By Ellie Krieger

Foodnetwork Recipe Link *Be sure to Save this one in your Recipe Box! Click Here to watch Ellie in action: Recipe Video Link

Here is another great recipe by Ellie to make a classic even better. I followed this one exactly and it turned out perfectly! What a fun desert to bring to your next BBQ. Healthy eating can be a hard change to swallow, but this recipe makes the transition a little bit more sweet. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole-grain pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 3 medium Golden Delicious apples, unpeeled
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup dried tart cherries
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze:

• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon boiling water

Directions

There are a variety of reasons that having a strong PC muscle is beneficial for a lifetime of health. From childbirth to sexual intercourse to urination and bowel movements, strengthening your PC muscle is pivotal. I bet you’re doing Kegels right now!

Check out the normal female anatomy to your left. I’ve best heard the PC muscle (aka Pelvic Floor Muscles) described as the hammock of muscles attached to your pubic bone wrapping around your vagina, urethra and rectum.  If your PC muscle is in shape, it will support your inner organs, keeping them up high and in place.   

How to Kegel

First, you must identify your PC muscle. The next time you are urinating, with your knees apart stop the flow without putting your knees back together.  Kegel Exercises are very simple, it is the same squeezing sensation, however you can squeeze stronger and tighter when off the toilet.  Try doing 10 right now. You might find it harder than you would think.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

During labor, once mom has fully dilated and is ready to deliver, the baby is pushed out through the birth canal (or more well-known as the vagina or vaginal barrel).  You know every new mother’s fear and every new father’s worst nightmare for postpartum… ”Will sex be like throwing a hot dog down a hallway?” Thank you for that image Jenny McCarthy. Well, Kegels are the first exercise your doctor will give you the green light to start after delivery. I diverge. 

Your Vaginal Barrel/Birth Canal is supported by the PC muscle. So, if you have a strong PC muscle you have a well-supported tight vaginal barrel and birth canal (more like a hot dog in a bun than a hallway). Whereas if you are lacking PC tone, your vaginal barrel is loose, short and saggy… the hallway issue. When the baby comes down the birth canal, the saggy tissue can be pulled forward causing tension,  making it harder to push your baby through. Potentially causing pinched and torn tissue. With a strong hammock the baby can pass through the well-supported tissue easily. In fact, a strong PC muscle will make this part of delivery easier where the tight canal keeps the babies chin down and in a better position. Stong PC muscles also help mom have more controlled pushing which becomes more important as the baby crowns.

Urinary Incontinence & Pelvic Prolapse

During pregnancy it is normal for ligaments and muscles to loosen. Most pregnant woman experience urine leakage when they laugh, sneeze, cough or run. Kegels will help limit urinary incontinence in this situation and all through life as we age.  Pelvic Prolapse is a bit more serious and is a result of a weak PC muscle. Basically, Pelvic Prolapse is when your pelvic organs slip down too low because the muscle is not supporting the organs adequately. Take a look at the Diagram from Healthwise, Inc. above. In the image on your left, see how the uterus is up and pointing towards the belly button. In the image on the right the PC muscle has started to weaken and the uterus is dropping putting pressure on the bladder and vagina.

Sex

We already touched on this topic a little already with the whole hotdog and hallway metaphor. But there is even more… With a tight PC muscle women can have more orgasms. It makes sense really, if you have a tight barrel, it makes more contact with your partner’s penis. A loose barrel tends to get pulled in uncomfortable ways. In long-term un-supported pelvic floors, as the bladder and uterus drop as shown above, intercourse may become uncomfortable. Need even more incentive: The PC muscle also has two one-centimeter spots in the muscle that are loaded with nerve endings similar to the clitoris. Let the Kegels Begin!

Kegels for Men (The PC/BC Muscle)

Kegels aren’t just for women, they are just as important for men.  A stong PC muscle for men can mean stronger erections and more control over ejaculations, along with of course prevention of urinary and bowel incontinence. “Research published in 2005 issue of BJU International, have shown that pelvic floor exercises could help restore erectile function in men with erectile dysfunction.” AskMen.com has a great article if you’re looking for exercise routines and how to find a man’s PC muscle.

Getting into a Routine

The hardest part of the Kegel Exercise is remembering to do them! Once you get the hang of it you can do them anywhere, anytime. Red lights, washing dishes, watching TV, reading a book… anything you can think of to get your sets in everyday. I have found several differing opinions of what the right routine is for getting into Kegels. Dr. Kegel recommended 300 a day whereas other sites start you off with 50- so do your research and figure out the right amount for you. Concentrating on keeping your buttocks and abdominal muscles relaxed, flex your whole PC muscle deep inside. Try breaking up the sets with 100 in the morning, 100 midday and 100 at night. Once your PC muscle is in good shape start trying to hold for 10 seconds. If you are thinking about the Bradley Method they have a wonderful breakout of kegel exercises for pregnancy in their book, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way.

Did you know caesarean’s peak at 4pm and 10pm? Oddly the same time doctors’ shifts typically end.

I am starting the process of picking my OBGYN or Midwife or Both and I want to schedule my preconception visit within the next month or two.  I think it’s safe to say at this point I clearly want a natural delivery and that I don’t want any interventions unless, well, absolutely necessary. So let the research begin. The question, “Where is the safest place and who is the safest most qualified person to delivery my baby?”

Fact #1: Where?

•  According to the 2007 Unicef Innocenti Research Centre Report, of all the developed nations, you don’t want to have your baby in America. “America’s negative maternal and child health outcomes relative to other developed nations ranked [us] 41st in maternal mortality, 29th in infant mortality, and 30th in preterm births.” Based on the report by: Michael C. Lu & Jessica S. Lu  LINK 

Unicef Source Link  

Fact #2:  Who?

Check out The Business of Being Born, it’s on-demand on Netflix, best movie yet!               

• Midwives only attend 8% of births in the US whereas they attend 70-80% in the other countries ahead of us in the pretty blue Unicef chart above. 
• The number of Home Births in the US is only about 0.65% of all deliveries. Whereas the Netherlands, the leading country on infant mortality has 30% of their births at home with a midwife.

Fact #3:   When?             

• November 2009 CDC NCHS Data Brief says: “The percentage of preterm births in the United States has risen 36% since 1984… In 2004, 1 in 8 infants born in the United States were born preterm, compared with 1 in 18 in Ireland and Finland. Preterm infants have much higher rates of death or disability than infants born at 37 weeks of gestation or more, so the United States’ higher percentage of preterm births has a large effect on infant mortality rates.”
• Many American doctors induce an early labor or schedule a cesarean section before 37 weeks. In 2006, labor was induced in nearly 16 percent of preterm births and 36 percent were C-section deliveries. NPR

Fact #3: Why?

• African-American babies are far more likely to die than white ones, which is often taken as evidence that poverty and lack of health insurance are to blame. That’s entirely plausible until you notice another racial/ethnic gap: Hispanics of Mexican or Central or South American ancestry not only do consistently better than blacks on infant mortality, they do better than whites. LINK

So, if money isn’t a factor, then why are American women and our babies worse off? Is it the growing obesity epidemic? Is it our lifestyle? Yes, I think those things can greatly affect fertility and infant mortality.  However, I also think an entire medical infrastructure geared towards interventions might be playing a key role as well.

I am going to look into having a midwife perhaps along side an OBGYN.  Whether it’s at home, a birth center or in a hospital is still up in the air. But, I think we have to rule out a home birth because it’s not covered by our insurance. I am leaning towards a water birth in a birthing center - just the idea of it relaxes me. I am really fortunate to be going through this process in Portland, Oregon. This state is much more accustom to natural births, so if we go the hospital route it will be easier to do the natural thing with the support of the staff.  But it will all come down to whether or not I am low risk. Fingers crossed.

My plan: Interview several OBGYNs and Midwives to figure out who will be my birth attendant. Second interview for my birth educator, these must be two different people not affiliated with the same practice. It’s like creating a built-in second opinion.  I will be using a certified Bradley instructor. Bradley students have a 90% success rate of having a completely natural delivery! Ask your birth educator what their success rate is. Tour hospitals and birthing centers to find a place to labor!

It’s sad really, how women have lost trust in their own bodies. Women are seemingly terrified of the pain of labor- they want someone else to be in control. I suppose I was one of them until recently. With all the cultural images of horrible, life-threatening labors with terrified, drugged-up, screaming women… I’m not surprised we’re afraid.  But have you ever seen a labor with a woman who has been trained and educated for a natural delivery? A women who has a support staff who know how to comfort and help her during this time?

Imagine if the media’s portrayal of birth looked more like the image to your left than the image to your right? Do you think women would be less afraid?

For me, when you hear about the side effects of drugs so eagerly administered by your doctor, the number one thing that tips the scales is the opportunity to bond with your baby after birth.  I did a little research to see what the difference is between a natural delivery and one with medication.

In a natural labor, the mother’s Oxytocin neurons start releasing oxytocin into her brain. Oxytocin is the bonding, protective, love hormone. Those hormones then travel down the blood stream and into the uterus triggering contractions. This is when science believes the switch to the maternal brain gets turned on - where the brain love cocktail was developed by mother nature to keep the new mom focused on her helpless infant. The result; a state of complete and total dependence.

But what happens if nature doesn’t take over and doctors step in to use drugs to induce labor? Remember Pitocin? Pitocin is an extremely common drug given to mothers in their IV to help move things along.  It is also the synthetic version of Oxytocin.  But Pitocin doesn’t act like normal oxytocin would in the brain, perhaps preventing the natural hormones from working the way they are supposed to.  Perhaps preventing the love cocktail from being switched on.

So what would happen if these hormones weren’t released? Looking at other mammals for some clues, the bond between mother and infant is almost always compromised if labor is not done naturally.   For example, if a monkey has a caesarean they completely lose interest in their infant and make no attempt to take care of it.  Now don’t get me wrong, if you must have an emergency c-section it doesn’t mean you are making the wrong choice for your baby and it doesn’t mean you’re not going to be the best mother. But if it does come down to choice… I’m not going to choose a synthetic version of something I produce naturally.

If you need more proof! Ruth Feldman, psychology professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, did a study to demonstrate the link between Oxytocin levels in a mother during pregnancy through postpartum and it’s relationship to bonding with her baby.  The study found that the “increase in {higher levels of naturally occurring Oxytocin} from early to late pregnancy correlated with higher maternal-fetal bonding.”

Movement. Did you know lying on your back actually makes your pelvis smaller? It also makes it much more likely you’ll need an episiotomy or forceps or the vacuum to assist in your delivery. It is however more convenient for your doctor if you are lying down. Once you have been administered any drugs most hospitals require you to be hooked up to fetal monitoring 24/7 because you are now considered high-risk, hence wired-in bed restriction. Otherwise, should a woman in labor accommodate her doctor by lying down on the job? Dop! Standing, walking, squatting, moving your hips helps maneuver the baby…out!

The Domino Effect of Interventions             

 How can we expect a mom to follow her birth plan if her support is more comfortable with the path of intervention? Any time you tell a mother, especially one that is in labor, your baby could die if we don’t do this, of course the mom is going to do whatever you are asking/telling her to do.       

1. Begin first with Pitocin to quicken the pace of labor or administer an Epidural to help mom relax.
2. Downsides: Pitocin makes contractions longer, stronger, faster and closer together than they would be in a normal, natural, childbirth. 
3. Downsides: Epidurals slow down the process of labor.
4. So, if you started with an Epidural, doctors will want to give you Pitocin to quicken the pace. But that means you’ll probably need to up the epidural to deal with the increased pain.
5. If you started with Pitocin, they’ll want to administer the Epidural to help mom cope with the increased pain. But this will slow down your progress so you’ll need to up the Pitocin.
6. So guess what?! Let’s ping-pong back and forth between upping the Pitocin and upping the Epidural! It’s the domino/snowball effect, and once you start there’s no turning back.
7. Downside: Now your baby is going through the birth process faster and harsher than mother nature intended. The result:  your baby is being deprived oxygen and blood flow during these longer and stronger contractions… potentially causing your baby to go into distress.
8. All resulting in the growing statistic that your labor will end in a C-Section, Forceps or Vacuum delivery.

But Thank God the Doctors were there with all their interventions!!!

Let’s not forget all of the side-effects of these medications. Read this great article on the Pros and Cons of getting an epidural. Look especially at the effects on the fetus and newborn. The risks far outweigh the benefits for me.   

It doesn’t just end with Pitocin, here are some more drugs you should be aware of before going to the hospital… there is always a side effect.

*All cervical-ripening and induction agents can cause uterine hyperstimulation, which can negatively affect the blood supply to the fetus and increases the risk of complications such as uterine rupture.

There is frankly so much to talk about here, if you want to learn more about a drug free delivery check out the Bradley Method. Joe and I will definitely be taking these classes to prepare us for a natural childbirth. Just check out the price difference for this 12-week class compared to some of the other options. You will be amazed! Find an instructor in your area by clicking here.

A little birthing history…                 

• In the beginning of the 1900′s 95% of all births in the United States were at home.
• During this time the medical community began to produce the first real crop of OBGYN’s, who all needed patients. Lobbyists began a very effective smear campaign against midwives to help convert those patients out of their homes and bring them into the hospitals. They claimed that midwives were the local witch doctors, unclean, uneducated grannies from the old country etc… versus the cleaner, safer and educated doctors and their facilities.
  • It occurs to me that perhaps cleaner was an important factor during the early 1900′s. However it was much riskier to be delivered by a MD at this time than a midwife. But is clean still a concern today?
• In the early 1900′s the  Twilight Sleep (aka Scopolomine Method,  Freiburg Method, or Dämmerschlaf Method) was introduced. The combination or morphine  and scopolomine  ”induced a semi-narcotic state which produces the experience of childbirth without pain, or without the memory of pain.” Remember at this time women were still taught that the pain of child-birth was God’s punishment for Eve taking the apple from the Garden of Eden. But what also came with the loss of memory was a loss of self-awareness and control.  Women were strapped to beds with lambs wools to protect them… protect them from themselves. This method was of course discontinued.
  • Can we say Twilight Zone anyone? Woman were strapped in with Lambs Wool specifically so their husbands wouldn’t know they were restrained. Remember, fathers still waited in the waiting rooms until the 70′s.
• In the 1930′s every pregnant woman’s pelvis was x-rayed. In the 1940′s they found out the x-rays were giving babies cancer and this method was finally discontinued.
• By 1938 only half of all births were at home.
• In the 1950′s and 60′s there was a drug called Thalidomide which had the unfortunate side effect of causing babies to be born without arms and legs. Once doctors realized this relationship, this method was discontinued.
• By 1955 less than 1% of births took place at home. Which is still the case today.
• In the 1970′s we came so close to moving back out of the hospital with the hippy era when woman realized the horrors of Twilight Sleep. But the medical community reacted and came out with the electronic fetal monitor and cesareans rose from 4% to 23%.
  • More to come on fetal monitoring as I do more research. But one study found that in two groups of premature babies, ”the incidence of cerebral palsy was 20% in the EFM group and 8% in the group that was monitored by auscultation.” Ask your OBGYN or Midwife about Auscultation as an alternative. But most hospitals have some sort of policy so work on a compromise with intermittent monitoring if all looks good, perhaps with a doppler.
• In the 1990′s Cytotec was given to induce labor in women who have already had a cesarean. This caused hundreds of ruptured uterus’ and many infant deaths.  In 1999 this method was discontinued.

So, clearly, I advocate for a drug free labor. Don’t get me wrong, when something goes wrong, thank god for the drugs! I’m just not willing to take a chance with all the potential side-effects and messing around with mother nature if it’s not absolutely necessary.  I just wonder what are they going to discontinue next… Some hospitals are up to 45% of all deliveries are done via C-Section. It’s a growing trend towards convenience.

Person: So, what do you do?           

Me: I am an advocate for Women’s Health.           

Person: Wow! That is so cool, so what do you actually do? (Okay, okay, I am just hoping for this response.)          

Me: Well, it started during my preconception months. I wanted to figure out what health choices I was willing or able to make to help give my baby the best odds. I assumed it would end with what pre-natal vitamins I would choose, but my research led me to realize that American women and our newborns have one of the highest mortality rates of any developed country. My passion has branched from here.    

There are three components to a woman’s health. I want the Trifecta.  Nutrition, Exercise, and the Process (Drugs vs. Natural) There are the choices you make and the choices that are made for you.

Step One: Enroll in a Nutrition program.

Step Two: Have a baby, naturally of course.

Step Three…. I am still working on that.

PS. Check out this fun ETSY store featuring the maternity tee above.

I cooked our burgers on the George Foreman Grill for about five – seven minutes each. YUM! Click here to see the recipe on foodnetwork and add it to your recipe box.

Ingredients

For the yogurt sauce:

• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek style yogurt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper

For the burgers:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey breast
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 whole-wheat burger buns
• 1/4 English cucumber, thinly sliced
• 4 small leaves romaine lettuce, hard ribs removed

Directions

Click here to see how Ellie does it.

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, oil, lemon juice, garlic, dill, and salt and pepper.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the feta cheese, dill and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to combine.

Divide the turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round so you have 8 patties total. Put 2 tablespoons of the spinach-feta mixture onto half of the patties. Top with remaining patties working the turkey around the edges to seal burgers closed. Season the burgers on both sides with the salt and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat, or prepare the grill. Grill the patties until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

To serve, place a burger on the bottom half of each bun, top with about 2 tablespoons of yogurt sauce, then 2 or 3 cucumber slices and a lettuce leaf. Top with the other half of the bun and serve.

Per Serving:

Calories 360; Total Fat 10 g; (Sat Fat 2.5 g, Mono Fat 4 g, Poly Fat 1.5 g) ; Protein 42 g; Carb 29 g; Fiber 4 g; Cholesterol 65 mg; Sodium 650 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Vitamin A, Manganese, Selenium

Good source of: Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus

When I hear the Canola haters speak I find their argument rather compelling. Olive Oil comes from Olives, but what is a Canola? Where does it come from?   Initially, the rapeseed plant was used to create oil for lubrication, particularly in World War II.  After the war farmers were left to figure out what to do with their surplus. Rapeseed oil contains high levels of Erucic Acid which is toxic to humans, so scientists began to create, cross-breed, and use selective breeding to create a consumable oil. Originally called LEAR (low erucic acid rapeseed), someone thought about their brand image and changed it to Canola Oil.  After a quick Wikipedia search it turns out “the name ‘canola’ was derived from ‘Canadian oil, low acid’ in 1978.” Okay, that doesn’t sound so bad. But in 1998 scientists genetically engineered (GMO) the latest strain to be disease and drought resistant. So why is this engineered plant so popular in the health sector?

According to www.Canolainfo.org Canola Oil comes from Canola seeds. They just leave out that before science started playing with mother nature, that seed never existed. But let’s be fair and hear why Canola Oil is so good for us. Canola Oil believers say that their oil is the healthiest option out there. Even one of my pre-natal books advises moms-to-be to use Canola Oil for its high levels of Omega-3.

Canola oil is low in saturated fat, is high in monounsaturated fat, and has a beneficial omega-3 fatty acid profile. The Canola Council of Canada states that it is completely safe and is the “healthiest” of all commonly used cooking oils.^[18] It has well established heart health benefits^[19] and is recognized by many health professional organizations including the American Dietetic Association, and American Heart Association, among others.^{[20][21][22][23]} Canola oil has been authorized a qualified health claim from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration^[24] based on its ability to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease due to its unsaturated fat content.

Well, that is oftly convincing. But what about the genetically engineered part? How many studies can there possibly be on this new engineered oil to establish it as comparable to the health benefits of Olive Oil?  Natural News has a great link on the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly sides of Canola Oil. If the industry is using it primarily because it is a cheap substitute for oils in our processed foods, there are some red flags for me. First lets look at how Canola Oil is made. Olive oil simply comes from pressing the oil out of the olives. But the process for extracting the oil out of Canola seeds is a little bit more complex. “The procedure involves a combination of high-temperature mechanical pressing and solvent extract, usually using hexane. Hexane! Even after considerable refining, traces of the solvent remain. Like most vegetable oils, Canola oil also goes through the process of bleaching, degumming, deodorizing, and caustic refining, at very high temperatures. This process can alter the omega-3 content in the oil, and in certain conditions bring the trans fat level as high as 40 percent.” Well there goes my whole reason for switching!

You might argue that the FDA says it is safe for humans. Well the FDA also prohibits Canola oil from being used in infant formula. That is reason enough for me to not put it into my body for pre-conception, pre-natal and throughout nursing.

Be sure to check out the recipe link above, Food Network has great quick videos that accompany a recipe. Basically so you can get a visual of what it should be looking like, ha!

*I substituted Soy for the 1 1/2 cups milk and it turned out great. Anyone have a good non-dairy substitute for buttermilk? I need to try Almond butter next too!

Ingredients

For the filling:

• Cooking spray
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups lowfat milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup peas, thawed if frozen
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

For the biscuit crust:

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk

Directions

To make the filling: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large shallow casserole dish, or 6 individual casserole dishes with cooking spray.

Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the chicken with its juices to a bowl. .

Add 2 more teaspoons of oil to the same pan and heat it over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the green beans, garlic and remaining salt and pepper and cook for 2 minute more. Add the milk. Stir the flour into the broth until it is completely dissolved and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes more. Return the chicken with its juices back to the pan. Add the peas and thyme and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish or individual dishes.

To make the crust: Put the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 12 times, or until pebble sized pieces are formed.

Add the buttermilk then oil to the food processor and pulse until just moistened. Do not over mix. Drop the batter in 6 mounds on top of the chicken mixture (1 mound on each individual dish, if using) spreading the batter out slightly. Bake until filling is bubbling and the biscuit topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

• Nutritional analysis per serving
• Calories 400
• Total Fat 17 g
• (Sat Fat 5.7 g, Mono Fat 7.7 g, Poly Fat 2.7 g)
• Protein 31 g
• Carb 31 g
• Fiber 5 g
• Cholesterol 82 mg
• Sodium 600 mg

Excellent source of: Protein, Fiber, Vitamin A, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium

Good source of: Thiamin, Vitamin B12, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iodine, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc”

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