Happy Friday eve all! We spent day 2 touring Miami on the Island Queen (Star Island!) and shopping at Lincoln Road, South Beach and the Festival Flea Market.

Before I get started on my Part 2 recap, I have to say you all had me cracking up with your comments on this week’s Wordless Wednesday ~ The “Smart” Cop Car still has us laughing every time we see.

We woke up on Sunday (on West Coast time LOL) to the most beautiful sunset.  We quickly threw on our shoes and ran down stairs to beach.

I think morning time is the ONLY time that nobody is on the beach.  The Time Share was right on Pompano Beach….We spent each morning with a beach walk.

Amanda had told us about the Island Queen Cruise and we bought half price tickets on Groupon.  We picked the Millionaire’s Row Cruise because well – it just sounds awesome!

The narrated tour is 90 minutes and you get to see the beautiful downtown Miami skyline, the Port of Miami, Fisher Island, Miami Beach and "Millionaire’s Row" – aka “Star Island”.

My BETTER half

Plus me too!

I think I had a thing for taking pictures of boats because I think I took them of every type they had on the water.

Fisher Island

Miami Sky Line

So, we took pictures of like every house we passed on Star Island and now have no clue whose house it was   We can remember some names like Will Smith, Gloria Estefan, Shaq’s Old House, P. Diddy, The Guy Who Invented Viagara…BIG House and Growing LOL

Anyway, for what it’s worth, here are just a few the pictures of the “Star’s” houses

This picture totally summarizes the weather we had while we were in Florida ~ It was totally HOT and HUMID, but, cloudy and sunny like every day.  I LOVE the clouds!

After our cruise, we headed down to Lincoln Road (where South Beach is too) and I have to admit, I was pretty excited when I saw they had a Farmer’s Market!

The Farmer’s Markets in Florida are really different from the ones in California for sure.  It was fun seeing the local “tropical” fruits.

These AVOCADOS are my favorite!  We always buy at least one when we go to the Caribbean.  California Haas Avocados are delicious, but, these are HUGE and a little nuttier:D

Amanda and her husband, David, met up with us again this trip.  WE LOVE them – they are so nice and funny.  They were our personal tour guides letting us know all the cool things to do while in Florida ~ Thanks, we totally had a blast!!! Amanda – you both need to work out in California next

I WISH I wore my pedometer on Sunday because we walked and walked for hours down Lincoln Road, South Beach and then at the Festival Flea Market before we plopped back down on the Pompano beach to recover.

We ended the day with a sunset that was almost as beautiful as the sunrise.

You can catch my Florida 2010 Part 1 Recap HERE.  Stay tuned this weekend for parts 3,4, 5

Have a great Friday all and an even better 3-day weekend!

Whatcha’ gonna do?!?!

Thanks for the welcome back everyone!  We had a blast on your trip to Florida and on our Bahamas Cruise.  Day 1 was spent napping, shopping and at the Beach, so we officially kicked off our trip with an AIRBOAT RIDE AT GATOR PARK!

We actually used my DROID YELP APP a lot for our trip to find out what people thought were the best places to eat, visit, things to do, grocery stores, etc.  We also lived by our navigator because Florida Freeways are confusing.

The Peeps at YELP gave Gator Park the best reviews out of all the parks.  The price is pretty reasonable as well ~ You get an AIRBOAT ride (where you the alligators come right up to your boat!), animal show and the chance to walk all over their park being tourists taking pictures for $22 (plus $3 off with the tourist book coupon). 

GO BEFORE 10 am and there is a coupon for buy 1 get 1 free admission in one of the FREE tourist books you can grab anywhere:D

I think I need to “learn” to take less pictures or maybe not give The Husband the camera because we have over 1,000 pictures to sort through ~ oops.

We had an hour before the Airboat Tour so we spent a little bit of time in the gift shop.

Think these are real?  Kinda creepy either way!

I tend to lean towards the “cuter” gators…..

I seriously wanted to bring this back to make my dad drive around with it on his dash board LOL…so funny!

The Husband has a “fear” of all reptiles/amphibians ~ he is actually kinda freaked out in this picture but I couldn’t resist

We met their “pet” rooster that likes to be pet like a cat or dog – lifting it’s tail and turning around to have you pet it again and again.

Random Peacocks where everywhere….

But, we realized they were just trying to keep us away from their babies – they were so cute!

The tour guide didn’t get why I took a picture of this tree, but, I think it’s just funky and fun.

The everglades go for miles and miles….The long grass is called Saw Grass ~ if you slide up on the grass it doesn’t cut you, but, if you slide your hand down, it cuts like a knife (or something like that).

Flowers and lots of BUGS!

This was the cool AIRBOAT we all hopped into for a spin.  They give you ear plugs as well.

Our tour guide – he was very knowledgeable and pretty funny in a Laffy Taffy sort of way too.

This bird was our other “tour guide” ~ it stuck with us the entire ride flying back and forth but always landing right in front of us on the boat.

I don’t know how you all live in the HUMIDITY ~ it was SO HOT in Florida….here is our picture BEFORE our tour even started LOL.

We went on the very first tour because we read you may see more gators before the “airboat tours” scare them away.  Our guide said it will still too early, but, we did see about 5 gators on our 35 minute boat ride.

They just swam down the river right by us…no big deal!

Miles and miles of grass….

With random birds flying around….

This fruit is some type of swamp fruit ~ Apple? (I forgot the name).  You have to wait a month before it ripens and it’s supposed to taste like vanilla custard.

I can totally see how Melissa could spend hours out here when she lived in Florida.  It was SO peaceful.

Our guide did “crank” up the AIRBOAT to go as fast as they go for awhile and makes sure you get a little “swamp” water mist on you….That was sorta fun going all these random directions.  The funny thing about the everglades is that the water doesn’t smell since it is a constant flowing river….that’s what he says, but, I wasn’t really going to jump in to find out.

Especially when the gators swam right up to our boat!

Next up it was time for the animal show where our guide bought out a few “creatures” that roam the Everglades.

Tarantula ~ freaky!

Tortoise (land) and Turtle (water)

I think they look pretty annoyed he is holding them

Do you know the different between the male and female?  The males shell is dented so he can go for a ride easier….Seems so wrong ~ HA!

Skunk!

Then, he brought out his “pet” alligator! I think he is smiling

Alligator wrestling isn’t what I thought…I had visions of them tossing and turning in the sand…..but really this is all it involves.

If you put your hand on an alligators head (because you are crazy like that)….

It calms them and puts them in a “sleep” trance.

This little guy ran right by us after the show ~ I think he might think he is an alligator too.

We all thought it was totally worth the $$ for everything you got.  There are not many places you can go to ride in an airboat, watch alligators swim by, see tons of birds, saw grass and cool animals.  The tour guides keep everything pretty entertaining and it takes about 1 1/2 – 2 hours to do everything so the rest of your day is free!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Wordless Wednesday as it includes another fun picture from our trip!

Night all!

Thanks to all who played along in my Annie’s Dressing Giveaway!  I now have a ton of new salad ideas that I want to try out….if you all didn’t see all the delicious ideas, go check them out now….I <3 salads!

The lucky winner is……

#40 Erika @ Dr.TriRunner on Sat, 28th Aug 2010 9:11 pm

Ooooh! Count me IN! The first one I’d use is the Mango dressing… and I’d *attempt* to create the strawberry poppyseed salad from Panera. I think that would be delicious with the mango!!

YUM!!!! Erika, when you re-create that salad, you definitely NEED to share the recipe.  Erika has a pretty awesome site ~ check out her arm muscles from all those tri-athlons

Congrats ~ please send your mailing address to me at danicasdaily at gmail.com and I’ll be sure to have Annie’s send out your goodies ASAP.

I think I am still on East Coast Time since I am ready to go to bed already (it’s not even 9 pm yet LOL).  Not sure if I’ll make it back for recap #1 tonight or not…If not, I’ll be here tomorrow for sure!

Night all!

Hi all, we had a FANTASTIC time vacationing in Florida and The Bahamas.  I just wanted to pop in and say HIYA to you all!  Thanks again to all my guest posters – you rock! I hope you all enjoyed reading them as much as I did. 

I will be back tonight with recap #1 and of course the Winner of the Annie’s Dressing Giveaway!!!  You still have time to enter

Catch you all later!

Happy Weekend All!!!  Today’s Guest Posters is one of my absolute FAVORITE Cooks Around ~ Gina from Skinnytaste.com…why you ask?!  Well, because she makes drool worthy Weight Watcher Recipes to show us all that eating healthier and lighter doesn’t mean you have to give up flavor and taste.  Oh and did I mention, I cannot go to her site without drooling and completely wanting to change what I am making for dinner to what she posted about that day

Here is just one example of her AMAZING talents in the kitchen ~ Be sure to stop by SkinnyTaste.com to find even more recipes like this!

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Lighter Eggplant Parmesan

This is one of my favorite ways to eat eggplant. Traditionally eggplant parmesan is breaded and fried before baking. I made this lighter by roasting the eggplant in the oven instead, using reduced fat mozzarella and fat free ricotta which reduces the fat and calories significantly. Always use a good parmesan or romano cheese like Locatelli or Reggiano any time a recipe calls for grated cheese for the best results.

Lighter Eggplant Parmesan
Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 servings • Time: 60 minutes • Points: 6 ww points
Calories: 265.3 • Fat: 12.4 g • Protein: 14.1 g • Carb: 35.4 g • Fiber: 4.4 g

• 1 large eggplant (2 lbs)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 12 oz fat free ricotta
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 medium egg
• 2 cups reduced fat mozzarella (I used Sargento)
• 3 cups homemade tomato sauce
• salt

Start by making the sauce if you don’t have any already made. While the sauce simmers, slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lightly salt the slices and put in a colander to release excess moisture for about 1/2 hour. Lay on paper towels to soak up any extra moisture.
Preheat oven to 450°. Brush eggplant lightly with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through until eggplant is golden brown.
In a medium bowl combine ricotta, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of grated cheese.
In a 9×12 baking dish, put a little sauce on the bottom of the dish and put a layer of eggplant to cover the bottom of the dish. Top with 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, mozzarella cheese and sauce. Add another layer of eggplant and repeat the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and sauce until everything is used up. Top with sauce and the mozzarella cheese and the remaining grated cheese.
Cover with foil and bake until cheese is melted and everything is bubbling, about 30 minutes at 400°. Remove foil and bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it sit about 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Thanks again Gina for guest posting for me!  I am pretty sure this is going on the menu as soon as we get home!

Happy Friday all!!!  What better way to end the week than with a FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY for one of my FAVORITE companies ~ ANNIES!!!   Yes, I know some of you may say I am biased, but, I truly LOVE Annie’s, their products and everything the company stands for….I am pretty sure most of you would agree!

Organic + REAL INGREDIENTS+ GREEN+ SUSTAINABLE = a Winning Combination in my book every time!

Have you all noticed the NEW Annie’s Naturals Dressing Labels? I think they look pretty cool!

Along with the NEW “Look”, Annie’s also came out with THREE deliciously LITE & FAT FREE Flavors…..Now, THAT is something that caught my interest for sure!

As much as I do LOVE full fat dressings, my waist line doesn’t really.  I LOVE that Annie’s recognizes that there are people like me out there who crave lower in fat dressings that have REAL ingredients that we can pour all over our salads so we can enjoy the higher fat nuts and cheeses we put on them

FIRST UP: Fat Free Raspberry Balsamic. 

I am a BIG fan of Balsamic Vinegar and often just toss flavored balsamic vinegars on my salad.  This dressing is AWESOME on a salad topped with fresh raspberries, cheese and nuts like THIS ONE! (Goat Cheese, pecans, fresh raspberries, need I say more?)

SECOND UP: FAT FREE MANGO

You all might remember my review of this Fat Free Mango Dressing.  I LOVE that this dressing is light and both tart/tangy.  It would be AWESOME on a fresh mango, jicama and AVOCADO salad or any “citrus” salad for that matter.

FINALLY, LITE HERB BALSAMIC~ My FAVORITE of the Three new Flavors.

I LOVE this dressing because the Balsamic & Oil Ratio is perfectly balanced and it tastes AMAZING on Green Caprese Salads

ONE LUCKY WINNER WILL WIN ALL 3 OF ANNIE’S NEW DRESSINGS + A BOTTLE OF GODDESS!!!

HOW TO ENTER:

1) I love hearing all the ways that people use their dressings and all their salad creations.  Leave your FIRST comment telling me one type of salad you’d make or way you would use these new dressings.

BONUS ENTRIES

2)  Feel free to TWEET or Facebook about this giveaway.  “@danicasdaily is giving away all of the NEW @AnniesHomegrown Dressings to 1 LUCKY winner Enter here http://bit.ly/bbtr9Z“  Be sure to leave a SECOND comment to let me know you did.

3) If you have a blog, LINK back to this contest and leave a THIRD comment letting me know you did.

4) Enter the Annie’s Naturals WIN A FLIP MINO VIDEO CAMERA and leave a FOURTH comment sharing your You Tube Video for all of us to see

The FINE Print ~ Thanks to Annie’s, Inc for letting me host this giveaway for my readers.  This contest is open to US & Canadian Residents only. 

There you have it ~ FOUR WAYS TO WIN ~ ONE LUCKY WINNER will be randomly drawn and announced on Monday, August 30, 2010!.

Good Luck everyone ~ I wish I could give you all these dressings because they are delicious!!!

Today’s guest post is from one of my favorite “chefs” out there ~ Biz from the Biggest Diabetic Loser.  She is one of the most creative in the kitchen people I know and I often want to try at least one thing she makes every day she posts.  I LOVE that she is sharing her story with you all and how it has help guide her to a healthy lifestyle.

Thanks again Biz for guest posting for me!  Be sure to stop by her site, but, be prepared to drool over some delicious eats!

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Hi all!  This is Biz from Biggest Diabetic Loser.

My life is controlled by numbers.  Because I am an insulin dependent diabetic, I need to figure out how many carbs I am eating to ensure I am giving myself enough insulin.  I have to take a shot each and every time I eat something, and then another shot at the end of the night.

Because I am a strict diabetic, that means I test my blood sugar up to 8 times a day.  I have to check it when I get up, before I exercise, after I exercise – and some days I wake up and want to shout “I just want to eat whatever the hell I want!” and not have to worry.

But I don’t want to repeat what my Dad did.  He became diabetic in his early 20′s and was immediately put on insulin.  However, he used the insulin as a crutch to eat whatever he wanted – Dunkin Donuts apple fritters were a staple in our house!

When I was on oral medication, I watched everything I ate like a hawk, and in the process went from my all time high of 210 down to a respectable 138 within a year!  Fast forward to three years ago, the oral medication wasn’t working, so I was put on insulin exclusively.  All of a sudden I could eat whatever I wanted!  You mean I can have bacon and cheddar cheese on my fries for just .99 cents extra – yes please!

So in the last three years I’ve gained 30 pounds back.  Completely my own fault, but have now decided that I need to walk the walk and not talk about losing weight anymore.

I know a lot of Danica’s readers are younger, but would you do me a favor?  Next time you have your annual physical, ask to have your blood sugar taken.  Roughly 16 million people are walking around with diabetes and don’t even know it!  And once diabetes starts doing damage, its usually too late to fix it.

Thanks Danica for letting me talk about diabetes!

Happy Tuesday all! Today’s guest post is someone who inspires me every day to be better to the environment and better to me ~ Shane of Environmental Booty. I think it’s so cool that she is offering up some fantastic tips for you all as her guest post today.

She has led such an amazing life, so be sure to check out her story and all the different ways you can be green over at Environmental Booty.  Thanks again, Shane for guest posting for me and providing some tips I can’t wait to put to use!

Nice to meet you!  I am Danica’s blogger buddy, Shane

Wanna know how I finally lost those pesky last 10 pounds?  Well before I expose the secret to how I finally did it, let’s get introduced first.  My name is Shane Shirley Smith and I am totally into living a green lifestyle…except for those guilt ridden moments when I’m not.  I am a 42 year old mommy, wife and business owner but in my younger days I was a cheerleader, on the Homecoming Court (that beautiful interloper Karen Scott won queen though!), Valedictorian, an MSU Spartan and an all around nice girl who married my true love on the rebound even though my other true love (hey I’m fickle, what can I say?) begged me not to.  Oh did I mention the ex true love has morphed into a great guy who is a millionaire many times over now from implementing an idea, based in part, on an idea that I gave him and my husband and I have recently lost just about all of the wealth we spent 20 years acquiring?  Whew, that was a mouthful! Are you still with me?

Me on my wedding day 17 years ago and 20 pounds heavier than I am now

So what was I saying?  Okay back to introducing me to you…I also have three beautiful girls (13, 10 and 4 – God spaced them out that way not me…an entirely different post) who absolutely drive me bananas and who I completely enjoy torturing daily through forcing them to live little, green lives by rarely letting them eat anything with HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup), partially hydrogenated fats, lots of sugar (open your eyes and meet your sugar) or artificial anything…including chewing gum which is a huge no no unless it is free of artificial sweeteners or they are hanging out with their daddy who rarely cares what they eat, drink or otherwise ingest.

How can I torture these sweeties with a forced, healthy eating,  Eco-lifestyle?  For their own good, that’s how!

Whew!  So that is who I am in a nutshell and now on to sharing how I finally lost those pesky last 10 pounds. Wait!  First please let me say that I am really happy that your fearless leader, Danica,  asked me to write a guest post for Danica’s Daily.  I have had this How I Finally Lost Those Peasky Last 10 Pounds idea for a post brewing in my mind for a while now but I just wasn’t sure my Environmental Booty community would be into it.  Since I have been following Danica’s Daily for a while now, I feel like you guys might be able to relate to trying to lose those last 10 pounds so I am gonna lay it on you  (do people still say that?) in hopes that you will find the information helpful. Although I certainly will try, I must say that I am not certain I will be able to offer as many interesting pictures as Danica gives you guys most days. My girls are always like, "OMG, I cannot believe Miss Danica takes sooo many pictures.  Is she like always taking pictures and eating?"

My three gillies at Disney last weekend…sharing a frozen lemonade and hangin’ in Minnie’s house

Okay so now for the big reveal to the answer as to how I finally lost those pesky last 10 pounds…

Me last summer hiding my pesky 10 pounds under my Juicy Couture cover up…my 13 year old stole that this summer!

Well you guys it was sooo easy.  You see I had always been skinny.  I mean like super skinny.  Currently I am 5 feet 8 inches tall and my weight fluctuates (depending on what time of the month it is) between 124 and 128 pounds.  But when I was in college I was only 118 pounds and at times when I was partying a bit too hard or super depressed over a boyfriend (like the ex true love which happened a lot) , I would find my weight down to 108 pounds.  I used to eat like total crap constantly too!  Even though my mama raised me better, I lived on McDonalds and Burger King.   I am surprised I survived my college years as a regular meal for me was a fish sandwich, a cheeseburger, a large fry, a chocolate shake and a hot fudge sundae!  No kidding, I am totally serious.  I would eat like that for lunch and dinner and NEVER GAIN A POUND but after I got engaged and spent my time hanging out with my true love, sweetie pie Ron eating cookie dough ice cream, I gained over 20 pounds.  I didn’t even realize I had gained so much weight until after I opened all of my wedding gifts and received a scale.  When I hopped on I almost had a heart attack when I read the weight on the scale.  I had NEVER seen numbers like that!!

Funny how the mirror can lie but a scale is sooo honest huh?

So I set about the business of losing 20 pounds and it was tough. Do you know what I mean? Can I get an Amen?  I lost all of that weight and guess what?  Between having three kids, living a busy lifestyle, loving to eat and being a choco-holic ("Hi my name is Shane and I am a choco-holic.",  "Hi Shane."), it seems like there are always 10 pesky pounds that just keep hanging out on my hips, arms and face!

Last March in St. Augustine those 10 pounds were back!

SO I finally decided to lose those 10 pounds for good and do you finally want to know how I did it?  I lost those pesky 10 pounds by not eating for days, by taking chromium picolinate with meals, by working out twice a day each and every single day, by eating only carbs, by eating only protein, by standing on my head for a half hour before every meal, by…Lord people are you getting it yet?  There is no easy solution for each of us to stay in our predetermined "goal" weight zone.

Last weekend at Disney Hayden couldn’t take her eyes off of the Electric Light Parade, Lexie was mad b/c I pulled her out of her perfect parade watching spot, Reece was just happy which was perfection for a 13 year old and me well…I  was at my goal weight and just happy to have made it through another day.

Accepting that staying in your "goal" weight zone is a part of everyday life, makes living a little more fun.  If I east a bit too much today, I will eat a little less tomorrow.  If I miss a workout today or three days, I get back to it as soon as I can.  As Danica knows, once you have lost a lot of weight, and you truly desire to live healthy, you realize there are no simple and easy answers to keeping those pesky 10 pounds off or losing 20 pounds, 30 pounds or even more. For me, maintaining my goal weight and keeping off those pesky last 10 pounds is about an overall healthy, illness free lifestyle which includes using the following 10 little everyday tricks that I hope help you out too:

1. Take in fewer calories than what you put out and be honest about the number of calories you are taking in – this is the biggest one to master!! Watch those Weight Watcher points and do not eat too much!  To make it really easy, download a Weight Watcher mobile app or a calorie counter app for your phone like the  free Calorie Counter by Fat Secret for your BlackBerry  or get the iPhone or iPod touch versions.
2. Make healthy, whole food choices.
3. As much as possible, stay away from sugar, alcohol and HFCS.
4. Find a workout program that works for you and exercise as much as you can.  I shoot for 30-45 minutes about 5-6 days a week.  I have been a Firm Believer for years and love the way that their workouts combine aerobics and strength training.  According to Dr. Oz, we lose an average of 5 percent of our muscle mass every 10 years after the age of 35—if we don’t do anything about it.  So, it’s very important to increase muscle mass with weight bearing exercise.  Even at rest,  muscle burns more calories than fat; muscle tissue burns about seven to 10 calories per pound per day, compared to the two to three calories per pound per day burned with fat.  
5. Drink more water or green tea sweetened with Stevia Plus than sugary fruit juices and HFCS infested sodas.
6. Floss and brush your teeth right after dinner so you won’t snack all night.
7. Take the stairs or your bike if you are up for it and find little ways throughout the day to burn those calories.  Every little bit helps.
8. If you make or order something that is not all that you hoped it would be, do not eat it!  Never feel guilty for not eating food that just is not appealing to you.  Wrap it up for your hubby, roomie or kids.  Just because you don’t like it,  doesn’t mean someone else might not love it.
9. Keep an eye on your actual weight with a good old scale if your clothes start to feel tight.
10. When you have those 10 extra pounds to lose but really want that brownie (five points), remind yourself that just because you shouldn’t eat it today, that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t have one next week.

So if you find at least a couple of these tips helpful, please let us know and feel free to share your tips for keeping those pesky 10 pounds at bay below.  Most importantly, though, I hope that you will always and forever love your body at whatever weight it decides to settle into each and every single day. Thanks for sticking around until the end and do me a favor if you would, please leave Danica a comment below to tell her how much you loved my guest post so she will know I took good care of her friends!  TWYL Peace, Love and Eco-Shane

Just one more picture…thought I should include a photo which had my one true love  in it <3

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