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FABTV: Madonna "Like a Virgin"

FabSugar — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:12:22 PST

With Madonna serving as Louis Vuitton's Spring muse, my mind wandered into Madonna world. "Like a Virgin" is a very playful song, but it stirred up controversy. The lyrics alone made parents blush. While gliding around Venice, Madonna set her tone: rebellious, stylish, iconic. No wonder she got so big, so fast. From day one, girls (and some boys) emulated her too-cool style signatures - lace, layered necklaces (and bracelets and belts), cut out tees, leggings, feathered hair. Since you're not going to be able to resist singing along - we all know the words - revel in Madonna's early years. How cute is she dancing around on the gondola? Too cute, too cool.

A Reader Recipe: Chunky Cherry-Chocolate Granola Bites

Fit Community — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:28:09 PST

FitSugar reader JuicyNoelle came up with this special cookie for Valentine's Day; she posted the recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.

Tied with a festive pink ribbon and a little love, I’m hoping these cookies will be perfect for Valentine's Day. The whole-grain oats, nuts, and cherries in these cookies add heartiness, while the melted dark-chocolate chunks deliver bursts of richness. The chia seeds pack a nutty punch, and they are rich in fiber and omega-3s, too - perfect for supporting vibrant hair and skin during these cold weeks of February.

Learn more about the recipe after the break!

A Doctor Dishes: Which "Superfoods" Are Worth the Cost?

LearnVest — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:15:00 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Most people you speak to these days are trying to stretch every dollar as far as possible - even the ones they spend buying apples and oranges.

Food prices are expected to increase yet again this year, and food manufacturers are making portions smaller without reducing prices. Not surprisingly, a recent Rasmussen poll found that 93 percent of adults report paying more for groceries now than they did a year ago.

So how can we supercharge our grocery dollars and get them to do overtime for us?

Yes, some foods are obviously a better nutritional deal than others (think apples vs. potato chips), but there’s another class of foods that blows the rest of the field away in terms of nutrients and health-protecting qualities: superfoods.

Superfoods can help prevent diabetes and heart disease, repair damage to your body’s cells, and more. But before you go piling them into your cart, know that some superfoods are better nutritional bargains than others. As a doctor and a mom, I’ve sleuthed out which ones are worth the extra cost in terms of their long-term health benefits. Below is the scoop on which ones may help you age better, ward off cancer, and more.

What to Know Before Buying Superfoods

Before we dive into what to buy, there are a few important things to remember about consuming these foods:

Eating foods fresh and in their natural state, especially fruits and vegetables (rather than in pill or powder supplement form), usually allows us to absorb the greatest amount of their nutrients. The way a superfood is processed or cooked can significantly lower its antioxidant content.
If the superfood can’t be eaten fresh, look for easy and appetizing recipes containing it. No matter how “super” a superfood may be, if you don’t know how to cook it, you’ll probably let it go to waste.

Are Superfoods "Good Buys" If I’m Shopping on a Budget?

Read on to find out.

How to Make Your Favorite Snacks Healthier

Leta Shy — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:34:32 PST

When you're craving a salty, crunchy snack, there are many to choose from - but they're not always healthy. Here's how to make your favorite snacks that much better for you with just a few tweaks.

Popcorn: It's one of the lower-calorie snacks to choose from already, but watch out for toppings - that's where you can get carried away with fat and calories if you're not careful (just look at movie theater popcorn). Air-popped popcorn has the fewest calories - 31 calories per cup - but even using a little bit of oil will only add about 14 calories. Keep calories low by skipping the butter and salt, not to mention the prepackaged popcorn. Instead, use healthier popcorn toppings like extra virgin coconut oil, Indian spices, or "cheesy" nutritional yeast. Read more healthy popcorn topping ideas here.

Nuts: A handful of nuts can keep you satisfied and energized far longer than a carb-filled snack, and not only that, the unsaturated fats in them do you good. But if you want to get the most benefit out of the healthy fats of certain nuts (like walnuts), don't roast them, since their antioxidants may be damaged when baked at a high temperature, as most commercial nuts are. If you don't like the taste of raw nuts, roast your own at 165° Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Read on for ways to healthify more of your favorite snacks.

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "If/Then"

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:20:41 PST

Last year we had the Grey's Anatomy musical episode, and this season it's the alternate-reality episode. That's right: as Meredith ponders on the veracity of the phrase "meant to be," we get to see what could have been - or in this case, what was always destined to be. Though this is a filler episode if I ever saw one, it's still pretty fun to see the characters go down different paths (well, except for Jackson, who pretty much stays the same).

What we're treated to is a preppy-pink Meredith, a geeky Karev, and an even edgier Yang just to name a few. There are also plenty of shout-outs to characters from past seasons, like Izzie, George, and Burke. Ready to break down all of the differences? Just

Looking to Escape? 9 Flash Sale Travel Sites With Great Deals

Emily Co — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:26:08 PST

It's a good idea to start planning your trips for the year now, so you can keep your eye out for the best deals and you won't have to resort to paying expensive last-minute prices. If you already have several destinations in mind, check out travel flash sale sites, which can save you hundreds of dollars! Here are a couple to browse through:

Groupon Getaways

Groupon partnered up with Expedia to launch a travel deals vector that features new deals every Tuesday. The deals stay live for seven days or until they run out. The site offers a good mix of national and international travel deals.

Hot recent deal: $39 for $100 toward a round-trip Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Chicago. The deal has already sold out, and over 5,000 Grouponers bought this deal.

Jetsetter

A luxury travel site that offers deals up to 50 percent off only the most luxurious and exotic hotels around the globe. Each sale lasts about five to seven days. You can pay 10 percent of the trip price to "hold" a trip for three days to decide whether to book it. If you decide not to purchase, the 10 percent becomes Jetsetter credit that never expires.

Hot recent deal: A hotel in Rome, Italy, that's going for $130 a night. This compares with the regular nightly rate of $220.

Read on for more sites.

6 Bad Beauty Habits to Break Now

Michelle Phan — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:10:00 PST

YouTube star and beauty guru Michelle Phan is all about beauty, and she's here to help you start your year off fresh. This week, Michelle admonishes us against six bad beauty habits we should all break in the new year:

Hi everyone, Whether it's not always washing your face or not always washing your brushes, we are all guilty of a few bad beauty habits that we know we ought to break. What better time than the start of a new year?

See why clear lip gloss is a makeup lover's must have

Here is a list of the six bad beauty habits that I challenge everyone to break in 2012. And yes, I am guilty of some of the things on this list. (Hey, nobody's perfect! We all need to try harder!) See them all below.

"Is Our Bad Sex Life Going to End the Relationship?"

Tres Community — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

This question is from a Group Therapy post in our TrèsSugar Community. Add your advice in the comments!

I've been with my boyfriend for over two years now, and our sex life is CRAP! I'm not sure if it's because of his insecurities, because we have great sex when we're drunk. Before I met him, my sex life was always brilliant; I was outgoing and a bit kinky, but since I've been with my current boyfriend, I feel worse about my body and having sex than ever before. Things are complicated even further by the fact that we live together.

This all makes me wonder if he is the right person for me; I wonder if I should be with someone with the same sexual needs as me. My boyfriend doesn't even look at me when we are having sex anymore and it makes me feel like he doesn't find me attractive! I know I can't live without him, but I'm really craving some good sex, and I'm just not getting it at all.

I know sex should be an important part of a relationship, but I don't know how to make it any better at this point. Talking to him about it won't help (At this point, I should probably tell you that I took his virginity) because I know he will just shut down and get embarrassed. I think the problem is simply our different sexual attitudes; he is very selfish in bed and in the two years we have been together, he has only gone down on me two or three times.

Should we break up because our sex lives are different? At this point, I look forward to being single one day just to have good sex...that means something, right?

Have a dilemma of your own? Post it anonymously to Group Therapy for advice, and check out what else is happening in the TrèsSugar Community.

Virgin America Brings a Breath of Fresh Airline to Philadelphia

Sponsor — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:00:00 PST

Heading to Philly? This Spring is a great time to check out the city - especially with Virgin America launching its low-fare, high-frills daily nonstop flights from LAX and SFO to PHL as of April 2012. Known for its tricked-out new planes, touch-screen entertainment, and amenities like fleet-wide WiFi, the airline has created a cult-like following on the coasts. And the airline's in-flight entertainment does credit to its California roots - with an iPad-like seatback touchscreen for flyers with 35 films, live TV, Google Maps, video games, seat-to-seat chat, music videos, a 3,000-song library, an on-demand menu, and more.

To mark the quickly growing airline's Philly launch, Virgin America first shared the news with its social media fans via a video that spotted the beloved and mysterious "Greenman" from the hit FX television show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia near a Virgin America aircraft. In addition to grabbing those super-low fares to Philly, visitors to the airline's Facebook page can enter for a chance to win round-trip flights and the ultimate It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia fan pack, consisting of seasons 1-6 DVDs, a Paddy's Pub t-shirt, the official board game, and a guide to the characters' favorite haunts. Oh, and of course, you can check out It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia en route at 35,000 feet on Virgin America.

Enter For a Chance to Meet Drew Barrymore!

PopSugar — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:50:00 PST

Drew Barrymore is back on the big screen in February with Big Miracle! To celebrate the film and Drew's amazing fans, we're giving away an exciting trip. One lucky winner and a friend will fly to Los Angeles on Virgin America, be chauffeured by Limos.com, and get the A-list treatment, all before meeting - and interviewing - Drew in person as part of our I'm a Huge Fan series! There will be a few fun surprises along the way, too. We're looking for one of Drew's biggest fans, so prove you're it by taking our quiz. Check out the official rules here - it doesn't matter how you score. Hurry, the sweepstakes ends Jan. 12 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Big Miracle opens in theaters nationwide on Feb. 3!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes starts 6:00 p.m. PST 1/6/12 and ends 11:59 p.m. PST 1/12/12. Open only to legal residents of 49 US and DC (RI excluded). 18+. Click here for official rules. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Sugar Publishing, Inc.

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