beach, Florida Karin Sun, CEO and founder of the online luxury-bedding company Crane & Canopy James Watson, DBA, adjunct associate professor at North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles and owner of Textile Training and Consulting in Apex, North Carolina James Wyatt, PhD, director of the Section of Sleep Disorders and Sleep-Wake Research at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago

ORGANIC

BED HEIGHT

According to believers in feng shui, a raised bed frame allows energy to easily flow underneath you, which leads to deeper slumber. Laura Benko, a feng shui expert in Brooklyn, New York, says that storing clutter in the space beneath your bed blocks that energy flow.

M AT E R I A L S

Instead of using bold patterns or colors, add personality by mixing up textures (like a chunky knit throw and embroidered pillows) in calming neutrals.

T O B U Y: Paint: Emerald Interior in Gossamer Veil (SW 9165); sherwin-williams.com for info.

Durango bed set with rails, $529 (queen); houzz.com. Wyatt sconce, $219; cedarandmoss .com. Emmerson reclaimed wood nightstand, $349; westelm.com.

Venus hand-knotted wool viscose rug, $1,048 (5 by 8 ft.), and Trimaran stripe indoor/ outdoor Wouf dog bed, from $98; annieselke.com. Scattered embroidered linen duvet cover, $498 (full/queen); coyuchi.com.

Nublado throw, $395; the-citizenry .com. Bridge Street Siena oblong throw pillow in marshmallow, $40; bedbathandbeyond.com.

Falling Leaves pillow, $229; rebeccaatwood.com. Randa indoor/outdoor pillow in taupe, $79; luluandgeorgia.com.

Classic Core sheet set in cream, $129 (queen); brooklinen.com.

WHO’S SLEEPING IN YO U R B E D ( BUT SHOULDN’T BE)?

Kids: “Children are very active through the night, which can be disruptive to adults,” says Wyatt.

Letting kids fall asleep in your bed and then moving them is not a great plan either: “Moving children within two to three hours after they fall asleep can startle them and provoke sleep terrors or sleepwalking.”

Dog: Your pet is adding heat to the space, moving around, and leaving behind slobber, dander, and other allergens.

Place a dog bed nearby to give him a cozy spot to rest and yourself the reassurance that he’s close at hand.

RE AL SLEEP

BY RE AL SIMPLE In the market for a new mattress?

Generally, mattresses should be replaced ever y seven years.

Learn more about ours at realsleep.com.

PICKING THE R I G H T M AT T R E S S

KEEP IT NATUR AL Organic materials elicit a sense of calm, so incorporate branches, plants, or fresh flowers into your space.

“There are many mattress options available, and what’s relaxing to you will depend on your body type, preferred sleep position, weight, whether you’re a hot or cold sleeper, health issues, and so on,” says Terry Cralle, RN, a certified clinical sleep educator in Washington, D.C. Here, her top tips for purchasing a new mattress.

When selecting a retailer, scan online reviews. Pay attention to feedback on warranties, customer service, the knowledge level of the salespeople, and ease of returning and exchanging so you can approach your purchase with confidence.

In a store, spend time lying on mattresses alongside your partner in your main sleeping positions. (The Better Sleep Council recommends spending 15 minutes on each mattress.) Consider: How easy is it to change position? How much do you feel it when one of you moves?

If you’re buying online, look for retailers that allow you to test-drive the mattress at home, and scope out their return policies in case it doesn’t work out.

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S ou rceb o ok

WARMER BULBS Bright white LED bulbs give off blue light comparable to what electronics emit.

Swap them for warmwhite LEDs with a color temperature of 2,700 degrees Kelvin, says Wyatt.

PA I N T “Since the bedroom is a place to relax, stay away from intense wall colors and select soothing shades of paint,” says Schnell. “White can be jarring because it reflects a lot of light.” The designer’s top choices for bedroom walls: soft gray or light blues and greens that say “spa.”

These shades pair easily with a wide range of furnishing styles.

T O B U Y: Mountain Air by Sherwin Williams

in Emerald Interior, from $69 per gallon; sherwin-williams.com for info. Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore in Aura Interior, $70 per gallon; benjaminmoore.com for info.

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65 T E M P E R AT U R E T I P

The ideal temperature for sleep is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.

“There isn’t one pillow that fits us all,” says Rebecca Robbins, PhD, a sleep researcher at NYU School of Medicine. When you’re lying on the mattress in your dominant position, your head and neck should be level with your spine.

Test out different arrangements to see if you need more than one pillow for proper cushioning and support. If your pillow is more than two years old or has lost its buoyancy, it’s time to toss it.

Besides a lousy night’s sleep, the wrong pillow can lead to headaches and neck pain.

A back sleeper should aim for medium thickness and a cushion that offers some extra horizontal lift toward the bottom for neck support.

A side sleeper needs a voluminous pillow, to fill the space between the ear and shoulder.

A pillow on the firmer side with a wide gusset—the rectangular panels sewn around the perimeter—is a solid choice.

A stomach sleeper should opt for thin cushioning (or no pillow at all) to avoid neck strain.

Down, which compresses easily, is usually a good fill option.

BACK

SIDE

STOMACH

P I L L O W S : P H O T O G R A P H B Y A D D I E J U E L L ; T O B U Y, F R O M T O P : T H E R A P E U T I C T R U C O O L M E M O R Y F O A M C O N T O U R P I L L O W, $ 7 0 , WA M S U T TA E X T R A - F I R M S I D E S L E E P E R P I L L O W, $ 1 5 , A N D R E A L S I M P L E D O W N P I L L O W, $ 5 0 ; B E D B AT H A N D B E Y O N D . C O M . L I G H T B U L B : P H I L I P S 6 0 W E Q U I VA L E N T L E D L I G H T B U L B W I T H WA R M G L O W E F F E C T, $ 1 0 F O R 2 ; H O M E D E P O T. C O M . T H E R M O S TAT : N E S T T H E R M O S TAT E , $ 1 6 9 ; N E S T. C O M

PILLOW TA L K

B etter- B e d ro om

L I N E N S : P H O T O G R A P H B Y A D D I E J U E L L ; T O B U Y, F R O M T O P : M U M S H E M S T I C H E D S U P I M A P E R C A L E S H E E T S E T I N A Q U A M I S T, $ 1 7 8 ( Q U E E N ) ; G A R N E T H I L L . C O M . C L A S S I C C O R E S H E E T S E T I N C R E A M , $ 1 2 9 ( Q U E E N ) ; B R O O K L I N E N . C O M . S W E D I S H F A R M H O U S E WA S H E D L I N E N A N D C O T T O N S H E E T S E T I N E G G S H E L L , $ 2 0 8 ; G A R N E T H I L L . C O M . O X F O R D S T R I P E D U V E T C O V E R , $ 1 5 9 ( F U L L / Q U E E N ) ; S C H O O L H O U S E . C O M .

S C AT T E R E D E M B R O I D E R E D L I N E N D U V E T C O V E R , $ 4 9 8 ( Q U E E N ) ; C O Y U C H I . C O M . M AT E L A S S E C O V E R L E T, $ 2 0 9 ( Q U E E N ) ; PA R A C H U T E H O M E . C O M .

430 Threa ad count matters, but t only up to 430, says Sun. Going above thiss number requires creat ive manufacturing met thods that don’t nece essarily produce a highe er-quality product.

Q. Do oes thread count matt ter for comfort?

Look for f the terms “long-staple cotton” o or “extra-long-staple cotton” in the description instead. These long fiibers are turned into the finer thread ds that indicate quality.

BEDDING Q&A Q. What sheets should I buy?

The golden child has long been 100 percent cotton.

“A great performer in warm and cold temperatures, it’s easy to wash and soft to the touch,” says Karin Sun, CEO and founder of the online luxury-bedding company Crane & Canopy. Cotton sheets are commonly found in either a percale or a sateen weave.

Sateen, which has a subtle sheen and a silky, smooth surface, can be a tad warmer than percale, which feels similar to a crisp men’s shirt. Though jersey sheets are often 100 percent cotton, they may be worth rethinking: “Due to its stretch, jersey tends to bunch throughout the night,” warns Sun. Outside of cotton, linen is a great choice for those who want a lived-in look, and polyester is gaining in popularity.

3 W AY S TO DEFEND AGAINST ALLERGENS Run an air purifier.

“Clean air is critical for deep sleep, and an air purifier is a fantastic way to remove impurities,” says Robbins.

It can also provide a soothing whirr of white noise at night. Our pick: Dyson Pure Hot + Cool Link, $620; dyson.com.

Q. Wh hat about the high-tech sheet ts I’m seeing? Keep in mind

Invest in encasements. Use soft,

that th here isn’t a lot of objective science backing claims that sheets can wick w away moisture, cool the skin, improve circulation, or fight germs. But if standard sheets haven’t served you well, these innovative goods may be worth trying.

allergy-proof encasements to fully envelop your mattress, box spring, comforter, and pillows. ProtectA-Bed’s AllerZip encasements (from $25; protectabed .com) provide superhero security against mites, mold, pollen, pet dander, mildew, and other mattress contaminants. Plus, the thin, soft material stays silent when you turn over.

BEWARE THE SNO OZE BUT TON Those short snippets of sleep may actually make you feel drowsy all day long, since you aren’t sleeping for a full cycle. You snooze, you lose.

A B E T T E R WAY T O WA K E U P

Research shows that gradually waking up to an artificial sunrise may boost alertness, mood, and cognitive and physical performance. A dawn-simulating alarm clock will rouse you with light that slowly brightens as it gets closer to your wake-up time. If you choose to use a traditional alarm clock, turn it away from you so any lit numbers aren’t glaring at you in the dark.

Keep bedding clean.

Wash your sheets, pillowcases, and blankets weekly in hot water, recommends the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Your duvet cover should be cleaned every other week.

T O B U Y: Philips Somneo Sleep and Wake-Up Light, $200; usa.philips.com.

Learn the warning signs that you’re not getting enough rest at realsimple.com/deprivation.

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S TA P L E S

F RO M

S C R AT C H

Simple to make, with huge payback in flavor, these homemade pantry basics are fun to cook up on a snowy day.

Re c i p e s by M A RY C L A I R E B R I T TO N

96 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

P h oto g ra p h s b y G R EG D U P R E E

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FO OD ST YLING BY CHEL SE A ZIMMER; PROP ST YLING BY CL AIRE SP OLLEN; LET TERING BY NINI TUAN

PICKLED

WINTER V E G E TA B L E S

SLOW-SIMMERED

ACT I V E T I M E 3 0 M I N U T E S TOTA L T I M E 4 8 H O U R S , 3 0 M I N U T E S ( I N C LU D E S C H I L L I N G ) MAKES 2 PINTS

BEANS ACT I V E T I M E 10 M I N U T E S TOTA L T I M E 2 H O U R S , 10 M I N U T E S MAKES 6 CUPS

1 cup distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp. kosher salt 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 medium Parmesan rind

2 tsp. coriander seeds

2 large rosemary sprigs, plus more for garnish (optional)

2 tsp. black peppercorns

2 large cloves garlic, smashed and peeled tsp. kosher salt, divided

1

2 oz. salt pork or coarsely chopped thick-cut bacon (optional) tsp. freshly ground black pepper PREHEAT

oven to 300°F with rack in

middle.

6 cups water to a boil in a Dutch oven or a wide, heavy pot with a tightly fitting lid.

BRING

beans, Parmesan rind, rosemary, garlic, teaspoon salt, and salt pork, if desired, to pot. Reduce to a simmer; cover and cook for 30 minutes.

ADD

TRANSFER pot to oven. Bake, covered, until beans are tender, about 1 hours, checking every 30 minutes and adding water as needed to keep beans covered.

pot from oven; remove and discard garlic, rosemary, and Parmesan rind. Stir in pepper and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Serve warm, garnished with rosemary sprigs, if desired.

REMOVE

SERVE as a side for pork chops, fish, or roasted vegetables.

100 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

2 bay leaves

SLOW COOKER

2 tsp. brown mustard seeds

A P P L E -A N D - P E A R SAUCE

1

-in. knob fresh ginger, thinly sliced

ACT I V E T I M E 10 M I N U T E S TOTA L T I M E 4 H O U R S , 10 M I N U T E S Q UA R T S MAKES 1

1 lb. mixed winter vegetables, such as radishes, fennel, and peeled beets and butternut squash, thinly sliced COMBINE vinegar, 1 cup water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.

chiles, bay leaves, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, and ginger between 2 widemouthed 1-pint jars. Tightly pack in winter vegetables.

DIVIDE

pour hot vinegar mixture over vegetables, filling to inch from top. Tightly seal jars with lids.

Let cool completely, then chill in refrigerator for at least 48 hours before serving.

CAREFULLY

TOS S into salads, layer into sandwiches, or eat as a snack.

Pickled vegetables keep, in their brine and refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

2 lb. apples, peeled and coarsely chopped 2 lb. pears, peeled and coarsely chopped cup pure maple syrup 1

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) 1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise and seeds scraped, or tsp. pure vanilla extract 1 cinnamon stick

PL ACE cup water and all ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring just to combine. Cover and cook on low until apples and pears are tender, about 4 hours.

and discard vanilla bean and cinnamon stick.

REMOVE

mixture in a food processor or blender, or mash in a bowl with a potato masher, to desired consistency.

PUL SE

Sauce keeps, in an airtight container and refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y N I N I T U A N

2 cups dried beans (such as navy, pinto, cannellini, or black beans), rinsed

2 whole dried chiles

CHICKEN

STO CK ACT I V E T I M E 3 0 M I N U T E S TOTA L T I M E 4 H O U R S , 1 5 M I N U T E S M A K E S 4 Q UA R T S

H O N E Y M U STA R D

SNACK MIX

Nonstick cooking spray 5

ACT I V E T I M E 10 M I N U T E S TOTA L T I M E 4 0 M I N U T E S M A K E S 10 C U P S

3 cups crisp wheat cereal squares (such as Wheat Chex) 2 cups crisp corn snacks (such as Bugles) 2 cups mini pretzels 2 cups bagel chips, lightly crushed

-lb. chicken wings

1 large leek 5 celery stalks 3 medium yellow onions, unpeeled, halved 4 medium carrots, halved 7 cloves garlic, smashed 8 lemon peel strips (from 2 lemons) 2 bay leaves 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns

HOT CO COA

MIX

2 cups honey-roasted peanuts 2 cups wasabi peas 10 Tbsp. (5 oz.) unsalted butter cup honey 3 Tbsp. dry mustard 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 2 tsp. chili powder 2 tsp. onion powder tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. cayenne (optional) PREHEAT oven to 300°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

cereal squares, corn snacks, pretzels, bagel chips, peanuts, and peas in a large bowl.

PL ACE

MELT butter in a small saucepan over medium. Remove from heat, then whisk in honey, dry mustard, Dijon mustard, chili powder, onion powder, salt, and cayenne, if desired, until combined.

butter mixture over cereal mixture; gently stir together until well combined, then spread onto prepared baking sheets. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 30 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

DRIZZLE

oven to 450°F. Lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray; arrange wings on 1 baking sheet.

PREHEAT

leek in half lengthwise; rinse well and pat dry. Separate whites and greens; set aside greens. Arrange leek whites, celery, onions, carrots, and garlic on second baking sheet.

ACT I V E T I M E 10 M I N U T E S TOTA L T I M E 10 M I N U T E S MAKES ENOUGH FOR 24 CUPS

2

ROAST wings and vegetables until lightly golden, about 30 minutes for vegetables and 1 hour for wings.

roasted wings and vegetables to a large stockpot; add lemon peel strips, bay leaves, peppercorns, reserved leek greens, and 6 quarts cold water. Bring to a boil over medium. Reduce to a simmer; cook, skimming foam often, until stock is flavorful, 3 to 4 hours.

TRANSFER

stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Serve warm, or let cool 30 minutes to 1 hour before transferring to airtight containers.

POUR

cups instant nonfat dry milk 2 cups (about 8 oz.) confectioners’ sugar

CUT

1

cups unsweetened cocoa 1 Tbsp. freshly grated nutmeg tsp. fine sea salt

all ingredients together into a large bowl.

SIF T

Place cup cocoa mix in a mug. Heat 1 cup milk cup hot milk to a simmer. Pour over mix; stir until combined, then cup. stir in remaining TO MAKE 1 CUP HOT COCOA :

Cocoa mix keeps, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 months.

USE for soups or enjoy a hot mugful as a snack.

Stock keeps in the refrigerator for 1 week or frozen for up to 6 months.

Snack mix keeps, in airtight containers at room temperature, for up to 2 weeks. Recrisp if necessary.

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The Place I Call Home W h a t m a ke s t h e s p o t w h e re we s e t t l e fe e l r i g h t ?

Fo u r w r i t e rs re f l e c t o n w h a t d rew t h e m to a p l a c e a n d w hy t h ey l ove l i v i n g t h e re.

Illustrations by Kevin Whipple

MIAMI

Where It Feels Like Family

By Chantel Acevedo

I

was 25 when I first saw snow. A daughter of Cuban immigrants, I’d been born and raised in Hialeah, a working-class city in greater Miami. But at 25, my husband and I took off for an academic life, chasing degrees and jobs. Behind me were my loud Cuban family, tropical beaches, the pastels of Miami Beach, and Spanish punctuating every sentence. Ahead of me were trains that rattled down long tracks and took you from one big city to another, new terms like “brownstones” and “fireplace dampers,” knowing what it meant to be a Latina minority for the first time in my life.

I gave birth to my first daughter in New Haven, Connecticut, and when she was still a baby, my husband and I moved again. This time, warmer weather and a tenure-track job brought us to Auburn, Alabama.

We welcomed another daughter shortly afterward, and so it was the four of us there in the Deep South.

Nine years later, we had learned to say “y’all” and root for SEC football with ease.

Like the tea ubiquitous in the South, life in Auburn was pretty sweet. But there was always something missing, a sense of our latinidad that was slipping.

I’d vowed that my daughters would speak Spanish

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My yo u ng e st c a lle d it “ M y A m i .”

My Ami, Our Ami, Miami— it’s a ll hom e to m e.

and grow up in a bilingual world like the one I had known.

For a while there, I managed it. Then, one day when she was 3, my older daughter asked for her shoes instead of her zapatos, and it felt as if I’d failed. When asked to say it en español, she would stomp her tiny feet at me and yell, “English!” Who could blame her? None of her classmates spoke Spanish. Neither did her neighbors or her teachers.

Meanwhile, trips home over the holidays were healing, joyful things. Surrounded by abuelas and tías, cousins and family friends, my girls transformed into different people. They would dole out hugs, stuff their faces with bistec de palomilla, and learn the words to songs in Spanish on the radio. They knew about the Three Wise Men— los Reyes Magos, who brought toys at Christmas—and about Cuba, and about the places their beloved grandmothers were from.

On one visit, as I drove down a leafy street, Bruno Mars’s hit “Locked Out of Heaven” came on the radio. I found myself singing, “I’ve been locked out of heaven for too looong,” and realized I was crying. Sobbing, no less. It was incredibly cheesy, yes, and also a revelation.

It was time to come home.

So we did, thanks to tenured jobs at the University of Miami. Today we live just a few miles from Hialeah, back in Miami-Dade County. Is Miami perfect? No place is. This last hurricane season proved how erratic our weather is, and sea-level rise is a real threat. But my family is here, my language is here, and the stories that fuel my fiction are here. For a while, my youngest called it “My Ami.” My Ami, Our Ami, Miami—it’s all home to me.

Chantel Acevedo is the author of A Falling Star, Love and Ghost Letters, The Distant Marvels, and The Living Infinite, which was published in September. She is an associate professor of English at the University of Miami, where she teaches in the MFA program.

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LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA

Where I Learned to Be Nice

By Jessie Knadler

W

hen I first moved from New York City to rural Virginia, more than a decade ago, my husband, Jake, gave me this advice: “Don’t make enemies here.” What he meant was that you have to be nice to everyone in a small town because you will end up running into the person you insulted at the grocery store. Maybe not this week or next month or even next year. But eventually.

So you learn to smile a lot. You learn to be really nice. Or, rather, niceness works its way into you. Of course, in New York, no one expects nice. It’s the personality equivalent of a butterscotch lozenge: safe, a bit cloying. Getting to the point is preferred.

But brusque talk doesn’t translate in a land where the pace is slower and social

YOUR WORDS BALTIMORE Baltimore has everything: amazing food, culture, and major league sports with little traffic.

City life with a small-town feeling.

—@TINYD O GPRES S

PHOENIX

S o yo u le a r n to b e re a l l y n i c e.

O r, ra th e r, n i c e n e ss wo r ks i t s way i nto yo u . orbits overlap constantly. The waiter I called out for botching my order? (Hey, I was just being honest.) He’s also—surprise!—a volunteer firefighter who could one day rush to my place to extinguish a blaze. The mom who organizes an annual function I trashed to her face without realizing it was her creation? Turns out our kids are friends and she’s one of the only upholsterers in town.

(Guess I’ll be re-covering those dining chairs myself.) Screwups here have a long half-life thanks to the grinding, omnipresent rumor mill that never seems to run out of grist.

As Jake warned, the close proximity of small-town life comes to a head at the grocery store, where I’m forced to confront all the little social faux pas and strained relationships I’ve racked up over the years. When I spot the party organizer/upholsterer, I dive for the dairy aisle at the back of the store.

The waiter/firefighter? I drill down on the fine print on the cereal box, wishing I had just held my tongue. The five seconds of self-satisfaction I got by telling it like it is

wasn’t worth the hassle of forever trying to avoid people all over town.

I’ve learned that maybe it’s not necessary to be so up-front about everything.

I get why so many people in small towns stick with safe topics, like a recipe or the ins and outs of raising chickens. The funny thing is, it’s actually through this innocuous Southern small talk that I learned more about the art of conversation—and it is an art. Banter reveals the social fabric of a place, its rhythms and rules; establishing common ground is valued over merely communicating a point of view. It has connected me to the people of this town in a way that was invisible to me before. And I haven’t made an enemy for a really long time (I hope).

I’m third-generation.

My grandfather was born in Phoenix in 1900, when Arizona was just a territory.

Yes, our summers are hot, but the winters are beautiful.

We can drive a few hours and be at the beach. A few hours north and we have the Grand Canyon, Sedona, and the Arizona Snowbowl for skiing. There are museums, sports venues, music venues, festivals, historic districts, and great diversity.

—SANDRA LYN VILL A Z AMORANO

R I V E RTO N, NEW JER SEY It’s almost as if it’s a town caught in time.

Kids are always outside playing, and we have the oldest Fourth of July children’s parade in the nation, with neighborhood BBQs and fireworks over the Delaware River.

I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

—BRID GE T TE ENDICOT T VE ASY

Jessie Knadler’s memoir is titled Rurally Screwed. She is coauthor of the cookbook Tart and Sweet.

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TO D D, N O RT H C A RO L I N A

Where I Found Myself in Nature

By Emily Nunn

A

bout two years ago, I came to Todd, North Carolina, like a character from a Gothic novel, with the intention of getting lost in a dark wood.

After decades of living in the hubbub of New York and Chicago, where I wrote about restaurants and food, I arrived in the Blue Ridge Mountains with two suitcases and a box of cookbooks, haunted by a series of devastating losses that I should have made peace with years earlier but had not: the death of a sibling by suicide, followed by the disappearance of practically every aspect of my previous life—my home, my proud career, my last shreds of self-respect.

My life was broken, but I was afraid to put it back together, worried it would turn out the same as before.

I was no longer the person I had been. It felt like I wasn’t anyone at all. I was convinced it was best for everyone that I be very far from other people. My ridiculous idea: I’d ghost my own life!

I ended up in a converted barn on rustic rural farmland, pretty close to the small town in Virginia where I’d grown up but too far away from a grocery store to call it civilization. In the beginning, I took endless lonesome walks, during which I met herds of donkeys and cows but rarely any humans. And that was fine by me. My old friends, like all my belongings in storage, just reminded me of my former life.

I soon discovered that the barn’s roof leaked when it rained. It was so bitterly cold in winter that I had to wear a wool cap to bed. And I was often afraid—of the snakes that left their empty skins around the barn and the occasional bear, possum, or raccoon (the last of which would show up on my porch when I baked).

I was also quite afraid of my own isolation. I was very lonely for a long time. It felt like a necessary and painful cure, the only way I could undergo the kind of ruthless

I ’m s t i l l a fra i d of s n a ke s and spiders. But I’m not su re I’ve eve r b e e n h a p p i e r.

self-examination, unclouded by other voices, that I required. But once spring came again (because it always does), I became aware that the meadow I lived on had exploded with gorgeous purple and yellow flowers and polychromatic birds I didn’t recognize. Oh, this is what it means to be alive on the earth.

This is nature.

In the summer, I slowly began to meet my far-off neighbors, some as they rode their horses past the barn at dusk, one who sold me his perfect blackberries (which I turned into cobbler for another neighbor), and one who gave me soft baby lettuce from her garden because I stopped my car to say hello. Everyone had a vegetable garden and fruit trees.

So I planted a garden of my own. As I spent my mornings pulling weeds around delicate tomatoes and squash, I began to mentally separate the good from the bad in my life, promising myself I’d truly value and nurture what was good and make it grow stronger.

It requires a certain amount of foolish stubbornness to take the unmarked, unfamiliar road, but rather than getting lost out here, I found myself again. I’m still afraid of snakes and spiders. But I’m not sure I’ve ever been happier. And I’m ready to rejoin the living.

Emily Nunn’s memoir, The Comfort Food Diaries, was published in September.

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YOUR WORDS KU L I O U O U, H AWA I I Here, we host a Halloween block party with skits and share Christmas breakfast with everyone on our lane. It’s the kind of place to love.

—@NICOLENAPUUNOA

E L C E R R I TO, C A L I FO R N I A We live in one of the lowest-ranked school districts in the state, and yet people believe in and work hard at making our public schools work for all kids. Our city also now celebrates Loving Day, the day interracial marriage was made legal by the Supreme Court!

—CAROL TANG

C APE COD, MA S S A C H US E T T S Where do I begin?

There are countless hidden treasures.

Each village is so different from the next. Of course, there’s also my happy place—the beach.

—SELIS SA JOHNSON

M C CO O K, NEBR A SK A We have a great network of volunteers. From the chamber of commerce to the churches, we have so many people who care and want our community to thrive.

—ANNA L ABAY

YOUR WORDS ELGIN, ILLINOIS I adopted this city in 2003 and have loved it ever since.

It has diversity, a reemergent downtown, some of the best restaurants in the area, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and the most wonderful people in the world. I live in the historic district.

Most of the homes have porches from which we get to know our neighbors and watch the seasons pass by.

—MARJORIE ERDMAN

S ONOR A, C A L I FO R N I A After living most of my life in a big city, I now live on 10 acres in the Sierra Foothills. My husband grew up here, and I moved here four years ago. It’s a small Gold Rush town of under 5,000 people, full of smalltown charm and with an abundance of nature. We have parades, a rodeo, a county fair, and so much more that big-city living doesn’t offer. I still go to my office once a month in a large city, and when I drive into Sonora, I can feel the tension leave my body.

My soul feels renewed.

—LISA ARAGON GABRIEL SON

G R I N N E L L , I O WA

Where I Moved for True Love

By Alissa Nutting

T

he night I met my future husband at a conference, he suggested I marry him and move to Grinnell, Iowa. I laughed so hard! Not at the immediatelymarrying-a-stranger part—I’m from Las Vegas, where it’s weird if you don’t have a drive-through wedding with someone you just met. But Iowa? “I’ll never go there,” I told him. I mean, I’d seen the movie Children of the Corn.

I actually find cornfields very puzzling even when they aren’t teeming with homicidal youngsters. Why grow fields and fields of a plant you can’t even smoke?

But he kept sending me various lumberjack-themed Midwestern photos of himself outfitted in Carhartt hats and insulated bib overalls. Living in the land of the striptease, I found this to be a new, appealing pleasure—his eyes giving me a flirty, soft-core gaze while his body was cloaked in layers of jackets and vests. “You sure wear a lot of clothes in Iowa!” I remarked. I booked a ticket to visit and tried to picture the two of us as a mismatched version of the American Gothic painting, my sparkling acrylic nails clutching his flannel-clad bicep.

Getting off the plane, I instantly knew I was a long way from home. The deer were not animatronic. There were no illuminated musical fountains, and there were no intoxicated people publicly urinating into said fountains. I walked down an entire street without anyone handing me an ad for an escort service. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was possibly wearing too much glitter eye shadow.

In Iowa, it helps if you look like you go to church. Which is a look I can’t pull off. I think terrible thoughts all day long, a fact I try to conceal with too-enthusiastic smiles.

I always seem to have just polished off a box of wine, at minimum. In Vegas, this just makes me one of the crowd; everyone appears to be wasted and on vacation because most people are. But Iowans took one glance at me and grew concerned: Are you lost? Did you lose something?

They were curious: What was I trying to find in this place where I didn’t belong?

I’d come searching for love, and I found it. Mr. Sexy Wool Cap turned out to be everything I’d hoped. But the rural town where he lived (and, due to his child custody arrangements, needed to stay) troubled me.

One winter afternoon, I opened the door to find 90 crows sitting in the bare trees, and all the birds turned to stare at me in unison. The moment my brain registered that, no, this was not a Cirque du Soleil performance, I let out a scream and ran back inside. “Real birds in the backyard seem hungry for my organs!” I texted him. Also: The nearest mall (or even Target) was over an hour away at that time. Also: The only food-delivery place in town (pizza) stopped taking orders at 8 p.m.

I figured ours needed to be a longdistance relationship. But the commute was exhausting and expensive; huge chunks of each week—and each paycheck—felt wasted on transit. When a job opportunity arose in Iowa, I surprised myself by wanting to take it. Ultimately, getting to end and begin each day in bed with the person I love feels too lucky to pass up. I’ll always miss the convenience and year-round warm weather of Las Vegas. But to win big, I had to come to Iowa.

I m iss the ye a r-ro u n d wa r m we ather of Las Ve gas. But to win big, I h a d to c o m e to I owa .

Alissa Nutting is the author of Tampa and, most recently, Made for Love. She is an assistant professor at Grinnell College.

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PROMOTION

BRIGHT OFFERS

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FINDS

IDEAS

GIVEAWAYS

RS SLEEP—RISE AND (REALLY) SHINE!

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9OU LL WONDER HOW YOU MANAGED FAMILY LIFE BEFORE #OZI /À>V Þ ÕÀ v> ޽à ÃV i`Õ ià i « >Vi

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Ì iÀÃ Ü >Ûi à « w i` v> Þ vi Ü Ì â t

iÌ â Ì `>Þ q vÀii Ì i >«« ÃÌ Ài°

-i ` Ài `iÀÃ Ì Ì iÀÃ Ì i v> Þ - >Ài Ì i }À ViÀÞ ÃÌ] V Àià > ` i> « > >ÃÞ Ì ÕÃi vÀ > Þ L i `iÛ Vi] Ì>L iÌ À V «ÕÌiÀ

FE B RUA RY FOOD ST YLING BY CHEL SE A ZIMMER; PROP ST YLING BY CL AIRE SPOLLEN

On stir-crazy days, February can seem like a terrible one-act play: The best you can say is that it ends early. Better are the days when you cozy up and embrace being stuck indoors. Nourish your crew with an edamame-dotted pasta salad (page 115) or a hearty shepherd’s pie (page 124). Top store-bought pizza dough with mushrooms and creamy ricotta for a fun weeknight meal (page 117). Gather ’round a football game or jigsaw puzzle with our picks for best chips (page 125). Watch the weather outside your window and feel grateful to be right where you are.

Photograph by Greg DuPree

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

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EARTHF R I E N D LY

FOOD

COOK pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions, adding edamame during the last 4 minutes of cooking.

heat a small skillet over medium-high.

Add lemon wedges, cut side down, and cook until well blistered, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate.

FOOD ST YLING BY CHEL SE A ZIMMER; PROP ST YLING BY CL AIRE SPOLLEN

MEANWHILE,

12 oz. gemelli or other short pasta 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for cooking pasta

Easy Dinner 1

Edamame pasta salad ACTIVE TIME 15 MINUTES TOTAL TIME 30 MINUTES SERVES 4

Quick Cooking Make Ahead Vegetarian Family Friendly

1 12-oz. bag frozen shelled edamame (about 2 cups) 1 lemon, cut into wedges, seeds removed 6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar tsp. freshly ground black pepper 5 oz. baby arugula 4 oz. crumbled feta (about 1 cup) cup chopped toasted walnuts

Recipes by Emily Nabors Hall

Photographs by Greg DuPree

2 tablespoons of cooking liquid, drain pasta and edamame; transfer to a large bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoons oil; set aside until cool, 5 to 10 minutes.

RESERVING

together salt, vinegar, pepper, reserved cooking liquid, and remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a small bowl.

Add to bowl with pasta and edamame along with arugula, feta, and walnuts; toss well.

Squeeze seared lemon wedges over pasta.

WHISK

P E R S E RV I N G : 744 CALORIES, 38G FAT (8G SAT.), 25MG CHOL., 6G FIBER, 27G PRO., 76G CARB., 757MG SOD., 5G SUGAR

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FOOD

Easy Dinner 2

Hoisin chicken with broccoli ACTIVE TIME 15 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME 55 MINUTES

SERVES 4

Gluten-Free Family Friendly

cup canola oil, divided, plus more for baking sheet 3 Tbsp. gluten-free hoisin sauce 3 Tbsp. gluten-free tamari 3 Tbsp. rice vinegar 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets 2 tsp. finely chopped garlic tsp. kosher salt 1 Fresno chile, thinly sliced (optional) 4 chicken legs, thigh and drumstick together Steamed white rice, for serving PREHEAT oven to 400ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease with oil.

together hoisin, tamari, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Set aside cup of the mixture for serving.

WHISK

TOS S broccoli with garlic, salt, remaining 2 tablespoons oil, and chile, if desired, in a large bowl; set aside.

PL ACE chicken on prepared sheet. Brush all over with half of the hoisin mixture. Bake 20 minutes, then add broccoli mixture to pan.

baking until broccoli is golden and chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes more.

CONTINUE

SERVE with reserved sauce and rice.

P E R S E RV I N G : 688 CALORIES, 46G FAT (10G SAT.), 318MG CHOL., 3G FIBER, 59G PRO., 13G CARB., 1,385MG SOD., 6G SUGAR

1 16 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Easy Dinner 3

Mushroom white pizza ACTIVE TIME 20 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME 35 MINUTES

SERVES 4

Healthy Pick Freezable Vegetarian Family Friendly

1 lb. store-bought pizza dough, at room temperature cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 lb. mixed mushrooms, sliced cup chopped fresh parsley 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided cup whole-milk ricotta 4 oz. (1 cup) shredded low-moisture mozzarella 1 clove garlic, finely chopped oven to 450ºF with rack in lowest position. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, stretch out dough to a 16-by-10-inch rectangle.

Bake until lightly golden, about 7 minutes.

PREHEAT

heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and teaspoon each salt and pepper.

MEANWHILE,

together ricotta, mozzarella, garlic, and remaining teaspoon 2 tablespoons oil, salt, and teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Spread over prebaked crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange mushroom mixture on top.

STIR

until golden, about 12 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

BAKE

P E R S E RV I N G : 550 CALORIES, 26G FAT (8G SAT.), 34MG CHOL., 2G FIBER, 19G PRO., 57G CARB., 1,581MG SOD., 3G SUGAR

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

117

FOOD

1 cup lager beer (such as Budweiser) 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into cubes 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic 1

tsp. kosher salt, divided tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided

Easy Dinner 4

1

lb. unpeeled medium shrimp 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Beer-braised shrimp with radicchio salad ACTIVE TIME 15 MINUTES TOTAL TIME 15 MINUTES SERVES 4

Quick Cooking

1

tsp. honey 1 large or 2 small heads radicchio, leaves separated, torn if large cup firmly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves cup chopped chives Hot sauce (such as Tabasco), for serving Crusty baguette, for serving

1 18 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

BRING beer to a simmer in a large skillet over medium.

Add butter, garlic, 1 teaspoon teaspoon pepsalt, and per. Stir until butter melts.

Add shrimp, stir to coat, and cover skillet. Cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat, uncover, and set aside.

together oil, lemon juice, honey, and remaining teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add radicchio and parsley and toss to coat. Garnish shrimp with chives and serve with salad, hot sauce, and baguette.

WHISK

P E R S E RV I N G : 364 CALORIES, 23G FAT (9G SAT.), 269MG CHOL., 1G FIBER, 32G PRO., 8G CARB., 800MG SOD., 3G SUGAR

Easy Dinner 5

Baked farro with sausage and squash ACTIVE TIME 30 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR, 10 MINUTES

SERVES 4

Healthy Pick Freezable Make Ahead Whole-Grain Family Friendly

3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided 1 small butternut squash (about 2 lb.), peeled and cut into -in. cubes (about 4 cups) 2 cups farro 1 tsp. chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish 4 cups unsalted chicken stock 1 tsp. kosher salt tsp. freshly ground black pepper lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed cup heavy cream cup (about 2 oz.) grated Parmesan, divided PREHEAT

oven to 300ºF.

2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven or wide, heavy pot with lid over medium-high. Add squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.

HEAT

ADD remaining 1 tablespoon oil and farro to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until farro is toasted, about 5 minutes. Add sage and cook 30 seconds more.

RETURN squash to pot; add stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and transfer to oven. Bake until farro is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, about 40 minutes.

cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove from heat; set aside.

MEANWHILE,

REMOVE farro from oven and stir in cream and half the cheese. Serve topped with sausage and remaining cheese; garnish with sage.

P E R S E RV I N G : 670 CALORIES, 26G FAT (10G SAT.), 52MG CHOL., 9G FIBER, 32G PRO., 81G CARB., 1,250MG SOD., 4G SUGAR

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S L O L 3K

Philip Chiang, Co-Founder

Explore more at PFChangsHomeMenu.com

Make It Yourself A D E L I C I O U S E SS E N T I A L T H AT’ S B E T T E R H O M E M A D E T H A N S T O R E - B O U G H T. W E ’ L L P RO V E I T. T H I S M O N T H : R A M E N

By Grace Elkus

Gone are the days when ramen meant instant noodles and a sodium-laden seasoning packet. Not only is homemade ramen easy and healthy, but it’s ready in just a half hour.

The base of our vegetarian version is a rich miso broth, flavored with ginger and garlic. Earthy mushrooms and a creamy soft-boiled egg make it a substantial main.

If you can’t find fresh ramen noodles, use dried—just ditch that salty flavor packet.

Photographs by Jen Causey

121

FOOD

ACTIVE TIME 30 MINUTES TOTAL TIME 30 MINUTES SERVES 4

4 tsp. vegetable oil, divided lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed 4 scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated 1

-in. piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped 6 cups vegetable broth 2 Tbsp. white miso 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. tamari or soy sauce 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil 4 large eggs 12 oz. fresh ramen noodles or 4 3-oz. packets dry ramen 2 heads baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise 2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds 2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes Toasted nori, for garnish (optional) HEAT 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add mushrooms; cook until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from pot.

heat to medium; add remaining 2 teaspoons vegetable oil to pot. Add scallion whites, ginger, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add broth and bring to a simmer.

TRANSFER a ladleful of broth from pot to a small bowl; add miso and whisk until smooth. Return to pot; add tamari and sesame oil.

LOWER eggs into a large pot of gently boiling water; cook for 6 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water. Set aside.

RETURN water to a boil. Add noodles and bok choy; cook until noodles are al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain; remove bok choy. Rinse noodles under cold water; drain again. Divide noodles and bok choy among bowls.

PEEL

eggs and halve lengthwise.

broth over noodles. Top with mushrooms, eggs, and scallion greens.

Roughly chop sesame seeds and red pepper flakes; sprinkle over bowls.

Crumble nori over each bowl, if desired.

POUR

122 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

F O O D ST Y L I N G BY A N N A H A M PTO N ; P R O P ST Y L I N G BY C L A I R E S P O L L E N

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This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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FOOD

Big Batch

Shepherd’s pie ACTIVE TIME 40 MINUTES TOTAL TIME 1 HOUR, 50 MINUTES SERVES 8 TO 10

1

lb. red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed cups warm whole milk 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter 3 tsp. kosher salt, divided Freshly ground black pepper 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

1

lb. ground beef (90% lean) 1 lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered (about 4 cups) 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 ribs celery, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 Tbsp. tomato paste 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock 2 medium carrots, chopped

2

cups frozen peas (from a 10-oz. bag) 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Cover potatoes with cold water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer until tender when pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes.

Drain and return to pot.

Add milk, butter, 1 teaspoons salt, and several grinds of pepper; mash until creamy. Set aside.

HEAT 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add beef teaspoon salt; and cook, undisturbed, until browned on bottom, about 4 minutes. Break up pieces with a wooden spoon and cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Wipe out skillet.

mushrooms, thyme, teaspoon salt and in 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with beef. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.

Return beef mixture to skillet; stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute more.

Add stock and remaining teaspoon salt; simmer until slightly thickened, 7 to 8 minutes.

COOK

in carrots, peas, and Worcestershire; cook until peas are crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer mixture to a 9-by-13-inch (or 3-quart) baking dish.

Spoon, then gently spread, mashed potatoes on top.

STIR

SET baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until filling is bubbling and top is golden in spots, 18 to 22 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

P E R S E RV I N G : 440 CALORIES, 23G FAT (9G SAT.), 71MG CHOL., 6G FIBER, 24G PRO., 37G CARB., 979G SOD., 10G SUGAR

Recipe by Ananda Edelstein 124 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018

Photograph by Greg DuPree

FOOD ST YLING BY CHEL SE A ZIMMER; PROP ST YLING BY CL AIRE SPOLLEN

2

FOOD

R o a d Te s t

Chips W H E T H E R YO U ’R E D I V I N G ST R A I G H T I N TO T H E B A G O R E N J O Y I N G T H E M W I T H A D I P, B E S T P I TA

W E F O U N D T H E V E RY B E S T C H I P S T O S A T I S F Y

Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips Eat by the handful, scoop into hummus, or crumble onto salads as an alternative to croutons.

TO BUY: $3.50 for 7.3 oz.; at grocery stores.

S A LT Y- S N A C K C R A V I N G S .

By Grace Elkus

P R O P S T Y L I N G B Y C E C I L I A E L G U E R O F O R K AT E R YA N I N C . ; PA C K A G E D P R O D U C T I M A G E S C O U R T E S Y O F M A N U F A C T U R E R S

B E S T P O TAT O

Kettle Brand Sea Salt Chips Thinly sliced and extra crisp, these three-ingredient chips (just potatoes, oil, and salt) make the case for simplicity. TO BUY: $3.80 for 8.5 oz.; at grocery stores.

B E S T F L AVO R E D P O TAT O

365 Everyday Value All Dressed Potato Chips No need for dip when you opt for this flavor bomb— a combo of barbecue, sour cream and onion, salt and vinegar, and ketchup.

TO BUY: $3 for 10 oz.; at Whole Foods.

realsimple ROAD TE ST

B E S T T O RT I L L A

Simply Balanced Organic Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips Sturdy enough for guac, these whole-grain chips have solid crunch and a subtle corn flavor.

TO BUY: $2.80 for 12 oz.; at Target.

BEST FL A AVO R E D T O RT I L L A

B E S T V EG G I E

Trader Joe’s Ridge Cut Sweet Potato Chips These dip-gripping chips are naturally sweet, with just the right amount of salt.

TO BUY: $2 for 7 oz.; at Trader Joe’s.

Photograph by Corey Olsen

Chips and dip go hand in hand. Find our best dip recipes at realsimple.com/dips.

Late July Clásico Jalapeño Lime Tortilla Chips We love the bright lime flavor and fiery finish. Great with a beer on game day.

TO BUY: $3.50 for 5.5 oz.; at grocery stores.

F E B RUARY 2018 R E A L S I M P L E

125

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