Simple and Delicious Spinach Salad

I'm excited that my strawberries and blueberries are growing like crazy this year. I've been trying to think of creative ways to eat them, and one of my favorites so far is a Strawberry, Blueberry, Spinach Salad. It's simple, delicious and perfect for the summer! 


Ingredients: 

Organic Spinach: Spinach is low in calories and packed with nutrition. One 40 calorie cup has all you need for vitamin K and A for the day, plus folate, and manganese. It contains cancer-fighting antioxidants, improves cardiovascular health, protects against aging and improves brain function!


source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/2700-facts-health-benefits-spinach/

Organic Strawberries: One Serving of strawberries has more vitamin C than an orange. Strawberries increase HDL cholesterol, also protect against cancer and can help lower blood pressure. 


source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/nutritional-benefits-of-the-strawberry

Organic Blueberries: Also are packed with Vitamin C, manganese which is important  for converting fats, proteins and carbohydrates into energy. Blueberries are loaded in antioxidants, they come close to being one of the top choices when it comes to antioxidant activity per serving! We all know that antioxidants are extremely important because they fight off free radicals which are linked to cancer.


source: http://www.blueberrycouncil.org/health-benefits-of-blueberries/blueberry-nutrition/

 Toasted Organic Walnuts: Walnuts are a great source of omega-3 essential fatty acids. They can lower LDL (bad) cholesterol,  and increase HDL (good) cholesterol. Walnuts are also high in antioxidants, and excellent source of Vitamin E, B complex vitamins and minerals such as manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.  They are also a great source of protein, with about 15g per serving. They are a bit high in fat and calories... so don't get too crazy on them! To toast walnuts Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, checking frequently.


source: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/walnuts.html

 Goat Cheese: Goat cheese is low in calories compared to other cheeses. "Goat cheese is higher in vitamins, D, K, thiamine and niacin than a serving of cow's cheese. A serving of goat cheese has the same amount of vitamin A as cheddar cheese, with 6 percent the daily value. Goat cheese is also high in the B vitamin riboflavin, as well as the mineral phosphorous. The body cannot produce vitamins and minerals on its own, so goat cheese provides a source of these micronutrients."

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/402645-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-eating-goat-cheese/

 Dressing of your choice- I used an Organic Champagne Dressing, but any type of balsamic or  poppyseed dressing would work too. 


Combine all the ingredients and...... 

Enjoy!

Boxes and Bars Workout

I've been feeling the minimal equipment workouts lately! Easy to set up, and get right to business! Here's a new workout that will only require a bench or box, a 15-30 lb bar and timer. It should take you 20-30 minutes to complete, depending on how many rounds you decide to do. See video below for exercise breakdown. Good luck!

Equipment: Timer, Box/Bench, and 15-30lb bar

Set your timer for 8 rounds
One minute of work, 20 seconds rest

Warm up 5-10 minutes

1.Burpee Box Jumps  - Do a burpee and jump up on box landing in a squat with soft knees- jump or step back down

2. Overhead Squat  - Beginners should rest bar on shoulders instead of holding bar up over head until you are confident in a traditional squat. Push bar up into the ceiling, keep hips back and drive through your heels.

3. Overhand Grip Row and Right Leg lift - squeeze shoulder blades into spine, squeeze your right booty cheek, keep abs on, hips square to floor.

4. Underhand Grip Row and Left Leg lift- squeeze shoulder blades into spine, squeeze your left booty cheek, keep abs on, hips square to floor.

5. Bench Bar Pushup with Swivel.   Perform your pushup- keep abs on- opposite knee to shoulder on both sides

6. Lateral Box Jumps- drive off foot that's on the bench.

7. Triceps Bench Dips

8. Bench Taps



Repeat 2-3 times

Stretch and cool down

Warm Up Exercises- stretching the Psoas Major

The warm up is extremely important to do before you workout to prevent injuries,  get your muscles loose, the blood pumping,  and prepare you mentally and physically for your workout. A normal warmup is usually 5-10 minutes, should not feel strenuous, and gets your adrenaline pumping ready to work hard. 

Below is a video with some great examples  of dynamic warmup exercises.

I always make sure to stretch my Psoas muscle aka the hip flexors as part of my warm up. I incorporate the  Samson stretch as part of my warm up routine to hit the Psoas Major. The Samson Stretch is similar to what I'm doing in the photo below except my arms would be raised up overhead, reaching up towards the sky with my fingertips laced and palms up.

"It’s important to stretch the Psoas, because it is the muscle that is chronically shortened if you have a job or hobby where you sit all day.  That constant state of muscle contraction will reset the default length of the muscle fibers to hold in that position until you do something about it.  If you don’t stretch it, it will cause you to hunch over, maybe make the curve in your low back become sway-back.  This altered posture will also cause you to eventually experience back pain."

http://lloydchiro.com/2009/09/psoas-stretch-at-home/

Example of Samson Stretch