Monday Magnificence

Life is filled with wonderful things. 

Exhibit A: The HoneyBell, a deliciously juicy cross between a Dancy Tangerine and a Duncan Grapefruit. It tastes nothing like a tangerine or a grapefruit. And it makes me very very happy. 

Exhibit B: This interview I did with skincare guru Beth Chernosky. Read it. You might learn something about science or nurdles or skincare or Marky Mark.

Exhibit C: This video. I love everything about it. It will make your day (even if your day has already been made by HoneyBells, nurdles and Marky Mark).

One more wonderful thing: Healthy-ish was just selected as a top fitness and health blog. Thank you for your support!

Eileen Bars

These delicious little bars are like Larabars, but better. What makes them better? 1.) They’re homemade and fresh…and delicious (although Larabars are tasty). And 2.) They’re Eileen bars, not Larabars, named after my friend Eileen who perfected the recipe. I know Eileen. I like Eileen. Who the hell is Lara?

2 cups raw cashews (or some other nuts)

1 tsp. vanilla

2 to 2 ½ cups pitted medjool dates

1 cup dried cherries (or other dried fruit)

1. Combine the cashews and vanilla in a food processor and whir until the nuts are chunkified.

2. Keep the food processor a-whirring while you add the dates (a handful or so at a time). Process until the mixture is finely crumbled.

3. Add the cherries and whir just enough to mix them into the date-nut mixture.

4. Dump the mixture into a dish (I use a 9 x 9 baking dish) and press it down firmly. Refrigerate for at least an hour and then slice into squares.

5. If you plan to travel with your Eileen bars, wrap each one individually in parchment paper. Eileen is a highly-skilled wrapper. Pete and I are not. Our wrapped bars look like this:

TRX Single Leg Hip Rotation and Extension

Behold my latest TRX creation. This exercise is all about core, stability and hip mobility.

My working title for this exercise is the “TRX Cock-It” because it was inspired by my friend Terry Cockburn (the fabulous owner of Freeport Yoga Company). Terry swears the “ck” in her name is silent, but this exercise requires you to “cock” your leg and I wanted to give Terry some credit for inspiring the move so the cock stays. The “it” comes from the pronunciation of my last name (Abbott), plus, it just makes sense.

How to do it:

1. Adjust your TRX straps to mid-length.

2. Allow the straps to hang straight down from the anchor.

3. Bend over to place your hands on the handles. (Place your hands one on top of the other as in streamline position. Do not grab the handles.)

4. Lengthen your arms and your spine, stretching from your fingertips to your tailbone, and push both hands down into the handles.

5. Lift one leg straight behind you with your toes pointed down towards the floor. Try to bring your lifted leg up so that it’s parallel to the floor. Feel free to add a slight bend to your standing leg if this is too much of a hamstring stretch for you. Maintain your long spine and keep your core engaged and strong.

6. Rotate your elevated foot so it points out to the side, away from your body.

7. While maintaining your core length and strength, and keeping your lifted leg straight and high, slowly bring it forward so that it’s perpendicular to your body but still parallel to the ground. Try to keep your belly button and hip bones pointed towards the floor.

8. Keeping your leg lifted, bring it straight back behind you and turn your toes back towards the floor.

9. Repeat as many times as you can without bringing your foot back down to the floor. 

10. Bring your foot back to the floor and repeat with the other leg.

Try it! I can’t wait to hear what you think!