London...

Thanks to Splish for selecting this suit for my grab bag order. I think it's a sign of good things to come in London in September!

Grain-Free Chocolate Cake

This cake is the product of procrastibaking (not my term, unfortunately). It is very cold and very windy here in Maine. Running in very cold and very windy conditions is rather unpleasant—if it’s just for a day or two. After weeks of very cold and very windy, it f***ing sucks. And so, one cold and windy Sunday morning I decided to bake while I “waited for it to warm up.” It never warmed up, but I made a cake. And I told Pete it was his birthday cake (six months late). And I sang (because that’s what you do with birthday cakes). And we ate cake before 9am. And we oohed and ahhed over the deliciousness of the cake. And then I told Pete what was in the cake. And instead of gagging, he said, “huh” and went back for a second piece and I went for a run with cake in my belly (and my oft-disgruntled belly was fine with that).

This cake has subsequently passed rigorous taste-testing by a panel of 10 food-loving athletes.

15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 banana, sliced

4 eggs

¾ cup maple syrup

1 ½ cup chocolate chips melted

½ tsp. baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a 9-inch round cake pan. (I used a springform pan.)

2. Dump the chickpeas and the banana into a food processor and process until smooth.

3. Add the eggs and whir.

4. Add the maple syrup and the baking powder and whir.

5. Add the melted chocolate chips and whir until the batter is all one color.

6. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 40-50 minutes (until a poker of your choosing comes out clean).

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!

Gluten-Free Sand Tarts (a.k.a Christmas Cookies)

FYI: No, the elephant has not been shot. That's his eye.

My mom and I have been making Christmas cookies together almost every year for as long as I can remember. Hold on, let me clarify the terms “making” and “together.” My mom makes the dough, rolls the dough and cuts out the shapes. I decorate.

So anyways, these are Sand Tarts. They’re like sugar cookies, but lighter (thinner), fresher (lemony) and less sweet (better). The official origin of the cookie seems to be unknown. It may have come from Normandy or from the American South or from Pennsylvania. All I know is that my grandmother and my great grandmother used to make them, but nobody decorated them the way I do.

(Adapted from the original Joy of Cooking)

1 ¼ cup sugar

¾ cup butter

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

3 cups sifted Brown Rice flour (Bob’s Red Mill)

1 tsp. Xanthan Gum (make it a generous teaspoon)

¼ tsp. salt

2 egg whites

decorations of your choosing (cinnamon, sugar, colored sugar)

1. Sift sugar and set aside.

2. Beat butter until it’s soft and then gradually mix in the sugar.

3. Add the egg, the egg yolk, the vanilla and the lemon rind and continue beating until the mixture is very soft and creamy.

4. Combine xanthan gum, the sifted brown rice flour and the salt and sift the whole mixture.  

5. Gradually add the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Stir until well blended. (This can be challenging. Don’t be afraid to use your hands to knead the dough.)

6. Split the dough into two lumps. Wrap each lump in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours. (My mom typically makes the dough a week before we make the cookies.)

7. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400°F.

8. Roll the dough so that it’s as thin as possible. Use fabulous cookie cutters of your choosing to cut the dough into shapes and then transfer the shapes onto a greased (or buttered or oiled) cookie sheet.

9. Brush the tops of the cookies with egg whites and decorate.

10. Bake for eight minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack until cool enough to handle. Store in an airtight container for up to three weeks.