Low-Carb Desserts You'll Fall in Love With

Sweet tooth got you hangry? Us, too. Good news: These five low-carb desserts all contain fewer carbohydrates than the combined protein and fat counts, an easy way to determine whether or not your low-carb grub is really what it claims to be. "It's good to keep insulin as low as possible, since this hormone can promote the storage of fat and stops your body from using stored fat as energy," says nutritionist Jenny Westerkamp, RD. Consuming protein and fat with carbohydrates will save you from that crazy blood sugar spike you can get from carbs alone, so you won't need as much insulin to metabolize your treat. And considering all of these recipes are delicious and low-carb, we're arguing that yes, you can now have your cake and eat it, too.

 Low-Carb Desserts: Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

Forget Reese's. These peanut butter cups are the real deal—gluten-free with just two grams of sugar. Go ahead: Grab another.

The Crazy-Simple Way to Eat Less

Smart eating isn't always about choosing vegetables over fried food and skipping dessert. Sometimes, the smallest, easiest habits can make a big difference, especially when it comes to this super-simple strategy that helps you cut calories without switching up your food.

No, it's not by skipping a meal. We've got a strategy that is much easier and less likely to make you hangry: Chew your food more thoroughly. Sounds obvious, but science shows it works.

On two different days, researchers at Iowa State University in Ames fed a pizza breakfast to volunteers, instructing them to chew each mouthful 15 times on one day and 40 times on the other. When subjects chewed 40 times instead of just 15, they had lower levels of ghrelin, the hormone that triggers your brain to tell you it's time to eat. They also had higher levels of cholecystokinin, a fullness hormone found in the gut. In real life, this translated to less hunger all the way up to lunchtime, three hours later.

While there's nothing magical about chewing your food exactly 40 times, noshing more thoroughly is a simple way to keep your appetite in check. Three ways to eat more mindfully: Put down your fork between bites, don't eat in front of the TV or at a desk, and turn on some relaxing tunes while you dine.

Oats and Chocolate Hot Smoothie

Notice that refreshingly cold smoothies don't have the same appeal during wintry weather? Give your smoothies a winter makeover by serving them hot and toasty. (It's not as strange as it sounds—promise!) These ice-free, warm smoothie recipes will warm you up after a chilly morning jog.

 Oats and Chocolate Hot Smoothie

It only takes six simple ingredients to whip up this outrageous oats and chocolate smoothie from Kitchen Sanctuary. Safety tip: Don't fill your blender or smoothie maker with boiling liquid! The steam creates pressure that can cause the lid to blast off, literally. Add the hot ingredients at the end.

Did I ever tell you how much I love chocolate for breakfast? If I didn’t, you may have worked it out already based on those pancakes with white chocolate, or maybe those Nutella Sweet rolls . Unlike the zillion calories and liberal sprinkling of sugar in those examples, today I’m presenting you with a healthy chocolate recipe.

It can be done.

Taking a break from the fruity smoothies in weeks one and two of my Hot Smoothie series, I went for something creamy, oaty, filling and delicious. Six simple ingredients (ok, 7 if you include the splash of water, but really? I’m ignoring that one) and you’ll be enjoying a warm healthy breakfast at just a little over 300 calories.

3 Reasons Your Pores Look So Damn Huge

Plus how to tighten 'em up ASAP

Honestly: How far would you go to change the look of your pores? According to a Harris Poll/L'Oreal survey, 56 percent of women would give up booze, dessert, even social media (#firstworldpores) for an entire year to downsize those eyesores. The national obsession has reached such a fervor, dermatologists even coined the term "porexia"—which is exactly what it sounds like.

Buzzy names aside, there's unfortunately still no miracle treatment to permanently shrink the suckers. (Get on it, derms!) Of course, regular exfoliation helps make them look smaller (clogged pores = large pores). But we've discovered a few unexpected reasons why they could be freaking out—in some cases, at the hands of the products used to fight them. So, if any of the following things describe you, find the smart fix that'll help you whittle your pores...and have your merlot (or whiskey, or Hoegaarden), too.

You can't get enough extractions.
Facials can clear out pores—if done by the right hands. "Make sure the aesthetician is cleaning out only the clogged pores—not every pore," says Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, M.D., Ph.D., a New York City dermatologist and consultant for Lancôme. "If you manipulate those that don't need extraction, they may stretch out permanently." Traumatized pores can develop scar tissue that creates an indentation deeper than the pore itself, adds Sonia Batra, M.D., M.P.H., a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the USC Keck School of Medicine.

The Biggest Winter Skin-Care Mistake You're Probably Making

Skipping this step in your routine could seriously hurt your complexion.

Be honest: How often do you really wear SPF in the winter? While you might think you can skip it on frigid or snowy days, that's not actually the case.

"Just because it's cold outside doesn't mean you can stop protecting your skin against harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun," says Sejal Shah, M.D., a dermatologist at Smarter Skin Dermatology in New York City. "Ultraviolet radiation reaches the Earth every day, even when it's cold or cloudy, so you need to protect your skin year-round." In fact, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, 80 percent of the sun's UV rays can still penetrate your skin on a cloudy day.

But what if you're cooped up at home or in the office all day? "You need to wear sunscreen even when you're outside for a short amount of time," says Shah. "[And] ultraviolet radiation can penetrate window glass, so you need protection when you're indoors as well." A new study published in the journal Science even found that some sun damage (which can lead to skin cancer) continues to take place hours after you've gone inside.

7 Skin-Care Ingredients You Might Be Allergic To

Plus, how to deal if your skin freaks out

Ever used a new scrub or moisturizer—only to be left with red, itchy skin? The ingredients in your products could be to blame. "Most ingredients that exfoliate, cleanse, or strip the skin can be potentially irritating," says Ron Robinson, a cosmetic chemist and the founder of BeautyStat.com.

What’s more, some people are much more sensitive to certain allergy-inducing ingredients than others, says Dendy Engelman, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. "It's nothing the patient is doing wrong,” she says.  “Most often it's genetics or what they were exposed to—or not exposed to—during their childhood."

Before you try a new skin-care product, be aware of these common irritants.

The 13 Worst Things About Being Pregnant

Baby = awesome. Disturbing sex dreams? Not so much.

Just remember: At the end of the day (or one very, very long night), a billion annoyances lead to one cute baby. Totally worth it.

Elizabeth Natoli


FIRST TRIMESTER

The "What Do I Drink at Happy Hour?" Problem
It's before you can take a test but after the sperm might have met the egg. Do you go for the pinot or keep it safe and order a soda? Wait, are you even allowed to have caffeine?

Two Words: "Morning Sickness"
Which should be called "all-day sickness." Or "hell." You wake up, you throw up. You go to lunch, you throw up. You go to bed...and get up to throw up.

The Only Food Odor That Doesn't Make You Wanna Hurl Is That of a Tuna Sandwich
Or of sushi. Or of a turkey sub. Or all those things that the baby books say you aren’t supposed to be eating.

Sex Dreams About Judge Judy
They are disturbing, and they happen. Pregnancy hormones cause all sorts of weird, extremely vivid dreams that are impossible to forget—even though you definitely want to.