Two Favorite Summer Salads

As summer starts to heat up and vegetable gardens are in full bloom, it's time to break out those salad recipes. I am thrilled that Danica is allowing me to share two of my favorite summer salads here with you.

Tomato, Avocado, Goat Cheese Salad

The star of this salad is the heirloom tomato. Accompanied by avocado, goat cheese and a light dressing, the result is a refreshing, light summer salad.

in the salad:
butter lettuce
heirloom tomatoes
avocado
goat cheese

balsamic dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce (I use Bragg's)
1 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
1 spoonful of yellow mustard
The dressing recipe makes a lot; you can store the extra dressing in the fridge. The olive oil will congeal, but it will soften when you let the container *sit* in some warm water.

Dried Fig & Goat Cheese Salad with Raspberry Balsamic Dressing

I *borrowed* this salad combination from one of my favorite local restaurants. When the restaurant closed its doors for the last time a couple of years ago, I was forced to make the salad for myself. I think I like my version better...

In the salad:
butter lettuce
dried figs (even if you don't like figs, you'll probably like them in this salad)
goat cheese
caramelized almonds (directions follow)
drizzled with Consorzio Raspberry & Balsamic fat-free Dressing

caramelized almonds:
1. Coat (about 20) almonds with slightly-beaten egg whites.
2. Lay flat on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
4. Roast in the oven at 450' for 7 - 10 minutes. Watch them so they don't burn.

I'm always on the look out for yummy vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian recipes. If you have one to share with me, please visit me at Graceful Creative and tell me about your favorite recipe.

Tank Top Arms

I am excited to share with you a fabulous workout from Kristi a certified personal trainer / group fitness instructor, and full time fitness addict to help you get ready for tank top season.

Tank Top Arms

Unlike a lower body workout, I like to isolate the upper body by working it in sections. For example, one day I may work shoulders, biceps, and triceps, and another back and chest. This way you are not working the same muscle groups two days in a row. (Of course, you can't completely isolate each muscle group, so there will be some overlap.) So we'll break the upper body workouts into one primary muscle group at time. Today: shoulders.
For these exercises you'll need 3-5lb dumbbells. When working the shoulders I like high reps and low weight. It encourages proper form while reducing potential for injury; it also really burns and fatigues the muscle. The only way to see real results is to break the muscle fibers down, then rest for a day or so to recover, and repeat. Women tend to be weaker in the shoulders, but we all want those beautifully sculpted shoulders when we wear those tank tops and strapless dresses. Because the shoulder has 3 parts: the front, middle, and rear deltoids - you want to do exercises that target all three.
I encourage you to start with the 5lb dumbbell and when it gets too hard, switch, and finish with the 3lb dumbbells. But push yourself, and don't switch too soon.

1. Front shoulder raise into a lateral shoulder raise (this exercise primarily works the front and middle deltoids).
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hold the weights down with palms facing the thighs. Slowly raise the dumbbells to shoulder level, arms straight with a slight bend in the elbow, then slowly lower the weights back down to your thighs. Next, feet still shoulder width apart, bring the weights to your side, lift the weights up and out to the side, just slightly higher than shoulder level, then slowly lower the weights back down to your side, and go into a front shoulder raise again followed by another lateral raise. Continue this pattern for 16 reps, rest, then repeat, but this time using only 1 arm, alternating, to a 2 count raise and hold on the second count slowly lower it down. Both arms count as one rep for a total of 16 per exercise.

2. Overhead shoulder press with squat. 5lb dumbbell or heavier if you are experienced (working shoulders, glutes, and quads)
Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Bending the legs at the knees and hips, lowering the torso between the legs, and then reversing the direction to stand up again. The important thing to remember when doing a squat is to keep the chest high, shoulders back, sit the butt low, like your are sitting in a chair, and make sure your knees do not extend past the toes. As you go down into the squat, you will go into an overhead shoulder press. An overhead shoulder press is done by positioning the dumbbells to each side of the shoulders with elbows below the wrist. Press the dumbbells up until arms are extended and locked overhead, slowly lower. Remember as your squat you will go right into a shoulder press. Try to get as low as you can. If you can, try to see if your elbows can touch your thighs as you go into a squat. This exercise will get very challenging, b/c it is considered a power move, meaning it works multiple muscle groups requiring more strength and endurance. Do this exercise 16 times, rest and repeat.

3. Shoulder arm circles- 3lb dumbbells
Standing with feet shoulder width apart extend the dumbbells up and out to the side. Once the weights are up and out to the side, start moving the arms forward in a small circular motion. Do 10 forward, then 10 reverse. Slowly bring the weights down to your side again. Now, without rest, bring the dumbbells together in front of your body and extend the weights out to the side and up overhead making a full circle, dumbbells touching at the top, and bring them back down the same way they came up. Do this for 10. Rest for a moment and repeat.

These three exercises are sure to burn your shoulder muscles. There are many different shoulder exercises you can do, but these are my favorite. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear them. Leave a comment here of pop over to my website at www.summerfitness.net.

Stay Strong,
Kristi

Why Unique Names like Danica are extra cool!

I am super excited to introduce you all to today’s guest poster – I won’t spoil it by telling you who, so read on for a great laugh and more!

P.S. Danica #2 – well, technically by age I am #1 :D, but, you will see my comments through “Danica’s post so know that #2 is me :)

Hello All! While Danica is on vacation she asked me to post for her. Well not to confuse you, but my name is Danica as well and I've been wanting to post about how much I love my name on my own site, but I thought what would be a more appropriate place to blog about names on someone else's blog who shares the same name as me!

So you may ask, why blog about your name? Personally, I have a big thing with my name and when I asked Danica about if she liked her name as much as me, she said yes she did as well, so this lead me to believe that one day Danicas will have world dominance that unique names are extra cool. Don't fret if you have a 'common' name, but hear me out for a second, perhaps you may have the opportunity to one day name a child and this is why I think you should seek out something a little unique. Also, this is my opinion so if you don't agree with it, I'm sorry, I don't mean to ruffle any feathers. So here's my why unique names are prettystinkin' cool (in my opinion)

1. Unique names make you memorable. I have had numerous times when people have somewhat of a hard time remembering other people's name, but since I have somewhat of a different name, people always remember mine. Usually when I am introduced to new people someone says something along the lines of, " Oh, I have a cousin/friend/aunt or know someone named that", which doesn't sound like the most intelligent thing ever if you really think about it, but oh well. Once people meet me, my name sticks with them. Bonus of having a unique name, I think yes!

2. Unique names make you stand out. I have met people and they have seriously said to me, and I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, "Oh you're Danica!" If everyone had my name, I feel like people wouldn't be saying that to me. Clutch. :)

3. Another thing that I really like about my name is that fact that even though people have trouble saying it, repeating it helps them remember it even more. Though almost everyone says my name wrong at least once, it's easier for them to remember.

4. Another reason why I love my name is the fact that it ALWAYS gives me something to talk about when I first meet people. After telling people my name people ALWAYS have something to say. Here's what I sometimes hear,
             " Like the race car driver?"
             " Is your Dad's name Daniel?"
             "Where did your parents come up with that name?"
             "Why did your parents name you that?"

Danica #2 ~ OMG!  I can totally relate to this one.  I had someone ask me once if my Dad’s name was Dan and My Mom’s name was Monica ~ too funny.

First off, it is like the race car driver, which is pretty cool. No my dad's name isn't Daniel, and my parents found the name in a regular old baby book. My parents named me it because they liked the name, I'm sure the same reason your parents named you your name. Interesting isn't it, but this always allows for easy conversation afterwords!

Danica #2: Oh and I Like “Winnie” from the Wonder Years – I cried when I first saw her name on TV b/c I wanted to be the 1st Danica on TV :D I was young…..My name is a family name believe it or not – somehow it descends from Doris, but, I don’t get the connection on that one.

5. Lastly, I love my name because of it's different meaning. Danica means Morning Star, and I love that my parents picked that out for me specifically. There are so many cool meanings out there and it's cool to have something that means something very special to you personally.

So there are some definite downfalls with different names. I couldn't leave those out!

1. Everyone says your name wrong. Almost everyone I meet says it wrong, or has to have me re-pronounce it, or gives me this weird look and says, HUH? Now this could be annoying to some, but at the same time, I don't mind it too much. Sometimes it gets annoying when people don't get it after numerous attempts but I guess that is what comes with being unique!

2. The spelling. My name isn't hard, and I think that it's pretty phonetic. Mostly my name is spelled like this:

Danika

but sometimes people get creative and go with,

Danicka
Daneeka
Daneka
Danca

and seriously, I could keep going. People sometimes are bizarre with the spelling! It's hilarious for the most part though, unless I've specifically spelled it out for them and they still can't spell it. Comes with the territory I think.

Danica #2: The WORST pronunciation EVER was “Duncia” when I was in elementary – I was called dunce for awhile.   Seriously people, where is the U when it’s spelled on a paper during roll call?!

3. Some people go WAY overboard. Mostly, these people are celebrities, and for some reason they think they were granted some right to name their child after foods, or fruits, or their favorite things.

IE Apple, Princess Tiaamii, Audio Science, Kyd, Poppy Honesty, Ocean, and Rufus Tiger.

Those are pushing it to be much, much too bizarre in my book! If you ever get the chance to name a child, name them something unique but also that they won't get teased because of for the remained of their life!

I don't know why I wanted to tell everyone about cool names, but there you go, that's my take on it! I hope you enjoyed my rant, and perhaps if you wanted to visit my site, www.chicrunner.com, you might find me talking about actually running, or you might find some more random rants on there. Hope you enjoyed my guest "Danica" post! :)

Danica #2 ~ I LOVE it!  Thanks so much for posting about our name – I couldn’t agree more – it rocks to be a Danica and I LOVE the uniqueness of my name even if I have to share it with another cool, Danica - you :)

xoxo

Danica

NHerShoes Perfect Pre-Race Meal

Hello Danica's Daily readers!! I was so excited when Danica asked me to do a guest post while she is on vacation! I hope you all enjoy!

I have experimented with a lot of prerace meals, pasta, chicken, rice, and so much more! I am sticking with what works for me and that is PIZZA! I believe that pizza has the perfect balance of carbs, protein, and healthy fats to fuel my body before a big race or even a long run!

First I start with the O’ so easy Pizza Dough Recipe.

Whole Wheat and Honey Pizza Dough
(adapted from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey ( I used Agave Nectar)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, wheat germ and salt. Make a well in the middle and add honey and yeast mixture. Stir well to combine. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for a few minutes.
4. Roll dough on a floured pizza pan and poke a few holes in it with a fork.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

While it bakes I prep the toppings

• sliced bell pepper
• sliced tomato
• leftover asparagus from last night
• mushrooms
• goat cheese
• baby spinach
• roasted red peppers

As always we make a His and Her Pizza:)

I love experimenting with toppings and this pizza was on of the “Greenest” Pizza I had ever made!

I always make a HUGE salad to enjoy on the side.

I can’t imagine a more perfect pre-race meal!! Please visit, NHerShoes for more pizza ideas and more!!