Yoga Headbands, Redesigned.

www.MandaBees.com

Partner Bodyweight Exercises

Just looking for some inspiration for my two clients this afternoon and found this awesome video! Find a partner and try some of this stuff out! :)

Why is Crossfit dangerous?

You guys.

I can't even.

The BEST workout headband ever. Guaranteed.

If you're tired of your headband slipping off, giving you a headache, or leaving unsightly lines in your hair, try one of Manda Bees signature FLAWLESS headbands. 

Our simple yet precise design is the most comfortable and best looking headband on the market. The 3.5" wide, single layer headband is lightweight (0.4 ounces), breathable, and offers a nearly naked feel that's gentle on your luscious locks. We designed these pretty little headbands to be worn comfortably over top of your hairline - half on your forehead, half on your hair. 

The kicker? It's guaranteed to NEVER slip backward.

Our moisture-wicking fabric pulls sweat from your head and allows it to evaporate, so you're never left with a heavy, over-stretched, sweat-filled piece of fabric on your head. 

We don't add any extra layers, seams, or hair-damaging silicone to our headbands.

The FLAWLESS headbands come in one-size-fits-most. Our fabric is so super stretchy that the same headband can be comfortably worn by both a child and an adult man. If, however, you prefer yours a little tighter or looser, just let us know and we'll be glad to alter the size.

Manda Bees is a 5 star etsy-based company and our staff hand-makes every headband here in the USA using only the highest quality materials.

Shop Manda Bees

We believe in our headbands so much that we guarantee they'll work for you. If for any reason you aren't in love with your headband, send it back for a full refund.

We were just featured on ESPNw.com and they're flying off the shelves even faster than before. Read the article here!!

facebook.com/mandabeesheadbands

Instagram: #mandabees /// @mandacrystal 

How to lunge the right way.

Happy Monday! I woke up with lunges on the brain (mainly because the 6 minutes of lunges in my 5:30am class SUCK) and decided to let you guys in on a secret.

There is a right and a wrong way to do lunges.

This is where my not having a YouTube channel (yet?) messes with me because I want to be able to just show you. But, until then, I'll use other peoples videos.

When I finally make a youtube channel, this is the first video I'll upload, promise. 

Here's how you probably do lunges, with an upright torso, your shoulders positioned always directly over your hips.

The WRONG way to lunge

If you are feeling the burn in your quad muscles (top) of your back leg, you're doing it like the video above. Wrong. The focus of a lunge isn't so much the back leg but the FRONT leg. When our torsos are completely upright, we tend to press a lot more of our weight into our back toe, also putting excess pressure on the back knee joint. This means we don't get the proper movement at the hip joint, further preventing glute activation. 

So how do you correct it? Lean your torso slightly forward. In the video he says "instead of shoulders over hips, think shoulders over knees." 

Correct way to lunge

All this does is shifts your weight distribution from that back toe (and knee) to the leg we're targeting, the front one. This allows the hip joint to move more effectively, and makes your lunges target the muscles they're supposed to target. 

If you're my client you know I always stress the "mind-body connection" with strength training exercises. This applies more than ever with lunges, because you really have to concentrate on pressing through the front heel to target the glute in the best way. 

So try it out. Do a couple of bad ones, then correct your form and do them the right way. Do you feel it in your front leg more? 

Next, we'll talk about why your back hurts when you squat, and why you're probably doing those wrong too.

xo

Thanks TonyGentilcore.com for knowing whats up. I hope you don't mind I linked your videos!

Headband Sale this week!

SALE at Manda Bees!

The Red Hot FLAWLESS headband is only $3.99 - This week only!!! 

Buy here.

Where will you wear your FLAWLESS headband??

Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

A lot of you guys write to me asking about salad dressings. If you're my client, I'm making you eat so many raw vegetables that salad dressing has become a necessity.

Most bottled salad dressing is full of FAT and SUGAR. Low fat or sugar free ones are filled with chemicals and fake stuff. So, what are your options?

1. Greek yogurt ranch.

 OPA makes a great one, or just make your own with PLAIN greek yogurt and a packet of ranch powder. Let it sit overnight and viola, ranch.

2. Make your own Vinaigrette.

The Formula

Oil to Vinegar = 3:1
      That's 3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar.

The oil

Choose healthier oils such as extra virgin olive, hemp, avocado, peanut, flaxseed and even canola oils.
       *Make sure you're using extra virgin olive oil, not "pure" olive oil, because pure olive oil is processed with heat and chemicals, and extra virgin is "cold-pressed" (meaning no chemicals, no heat) and thus contains way more nutrients and phytochemicals.

Fruit Juice

 Actual juice squeezed from actual fruit. Totally optional. Think citrus: lemon, lime, orange. You can also puree strawberries and mix into a fruity balsamic dressing. Mmm! Get creative!

What else can I add?

A little sea salt and cracked black pepper can be enough, but feel free to add any herbs and spices you like. Garlic is amazing with olive oil! Honey is also a great addition to a salad dressing because it adds a little sweetness. 

Shake it!

Put your dressing in a container with a lid and shake away. The oil and vinegar are never going to "blend", but shake 'em up good before you put it on your salad.

Taste Test

Dip a piece of lettuce into the dressing to taste it, because it's going to taste a lot different on your finger than on your actual salad.

Too nervous to create your own? Follow these recipes!

10 Homemade Healthy Salad Dressings

More Recipes

Food Network's 50 Dressing Recipes

Need more recipes than this? Follow me on Pinterest! 

CLEAN Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Hey guys, look what I found.

Happy Saturday. :)

Ready in 45 minutes, plus overnight refrigeration • Makes 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup Sucanat, finely ground
• 3 tbsp raw cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 cup beets, steamed and cooled
• 1/2 tsp vanilla-flavored liquid stevia (try: SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia Sweet Drops in Vanilla Crème)
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• 1/3 cup coconut butter
• 1 whole egg
• 2 egg whites
• 10 drops natural red food coloring liquid
• 1 cup Greek yogurt + 1 tbsp lemon juice (combine and set aside to curdle)
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 1 tsp natural chocolate extract
• Nonstick cooking spray

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 tbsp light coconut cream
• 2/3 cup fat-free cream cheese
• 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla-flavored liquid stevia
• 1 tbsp raw honey
• Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (optional)

Instructions

1. To make coconut cream, refrigerate coconut milk overnight, then scoop cream off the top when separated.
2. Preheat oven to 350 FF. Spray a mini muffin tray with nonstick cooking spray.
3. To make cupcakes, combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
4. Puree beets and all wet ingredients in a food processor.
5. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Stir gently to combine.
6. Spoon batter into mini muffin cups and bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7. While cupcakes cool, combine frosting ingredients and spoon into a piping bag. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to frost.
8. Once cool, frost cupcakes and serve the same day they are baked.

Nutrients per serving (1 cupcake): Calories: 70, Total Fats: 3 g, Saturated Fat: 2.5 g, Trans Fat: 0 g, Cholesterol: 10 mg, Sodium: 75 mg, Dietary Fiber: 2 g, Total Carbohydrates: 12 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 4 g, Iron: 0 mg

Source 

Poor Nutrition Means No Weight Loss

Morning everyone! I've been working furiously on new headband styles and lacey undies for weeks. Working from home means always listening to Pandora, 8tracks, Netflix or whatever talk show is on local TV. Have you watched local daytime television lately?

Every show, every show has a weight loss/fitness segment. Every day there's a new workout style or diet recipe. Yesterday they mentioned Dr. Michael Mosley who claims that all you need is 60 seconds a day, three times a week to become "Skinnier and healthier." And everyone is concerned with calories, superfoods, gluten free stuff, and the latest craze, sugar. 

I coach my clients on nutrition before calories. Good nutrition, or what it means to be healthy, means that you're fueling your cells with the proper mix of nutrients so that your bodily processes--like  hormone and blood sugar regulation, metabolism and digestion-- all run smoothly.

These factors can greatly impact your ability to lose weight. For example, a slow metabolism means your body goes into fat-storage mode, burning up muscle for fuel and holding onto that precious tummy pooch. A messed up digestive system is even worse, and can cause a slow metabolism, chronic bloating...read more about that here. Hormones are another big player in the weight loss game. Leptin (a hormone) decreases when you restrict your calories, and tells your thyroid to tell your metabolism to slow down. Read more about leptin here. 

Without proper nutrition, these processes don't run as smoothy as they're meant to. While restricting your calories will cause some temporary weight loss, the weight you lose is water, then muscle, then fat, and if you do achieve any fat loss from calorie restriction your metabolism has become so slow that if you were to start eating normally again, you'd gain it all back instantly. Sound familiar?

If you're lacking in the nutrition department, you most likely have a slow metabolism and a handful of other symptoms; bloating, fatigue, cravings, weak immune system. 

On the flip side, if you're healthy, meaning all of these processes are working smoothly because your cells are getting the proper nutrition, your metabolism could win a race and you shed excess body fat.

If I had a segment on the early show, I'd tell the world this: Stop counting calories and nourish your body. Food is FUEL, but that doesn't mean you can't love what you're eating! I am such a foodie in the nerdiest sense of the word because I love, love eating and cooking (and eating) and all that meant when I changed my eating habits was I had to try harder to find things that I loved to eat.

You NEED to be focusing on realistic portions of the healthiest, most natural foods you can find or afford. Making nutrition a priority means long-term weight loss, improved immune function, and less stress for you because you won't hate your tired, fat body anymore, because you won't be tired and fat anymore.

lol

Grilled chicken, Black beans, leafy green vegetables, complex carbs like whole grains and sweet potatoes and oats, WATER. None of these are expensive. Ditch the stuff that comes in a box with a list of ingredients and stop counting calories, please, because nutrition optimizes fat loss.

And happiness.

Guess what this is? GOOD NUTRITION!

Click here for the recipe.

Teff Flour

It’s the world’s tiniest grain (so small that it can’t be processed or refined) and it is becoming more popular because it’s so versatile. Teff leads the grains in calcium content, which helps strengthen bones and may reduce PMS symptoms. One grain of teff is up to 40% resistant starch, which can help you lose weight if you replace the other carbs you’re filling up on, what I call “carbage” (processed foods like white bread, potato starch, sweets and the like). Teff can be white or dark in color and can be found at your local health food store or online for about $8 per pound. One serving size is about 1/4 cup and 160 calories. Sweeter and milder than wheat, teff has a molasses-like flavor. Teff can be cooked hot for a nice breakfast cereal – 1 cup of teff with 2 cups of water or juice, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until it’s thick and the liquid is absorbed. Add fresh fruit on top. Teff is also available in tortillas for a great wrap or to make quesadillas (a lot better than refined flour tortillas and gluten-free too!). 

source.