Sarah Baker

It wasn’t until I started working out at Exhale that I realized that Barre classes was the PERFECT solution to figuring out what workout worked for my pregnant self. When I wasn’t pregnant, barre wasn’t really my thing as I didn’t feel like I was getting an intense enough exercise. I experienced a hip problem in my second trimester and once I started going to a chiropractor, she even told me that the hip/glute targeted workouts during a barre class tremendously help hip pain while pregnant – holler! Staying in your work zone (the place where your thighs start to talk to you) lower your hips down 1 inch and lift, pulse, or lower full range – hips to heels- and lift halfway to pause.

One of my favorite fresh herbs to use is basil in all of my cobb/Italian inspired salads and mint in my Mediterranean salads. I add it to grilled chicken salads, mozzarella salads, and chilled gluten free pasta salads with cucumber, artichoke and bell peppers. Some of my favorite nuts to add to salads are pecans, walnuts and pine nuts! My favorite cheeses to add to salads are goats cheese and sheep milk feta cheese (they are easier to digest).

A diet of real food provides you with nutrients in their most bioavailable forms and alongside a host of complimentary nutrients (for example, the choline in egg yolks helps you utilize the DHA that accompanies it Liver is also one of the richest food sources of folate and vitamin B12, both key to maintaining healthy red blood cells and fostering healthy brain development in your baby. Although you may have been told not to consume fish during pregnancy as a means to limit mercury exposure, research shows that a) mercury in fish is not well-absorbed (thanks to the presence of a mineral called selenium in most seafood), b) mothers who consume more seafood have infants with better brain development (believed to be due to the DHA and iodine content of fish) and c) the best types of fish to consume are smaller fish, as they have the lowest levels of mercury (sardines and salmon). Lily’s second book, Real Food for Pregnancy, is an evidence-based look at the gap between conventional prenatal nutrition guidelines and what’s optimal for mother and baby.

I’m pumped to share how I use collagen throughout the day to boost my skin health, gut health, and anti-inflammatory defenses. It’s a protein that is what in a sense holds everything together: our skin elasticity, our joints and muscles, etc. And beauty babes love it as it helps our skin maintain its elasticity, which means it helps us keep a youthful appearance, fends off aging (wrinkles), and helps keep our skin looking just all around FABULOUS ya hear me! In your beverages and tonics: I like sipping on drinking vinegars in the afternoon to aid digestion and prevent an afternoon slump, so sometimes I’ll add a serving of collagen powder in my afternoon tonic.