3 Free New Apps for the New Year

It's time for another tech update! Whether you want to eat healthier, accomplish new goals, or be the most informed of all your friends, these awesome apps will keep you up-to-date and feeling great. Oh, and the best part? They won't cost you a dime. 

Everest

 Sticking to those New Year's resolutions can be tough, especially once you head back to work and back to your busy lifestyle. With the Everest app you can keep your goals in sight and keep a tally of your accomplishments along the way. The app lists various challenges in categories such as adventure, causes, health, self-improvement, and more. Within each of these categories are specific goals. For example, in self-improvement you could choose to do anything from being radically honest for one week, to conquering a fear. Everest lets you choose the time limits, whether it be a year, a month, or a day, and it gives optional reminders to keep you on track. The app also helps you reach your goal by suggesting steps that help you to achieve it. Not only can you subscribe to challenges currently listed by the app itself or its various users, you can take matters into your own hands and create your own challenges as well. 

 

10 Ways to Kick the Cold

Ooh baby it's cold outside! But what to do to fight off that icy weather that's got you shivering and shaking? Whether you love to be outdoors or long to hibernate during the wintery months, we've got some suggestions to help you keep that chill out of your bones. 

Go on a hike: The best way to warm up is to get your blood pumping, and going for a hike is the best way to do that if you’re looking for a cheap and invigorating form of entertainment. Hike the JMT or the Appalachian Trail for a bigger challenge, or head to the closest trail near you for an impromptu adventure.

Go to a movie: After a couple days of lounging around the house, sometimes you just have to get out, no matter how cold it is outside. Movies are a great way to escape from the cold and get rid of that cabin fever. You could check out the latest blockbusters, but why not take the opportunity to educate yourself. We recommend Chasing Ice for a profound look at the effects of climate change.

15 Resolutions You Can Cross Off Your List Today

The New Year is here, and what better way to celebrate than by doing some good! Whether you made resolutions or not, the start of a new year is a clean slate. You may not know what the next 12 months have in store, but you can guarantee that you jump-started 2013 on a positive note by accomplishing any (or all!) of the following eco-actions.

1. Keep the TV off. It's the first week of the New Year, do you really want to waste it sitting in front of the television? We thought not. You could get so much done today if you spend less time watching reruns — and you could cut down electricity usage too. 

2. Make dinner tonight. Why waste the gas and money to go out for dinner, when you can make a nice, hot meal right at home? Go with local, organic ingredients to step it up a notch. Not only will you be saving money, and help out the local economy, you'll have leftovers for later. 

3. Take a shorter shower. In general, it'd be good to cut back on excess water usage. You can install low-flow showerheads and fix leaky faucets for other inexpensive and easy conservation moves, but if you shave a minute or two off of your shower today that's a step in the right direction. Do that for a whole month and you could save 150 gallons of water and be one step closer to being a Water Sentinel. 

Q&A: Rob Newton on Sustainable Southern Cuisine

Rob Newton is not your typical Brooklyn chef. He doesn’t wear ironic glasses, he’s ex-army, and he hales from Mountain Home, Arkansas. But in the two years since he opened his southern-inspired restaurant Seersucker in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, Newton has become a minor celebrity in the area. His philosophy is simple: Use fresh, local ingredients from sustainable farms to make food that pays homage to the South and above all, tastes delicious. --interview by Danielle Pergament

Are you one of those people who had a calling and were pulled into the kitchen by a higher force?

Good God, no. I dropped out of college and joined the Army. I was stationed in Frankfurt Germany for two years and I thought I wanted to do something with international studies. But I’ve never been one to sit at a desk. I actually made a list, this was about 1993, and in one column, I wrote, Things I Like To Do and in the other column, I wrote, How I Can Make Money At It. It was a short list. I basically came up with architect and chef.

How did you go from the list to professional chef-fing?

At that time, the stereotype was a big, fat chef, swigging brandy and wearing a dirty apron—and that had no appeal for me. I got a job for a few months working in a restaurant in Jonesboro, Arkansas and the chef there had trained at the Culinary Institute of America. I had never heard of it, but I knew I wanted to go. I also had no idea how I would pay for it. In January 1995, I moved to Vermont for two years, went to culinary school and worked. I was very driven and inspired to actually become a chef. My parents thought I was crazy. But once I got to school, I was introduced to all new flavors. I got an internship at Le Cirque. I trained with French chefs. It was an amazing experience.

How was Seersucker born?