A new year means a new energy and 2026 is all about upgrading the way we care for ourselves, our homes, and our families. Whether you’re stepping into better wellness habits, simplifying your routine, or looking to add a little joy to everyday moments, this year’s top picks deliver exactly what you need.

Elevate Your Wellness Ritual with Baby Foot

Wellness begins with healthy feet. Baby Foot’s trusted and award-winning foot peel combines hydration and gentle exfoliation for baby soft feet. Since 1997, our all-in-one treatment has made self-care simple, effective, and essential for your routine. $25.00

Achieve clarity: Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream

The distinct formulation of our Cleansing Cream makes it a very special product. Mixed with a little water between your hands, the Cleansing Cream starts to soften and you start to experience its entire spectrum of effects: Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream cleanses and gently exfoliates, softening and balancing, refining and revitalizing your complexion. We recommend using this as a basic cleansing product in the morning and evening.

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Dooney & Bourke Florentine Weekender

This warm weekender, made from Italian Vacchetta leather that grows softer with age, blends function and style with hand stitched handles, a detachable strap, and an extended zipper.

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Lose up to 9 lbs in 4 weeks – naturally!

Almased is a natural health superfood protein shake for busy moms to lose weight fast and keep it off. If on GLP-1s, it’s a must-have to preserve muscle. Backed by 31+ university studies, Almased optimizes metabolism, burns fat & you can lose up to 9 lbs in a month.

More Than Lotion—First Aid for Your Skin

Originally developed for medical use, finipil® is a dermatologist-approved antiseptic that kills 99.999% of bacteria. Cool, soothe, and protect skin from irritation, burns, and windburns. Not just for you, keep little ones’ skin bump-free, happy, and protected with this everyday essential. On Sale Now – $15.00

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Crazy Aaron’s® Pinchies™ Pet Parade

Meet Pinchies™—the squeezable fidget friends that clickety-clack with every pinch! Each game set comes with three collectible characters you can play with anytime, plus a game board that turns them into a fast-paced 1–2 player challenge. Whether you’re fidgeting solo or facing off with friends, Pinchies™ bring endless fun!

Line up your furry friends—dog, cat, and hamster—for a playful competition in the spotlight!

1 Player: Send your Pinchies™ into the spotlight! Launch one at a time and count how many tries it takes to land in the center of the game board.

2 Players: Choose your Pinchies™ pet and let the game begin! Both players launch their Pinchies™ at the same time. 10 points if your Pinchies™ land in the outer ring, 20 points for the middle, and center ring scores 30 points. The first player to reach 100 points wins the game!

Play the Game. Keep the Fidget. Collect them All.

PERSONALIZED HEIDI HEART INITIAL NECKLACE

Wrap your wrist in elegance with our Personalized Heidi Heart Initial Bracelet – a perfect blend of love and personal style.

GLASSWARE SPARKLES!

All natural plant-based wineglass cleaner. Bring a touch of refinement to your 2026 rituals with this all-natural, plant powered wineglass cleaner. It leaves glassware flawlessly clear and pristine, ensuring every wine’s true flavor shines through. No residue, no compromise, just pure elegance in every sip.

DeeplyRooted Complete Hair System

Destress your strands from the inside out with this comprehensive Hair Growth kit. Formulated for anyone with hair loss and thinning, DeeplyRooted Hair Serum uses potent plant-based ingredients to help calm a stressed-out scalp and increase the appearance of hair density and thickness.

Berry Sweet (Strawberry) Romper

Our Long Sleeve Bamboo  Romper brings together everyday comfort and timeless charm. Made from a luxuriously soft blend of 95% bamboo and 5% spandex, this romper is breathable, stretchy, and oh so gentle on sensitive skin, perfect for cozy naps, playful mornings, and everything in between.

Thoughtful details make this romper a favorite: a double zipper allows for quick and easy diaper changes (from top or bottom!), while protective zipper guards keep baby’s skin safe.

Fold over mittens on all sizes help keep tiny hands warm and prevent scratches, and convertible feet allow you to switch between footed and footless in seconds. Starting at 6 months, grippy soles add traction for little ones on the move.

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The post New Year, New Vibe: Top Picks for 2026 appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Who doesn’t love the smell of a warm kitchen during the holidays? They’re designed around food and bringing family, old friends and new friends together. However, holidays can also be a detriment to your healthy lifestyle and cause you to lose your focus through the end of the year. But they don’t have to.

“Think of fall as the perfect time to reassess the state of your health and prep for the challenges of the holiday season,” says Alicia Rodriguez, corporate registered dietician at Life Time Fitness – The Health Way of Life Company. “When it comes to nutrition and avoiding weight gain, my motto is, keep it simple and easy.”

Here are some tips to help you do the same:

Bulk up your plate with protein and vegetables

The side dishes at most holiday meals are often as good as the turkey or ham, but stuffing and mashed potatoes aren’t the best way to fill your plate. One way to avoid-weight gain is to build your plate with protein. This should be easy since holiday dinners revolve around meat. Second, fill your plate with side dishes that include vegetables. You may have a little spot left on your plate – use this space for your “indulgence.” When you look at your plate, the goal is that the majority is still providing you with good nutrients and reduced carbohydrates.

Use the “fork” trick

Many of us go back for seconds, and even third helpings at holiday meals. This year, focus on asking yourself if you’re enjoying your food. To help you answer this question, use the fork trick. Once you take a bite of food, place your fork down on the plate and let it go. Chew your food, swallow and then pick it up again. The key to this trick is letting go of the fork. This will remind you to slow down, enjoy your food and converse with friends and family.

Avoid the clean plate club

Growing up, many of us were always told “You can’t leave the table until you finish everything on your plate” and inevitably, we spent many nights sitting alone at the dinner table. These days, Rodriguez advises her clients to eat until they are full and, if their plate is not clean, it’s OK. Focus on one plate of food, slow down and be careful not to overeat. Overfeeding is never really a healthy thing to do.

Share your dessert with a loved one

After a satisfying meal, it is hard to avoid the sweet smells of pumpkin -or warm apple pie. If you choose not to skip dessert, share a small slice with a loved one or new friend. If you are hosting, designate one family member to bring dessert to limit the endless selection of pies and reduce the urge to over indulge.

Make like a turkey and trot out the door

Start your holiday with a new tradition this year and gather the family to do something active. Take a walk to a local park, put together a family friendly flag football game, rake the leaves up in the yard (and jump into them) or encourage the family to sign up for a run/walk event such as the Life Time Turkey Day 5K or Commitment Day 2014.

Holidays are a time to be thankful for family, friends and everything in between. Savor the moment, really take time to taste your food, get out and have some fun, and avoid the-holiday weight gain.

The post Five tips to avoid holiday weight gain appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

By Lincoln McElwee

There are individuals out there who can engage in some serious gaming! They can ace a serve at Wii tennis or tear up the dance floor playing Dance, Dance Revolution. And there are those who are also deadly at Assassin’s Creed and even expert marksmen at Call of Duty.

The interesting thing about gamers is that, for the most part, if you ask someone to think about the demographic of gamers as a whole, very few people imagine mothers as part of this demographic. Though this undoubtedly has more to do with social conditioning than anything else, given that we are now living in the 21^st century, I’d say it is a great time to break down some unnecessary boundaries!

In other words, the fact that gaming consoles evolve just as fashion, trends and society evolve, means that each and every member of the family can now have a stake in game time.

If we can do away with the stereotypes of moms who don’t play video games at all but who buy games and gaming consoles for either husbands and/or children with no thought of what these consoles can possibly provide, of what relevance these consoles may have in their day-to-day lives, then we are one step closer to using a “box” to think outside of the box!

Indeed, with companies like Microsoft that are making strides to connect gaming with every member of the family, moms can indeed benefit from the very same gaming consoles that are stereotypically thought of as only suited for children and/or men 

Microsoft released the Xbox in 2001. The console as most of us know it now – the Xbox 360 – was released in 2005, with its latest emanation, the Xbox One, scheduled for release some time later this year.

To make gaming more user-friendly, and perhaps more appealing to every member of the family, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Kinect in 2010, as well as a version for Windows PC in 2012. Kinect is a motioning sensor device that can be used along with the Xbox 360 console and allows users to interface with the gaming console or PC through gestures and spoken commands without even touching a game controller.

Guinessworldrecords.com has confirmed that Microsoft’s Kinect claimed the Guinness World Record for being the “fastest selling consumer electronics device” after it managed to sell a total of 8 million units in its first 60 days! And as various advertisements and commercials for Kinect and Kinect products attest to, the fun that can be had with the device is indeed fun for the entire family!

So what does all of this have to do with gaming and exercise? Everything!

By using the Kinect’s motionless technology for no-hands gaming, moms can easily take command of Xbox “games,” such as Nike+ Kinect Training, Zumba Fitness, UFC Personal Trainer, Harley Pasternak’s Hollywood Workout, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout, and Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Adventure.  

All of these games have one goal in mind: having the maximum amount of comfort and control all while losing weight or staying in shape and having fun!

And so along with the pure thrill that comes from playing video games that keep you active is the fun of playing games with the ones you love. What’s more, with the new gaming devices, you can even tap into a global family by tapping into online communities of like-minded gamers. You can join teams and chat with people around the world about your workouts; you can get instant, virtual updates on your progress and record your workouts with the gaming console’s memory unit. The best part of using these gaming “boxes,” in my opinion, is that you now have the advantage of exercising right in your own home from a box that benefits the entire family!

And the pros of this new type of home gym far outweigh any arguments that might try to counter gaming or buying game consoles in general. For instance, there is no sweaty exercise equipment that needs to be wiped down with a squeegee and a bottle of peroxide, no ogling eyes or machine loiterers talking about how many pounds they can bench press or reps they can do, and workouts can be done at your own pace while actually enjoying the workout.

Additionally, consoles like the Xbox 360 double as actual DVD players, while Sony’s PlayStation 3 console allows you to play Blu-ray DVDs. 

With all of the remarkable advantages to gaming, it’s time for the entire family to get involved in all of the benefits that can be had from owning a gaming console. 

The post A Home Gym in a Box appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Women are picky about men. We are selective about men, but willing to eat any meat-like substance cooked by a teenager at the local drive-through. It is time for us to start applying the high standards we have for men to food. According to Candice Kumai, “Just like men, food can be held to various standards, and yours should be top notch.” Candice’s new cookbook, Cook Yourself Sexy, will show you how to raise the bar for the food in your life.

Cook yourself Sexy is a surprising new cookbook written by Candice Kumai, who is a former model trained at Le Cordon Blue California Cooking School. This new cookbook teaches women to revolutionize how they look at dieting and promises that with this new way of looking at food, “You don’t lose the taste, but you will lose a dress size.” That was a promise that I had to take her up on. The first recipe that jumped off the pages at me was Candice’s Gone Bananas Chocolate Oatmeal. This breakfast is a deliciously creamy combination of peanut butter, chocolate and healthy oatmeal that my kids cannot get enough of. It is on a regular rotation in my kitchen now.

As Moms, we start out parenting focusing on healthy food during pregnancy, but we quickly move to eating whatever comes from a drive through while taxiing kids from school to lessons and athletics. Cook Yourself Sexy can help Moms get back that skinny jean feeling through delectable healthy eating and living right. Candice’s book focuses on portion size, water, and fresh ingredients. There are no pills, starvation or gimmicks involved, and these are realistic changes that can be applied at home.

To get you started, here is a recipe for Mac and Cheese that is to die for: 

Dreamy Butternut Squash Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Makes 6 servings

443 calories, 5 g fat, 16 g protein, 6 g fiber per serving 

Mac ‘n’ Cheese

2 ½ pounds butternut squash, peeled, halved, and seeded, then quartered and sliced into triangles

6 garlic cloves

1 thyme sprig

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock (vegan)

1 pound small elbow macaroni or mini shells

2 tablespoons grated Gruyere

Herbed Breadcrumb Topping

¾ cup panko breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 garlic cloves

¼ teaspoon sea salt

To make the Mac ‘n’ Cheese:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large saucepan, add the butternut squash, garlic cloves, thyme sprig, unsweetened almond milk, and stock. Cook until the butternut squash is fork-tender. Remove the sprig of thyme.

2. Place the squash mixture in a food processor or blender and puree until velvety smooth.

3. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in salted water until it is al dente (semi firm). Drain and rinse with cool water.

4. Spread out the macaroni in a lightly greased 13-inch x 9-inch pan. Pour the squash puree over the noodles.

To make the breadcrumbs and bake:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the herbed breadcrumb topping.

2. Cover the mac ‘n’ cheese with foil, place in the oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and evenly spread the breadcrumb topping and Gruyere cheese over the top. Transfer to the broiler and broil for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

This recipe has been excerpted from Cook Yourself Sexy.

The post Cook Yourself Sexy! appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

This is the perfect time to try a really cool treatment for a hot new body!  Dr. Scott Gerrish, Owner and Medical Director of Bellini Salon & MedEsthetics in Vienna, VA is one of the most experienced and respected doctors in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.  Dr. Gerrish leads a team of professionals in his full-service salon and medical spa. Dr. Scott Gerrish is the first practice in Virginia to offer CoolSculpting by Zeltiq™, a revolutionary new, non-invasive method that eliminates unwanted fat bulges. Dr. Gerrish is most inspired to be successful in the professional medical spa industry when he sees the actual results. He says, “Today is an exciting time to be in the cosmetic non-invasive medical industry. We very quickly see the physical and emotional impact that the results of our newest medical spa procedures have on our patients and their lives. Our patient’s success stories are where I find insight and inspiration to perform more treatments.”

CoolSculpting™ by Zeltiq™ is a new, non-invasive way to gently and effectively reduce fat in targeted areas of the body that results in a noticeable, natural-looking fat reduction in the treated areas. “What makes the CoolSculpting procedure different is that it uses advanced cooling technology to selectively target fat bulges and eliminate fat cells through a gradual process that does not harm the surrounding tissues. This procedure will effectively reduce unwanted abdominal fat, love handles, back fat and inner and outer thighs. We are seeing remarkable results with CoolSculpting at our medical spa,” says Dr. Scott Gerrish.

Unlike traditional invasive surgical procedures, the CoolSculpting procedure is non-invasive with no needles and no need for surgical incisions. During the procedure, an applicator is applied to the skin surface to deliver precisely controlled cooling to target and eliminate fat cells in specific areas of the body. As they are exposed to cooling, the fat cells begin a process of natural cell removal. The fat cells in the treated area are gradually eliminated through the body’s normal metabolic processes, similar to how fat from food is eliminated. The result is a reduction in fat bulges that is visible in most patients in about two to four months.

                              Before                                                                        After

Most recently with CoolSculpting by Zeltiq, Dr. Gerrish and his Bellini team altered their protocol system to achieve even better results. After bringing forward their findings directly to the Chief Technology Officer at Zeltiq, their company is now pursuing more studies to attain even better patient satisfaction. Gerrish explains, “We are very proud to be respected by the manufacturers of many medical technologies and medical spa procedures. We actively work behind the scenes with the professional laser manufacturers and developers, by advising them how to better execute their technologies and to be more effective with maximum results. By taking the time to learn how these state-of-the-art technologies work and how to improve the procedures, we keep our work and passion alive to help our patients. The combined research, inspiration and excitement are how we always strive to make these services and technologies better for the manufacturers and our patients. We regularly share our success stories and findings to better the entire professional beauty and medical spa industries.”

Dr. Gerrish recommends that you should be sure to select experienced and well respected doctors and medical spas for your next non-invasion fat reduction procedures, so you will always be guaranteed to see the best results possible.

Bellini Salon & MedEsthetics is respected for having an extremely comprehensive hair, skin, nails and medical spa program. For a complimentary consultation or for more information about Dr. Scott Gerrish, contact Bellini Salon & MedEsthetics at 112 Pleasant Street, SW Vienna, VA 22180, by telephone at 703-255-2555 or visit www.Dr.Gerrish.com or www.BelliniBeauty.com.

The post New Zeltiq CoolSculpting Procedures appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.