The 4th of July, Independence Day, is just around the corner — the high point of the year for sparklers, corn on the cob, and blueberry-strawberry desserts. Whatever would we do without blueberries and strawberries on July 4th? How else would we make our flag cakes and patriotic fruit pinwheels? But as I thought about what dessert to bring you today, I was inspired by the fact that red and blue fruits extend beyond our ubiquitous berry friends. And on the 4th of July I want to enjoy ripe summer fruit as much as possible.
So here is a trifle for your holiday that is really more fruit than cake, with cherries and raspberries and blackberries squeezed between homemade pudding and cream, meant to be eaten outside in the sunshine, before dips in the pool and runs through the sprinkler.
This beautiful free-form galette is the perfect way to celebrate fresh, seasonal summer vegetables — all tucked into an easy crust with a thick smear of fresh, aromatic pesto.
Summertime! Is there anything better than a cool, creamy popsicle on a scorching hot afternoon? Or for that matter, a scorching hot morning? These fruity yogurt pops can serve as both breakfast and afternoon snack, a fact to which I can personally attest. I recommend having a batch in your freezer at all times.
A few years ago I shared my favorite magic trick in the kitchen: creamy ice cream made with just one ingredient. Yes, that’s right — just one ingredient, and no ice cream maker needed!
What is this one magic ingredient that can be whipped into rich and silky ice cream, with no additional dairy, sweeteners, or ingredients needed whatsoever?
On any given summer afternoon at my house, you will hear the subtle, constant hum of my food dehydrator running on the back porch. I devote its use entirely to drying herbs. I’m reminded by its faint sound that it is capturing my garden’s peak aromas and flavors and saving them for a later date. And oregano is always in rotation.
Of course, I will be tossing fresh oregano leaves in all things tomato-based over the next few months, so why am I not just eating it all up with reckless abandon? Oregano has a little secret: It is one of the only herbs that tastes so good dried that you would use it, even if a fresh version is available.
It means I am strong inside and out. I means that getting strong has bled into all aspects of my life. It means that I love my body for what it can do, not just what it looks like.
How long have you been training?
I have worked out for most of my life. My parents were both really active and instilled the habit in me early. When I was 5 my parents and I biked across the country to raise money for a cure for diabetes. It was an amazing experience that got me hooked on fresh air, heavy breathing and family. Since then, training has often been my social life, my stress relief, my home. Despite this, I probably didn’t start seriously lifting until about 5 years ago.
How did you get introduced to strength training?
I happened upon strength training by accident. I was in graduate school studying Feminist Anthropology in NYC. I worked all day, went to school at night and stumbled into bed each night with about four hours to sleep. I was exhausted, overreached and had started to fall asleep during my classes. There was a gym across the street from my school and I decided to start lifting weights between work and school to see if the adrenaline would keep me awake in class. It worked! Since my usual friends the treadmill and the elliptical were often taken, I started to make new friends with the weights. I was hooked! I loved the way lifting made me feel. I started to see changes in my body. I definitely stayed awake and alert in class. In fact, my time in that New York gym inspired me to write my Masters Thesis on women, body image and exercise.
What does a sample workout look like for you?
I really love using Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1. It gives me the consistency I like in my main lifts while also giving me a lot of freedom and variety in my accessory lifts. Most of my workouts look something like this:
Warm-Up: I foam roll the areas that feel sticky. I do some kind of hip opener and/or thoracic spine mobilization. I also do some PRI (Postural Restoration) exercises each time before I lift.
Set 1: Core and Power
Set 2: Main Lift/Animal Flow
Set 3: Accessory Movements
Favorite Lift:
TGU…it’s like dancing with iron. This lift makes me feel so strong and feminine at the same time.
Most memorable PR:
When I deadlifted 275 at the last Tactical Strength Challenge. I’m still chasing 300! 275 was a 25lb PR and it felt so good!
Top 5 songs on your training playlist:
Because I train with a partner I don’t actually listen to music when I lift. When I run outside I think it’s really important to be tuned into nature…so no music there either. But I like to dance in the car to these songs:
“What a Man” – Salt and Peppa
“Who’s that Girl” – Rihanna
“Get Into the Groove” – Madonna
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody” – Whitney Houston
“Girl on Fire” – Alicia Keys
Top 3 things you must have with you at the gym/in your gym bag:
Chalk, lipgloss and a sassy outfit
Do you prefer to train alone or with a training partner? Why?
With a partner. I believe in training partners so strongly that my best friend, Jill, and I started our blog called Movement Duets. I love having her support while working out. I admit that we do spend a lot of the time giggling but we just count that as extra core work! I also like having gym dates with my husband. He usually does my programming for me. He is an extremely talented trainer. There is something incredibly sexy about how he tries to boss me around during my workouts.
Most hilarious pick-up line you’ve heard at the gym:
Oh dear. I don’t get hit on much at the gym. However, I do like a little inappropriate flirting with my husband while I’m there. I’d say the most hilarious conversation we had was about the snatch…and how the more you clean, the better you snatch. Mature stuff right there, people.
Most embarrassing gym moment:
I was doing Stuart McGill’s helicopter exercise to train for the hammer throw in the Highland Games. An exercise Jill and I coined the Hammercopter. It is only a 6lb ball at the end of a rope. It took me down…right in the middle of the gym…on a busy day…like I’d been hit by a bus.
Favorite meal:
Paleo fried chicken cooked in coconut oil and brussel sprouts
Favorite way to treat yourself:
I have a crazy leggings addiction.
Favorite quote:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
— Marianne Williamson
Favorite book:
Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
What inspires and motivates you?
Nature. I know…I’m turning into a full-blown hippie in my old age! Hiking with my family can be one of the most inspirational things I do. I am so moved by the beauty of this world and my ability to experience it. I’m so proud of how protective my son is of this world. The beauty and wildness of nature is the reason that I am so motivated to move and eat and naturally as I can.
What does a typical day look like for you? (From waking up to bedtime)
I just recently changed my routine. I really needed a change and started to focus more on really living a life that I was proud of and that served me. So, most of this is new to me. No more super early mornings and daily grind. I usually wake up without an alarm clock, this is usually between 6-6:30 each morning. I spend some time reading articles or my book. When my son wakes up we usually go over some of his homework or work on a project together. At 8:30 I walk my son to school. This just might be my favorite part of the day.
Three days a week I head off to work at a chiropractic clinic where I work as a mobility specialist and a personal trainer. On the days I work at the clinic I also lift in the evenings. The other days I have more freedom. Sometimes I will take the dogs to the park and run the hill. Sometimes I will head into the gym. Sometimes I will come home and write blogs and work on the website.
Every Tuesday and Thursday my best friend and business partner, Jill and I will get together to work on our website. We are planning on launching our online training business in the next few months. When we meet I truly feel like I’m living a dream. It is an amazing thing to believe in yourself and follow your passion. This also might be one of my favorite times of the day.
Once I pick my son up from school it’s homework, outside play, chores, karate and gym. Once we get home from the gym the day just seems to race to the finish. Dinner, bathtime, story time, snuggling…and once I kiss that boy goodnight comes my other favorite time of the day. My husband and I usually crash onto the couch together and watch a show and snuggle. And by snuggle I mean that he usually gives me a foot rub.
What’s the coolest “side effect” you’ve noticed from lifting heavy?
Confidence. When you lift heavy you can’t help but shift your focus away from how your body looks, to what it can do.
Next training goal:
Get that 300lb deadlift!
If you had to choose 3 words to describe yourself, what would they be?
Passionate, Idealistic, Audacious
How has lifting weights changed your life?
If I had never picked up a heavy weight I might not have ever graduated from The New School, and I would never have moved to Seattle where I met my ex-husband at the gym, and I would have never had my beautiful son. If I had never lifted weights I might not have had the self-esteem and confidence to leave a bad marriage. If I didn’t lift heavy I wouldn’t have met my husband and the other “family that I choose.” Time at the gym has always connected me to good people in my life.
What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous to start lifting heavy?
Don’t do it alone. Find someone who can help or mentor you as you get started! If you’ve already made it to GGS, you’re headed in the right direction!
Turn your back for five minutes and suddenly there are zucchini a foot long in every vegetable garden. Summer is in full swing, and summer squash (zucchini, yellow squash, crookneck squash, and pattypan squash) are super versatile; great shredded as a raw salad, grilled with garlic, or, as I did this week when it was too hot to stand over my grill, baked with a generous coating of breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
We all experience it — the anxiety that comes with bringing fresh produce home from the market, a little worry that settles in around day three when you haven’t yet used the new inventory. The first day holds so much promise and excitement for all the potential dishes that will come. There’s a new recipe for cauliflower hummus (wink, wink) you want to try. You expect to cook a beautiful bunch of Swiss chard with garlic and herbs, and wilt it down into a frittata filling. There are zucchini, eggplants, and peppers you plan to stew into ratatouille.
One crazy work day after another and all of a sudden you feel an overwhelming sense of concern (and guilt) that you won’t get to those veggies before they expire. You can almost feel the spinach wilting, the cucumbers shriveling, and the heirloom tomatoes leaking their juice onto your kitchen counter.
With BBQs and the season of outdoor entertaining upon us, don’t get caught empty-handed heading into your next get-together. When a bottle of wine won’t do, try making your own hostess gift! At the peak of strawberry season, turn a basket of these juicy gems into some DIY strawberry syrup to gift to friends and family.
An edible gift is one of the most practical yet personal items worth sharing. Before your next backyard cocktail hour or dinner party spent under the stars, whip up a batch of this strawberry syrup to present to your host.
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Breaking Muscle receives no compensation in exchange for reviews. We received this product for free and did not experience typical customer service. The opinions expressed belong solely to the writer.
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For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
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