Blah blah blah, salad is healthy for you (yuck!), blah blah blah eat more leafy greens (yuck!).  Perhaps some of you think this, perhaps some of you don’t.

The reality?

Dark green leafy veggies are just too darn important NOT to include them in our diets.

So, buck up and learn to work them in.  Ouch.  Sorry, I think I took my mean pill this morning.  Read on, I promise I’ll soften the blow.

Joking aside, dark green leafy vegetables offer our bodies vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (plant nutrients) that are absolutely essential for our health.  All these things help to protect and repair our cells from damage.  You’ll also find our friends those amazing omega-3 fats in many greens as well.

Iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins are just a few of the wonderful vitamins and minerals available in these highly nutritious plants.

And, don’t worry, I’m not just gonna tell you to choke them down because I’ve been there, done that and that is no way to eat!  I want us to create lasting success and my driving theory is to find a way for you to actually ENJOY them!  I’m convinced it IS possible, but you have to give some of these suggestions a try.

Also, just so we’re clear, a dark green leafy veggie includes but is not limited to the following:  spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, lettuce (the darker, the more nutritious), beet greens, dandelion greens and even cabbage.

When choosing a lettuce, don’t bother with iceberg.  It’s cousin, romaine, has 8 times the vitamin A and 6 times the vitamin C as iceberg lettuce.  A simple no-brainer that leaves you (pun intended) ahead of the game when it comes to nutrients.

It’s probably not any new news to you that we should eat dark green leafy vegetables.  So, moving on, I’ll provide us with some suggestions on how to do this with the end goal of actually LIKING it.

Suggestion #1:  Braise them. This involves cooking them down, slowly, in a pan with a small amount of liquid.  A stock of sorts will help add some flavor.

Suggestion #2:  Saute them. Using a small amount of oil in a pan you can cook them fairly quickly.  Adding a small amount of liquid in combination with the oil would also do the trick.

Suggestion #3:  Steam or boil them.

Suggestion #4:  Bake them. I’m thinking with eggs and cheese or as chips. See recipe below.

Suggestion #5:  Soup them. Leafy greens are super easy to throw in many soups.

Suggestion #6:  Flavor them. There are some common ways to flavor greens.  Try adding in some of the following for some flavorful combinations:  garlic, lemon, vinegar, hot pepper flakes, hot sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and cheese.  This is my favorite suggestion for finding new flavorful dishes!

I add cooked spinach to my pasta sauce, homemade pizzas, quesadillas, raw on sandwiches and even put it in my smoothies (cooked), which you CANNOT taste!  I try and get a leafy green every day.  Here is one of my all-time-favorite recipes.

Kale Chips

Soak kale in a bowl of water and swish around to remove dirt.  Drain and shake dry or use a salad spinner to speed up the process.  Pluck the kale leafs from the spine and put into a freezer bag or plastic container with a small amount of olive oil.  Close bag or seal plastic container and shake until leaves are lightly coated in oil.  Lay the leaves flat on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Lightly sprinkle with salt.  Should be crispy and taste strangely like a chip!

Click here for some additional recipes using lettuce.

Lindsay Polite

Education

Bachelor of Science in Special Education from Illinois State University, 2003

Certifications in Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Learning Behavior Specialist

Master of Arts in Administration and Supervision: Type 75 from National Louis University, 2007

Registered Yoga Teacher 200 hours with Yoga Alliance, 2011

Hi everyone! I am excited to be a part of the wonderful MissFIT team, as physical fitness has always been a huge component of my life. As my parents will attest, I started running at 9 months and haven’t stopped since! I have always enjoyed outdoor activities: running, swimming, biking, etc. and for a large portion of my life, I played softball. In high school, I also began coaching young girls in softball, and ran skill related clinics and taught private lessons. As I began playing softball less competitively, I began to focus more on coaching, and keeping up my fitness by running, swimming, and taking group classes (step aerobics, kickboxing, etc).

In 2004, I began my career as a Special Educator at Deerfield High School, and coached in the softball program for 7 years.

In 2007, my husband exposed me to yoga, and I fell in love with it! It was a perfect balance to my running, and it calmed my mind after a stressful day of work and coaching. I found that yoga truly balances strength and flexibility, and because it’s all about your own personal journey, it can be individualized to fit each person’s health and fitness needs. In the fall of 2010, I decided to pursue teaching training, and it has been one of the best decisions I ever made. Because yoga teacher training had such a significant impact on me, I decide to take a break from coaching and pursue a life of balance. I truly feel blessed to share yoga with others, and in turn, have students share their yoga with me!

My husband Adam and I grew up in the Libertyville area, and currently live in Gurnee, IL. We enjoy traveling the world (Thailand this summer!), cooking & eating (I believe healthy food should taste amazing!), learning new languages, laughing, listening to live music, spending time with friends and family, and living life to the fullest!

MissFIT Fresh Air Fitness

Enjoy fresh air and beautiful outdoor spaces as you get FIT!

What better way to invigorate your body than with an outdoor fitness program.

Whether you have a group of girlfriends, you are part of an organization or have a work group you would like to get fit with, we have something for you.

These Fresh Air Fitness classes are good for duet and small group training.

• Backyard Boot Camp:  A no-nonsense workout that will keep your blood pumping, feet stomping and calories burning.
• Active Outdoor Yoga:   Flow through sun salutations and other yoga postures as you lengthen, strengthen and tone your body.
• Circuit Training Trail Walks/Run: Put a pep in your step as you alternate power walking or jogging with a variety of strength training moves.
• Outside Intervals:  Up and down, in and out! This workout offers intensity and challenge as you train your cardiovascular system and test your limits.

Classes take place at an outdoor location that is convenient for your group.

8 to 12 weekly session with one of our Nationally Certified Personal Trainers

Minimum class participation of 5 women

Cost ranges from $12 to $18/class per woman (varies with number of women)

Call to customize your class  847-775-0076 www.missfitcomplete.com

MissFIT Complete offers customized, convenient & complete in-home fitness services for women.

In honor of Physical Fitnss Month, I thought I would share with you some ways we here at MissFIT stay fit!  Yes, we don’t just talk about it, we live it!  Fitness is our lives.  We get in a good workout most days.  You have read in this blog way you can keep fitness in your lives, so here is how we do it. 

I’m going to ask the trainers to comment on this post with ways they are currently getting their workouts into their busy lives.  Yes, we are professionals, wives, mothers and daughters with very much on our plates, but we MUST get our workouts in.  We know the positive benefits and wouldn’t miss it on most days. 

Here is what I have done lately.  Ssunday, yes on Mother’s Day, with 15 relatives coming for dinner, I took my dog and we ran our loop around McDonald Woods Forest Preserve.  It was a great way to let him work off some energy before the party started!  Last night my husband and I got on the bikes and rode down to Rollins Savanna on the bike trails.  Lucky for me, there are plenty of leftovers from Mother’s Day dinner (one of the benefits of being the hostess), so preparing dinner did not take long.  Anyway, who can sit inside on a beautiful evening like that?

One of my favorite trail in the north woods - Washburn Trail

Today will be a  weight training day.  I’ll go in the basement and do a good upper body workout.  Amy tells me that is what those of us on the MissFIT Dirty Girl Team need to focus on!  Oh, yea, have you signed up to join our Dirty Girl Team yet?  The race is on July 1st at the Lake County Fair Grounds.  Go to http://missfitcomplete.com/blog/2012/05/09/missfit-dirty-girl/  for details on how to join us. 

On Wednesday, I get to do Yoga with Lindsay, our newest member of the MissFIT Team.  I am new to the practice of yoga, and am really enjoying the MissFIT yoga class.  During the summer months I plan on getting to as many MissFIT Pilates classes that will be taught by Lory.  Stay tuned to the blog for the details of the class. 

Ok, trainers  now it’s your turn.  Leave a comment at the bottom of the page and tell us what you fit into your busy life.  And readers, we would like to hear from you too!

In a previous blog (link here), I mentioned ‘going guiltless’ as one of my tips for truly getting into ‘the zone’ that allows you to reach your personal wellness and fitness goals peacefully and once and for all. As I re-read that post, I realized there is so much more to going guiltless than what I said!

Here is what I said (with a couple slight modifications):

• Go Guiltless. You are you largely because of your history. So, instead of treading on all of the guilt of past fitness failures or fruitless attempts to lose weight, look at your past as the road that led to now. Accept who you are and make your faults and failures a part of that, an integral part. Then, boldly step into the path of doing it differently from today on forward.

Now that we have re-established that, here are some IMPORTANT questions I have for you:

• Do you truly want to reach your goals?
• Do preconceived notions about yourself or your capabilities hold you back?
• Can you truly say that you have confidence that you WILL reach a personal wellness, health or fitness goal when you set one?
• Can you envision yourself guiltlessly getting into a routine that allows you to reach your goals?
• Do you value your health and your body enough to meet your aspirations for good health and wellbeing?

Those are hard questions. And without an exception, one of those questions (or soemtimes multiple) that strikes a chord with my wellness coaching clients and, by sorting through the answers, they are able to begin experiencing more success. Their answers, if they are being honest with me and with themselves, reveal what holds them back from what they say they really want. But, facing those things leads to freedom to move forward.

And it all starts with that notion of ‘going guiltless’.

Everything that you have done in the past (successes and failures) have made you who you are today. They have led you to this place. So, it is counterproductive to let judgments from your past stop you from moving forward. It’s like holding your breath….and holding it…..and holding it….until you burst! So, exhale and accept the past and all you have done as learning and building experiences.

Think about it–so often our perceptions of ourselves BASED ON PAST EXPERIENCE hold us back. I say, ‘challenge your perception of YOU so that you can more freely achieve what you really want!’

Go guiltless as you confidently approach newly set goals!

As women, as moms, as human beings we walk around shouldering a lot of ideas about who we think need to be. But who is really defining that for you? Even for me, there is a lot of pressure to be defined by those around me whether is it that group of moms who can put their children into the most prestigious of programs or the business people who work 60 hour weeks to keep the wheels turning–neither of which are ways that I want to define ‘ME’.

If you do choose a group in your personal wellness goals, choose ladies that can support you like these long time MissFIT clients!

I have my own goals and ideas about who I want to be and what I want to accomplish. And so do you!

When it comes to health and fitness, I want to encourage you to set your goals and stick with them. Avoid the pressure to do or don’t do something based on those around you. (Funny how peer pressure continues right on into adulthood, isn’t it?) Stand firm in what perspective and approach will lead you to the personal wellness vision you have for yourself.  Who cares what every other mom on the block is doing!? What they do is not making your body any better!

Go guiltlessly as you confidently define what will help you reach your goals!

Forging Guiltlessly Forward,

Katie