This pregnancy has been much more challenging for me than my first.  Once 30 weeks hit, I started getting lower back pain.  I think it was a combination of many things – carrying my 25 pound daughter way too much, my diastasis, and generally speaking overdoing it.  I have been trying to pick Hannah up much less and I changed my exercise routine.  These changes have drastically helped my back.  I’m doing yoga about 1-3 times/week in addition to the stationary bike and standing free weights.  I had to give up the classes I loved so much because they were putting too much strain on my body.  I knew they were too much when I went into the class feeling good and started feeling back pain mid-way through.  There was a lot of heavy lifting and I think it was putting strain on my diastasis which was then causing back pain – BAD!  So while the stationary bike isn’t much “fun” it’s doing the job by keeping me active and healthy.

Around 35/36 weeks I started getting terrible hip pain – just as my back pain was getting better!  I get shooting pains in my hip and every time I stand up I feel crippled.  It’s really awful.  Walking is not easy, and that’s why I have stuck to the stationary bike.  It’s so different from my last pregnancy because I remember walking 6 miles on a regular basis up to 41 weeks and I felt amazing.  I guess each pregnancy really is different and I have to listen to and respect my body.

I’m still trying to cook as much as possible but that’s been challenging too as I get more tired.  Easy meals have been on the agenda and things that require little prep or clean up.  Last night was baked salmon, sweet potato fries and kale chips.  Easy!  The night before we had whole wheat pasta with jarred tomato sauce (usually we make our own), mushrooms, eggplant, chicken and basil.  Tonight I’m going out with some girlfriends which will be a nice break.  And Thursday night I’m making a pork tenderloin with wheatberry salad.  If I like what I make I’ll post the recipe.

The biggest thing going on is that we’re moving out of the city in less than a week!  I’m so excited to be moving to a house and to have more space, but it’s definitely bitter sweet.  We have such a great life here that we will be leaving behind.  However, I know the change will be great…it’s just a lot at one time!

Here’s a photo of Hannah and me taken at the Central Park Zoo a little over 3 weeks ago.

An hour later, mom was heading back to Westchester, my two healthy children were tucked into bed, my husband and I sat side by side at our computers, and I saw that my friend Joan sent me a message recommending this as a great Mother’s Day project.

I learned that in the 60 minutes mom and I spent tonight complaining and searching for a stupid restaurant, 60 women died as a result of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.

It was quite a wake up call.

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Mother’s Day than to give mothers less fortunate than us the ability to bring healthy children into this world.

It is very easy to put your own Clean Birth Kit together and mail it yourself (instructions here) or you can donate money to have kits provided to moms in Africa (click here) or rural Papua New Guinea (instructions here).

Just $10 provides 5 women with Clean Birth Kits.

If you’re awesome enough to make a donation or ship out a kit, please let us know. I’m off to make my donation now.

Happy Mother’s Day ladies. Let’s make it happy for those who need it most.

Our Mommy Hooping Challenge begins on Monday, May 21st. It is the perfect way for moms to slim down and tone up in the convenience of their own home in even the few minutes they can spare during nap time. It’s also a great way for moms-to-be experiencing low-risk pregnancies to develop and maintain endurance, muscle tone and flexibility, which will assist with labor, delivery and motherhood. CBS News is calling hoopdance “one of the best exercises for women with kids on the way” – you can see my interview here.

So what are you waiting for? Get an adult fitness hoop, and get ready to have a blast as you undergo a bigger transformation than you’d ever expect.

Details here.

Sheryl & Shayna, 2009

Especially as moms, it isn’t always easy finding the time and energy for exercise. Once my daughter was born, I couldn’t go to the gym before work, all I wanted to do after work was spend time with her, and once she was asleep I couldn’t bring myself to first go down to the gym. But what I was able to do, even if only for a few minutes, was pick up my hoop, put on some music, clear my head, and work up as much of a sweat as I wanted.

I’ve always loved how hooping makes me feel, regardless of the mood I’m in. It can energize me, it can calm me down, it can take my mind off of things, and it can even make me feel sexy at the end of a day when my 3 year old has “done” my hair, I smell like my 1 year old’s formula, and I have baby food, markers and paint all over me.

No matter how much I tell pregnant women and moms about the benefits of hoopdance and how it helped keep me in shape during my pregnancies and bounce back faster afterwards, I realize few moms are likely to discover what hooping can do for them because of the difficulty in making it to a class.

That is why I have decided to start the Mommy Hooping Challenge. Hooping can be done anywhere, anytime. Sure it’s fun to hoop with a bunch of people, but it’s also really enjoyable, comfortable, and therapeutic to do alone.

So here’s what we’re going to do.

For one month, we’re going to hoop 4 days a week for 15 minutes. Some would say that isn’t enough, but we’re moms. I want to set you up for success, not failure. If you can fit in more, great – do it! But I want everyone to feel like this is manageable, including the sleep deprived, constantly nursing new mom who has just been cleared for exercise.

What I expect to happen is that you’re going to find yourself wanting to hoop on your “off days,” and if time allows, when your 15 minutes is up, you’re going to feel so great and you’ll be having so much fun that you’re going to keep on spinning.

Here are the details:

1. Get yourself an adult fitness hoop. The toy store kids’ hoops are not going to cut it for the hoopdancing you’ll be doing.
2. If you want some help getting started and can’t make it to a class, order one of Hoopnotica’s acclaimed DVDs – definitely the best in the industry in my opinion. They even have great starter kits.
3. Add a comment to this post letting us know you’re joining the Challenge and why. You must do this if you want to be entered to win free hooping classes, a Hoopnotica DVD box set for participants outside of NYC, or a private session of our Core Conditioning & Diastasis Recti Program. More about the prizes below.
4. I will write a new post at the start of each week. Add at least one comment to my post each week letting us know how the Challenge is going for you in order to remain in the drawing for the free classes or session. Your posts can be as short or long as you like.
5. Everyone who hoops 4 days each week for 15 minutes, and posts at least one comment to my weekly posts, will be entered into a random drawing to win one of the following: 1) A package of 3 outdoor Fitnotic Hoopdance classes this summer, taking place on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; 2) One free session of our Core Conditioning & Diastasis Recti Program, either in person on the Upper East Side or online; or 3) A Hoopnotica DVD box set for a winner living outside of NYC. Your choice.
6. The Challenge will begin on Monday, May 21st, but if you already have a hoop and are ready to go, why wait? Start now and you can earn “Free Week Passes” that you can redeem if you miss sessions later. In your comment to this post, let me know you’re starting the Challenge early. If you hoop for 15 minutes 4 days out of the week and post a comment about it, you’ll earn one Free Week Pass. Then, if there’s a week in the Challenge when you are unable to get your 4 sessions in, you can write in your post that week that you would like to redeem your Free Week Pass and you’ll stay in the drawing for the classes, session or DVDs. This may come in handy for anyone going away for Memorial Day who doesn’t bring a Travel Hoop with them.
7. Earn “Free Day Passes” by getting your friends and family to join too! The more people you personally know participating in the Challenge, the more motivation you’ll have. For every 3 people you get to join the Challenge, you’ll earn one Free Day Pass that you can redeem if you miss a session one day. When the person you refer joins the Challenge, make sure they mention your name in their comment to this post. Then, if you miss a session one week, indicate in your post that you’d like to redeem your Free Day Pass.

Now what are you going to get from a month of hooping 4 times a week for 15 minutes? It depends on your goals and what you put into each session. If your goal is weight loss, and you really move, keep your abdominals engaged, and push yourself, I think you’ll be thrilled with the slimming and toning effects of hoopdance. If your goal is to get out of the gym and find a workout that keeps your interest, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how quickly you’ll be hooked and how you just want to keep learning new moves and incorporating them into your practice. Most important, no matter who you are or what your goal is, I truly believe that even 15 minutes 4 days a week will lead you to start making healthier choices in all aspects of your life.

Let’s get hooping!

Please be sure to check with your health care practitioner before beginning any new exercise program. Those who are pregnant or new moms must get clearance from their doctor or midwife before beginning the Challenge.

The host presented several ”tips” for a “healthier and fitter lifestyle.”  Despite the fact that it was late and I was wiped out from a long day, I stayed up, excited to see what information was going to be presented.

My jaw literally dropped when I saw the first “tip.”

Liposuction.

No joke.

And tip number 2?  A “weight loss shot.”

It wasn’t until the last 7 minutes of the show that they discussed one group fitness class and some “superfoods.”

I was shocked and disgusted. Who knows how many other people had tuned in, eager to learn some real tips to help motivate them to start living a healthier life.

Two days later I was at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for a birthday party. The Featured Exhibit on CMOM’s main floor was called “EatSleepPlay™: Building Health Every Day.” The exhibit presented “interactive ways for families to create a healthier lifestyle together.” My favorite was an exercise bike that allowed kids to pick a food and pedal the calories away. Obviously the bike was great for any child who used it, even my 3 year old, but it was even more beneficial for those old enough to read the words written under the calorie counter: “The harder you play, the more calories you burn.” I watched kids laugh as they competed against each other, pressing buttons and trying to work off their pizza, fries and juice as fast as they could.

Seeing children learn about the benefits of everything from running, jumping, biking and dancing, to fruits, vegetables and sleep, was extremely refreshing after what I saw Friday night.

My hope is that with our help, our children’s lives are so filled with exercise and proper nutrition that liposuction and weight loss pills would never be included in their discussions of tips for healthier, fitter lifestyles.

I’ve spent a good part of the last 3 years attached to an electric breast pump. I started pumping a couple weeks after my now 3 year old daughter was born, in preparation of going back to work at 8 weeks. At that time, our nursing sessions became limited to just two a day, and quickly deteriorated into only one session before bed. I would pump for 40 minutes in the morning, 3 times while at work, and once at night. I felt so lucky that for 4 months she was willing to nurse from me at night even though she had become so used to drinking from a bottle all day. But right around her 6 month birthday, she punched me in the breast when I went to feed her, and she never wanted to nurse again. (I find this pretty funny now, given her personality!)

I kept up with the 5 pumps a day for the next 6 months in order to give her one year of exclusively breast milk. Many times during that year I realized that it might be a better decision for my family if I would just take some pressure off of myself and supplement with formula, but for whatever reason, I did everything in my power to not let that happen. For this I paid a price – I had countless arguments with my husband when he wanted to feed my daughter some of my stored milk after I had already nursed her for an hour. And there was the guilt… feeling terrible, wondering if my daughter really would’ve liked to drink more. The doctor and lactation consultant always confirmed she was gaining weight appropriately (she was actually pretty big), but I knew she would’ve taken more milk if it was offered. And the truth is, if I had it to spare I of course would’ve given it to her.

When I became pregnant with my son, I promised myself I wouldn’t put myself through all of this if we had feeding issues again.  I remember training a client named Marja while I was pregnant. She was pregnant too, and due pretty soon after me, also with her second.  We spent countless training sessions sharing our nursing and pumping war stories from our first baby, promising each other we knew better this time and wouldn’t be so hard on ourselves this time around.  She kept that promise (and was a lot happier and a lot more sane).  I did not.

When my son stopped eating from me at just two and a half weeks, I was devastated.  I couldn’t imagine relying on that pump exclusively again, especially so early.  So many people told me not to go down that road again, things were different now, I had a 2 year old and it wouldn’t be fair to her to have me so tied to the pump.  But I kept thinking it wouldn’t be fair to my son – why could I deal with pumping for a year for my daughter but not for him?  And last time I was working full time as an attorney, and now I was my own boss, training clients and building my fitness business on my own schedule.  I decided to take it one step at a time and see how things went.  I told everyone there was no way I would pump again for a full year, but I had to at least try to give him as much breastmilk as possible, even if only for a few months.

A year later, here we are. My son didn’t get exclusively breastmilk like my daughter, but I feel good knowing I did my best and made as much milk as I could have (at least without completely losing my mind). Now did it really make a difference? I certainly hope so. Some would point out that my daughter is the only one in either my or my husband’s family with food allergies, and my son seems to pick up every single cold floating around the Upper East Side. Regardless, for me, it was the right decision. I had heard enough about the benefits of breastfeeding that I wanted to give it my best shot.

I don’t know how many nuts are out there like me, but in case my story can help any other mom, (whether by feeling some comfort, less isolation, or even just realizing there are WAY bigger crazies out there than them) I’ve decided to share some of my experiences this past year.

I will start by admitting how embarrassed I am to share some of this. But when you hear the places I have pumped and things I have done with that pump attached, really, putting this out there for the world to see is the least of it.

I see my year of pumping as 3 different stages, each with its own set of challenges.

Determining, And Coming To Terms With, My Breastfeeding Plan

I think this stage can be best expressed by sharing some entries from a journal I kept during this time. I was never one to write in a journal, but I joined a “Hooping Challenge” 6 months into my pregnancy which required me to hoop every day for 15 minutes, and keep a journal about my experience each day.  Although the journal entries should have been about my hoopdance practice, some entries focused on my struggles with nursing.  That should come as no surprise, because if you’ve read this far, you likely understand that when you’re struggling with breastfeeding, it impacts everything you do, every single day.

*     *     *

Day 113 – 5/4/11 (11 days postpartum)

Core hooping feels good but just doing it for a couple minutes.  Not in the mood for this right now, not sure where the day goes, but with the nursing round the clock this is really tough.

Day 118 – 5/9/11 (16 days postpartum)

Feedings seem to be getting worse, which is leaving me feeling miserable and even more exhausted.  Shayna is pulling me through the hooping challenge again.

Day 119 – 5/10/11 (17 days postpartum)

Finally, a fabulous hooping day.  I had been feeling so depressed because of feeding-related problems, but it was a gorgeous day and I decided to take Syler and head to the park with my hoop.  There are no words to describe how wonderful it felt to be outside with my hoop and my music, hooping by the river with the sun on my face, as Syler slept peacefully in his stroller.  I felt bad about opting to do this instead of meeting Shayna and our nanny at the park, but I really REALLY needed this.

Day 120 – 5/11/11 (18 days postpartum)

Big difference from yesterday.  Didn’t make it outside to hoop with mom, which is what we had planned to do.  Feedings are just horrible and I’m losing it.  Bare minimum again.

Day 121 – 5/12/11 (19 days postpartum)

Well I think we turned a corner here.  Nursing isn’t working anymore and things have deteriorated to a point where no one is happy.  After speaking to the pediatrician, I’ve decided it’s best for the whole family to just pump and feed Syler from the bottle.  After a really rough morning I’m feeling better about things.  I’m hoping I can even find more time now for hooping and exercise.  I’m pretty sore from my first session back with a client yesterday, so that feels nice.  Another thing that feels great is hip hooping – so nice to not have the belly in the way!

Day 135 – 5/26/11 (33 days postpartum)

I’m still not into this with everything going on (sad because it’s so hard to keep up with Syler’s milk needs and I’m not ready to accept that I’ll have to supplement with him, unlike with Shayna; torn between being very busy with clients yet pressure and guilt regarding being home more; lack of sleep…).  For that reason, I’m focused on Shayna more than myself with this challenge these days.  While hooping today I told her again to dance, and after a few times she started moving slightly from side to side.  Still no real power point pushes, but we’re getting somewhere I think.

Day 137 – 5/28/11 (35 days postpartum)

It’s the middle of the night 3:30 am and I’m feeling miserable.  We’re running out of the little milk I was able to store in the freezer and Syler just keeps wanting more and more milk.  It’s amazing how different his needs are than Shayna’s, but it makes sense since he’s a boy I guess.  I’ll probably have to pick up some formula tomorrow.  (For any moms reading this, please know I totally believe it’s entirely ok to feed babies formula.  For some reason, my type A competitive personality has made it very hard for me with both Shayna and Syler to feel comfortable giving them formula.  I realize I’m being ridiculous, but just can’t seem to help it.)  Instead of going back for a nap feeling sad, something told me to hoop a little.  I challenged myself with trying to keep my core pulled in while waist hooping the whole time, and it felt good.  I also felt my sides slightly sore from the diastasis exercises, which made me happy.

*     *     *

As if it wasn’t hard enough for me to give my son formula for the first time, the poor boy had an allergic reaction to the milk. We rushed to the pediatrician’s office but luckily he had only drank a few ounces and the reaction was limited to a rash all over his face and swollen eyes.  His breathing wasn’t affected, thank Gd.  I, of course, was overwhelmed with all of it, and was sobbing in the doctor’s office.

We switched to Alimentum formula and although it took months for him to take it without a battle, he wasn’t allergic to it. I stopped participating in the Hooping Challenge that day – it was just too much for me at that time.  It took me a while to come to terms with everything, but eventually I accepted that I would pump as much as I could and I felt that I should just be thankful he wasn’t allergic to the new formula.

Supplementing with the formula did take some pressure off. I had started out pumping 8 times a day, which left no time for anything else, and left me pretty worn out and miserable. Once he started drinking the formula, I reduced my pump sessions gradually, and spent most of the year pumping the same 5 times a day as I had for my daughter.

With the nursing/pumping issues under control, I decided to put some focus back on myself.  I wanted to start training for the NYC Marathon, which would take place when I’d be about 6 months postpartum.  This is where Stage 2 set in for me.

Fitting My Breastfeeding Plan Into My Life

Although I had stopped participating in the Hooping Challenge, one thing I continued doing was journaling. For just about 3 months I wrote down everything I ate, all the workouts I did, and once in a while I journaled about how I was feeling about pumping/motherhood/workout-related issues. I had never kept a food journal before, but when I was up pumping in the middle of the night or early morning hours I was stuffing my face with whatever I could quickly get my hands on, and that left me feeling pretty bad. I hoped that by writing down everything I ate, it would give me more accountability. By 3 months postpartum I didn’t feel the need to do this anymore, but it definitely helped when I did it. I also stopped writing down all of my workouts by the time I officially started my marathon training program, but until then it helped motivate me to be as active as I could each day.

By about 8 weeks postpartum I was starting to spend a lot of time on my own workouts, and was also really busy with clients. My training program had to be as intense as it was or I wouldn’t have been able to safely prepare for the marathon. There are many areas of our body that weaken during pregnancy, and the extra weight doesn’t help. So before I could really get into any heavy mileage, I had to spend a lot of time on the basic core/hip/glute strengthening exercises that are easy to overlook when you’re pressed for time. I often had to squeeze my workouts into days jam packed with clients, when I’d spend the end of my workout worrying that I wasn’t going to have time for my full 40 minute pump before having to get to my next client. I tried to save time any way I could, like doing my post-run stretch in the bathroom at my client’s gym while pumping. One time I was in such a rush I must’ve forgotten to lock the bathroom door. I will never forget the look on the maintenance guy’s face when he opened the door on me. Having my Medela Freestyle strapped on was like a second layer of skin for me. But this poor guy – he was in complete shock at the sight!

Another day started off on the wrong foot when there was an electrical short in the apartment that scared the crap out of all of us. Both kids were terrified, especially when the handyman who came to fix the problem turned on the light switch and caused it to happen again. I couldn’t run out with them so upset, so I was late to my first client on a day when every minute counted. On my way downtown I tried to figure out how I could fit in my workout, my 2 clients, and my pumping sessions, all before my nanny left at 4 pm. I realized that I could stretch and foam roll quickly after my workout, run to the locker room and assemble the pump and change into my nursing bra, and then pump in a cab while eating breakfast on my way to my second client. I know this sounds insane, but it was the only way I could accomplish everything and still get my son his breastmilk that day.

There were many days like those in the first 4 or so months. Pumping on the go certainly was an inconvenience (and left me feeling like a freak), but it quickly became “normal” to me. I hate to admit it, but I have walked into stores, nail salons, taxis, buses, rooms filled with hundreds of people at the ECA Fitness Convention, and countless other inappropriate places – all with my pump pumping away. To be honest, that was the easiest part of all of this for me. I’m not a very shy person, so as long as my nursing cover was covering me, I dealt with the confused looks from strangers. (Does she have some sort of medical condition? Is she a porn star?) The harder part was dealing with pressure from my family who thought clients, marathon training, and pumping were too much for me.

Sticking To My Breastfeeding Plan

Just as I started feeling like things were falling into place, my husband and mother started expressing concerns about how I was spending my time, which made me feel guilty all over again. My mother felt like it wasn’t the right time to be training for the marathon, and my husband thought I was training too many clients and should be home more with the kids. I had a hard time with that initially, as I had worked so hard to build up my fitness business while I was pregnant and felt bad that I was no longer bringing in my law firm salary. I realized he was right though, and stopped taking on as many new clients.

What made me feel most guilty were comments insinuating that I could be producing more milk if I wasn’t spending so much time and energy training for the marathon, and that I wasn’t putting the kids first like I usually do. I gave it a lot of thought, but decided that I needed to do this for my own sanity. The first few months had been so rough, and I was just starting to feel like my old self again and had something really exciting to look forward to. My daughter had just started preschool (her first time separating from us), which came at an awful time when she was also adjusting to a new baby and no longer having my full attention. The tantrums and constant state of misery for weeks took its toll on me, when I was already sleep deprived and stressed because of the breastfeeding. Marathon training was my escape. It gave me something to focus on that I loved. And yes, I could have just gone to the gym or gone out for a run, but training for a marathon does something different to me. It’s something I can’t really put into words.

I didn’t allow myself to feel selfish long. We know ourselves better than anyone and are the only ones who really know what we need. I really believed training for that marathon would be the best thing for me at that time, and it was.

From then on, everything went pretty smoothly. With the marathon approaching, I started trying to figure out how I would pump on race day. I sent the email below to New York Road Runners:

*     *     *

I am running the marathon in November and am really hoping you can help me.  I have an infant at home and need to pump to express my milk quite frequently.  I need to pump as close to the time I will be running as possible – that will be the only way I can run this year, and for the reasons I explain below, it’s really important to me. I was thinking of various ideas, and I think the thing that will work best would be if I can have my husband or nanny come with me into the race area and I can pump right before I start running (it’s a small electric pump that I can walk around with while covering everything up with a nursing cover).  I pump for 40 minutes.  I won’t be able to pump at home before leaving for the ferry and then wait until after the marathon to pump again.  Completing the marathon this year has increased significance for me because I run a fitness business for moms and pregnant women and have been journaling my experience using marathon training to battle the stresses and challenges of raising a toddler and a newborn, and using the training to get back in shape.  My son has a milk allergy and stopped nursing at just a couple weeks, so it has been extremely important for me to pump as much as possible.  There have been so many challenges along the way, and so many people who thought with the two babies and breast feeding, marathon running had to wait.  I want to be able to show moms, and everyone who supports us, that it is possible, and it’s really important to stick to your goals even as a mom.  Please let me know if you can help me.  The only other thing I can think of is if I pump near the start area and a NYRR staff member can take my milk on ice packs I’d provide and they can have it for me at the finish.  I really appreciate your help.

*     *     *

I was so disappointed to receive the following in response:

*     *     *

Hi

I am sorry

We do not allow non runners on the fort

You husband can accompany you to the entrance of the fort

Then he can go back to NY via the ferry

However you must enter the staging area by 9am

*     *     *

Luckily, my mother had the best solution. I brought my pump, ice packs and storage case, and pumped twice before the race – first at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and during the bus ride to the race start, and then once we were at the fort waiting to start.  Just before lining up for the race I packed everything up and turned it into the baggage check. With this giant sweatshirt on, you could hardly tell I was pumping! I wish I had thought of using this to cover up all those times I ran around the city with my pump on!

With the marathon complete, I spent the past 5 months trying to continue pumping 4 to 5 times a day, but the more time that passed the easier it was to be less obsessive about it. I stopped planning days around pumping, so if I wanted to do a fun activity with the kids that would make a 1:00 pump really difficult, I’d skip it. I definitely felt a little guilty when I did that, but I’d remind myself that quality time together was just as important as the milk (if not more so). There were countless nights when I dreaded putting that pump on for the last pump of the night because I was just so exhausted, and I’d fall asleep sitting up with the pump doing its thing. But in the last couple of months I’ve been better about just going to bed – I knew nothing would happen if I only got to pump two or three times and there wasn’t enough milk for a full bottle that day.

Before bedtime last night I fed Syler the last bottle of breastmilk he’ll ever have. As happy as I am to get rid of all of these pumps, accessories, straps, nursing pads and pills, and to know that I will never again, for the rest of my life, need to pump, it is a little bittersweet.

My babies are growing up way too fast, and as challenging as the first year is at times, I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything in the world.

I know I’m going to have a hard time in a month when baby #2 enters the picture and I’m sleep deprived.  Did you know sleep deprivation increases your cravings?  It will definitely make it much harder, so I’m going to have to limit the sweets in the house and make sure I’m snacking on healthy foods all day long to keep my energy up and to provide enough calories for breastfeeding.

Let me know how the challenge went for you and if there are any other challenges you’d be interested in doing in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken tenders
• 1.5 TB canola/olive oil mayonnaise
• 1.5 TB low fat or fat free greek yogurt
• 1 TB skim milk
• 1/3 cup cornflake crumbs (make sure they don’t have any trans fat in them – you could easily make your own)

You’ve probably heard by now that kale is a super food.  It’s loaded with vitamin K, A, C, B6, manganese, fiber, copper, tryptophan, calcium, and potassium.  It’s also a good source of iron and other vitamins and minerals.  It really is a nutritional powerhouse!  Additionally 1 cup of cooked kale only had 36 calories!

Kale might seem intimidating, but I have to say that kale chips are becoming quite the rage these days.  They are crispy and some people like them as a substitute for potato chips.  I think they’re a delicious side dish to a meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of kale
• olive oil spray
• salt & pepper

Method:

• preheat oven to 425 degree
• bake for 5 minutes until crispy

Trick: make sure the kale is dry and place kale on a single layer – if you overlap the kale it won’t get crispy!