You Shouldn’t Be Eating Meat at Every Meal on Keto — Here’s Why

Immune Boosting Winter Citrus Smoothie

Crush your cold with all the colorful in-season produce like blood oranges, beets, pomegranates, and rainbow chard spiced with ginger, turmeric, and cayenne. (via Half Baked Harvest)

Creamy Yogurt Popsicles with Berries

Nurse your sore throat with these healthy popsicles made with fresh berries and just five ingredients! (via The Real Food Dietitians)

15-Minute Asian Cold Remedy Soup

Maybe this soup’s claim has something to do with the hefty dose of fresh ginger in each bite.(via Fork in the Kitchen)

Cold-Soothing Chai Hot Toddy

Your grandma wasn’t lying when she said that a hot toddy is the best cold medicine. This chai-spiced version adds even more warmth to the drink and will lull you into a peaceful night of sleep. (via Baking Mischief)

Honey Chamomile Popsicles

Honey and chamomile are two soothing ingredients for a sore throat or upset tummy. Keep them stored in the freezer, and you and your kids will be more than happy to snack on them while sick. (via Vanilla and Bean)

Immune Boosting Garden Herb Stock

Once you get over your illness, you need to do everything you can to keep your immune system up. This nutritious stock is full of vitamins and minerals that you can drink straight or add to just about any dish you like. (viaOm Nom Ally)

Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

You’ve got to have a solid chicken noodle soup recipe, no matter who you’re trying to nurse back to health. This one has plenty of protein, veggies, and comforting egg noodles to get your stomach settled. (viaAverie Cooks)

Golden Milk

Delicious both hot or cold, this anti-inflammatory drink made with coconut milk, dates, turmeric, and cinnamon is full of medicinal properties that will leave you feeling great in no time. Plus, it's gluten and dairy-free, vegan, and super easy to make! (via Clean Cuisine)

Rosehip Tea

Ripe in late fall, rosehips are high in vitamin C and can help strengthen your immune system. This tea, made with these fruits of rose plants, has an amazing effect on your body, before and after your sick day. (via Give Recipe)

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup

If you're not a fan of noodles or just not in the mood for them, opt for a chicken and rice soup instead. (via Feel Good Foodie)

Turmeric Ginger Chickpea Noodle Soup

Thisimmune-boosting chickpea noodle soup is full of veggies with a flavorful ginger turmeric broth, plus it's ready in about 30 minutes! (via Crowded Kitchen)

All-Natural DIY Pineapple Cough Syrup

No more cough syrup at home? Go for this all-natural alternative. The combination of pineapple, cayenne, lemon, ginger, and honey is more than effective at keeping your coughs at bay. (via The View from Great Island)

Gingery Poached Egg Soup

Sometimes it’s hard to even eat chicken noodle soup when you’re feeling under the weather. This light version will be ready for you to sip in 15 minutes, and it won’t weigh too heavily on your stomach. (via The Kitchn)

Healing Turmeric Cauliflower Soup

The anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric are just one of the reasons this soup is perfect for healing your sick body. If you’re having any trouble swallowing, the smooth texture will be easy for you to get down and digest. (via Simply Quinoa)

Healing Bowls With Turmeric Sweet Potatoes, Poached Eggs, and

Lemon Dressing

When you’re able to eat a little bit more, a big bowl of nourishing ingredients is what you need. This sweet potato and brown rice bowl is full of greens, poached egg, and a lemony dressing to help you feel like a million bucks. (via Pinch of Yum)

Immunity Shots

You could go to a fancy juice bar to get an immune-boosting shot or you could make one at home for a fraction of the cost, and you won’t have to get out of your pajamas. Use your blender or juicer to combine carrot, ginger, lemon, and garlic together into a cold-blooded flu killer. (via With Food and Love)

Cold Buster Citrus Smoothie

If your immune system does give into the office cold, this vitamin C-packed drink will help you recover at lightning speed. (via Seasonal Cravings)

Moon Milk

Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the hardest things to do while you’re sick. This antioxidant-rich warm moon milk recipe features nutmeg and ashwagandha, both of which are known for lulling you into a restful slumber. (via Bon Appetit)

Super Immunity Power Salad

Move over, spinach. This kale salad is here to take the spot as the most nutritious and delicious way to eat your greens. (via The Garden Grazer)

Triple Berry Kiwi Smoothie

Who needs a multivitamin when you could just drink this smoothie every day? One kiwi has over 100 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin C, so you know that you’ll stay healthy through flu season with this as your breakfast. (via The Pretty Bee)

Vegan Vegetable Noodle Soup Recipe

Even without the chicken, noodle soup is good for the soul. (via Veggie Society)

Homemade Hot Apple Cider Recipe

Homemade Hot Apple Cider Recipe

Sometimes all you need is a hot, seasonal drink to get you back on your feet. (via Pink Owl Kitchen)

CREAMY SWEET POTATO CHICKEN SOUP

Sweet potatoes are a great source of vitamin A which! Is great for fighting off illnesses.(via Averie Cooks)

SPICY SOFT TOFU SOUP

Sometimes all you need is a little spice to clear up a stuffy nose! (Takes Two Eggs)

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This post has been updated.

Easy Homemade Sore Throat Gummies

These lemon, ginger, and honey gummies are better than any lozenge than you can get at the store. The natural ingredients will coat your throat and ease any annoying tickles or cough that you may have. (via Hello Creative Family)

Why Your Flexibility Stalls

As though going through puberty weren’t enough of a struggle, it’s also the time when you start to lose your natural flexibility. “No one is more flexible in their life than they are as a child,” says Dr. Leython Williams, a doctor of physical therapy at Athletico Physical Therapy. “However, during puberty, children often become temporarily less flexible. Some children have slow growth spurts, while others grow very quickly. This temporary decrease in muscle length/flexibility is a result of their bones growing faster than their muscles and tendons can stretch.”

Note that Dr. Williams refers to this particular loss of flexibility as temporary — meaning we can’t blame puberty for the fact our toes seem to be getting farther away every time we try to touch them.

“There is no specific age when we wake up and our flexibility has ‘officially declined.’ However, it is a fact that as we age our flexibility decreases, which leads to decreased functional ability and mobility,” he explains. “As our bodies get older, we lose a small amount of flexibility as a result of the normal aging processes. There is loss of water in our tissues and intervertebral discs, increased stiffness in our joints, and a loss of elasticity in muscles and tendons. In our 20s and 30s, it is important that we develop a consistent static and dynamic stretching regimen to establish and maintain flexibility and range of motion more easily into our older years.”

That’s right: What you do now matters later. And this isn’t just about keeping up in yoga, Dr. Williams cautions. “It becomes imperative that we stretch regularly to decrease our likelihood of various injuries.” Jill Belland, co-founder of Barre Belle, agrees. “It’s easy to feel invincible if you’re young and injury free! Flexibility will reduce your risk of injury: What doesn’t bend will break. Increased range of motion, balance, and mobility are all linked to flexibility and contribute to overall strength and fitness.”

How to Get It Back

When you’re a kid, flexibility comes naturally; when you’re an adult, you have to take responsibility for improving and maintaining it. “Peak flexibility age for adults can differ person to person and depends largely on their physical activity habits,” says Dr. Rachelle Reed, PhD, Pure Barre’s manager of training development and barre kinesiologist. “Notably, flexibility can be improved at any age when flexibility training is incorporated into a regular exercise routine. It’s important for adults to be strategic about including flexibility training into their workouts, because maintaining flexibility and physical function as we move into middle and older adulthood is associated with better quality of life and independent living.”

There’s no one flexibility standard everyone has to meet, Belland reassures: “There is no golden rule for what perfect flexibility is person to person, but there are simple markers such as touching your toes from a forward fold for hamstrings/lower back, or reaching for your hands behind your back, with one hand behind the head and the other behind the waist, for shoulder mobility. You don’t need to be a contortionist; moving around with fluidity in your everyday life and having good range of motion in your favorite activities without feeling pain or tension is a better way to gauge your own personal goals.”

But where do you start if you want to improve your flexibility? Dr. Reed explains, “There are two main types of flexibility training that you should aim to incorporate into your routine: Dynamic stretching, where a stretch is performed by moving through a challenging but attainable range of motion several times in a row, and static stretching, where a stretch is held in a challenging but attainable position for a longer period of time (at least 10-30 seconds).”

How do you know how far to go? “Our muscles have a natural stretch reflex that prevents us from going too far into a stretch, which can also cause injury,” Belland tells us. “Aim to gently stretch through this reflex. The key to increasing flexibility is about time under tension: It takes around 20 seconds to ease through the stretch reflex. Reintroduce the stretch and hold it for 10 seconds longer, working up to one minute. The second time you introduce a stretch, the stretch reflex will diminish, allowing your body to get deeper into your stretch and also building better muscle memory.”

If you’re still worried about injuring yourself — especially if you’ve been injured in the past — Dr. Williams recommends seeing a physical therapist for guided stretches. Belland reminds us that you don’t have to go to the gym or spend hours on stretching. “Stretch a little bit every day when you can fit it in after a workout or in front of the TV. If you just don’t think you’ll stretch on your own, getting to a yoga or a barre class is helpful if you need the accountability of a dedicated time and space.”

Speaking of the gym, just as your phys ed teacher told you, stretching is especially important before and after a workout. “Far too often active individuals begin their workouts without a dynamic stretch,” Dr. Williams says. “Dynamic stretching increases one’s range of movement and blood flow to soft tissues prior to physical exertion and/or sport performance. This type of stretching is vital in improving performance and reducing the risk for injury.”

But you don’t have to be an athlete to benefit — in fact, stretching is an important antidote to all that sitting those of us with desk-based jobs tend to do. “Sitting at your desk all day can lead to decreased flexibility in hip flexors and hamstrings by keeping them in a shortened position for a prolonged period of time,” Dr. Williams warns. “Consider a standing desk or work station or taking several breaks throughout your work day to stand up and stretch.”

The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall

Kai awakens in a desolate land of disease and beasts void of memories to explain who she is or how she arrived. In pursuit of the Sea of Devour before things worsen, she is offered help from an unbelievably skilled, but equally as annoying blacksmith. In the kingdom of Vinevridth, where there is more to people than what meets the eye, Kai’s questions multiply, particularly about the blacksmith whose secrets may be deadly.

The Serpent and The Wolf by Rebecca Robinson

Shaped by a lifetime of training, Vaasa Kozár is a force to be reckoned with. Following the death of her mother, Vaasa inherits the same dark magic that claimed her and now feels death’s shadow looming. Her ruthless brother, seeing Vaasa as a threat to his crown, schemes to ensure her death will be the catalyst to war by marrying her off to a cruel foreign leader. Determined to survive, Vaasa finds herself presented with a nearly irresistible deal: her freedom and control over her dark magic for helping her husband's quest for power. But with everything at stake, she’s trapped between trust and an arrangement that starts to feel unexpectedly real.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

With nearly eighteen months of training at Basgiath War College behind her, Violet Sorrengail realizes that the time for preparation has ended. Battle has begun, trust is scarce, and enemies linger in every direction. Determined to protect her dragons, her home, and everyone she loves, Violet embarks on an arduous journey in search of allies to stand alongside Navarre, bearing a heavy secret. The kind of secret that threatens to ruin everything. The pressure mounts and a deadly storm takes shape, but only Violet can find the truth.

Warrior of Legend by Kendare Blake

The price of becoming an Aristene is high, and now Reed bears the title of a Glorious Death, guiding heroes who exchanged their lives for glory. She buries herself in these duties, harvesting heroes tirelessly to try and distance herself from the memories of the prince she left behind. Summoned to guide a princess to a glorious marriage, Lyonene offers Reed a chance to take the place of the hero who isn’t fated to die. The mission turns out to be anything but simple. Familiar faces reappear, an old enemy threatening the Aristine, and the prince she loves, Hestion, a suitor of the princess. Loyalty is broken, death strikes, and Reed wonders how much more she can sacrifice to save her sisters and herself.

The Last Dragon of East by Katrina Kwan

Leading a relatively quiet life, twenty-five-year-old Sai manages the family tea house while caring for his sick mother, though his side job is a bit less traditional. He is a matchmaker, a career foraged from his gift to see the red threads of fate that connect soulmates. He has only ever seen his thread as gray and frayed, but a pair of dragon scales claimed by the family doctor to be a miracle cure, change everything. Sai’s once average life of ignoring past-due notices, is replaced with magical and mortal adventures.

Gentlest of Wild Things by Sarah Underwood

Desire is more than just a feeling on the island of Zakynthos; it’s love itself, bottled and sold at the highest price by the power seeking Leandros, descendant of the god Eros. Eirene and her twin sister Phoebe have avoided its lure, until Leandros interest turns to Phoebe as his next bride. Eirene strikes a deal to keep her sister safe: complete four detailed tasks and Leandros bride will have to marry someone else. It’s apparent to Eirene that something larger is at play and it has to do with Desire and Lamia, Leandros’s locked away daughter. Lamia, longing for the taste of freedom, builds a bond with Eirene but the cost of freedom is bloody when something deadly stalks the night.

The Witch of Wol Sin Lake by Lena Jeong

With the Netherking sent into the Deep, Mirae’s queendom is saved, but not without consequence. Her older brother Minho is possessed and tormented by the Netherking in the Deep and in an effort to save him, Mirae will be faced with an impossible decision. Now the Netherking possesses the powerful pearl of Seolla and as Mirae races through time with her divine powers she uncovers truths that shake her trust in faith and the future. Mirae must decide how far she is willing to go because to defeat the Netherking will take a sacrifice she may be unwilling to bear.

Mistress of Lies by K. M. Enright

Shan LeClaire, born of a powerful, but disgraced Blood Worker, has revenge on her mind. Her first step for vengeance is paved to save her brother and ends in the assassination of her father, now replacing him as head of the family. Samuel Hutchinson, gifted but reluctant, falls deeply into the world of magic after discovering the victim of a magical serial killer. Tasked by the Eternal King to catch the killer, Samuel’s path begins to converge with Shan and Isaac, a mysterious Royal Blood Worker. Entangled in Shan’s dangerous web of desire and deception, he must decide if his nation’s safety is worth the cost of his soul.

A Tribute of Fireby Sariah Wilson

Every year, Ilion sacrifices two Locrian maidens to an earth goddess in a ritual that hasn't seen a survivor for a millennium. This year, Princess Lia is one of the hunted, along with her untrained sister Quynh. Navigating the labyrinthine streets, endless decisions, and dead ends Lia finds herself cautiously enamored with Jason, an Ilionian sailor. The pressure is on Lia to survive and break the curse, saving every young woman from having to walk the same path.

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith

Ivy Benton lives in England where one bargain is given to every citizen by their immortal fae queen. Exchanging a memory or taste for beauty or talent to attract a suitor is the expectation for elite young women. Except this year's debut season features the ultimate prize, Prince Bram, the fae queen's son. Winning the competition for his heart could free her sister from a destructive bargain and save her family from ruin. But every fae deal has a sinister plot, and life as she knows it may never be the same.

The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne

Varg has earned his spot as an accepted member of the Bloodsworn, but his greatest challenge lies ahead: slaying a dragon. In Snakavik, Elvar battles for control and faces the impossible task of taming a wolf god. Biórr’s bloodthirsty warband moves north and Guðvarr works to achieve Lik-Rifa’s favor. All roads lead to Snakavik where the final battle will show the true fury of the gods.

A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson

Viv has a handful of plans. She is going to follow the rules, get a summer internship studying dragon languages and protect her sister from the dangers of Third Class. But midnight strikes and Viv’s effort to free one dragon has ignited a civil war. Whether her family returns home or they all die rests on Viv after she is brought to Bletchley Park as a codebreaker. Viv begins to see that the peace treaty binding human and dragon societies is corrupt and she may be the key to exposing it all.

S(Kin) by Ibi Zoboi

Every new moon, fifteen-year-old Marisol sheds her skin and transforms into a fireball witch, sustaining her own life by feeding on others. Brooklyn’s bright lights and bolted doors make this no easy task, and she longs to break free from this place, old traditions, and her mother. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Genevieve is facing her own struggles with a skin condition and the chaos of her newly born siblings. A new nanny reveals a family secret and a connection to Marisol, and Gen stumbles on answers to unasked questions. As the girls’ paths intertwine, they discover that the magic they share may have more consequences to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.