Meal-Prep Tips for a Manageable Back-to-School Menu

The hustle and bustle of back-to-school season can cause chaos in households. Class time, field trips and homework typically rule each day, which can make sitting down for a meal seem like a far-off dream. One easy way to save time is simplifying family recipes and prioritizing meal-planning.

Consider these meal-planning tips from the experts at Healthy Family Project, whose partners are donating $16,000 to the Foundation for Fresh Produce to support children’s accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables.

Choose the meals you plan to make for the week. Cut down on prep time by planning dishes with overlapping ingredients then write out a grocery list to keep from overbuying. Recipes like this Southwest Quiche Muffins Bento Box that include a brief list of widely used ingredients can help you avoid buying items you may only use once.

Stock the kitchen with ingredients your family often uses. Ensure you have the spices, seasonings, condiments, sauces and canned foods to prepare favorite meals at a moment’s notice.

Save time by washing and prepping produce once each week. For example, if you’re using sweet peppers in these Mini Sweet Pepper Sheet Pan Nachos and again in another meal that week, prep all at once so they’re ready when it’s time to cook – just be sure to store in an airtight container.

Serve quick snacks that won’t spoil dinner. Kids often need a little fuel for homework, but complicated snacks can cut into already busy schedules. Keep ingredients on hand for simple options like trail mix, fruit parfaits and meat and cheese wraps.

Use kitchen tools that speed up the process. Pressure cookers and air fryers can help you put nutritious meals on the table faster while slow cookers let you prep in the morning and come home to a hot, delicious dinner.

Visit HealthyFamilyProject.com to find more back-to-school recipes.

Mini Sweet Pepper Sheet Pan Nachos

Recipe courtesy of Healthy Family Project
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4

• 8          ounces Pero Family Farms Mini Sweet Peppers, cut into chip shapes
• 7          ounces tortilla chips
• 1/2       cup sweet or red onion, diced.
• 1/2       cup canned or fresh corn
• 1/2       cup queso fresco cheese
• 1/4       cup black olives
• 1/4       cup jalapeno peppers, fresh sliced
• 1/4       cup cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 1          lime, cut into thin wedges, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Place peppers and tortilla chips on sheet pan. Layer onion, corn, cheese, black olives and jalapeno peppers. Bake 3-5 minutes.
3. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Southwest Quiche Muffins Bento Box

Recipe courtesy of Healthy Family Project
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 12

• 8          large eggs
• 1/2       cup milk
• nonstick cooking spray
• 3/4       cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2       cup chopped Nature Fresh Farms Tomz tomatoes
• 1/3       cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4       small RealSweet sweet onion, chopped
• 1/2       cup vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/4       cup granola
• 1/2       Zespri SunGold kiwi, chopped
• 1          Bee Sweet Citrus mandarin, peeled and segmented

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. In large bowl, whisk eggs and milk.
3. Coat 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or use silicone muffin liners. Evenly divide beans, tomatoes, cheese and onion among cups. Pour eggs over top.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until eggs are set and lightly browned.
5. Remove from oven and cool in pan 2-3 minutes. Use knife to loosen edges and remove.
6. In cup or bowl, mix yogurt, granola and kiwi.
7. Assemble bento box with two quiche muffins, kiwi parfait and mandarin slices.

SOURCE:
Healthy Family Project

American Drilling

 

Deep underground, robotic teamwork saves the day

Deploying a motley crew of robots that can roll, walk and fly is a smart strategy for search-and-rescue operations — and so is trusting the machines to make decisions on the ground

By Kurt Kleiner

When a Manhattan parking garage collapsed in April this year, rescuers were reluctant to stay in the damaged building, fearing further danger. So they used a combination of flying drones and a doglike walking robot to inspect the damage, look for survivors and make sure the site was safe for human rescuers to return.

Despite the robot dog falling over onto its side while walking over a pile of rubble — a moment that became internet-famous — New York Mayor Eric Adams called the robots a success, saying they had ensured there were no overlooked survivors while helping keep human rescuers safe.

Soon, rescuers may be able to call on a much more sophisticated robotic search-and-rescue response. Researchers are developing teams of flying, walking and rolling robots that can cooperate to explore areas that no one robot could navigate on its own. And they are giving robots the ability to communicate with one another and make many of their own decisions independent of their human controller.

Such teams of robots could be useful in other challenging environments like caves or mines where it can be difficult for rescuers to find and reach survivors. In cities, collapsed buildings and underground sites such as subways or utility tunnels often have hazardous areas where human rescuers can’t be sure of the dangers.

Operating in such places has proved difficult for robots. “You have mud, rock, rubble, constrained passages, large open areas … Just the range and complexity of these environments present a lot of mobility challenges for robots,” says Viktor Orekhov, a roboticist and a a technical advisor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which has been funding research into the field.

Underground spaces are also dark and can be full of dust or smoke if they are the site of a recent disaster. Even worse, the rock and rubble can block radio signals, so robots tend to lose contact with their human controller the farther they go.

Despite these difficulties, roboticists have made progress, says Orekhov, who coauthored an overview of their efforts in the 2023 Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems.

One promising strategy is to use a mix of robots, with some combination of treads, wheels, rotors and legs, to navigate the different spaces. Each type of robot has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. Wheeled or treaded robots can carry heavy payloads, and they have big batteries that allow them to operate for a long time. Walking robots can climb stairs or tiptoe over loose rubble. And flying robots are good at mapping out big spaces quickly.

There are also robots that carry other robots. Flying robots tend to have relatively short battery lives, so rescuers can call on “marsupials” — wheeled, treaded or legged robots that carry the flying robots deep into the area to be explored, releasing them when there is a big space that needs to be mapped.

A team of robots also allows for different instruments to be used. Some robots might carry lights, others radar, sonar or thermal imaging tools. This diversity allows different robots to see under varied conditions of light or dust. All of the robots, working together, provide the humans that deploy them with a constantly growing map of the space they are working in.

Although teams of robots are good for overall mobility, they present a new problem. A human controller can have difficulty coordinating such a team, especially in underground environments, where thick walls block out radio signals.

One solution is to make sure the robots can communicate with one another. That allows a robot that’s gone deeper and lost radio contact with the surface to potentially relay messages through other robots that are still in touch. Robots could also extend the communications range by dropping portable radio relays, sometimes called “bread crumbs,” while on the move, making it easier to stay in contact with the controller and other robots.

Even when communication is maintained, though, the demands of operating several robots at once can overwhelm a single person. To solve that problem, researchers are working on giving the robots autonomy to cooperate with one another.

In 2017, DARPA funded a multiyear challenge to develop technologies for robots deployed underground. Participants, including engineers working at universities and technology companies, had to map and search a complex subterranean space as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The teams that performed best at this task were those who gave the robots some autonomy, says Orekhov. When robots lost touch with one another and their human operator, they could explore on their own for a certain amount of time, then return to radio range and communicate what they had found.

One team, from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), took this further by designing its robots to make decisions cooperatively, says Navinda Kottege, a CSIRO roboticist who led the effort. The robots themselves decided which tasks to undertake — whether to map this room, explore that corridor or drop a communications node in a particular spot.

The robots also decided how to split up the work most effectively. If a rolling robot spotted a corridor that was too narrow to enter, a smaller walking robot could come and take over the job. If one robot needed to upload information to the base station, it might transmit it to a robot that was nearer to the entrance, and ask that robot to walk back to within communications range.

“There were some very interesting emergent behaviors. You could see robots swapping tasks amongst themselves based on some of those factors,” Kottege says.

In fact, the human operator can become the weak link. In one effort, a CSIRO robot wouldn’t enter a corridor, even though an unexplored area lay beyond it. The human operator took over and steered the robot through — but it turned out that the corridor had an incline that was too steep for the robot to manage. The robot knew that, but the human didn’t.

“So it did a backflip, and it ended up crushing the drone on its back in the process,” Kottege says.

To correct the problem, the team built a control system that lets the human operator decide on overall strategy, such as which parts of the course to prioritize, and then trusts the robots to make the on-the-ground decisions about how to get it done. “The human support could kind of mark out an area in the map, and say, ‘This is a high priority area, you need to go and look in that area,’” Kottege says. “This was very different than them picking up a joystick and trying to control the robots.”

This autonomous team concept broke new ground in robotics, says Kostas Alexis, a roboticist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology whose team ultimately won the challenge. “The idea that you can do this completely autonomously, with a single human controlling the team of robots, just providing some high-level commands here and there … it had not been done before.”

There are still problems to overcome, Orekhov notes. During the competition, for example, many robots broke down or got stuck and needed to be hauled off the course when the competition was over. After just an hour, most teams had only one or two functioning robots left.

But as robots become better, teams of them may one day be able to go into a hazardous disaster site, locate survivors and report back to their human operators with a minimum of supervision.

“There’s definitely lots more work that can and needs to be done,” Orekhov says. “But at the same time, we’ve seen the ability of the teams advanced so rapidly that even now, with their current capabilities, they’re able to make a significant difference in real-life environments.”

Kurt Kleiner is a freelance writer living in Toronto.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews.

After Covid-19, can mRNA vaccines help with cancer as well?

The pandemic put the technology, long in development, to the test. Here’s a look at the status of its application to cancer and when it might reach patients.

By Tim Vernimmen

Vaccines against Covid-19 were delivered with remarkable and unprecedented speed. The ones pioneered by Moderna in the US and BioNTech in Germany introduced the lay public to a new kind of shot: one that includes mRNA, the nucleic acid that normally carries genetic instructions from the cell nucleus to the part of the cell where proteins are made.

How could this novel technology have come together so rapidly?

In fact, the approach had long been in the works, although it was not initially intended to prevent viral disease. Rather, it was focused on treating cancer, explains Özlem Türeci, cofounder and chief medical officer of BioNTech, the company that developed the Covid-19 vaccine with Pfizer.

The anti-cancer rationale goes like this: Since each tumor contains a multitude of genetic mutations that do not occur elsewhere in the body, this should in theory allow our immune system to recognize and destroy those cells. Alas, tumors are known to suppress the immune system. In response, scientists have developed various drugs and treatments to stimulate the immune system in cancer patients.

But another problem is that many tumor mutations slip through the net. So some researchers have proposed a more focused approach to alert immune cells to cancer mutations they do not spontaneously target — something more like a vaccine, which usually works by exposing people to an inactivated pathogen or some of its signature molecules. This primes the immune system for immediate action should the active pathogen show up. In a similar vein, the scientists reasoned it might be possible to present the patient’s immune system with specific bits of cancer tissue, to train it to attack the tumor more vigorously.

The benefit of using mRNA for this job is not just that it can be manufactured relatively quickly, but that it is also very flexible. The genetic signature of a tumor is different in every person and, as time progresses, it continues to change. This means that vaccines would ideally be tailor-made, and repeatedly so — an expensive and time-consuming proposition if one is manufacturing bits of key tumor protein in the lab, which was a very common way of producing vaccines before mRNA arrived. Proteins are built from a score of different amino acids, have complicated three-dimensional structures and tend to clump together when something goes wrong.

So, what if we could just make specific pieces of mRNA instead, inject them into the body, and let the cells build the corresponding proteins themselves? Wouldn’t that be much easier?

In the approach BioNTech developed, explains Türeci, mRNA can be injected into the body and targeted towards the lymph nodes, where it is translated into protein by immune cells known as dendritic cells. These cells then display the protein on their surfaces, where they train the T cells that patrol our tissues to find and eliminate any intruders that display the same signature.

The Covid-19 pandemic put the strategy to the test: Within a year, two highly effective mRNA vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus were developed, tested and rolled out — one from Pfizer-BioNTech, one from Moderna, each slightly different. Both vaccines contained the code for making a stabilized version of the spike protein that the virus uses to get into cells. The spike protein code was inserted into mRNA with a backbone that had been optimized by decades of research. This mRNA was then packaged in specific lipids to ensure it would reach its lymph-node destination.

Türeci, who coauthored an article about mRNA vaccines against cancer for the Annual Review of Medicine in 2019, recently talked with Knowable Magazine about the development of mRNA vaccines for cancer and how close they are to reaching patients, for whom new therapies are sorely needed.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

When did you start developing cancer vaccines, and why did you think mRNA would work best?

This did not happen overnight. It was a decades-long journey that started in the 1990s. We had a vision that was considered science fiction at the time: We wanted to develop cancer vaccines to shrink tumors. Every patient’s cancer is unique, because it is the result of random mutations, so we wanted to develop individualized vaccines that would activate the patient’s immune system against their own tumor.

We tested various approaches and identified mRNA as the one with the highest potential for the purpose of developing truly individualized cancer vaccines. Synthetic mRNA is produced by a simple process, and it looks very much like natural mRNA. It delivers the blueprint of the protein — the vaccine antigen — for the body’s cells to produce.

Yet we also realized that significant improvements would be needed. Over the past decades, we have addressed these shortcomings.

Our discoveries led to the mRNA technology platform that we use today for our product candidates against cancer, infectious diseases and other severe diseases. In addition to our own research in the 1990s, a small group of other scientists also worked on mRNA. Our advances as well as theirs provided the tailwind for the broader scientific community.

What have been the most crucial breakthroughs that allowed you to get to this point?

The fundamental problem of mRNA was its low potency. Even large doses of mRNA produce little protein and, consequently, had little effect. That is why, in the late 1990s, few in the industry believed in mRNA as a new class of drugs; mRNA vaccines tested at that time elicited poor immune responses.

Our team spent years researching each element of the mRNA backbone and discovered various modifications that increased the stability of the mRNA and its translation into protein. This way, we created mRNA backbones with a more than thousandfold increased efficacy to trigger immune responses.

The next piece of the puzzle was to find out how to get the mRNA vaccine to the right cells in the body, and which cells these might be. In 2004, we made an interesting observation: The direct injection of an mRNA vaccine with our improved backbone into a lymph node elicited a much stronger immune response than injection of mRNA into the skin or muscle, which were the commonly explored routes.

Why would it be so much more effective to inject the mRNA directly into the lymph nodes?

We realized that directing mRNA vaccines into dendritic cells in the lymph nodes had to become a critical part of the solution. In the years that followed, we explored various methods to deliver mRNA to these specific locations in the body, and discovered that mRNA vaccines encapsulated in a particular lipid nanoparticle — a technology we have developed and that we call RNA lipoplexes — were specifically taken up by resident dendritic cells in lymphoid tissues.

These cells are the high-performance trainers of the immune system and can mediate particularly strong immune responses. We found that they have a specific mechanism to engulf foreign bodies and use them to train the immune system. Vaccine-induced T-cell responses were extremely strong and eradicated large tumors in mice. So, with these discoveries and optimizations of our technology, we went back to the bedside, to the patient.

How exactly did you make the step from humans to mice?

We started human studies and pioneered, in 2015, the first systemic delivery of mRNA nanoparticle vaccines to humans. In a portion of our patients with treatment-resistant melanoma, we could observe shrinkage of tumors with the vaccine, alone or in combination with immune-stimulating medication. We published these findings in the journal Nature in 2017. They provided the blueprint for the development of highly effective mRNA vaccines.

These advances allowed us to come closer to our original vision of cancer vaccines tailored to the patient’s tumor. The approach involves genomic analysis of a patient’s tumor by next-generation sequencing to find the cancer-specific mutations by comparison to the patient’s normal tissue. This set of cancer mutations is unique for every patient. We then select a number of mutations that provide the highest likelihood for the immune system to recognize the cancer and design a vaccine tailored to the patient’s individual cancer mutation profile.

How many people have been treated with your mRNA cancer vaccines so far?

With our individualized vaccine candidates, we have treated more than 450 patients. These are designed to target mutations that are unique to the patient’s specific cancer. We also have a number of personalized off-the-shelf mRNA cancer vaccine candidates. These candidates consist of a fixed combination of mRNA-encoded non-mutated tumor antigens that are known to frequently be produced within specific cancer types. We are currently investigating these candidates in clinical studies — for example, in patients with advanced melanoma, prostate cancer or head and neck cancer — and have treated more than 250 patients so far.

This has all been in the context of clinical trials. The way treatments are developed within the regulatory framework is to go cancer by cancer, and independently for every line of treatment, for every cancer.

Our oncology pipeline currently counts 20 programs in 24 ongoing clinical trials, of which five candidates are in advanced clinical trials. For BNT111, an mRNA vaccine candidate for the treatment of advanced melanoma, we have received FDA fast track designation in the US. These designations are intended to facilitate and expedite the development of new drugs and vaccines for the treatment or prevention of serious diseases that have the potential to address unmet medical needs.

One of the challenges with personalized medicine, creating a specific treatment for one particular patient, is how to organize its official approval, since every patient gets a different product. Do you think we will need some legislative change there as well, or not necessarily?

Very early on, we started discussions with regulatory authorities. What is important, we believe, is that the process of manufacturing, and the mRNA backbone, stay the same. Within this frame, we just exchange the code for the cancer mutations.

The aim of such a framework would be that irrespective of the sequence of the mutations used to individualize a vaccine, if everything else stays the same, a complete approval process for an individualized version of the vaccine may not be required again, provided that the general product has been approved by the authorities for a certain tumor type. This is our aim, and I believe we are on the way to land there. This is new territory also for regulators, and we all need to learn.

Why has cancer been so difficult to cure, and is there a fundamental reason why you think mRNA vaccines could provide a way forward where other approaches haven’t?

The reason why cancer is so difficult is that it is a really complex disease. It is different in every person, and it shapeshifts over time. Because mRNA vaccines are versatile and can be manufactured on demand, we can personalize them. We can define the individual cancer fingerprint — its mutation profile — and design a specific vaccine to address these mutations.

And if the patient relapses because the cancer has changed, we can adapt the treatment accordingly, similar to how we are able to adapt our mRNA Covid-19 vaccines to new viral variants of concern.

The body does often produce immune cells that target a tumor. Why doesn’t it make the right ones — or enough of them — to suppress it? Why does it need help from a vaccine?

First of all, tumors have all sorts of tricks to suppress our immune cells, across the body but also within the tumor itself. In addition, many of the altered structures of the tumor are still recognized as part of the body, so they are tolerated by the immune system. Therefore, the ideal targets for the immune system are those in the tumor’s mutanome: the mutations that accumulate over time in cancer cells.

But only a tiny portion of those is recognized by spontaneously occurring, circulating T cells. With our mutation-based vaccine candidates, we aim to use the potential of the mutanome to help T cells get started.

Still, we find that we often need something to overcome the strong immune suppression from the tumor. These might be immune modulators such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, or chemotherapy, which results in the death of cancer cells, that can push the effect of a vaccine towards stronger activity.

One of the reasons you were able to act so fast when you realized that we had a pandemic on our hands was that in developing cancer vaccines, there is always time pressure, since an untreated tumor is growing every day. How far have you come in compressing development time, the time you need to get the vaccine into the patient, and how much further do you think you can go?

The process — starting with genome analysis of a patient’s tumor and ending with on-demand manufacturing of this customized mRNA vaccine ready to administer — has been a race against that specific patient’s growing tumor. Since 2014, we’ve made custom vaccines for hundreds of cancer patients in our clinical trials and shipped them worldwide. Back then, the process took us three to five months for each patient. Now we are at three to six weeks, and I would expect that we’ll become stable around three weeks at some point.

Do you think mRNA cancer vaccines will eventually be able to help everyone? Or are there some tumors that will always be out of reach?

In principle, we expect that cancer vaccines can be used universally, as there is currently no reason why there should be a tumor type that would not be approachable by this concept.

Having said that, I want to make clear that it would be a very romanticized view to think that we’ll have a cancer vaccine that will solve all problems. Again, cancer is a very complex disease.

However, cancer vaccines may be a potent option in the future that could complement the therapy toolkit and help to better treat patients with cancer.

Lea en español

Tim Vernimmen is a freelance science writer based in Antwerp, Belgium. He was grateful to receive a series of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 and realized he had never exactly understood how these vaccines worked before conducting this interview.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. 

Trump indictment: Here’s how prosecutors will try to prove he knowingly lied and intended to break the law

Former President Donald Trump makes his way to the stage during a rally in Erie, Pa., on July 29, 2023. Dustin Franz for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Harvard University

What was Donald Trump thinking when he set about trying to maintain the presidency after losing it to Joe Biden?

That’s the key question a jury will need to consider in Trump’s federal trial on charges announced Aug. 1, 2023, stemming from Trump’s attempts to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The latest indictment charges Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States; to obstruct an official government proceeding; and to deprive U.S. citizens of a civil right – namely, to have their vote count.

In a fourth count, Trump is charged with obstructing, or attempting to obstruct, an official proceeding of Congress.

As a criminal law scholar, it’s my belief that the key to a conviction or acquittal on these counts will be what jurors believe to be Trump’s state of mind at the time of these alleged events.

Criminal intent

U.S. criminal law requires that the accused not just engage in an act, but to engage in that act with a guilty mindset. In other words, it is not enough to do something; the accused has to intend to do the thing to merit this charge.

In some statutes, criminal negligence is enough to convict someone of a crime. This means that the person grossly violated some duty of care, even though it may have been unintentional.

At the other end of the spectrum, some statutes require specific intent as the requisite state of mind for someone to be convicted. Specific intent means that the accused intended to cause the particular result that ensued.

With respect to the allegations lodged against Trump, the government must prove that Trump knowingly lied and intended to break the law.

The last count – obstruction of a proceeding of Congress – requires the government to prove corrupt intent, which means the actor intended to do something, and his motivation to do it was unlawful.

In short, the government must prove that Trump intended to obstruct the certification of the Electoral College vote for the purpose of overturning what he knew to be a lawful election.

Consciousness of guilt

The next logical question is how does one determine intent?

It’s impossible to look into someone’s mind to figure out their intent. As a result, the law deploys several tools that allow jurors to infer the intent of an accused, largely from his actions.

Consciousness of guilt is the leading tool.

Former President Donald Trump with his attorneys inside the courtroom during his arraignment at the Manhattan Criminal Court on April 4, 2023. Seth Wenig/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Let’s say a person is accused of homicide, a charge which requires a specific intent to kill. The defense is that the death was the result of an accident.

The government is allowed to present evidence that shows the accused hid the body, disposed of the gun and tried to create a false alibi. None of these actions are consistent with an accident. Instead, the accused’s actions demonstrate a consciousness of guilt, which allows the jury to infer intent.

Another example may be an accountant who comes into the office at midnight and logs on to a co-worker’s account to change the ledger of a client. Those actions are not consistent with an innocent accounting error; they demonstrate a consciousness of guilt.

Trump’s actions

The same principle holds with the Trump election case as well as the other federal indictment in which Trump is accused of taking classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in violation of federal law.

In late July 2023, for instance, Special Counsel Jack Smith added new charges to the original indictment and alleged that Trump directed two of his employees to delete security camera footage of storage boxes containing classified documents being moved before federal investigators arrived.

That behavior may be used as evidence of Trump’s consciousness of guilt and proof of his intent to commit a crime.

In another example, Trump had a conversation in July 2021 at his summer home in Bedminster, N.J., in which he talked about a military document concerning Iran.

In that conversation, which was recorded, Trump said: “As president, I could have declassified it. Now I can’t, you know, but this is still secret.”

As the country contemplates these indictments, it’s important to remember that federal prosecutors will dissect everything Trump did, said or heard to argue that his behavior indicates that he intended to commit the crimes for which he is charged.

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Professor of Law, Harvard University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Understanding Maternal Health and Hypertension: 7 tips for a heart-healthy pregnancy

A common misconception is high blood pressure (HBP), or hypertension, rarely affects women. However, nearly half of all adults with HBP are women.

While HBP isn’t directly related to gender, a woman’s life stages like pregnancy, pregnancy prevention (birth control) and menopause can increase the risk of developing HBP.

HBP is an important sign that preeclampsia, or severe high blood pressure during pregnancy, may be developing and testing may be needed to check both the mother and baby. Not all women have noticeable symptoms beyond high blood pressure, but when they do occur, they may include headaches, vision changes, abdominal pain or rapid swelling (edema).

Black women of childbearing age are more than twice as likely to have uncontrolled blood pressure than their white counterparts, according to research featured in a special Go Red for Women issue of the “Journal of the American Heart Association.” Additionally, food insecurity, or lack of access to adequate healthy food, which is one of the social factors that may affect HBP risk, is higher among Hispanic and Black women compared to white women.

While delivery of the child is the only cure for preeclampsia, which affects 1 in 25 pregnancies in the United States, management of condition is based on several factors, including the overall health of the mother and the progress of the disease. Symptoms usually subside within six weeks of delivery.

To help ensure a heart-healthy pregnancy, consider these tips. Education about healthy heart habits from the American Heart Association is nationally supported by Elevance Health Foundation.
 

 

Visit a health care provider regularly. A health care professional will monitor you and your baby at regular prenatal visits – monthly until 28 weeks then the frequency will increase to bi-weekly or weekly as the due date approaches. There is no proven way to prevent preeclampsia or test to predict the condition. Follow your health care team’s recommendations and check blood pressure and urine levels of protein regularly, if advised.

Track blood pressure at home. To take readings, the American Heart Association recommends using a validated automatic, cuff-style bicep monitor. Avoid caffeine or exercise within 30 minutes before measuring and empty your bladder at least 5 minutes beforehand. Sit with your back straight and supported with your arm supported on a flat surface and the upper arm at heart level. Place the cuff directly above the bend in the elbow and don’t take the measurement over your clothes. Measure at the same time daily, such as morning and evening, and record the results to share with your doctor.

Take medication as prescribed. Some medications, including some heart medicines, may be risky for you or your fetus during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor about what’s safe, what to do if you miss a dose and other drugs or supplements that may help improve or maintain your health. Never stop medications without approval.

Manage blood pressure through lifestyle modification. Limiting salt intake and getting regular physical activity can help keep blood pressure in a healthy range.

Reduce stress and manage anxiety. Some ways to calm down include meditating, spending time in nature and enjoying other hobbies.

Monitor weight gain. Doctors will advise you how much weight is safe to gain based on your body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy. Normal weight women with a BMI of 18.5-24.9 who are pregnant with one baby are typically expected to gain 25-35 pounds.

Avoid unhealthy habits. While pregnant, do not smoke, drink alcohol or use illegal drugs.

It’s important to know that women with preeclampsia are more likely to develop HBP and diabetes later in life. Research also shows having the condition increases the odds of heart failure, especially if preeclampsia happens in more than one pregnancy.

Learn more about how HBP can impact pregnancy, and how to take control of your blood pressure, at heart.org/health-topics/high-blood-pressure.

SOURCE:
American Heart Association

How Climate Change Impacts Birds, Their Feeding Habits and How to Help from Home

Bird feeding is a common practice in the United States, with more than 59 million Americans participating, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. In addition to providing aesthetic and recreational benefits, bird feeding can have positive impacts on bird populations.

According to the National Audubon Society, birds provide important ecosystem services, such as pollination, pest control and seed dispersal. In fact, around 87% of flowering plants rely on animal pollinators, including birds, to reproduce and grow, according to a study published in “Science.” Birds also consume fruits and berries then spread the seeds, which helps maintain biodiversity and promotes the growth of new plants.

Considered good indicators of the health of the ecosystem, changes in bird populations and behaviors can signal changes in the environment, such as pollution, habitat loss and climate change. As temperatures, weather patterns and ecosystems change, it can affect the availability of food for birds, which may alter their behavior.

Feeding birds can be a beneficial practice that helps them cope with climate change. Consider these benefits:

• Supplemental Food: Bird feeders provide a supplemental source of food for birds when natural food sources may be scarce due to prolonged droughts or severe storms. Bird feeding can help birds maintain energy levels, especially during breeding or migration when nutritional needs are higher.

• Range Shifts: Climate change can cause shifts in the distribution and abundance of bird species. Feeders can serve as “refuges” for birds, providing reliable food sources as they move in search of suitable habitats.

• Behavioral Adaptations: Some species may alter their feeding behaviors due to changes in timing of insects hatching or plants flowering, which can affect the availability of natural food sources. Bird feeders can help bridge these gaps, providing a stable source of food when traditional sources are disrupted.

Feeders
To attract more birds this season, it’s important to offer quality feed in a variety of bird feeder types placed at different heights.

Traditional tube feeders are basic, all-purpose, must-have feeders that work well for finches, nuthatches and other small birds that cling. Made with state-of- the-art materials to prevent warping and discoloration, Cole’s Terrific Tube Feeder features a quick-clean removable base.

Simply push a button and the bottom of the feeder comes off for easy access. Rinse well with soapy water, submerge in a 9-1 water-bleach solution, rinse and dry. Then reattach the bottom; there’s no disassembly or assembly of multiple parts necessary. Regular cleaning of feeders is essential, preventing mold, germs and disease.

Another option, bowl feeders, can serve not only seeds, but also dried mealworms, fruit and suet in cake or kibble form. For example, Cole’s Bountiful Bowl Feeder comes with an adjustable dome cover you can raise or lower to protect from rain and prevent larger birds and squirrels from getting to the food.

Popular Foods
In addition to feeders, offering a variety of foods is vital for inviting different species to your backyard.

• Birdseed: Not all birdseed is created equal. Look for quality blends without filler seeds like red millet and oats. All-natural seed, containing no chemicals or mineral oil, is safe and more appealing to birds. Consider researched, specially formulated options like all-natural black oil sunflower, Cole’s “Hot Meats” (sunflower meats infused with habanero chile peppers) or Special Feeder blend, which is packed with black oil sunflower, sunflower meats, black striped sunflower, raw peanuts, safflower and pecans.

• Dried Mealworms: Full of energy, essential nutrients, fats and proteins, mealworms are a preferred food for adult songbirds. Dried mealworms are easy to feed, less messy and lack the “ick” factor of live worms.

• Fresh Fruit: Apple and orange halves and chunks of banana are favorites for orioles and tanagers.  

• No-Melt Suet: Perfect for insect-eating birds, high-fat food provides abundant calories and rich nutrition. 

Don’t forget, birds need water just as much as humans. Drinking water helps regulate body processes, improves metabolism and maintains health. Birds also use water for preening and bathing, and on hot days, standing in cool water or taking a quick splash can help them keep cool.

Find more solutions to bring birds to your backyard at ColesWildBird.com.

SOURCE:
Cole’s Wild Bird Products

Supporting Teachers: 4 ways to help lighten the burden for educators

Teachers are more than leaders in their classrooms, they are leaders in the communities they serve, committed to educating the leaders of tomorrow, and their value cannot be overstated. To provide an optimal learning environment that equips their students for success, teachers often go above and beyond, sometimes at great personal expense.

In fact, an analysis by My eLearning World estimates teachers will spend an average of $820.14 out of pocket on school supplies during the 2023-24 school year, the largest amount ever, which doesn’t include all of the hours dedicated beyond the traditional school day.

To help alleviate some of the burden, consider these ways parents, guardians and community members can contribute and support the efforts of educators.

Volunteer in the Classroom
One of the easiest ways to learn what life is like in the classroom and truly understand the needs is to spend some time there helping out. Many school districts could use volunteers to assist with one-on-one tutoring, organizing library books, chaperoning field trips, speaking to classes about career paths and more. Start by checking with your child’s teacher or calling the front office to see what opportunities might be available.

Assist with Classroom Registries
Well-equipped classrooms are essential to student success, but teachers cannot do it alone. To help assist educators in reducing out-of-pocket expenses for classroom supplies, Walmart’s Classroom Registry allows teachers to create personalized lists of items they need, making it easy for the community to contribute to and support their efforts. Tailored to educators with personalized creation flow and recommended classroom items unique to each grade level – including popular items such as stationery, classroom decorations, art supplies, classroom treats and rewards such as stickers and “edutainment” items – teachers can share their lists quickly and easily through direct links to their custom registries. Registries are also discoverable via the registry search using the teacher’s last name and state.

Work with Your Student at Home
Not all learning takes place in the classroom. In fact, you can model the importance of your child’s education at home and create good habits such as doing homework at a certain time each night, getting a good night’s rest before school and using lessons learned in the classroom during family time. Contact your child’s teacher to learn more about the lesson plan and what you can do at home to assist with your student’s education.

Attend School Board Meetings to Voice Support
Because important decisions that impact teachers are often made by those not in the classroom every day, keeping tabs on the issues impacting teachers and local school districts can help you advocate for educators if the need arises. Start by attending a few school board meetings to learn how they operate and get a handle on issues directly impacting teachers. Then make your voice heard – or run for the school board – to support policies and actions that serve teachers’ best interests.

Find customized classroom wish lists and more resources to support teachers at Walmart.com.

SOURCE:
Walmart

Dolls and dollars: why small businesses should be wary of cashing in on Barbiemania with their branding

Graeme Austin, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Blockbuster movie brand merchandising is a multi-billion-dollar industry.

That Buzz Lightyear bubble bath, Lightning McQueen bedding or Elemental backpack all contribute to a movie’s overall income stream.

And brand owners are in a constant battle against fake or unlicensed goods. The European Union Intellectual Property Office estimates that counterfeits comprise around 2.5% of all world trade.

But successful brands also inspire well-meaning imitators such as Hobbit-themed pubs, Grinch-themed photoshoots, Harry Potter fan festivals, or, in New Zealand, a cleaning business van painted with “Minion” imagery. Small businesses trying this kind of thing often get “cease and desist” letters from film studios, demanding they stop.

The success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie seems destined to encourage businesses to use elements of the film’s brand – from the distinctive lettering and colours to the doll’s packaging and image.

But businesses in New Zealand and elsewhere need to consider the risk they face by infringing on Mattel’s intellectual property rights.

The rise of Barbie

Barbie was already a juggernaut brand before the release of the film. In 2002, an appellate judge in the United States said “Mattel created not just a toy but a cultural icon”.

Mattel has been vigilant about controlling the Barbie image. It tried to stop conceptual artist Thomas Forsythe from creating artworks depicting Barbie in perilous positions – such as in cocktail blenders and under an oven grill.

And in the late 1990s, Mattel tried to stop Danish pop group Aqua from singing about Barbie.

Recently, Mattel convinced a court in China to stop a local firm called Barbietang from registering “Barbie tang” as a trade mark for veterinarian services – including artificial insemination.

In 2022, Mattel settled a claim against the use of “Barbie-Que” potato chips, apparently driving the product off the market.

Mattel’s legal strategies haven’t always worked. Forsythe won his case, and Mattel’s suit against MCA Records, Aqua’s North American record label, failed.

In 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the fame of the Barbie trademark was not enough to stop a restaurant from using the word “Barbie” in its own branding.

But for local businesses, these cases won’t offer much comfort. Often, just the threat of legal proceedings will be enough.

Investing in brand protection

Serious concerns lie behind these enforcement efforts. Millions of dollars are spent on creating and sustaining brand images. What if Barbie-themed cruises, brunches, home decorating services and nightclub evenings aren’t any good? Will these poor imitations affect how people feel about the brand?

Mattel’s worldview has matured, as the Gerwig movie shows. It now seems open to some pretty sophisticated social commentary targeting its doll.

Yet it still has a strong interest in the Barbie image – boosted by the success of the film. A lacklustre “Barbie Brunch” could dim the brand’s shine. Brands can die by a thousand cuts.

There’s another reason: money. As Mattel told the Canadian court, it is in the business of building brand equity – the commercial value that comes from consumer perception of a brand, which supports vast networks of licensing deals. It can be a firm’s most valuable asset.

Warding off unlicensed use of a brand protects new market segments. Sitting back while others enter the market with the same brand risks losing money. It’s not just poor imitations that matter. Any unlicensed use of the brand can take away market share.

What is a brand?

For all its importance, a “brand” is not a distinct legal category. Brand equity is protected by an array of intellectual property (IP) rights. Trademarks, copyrights and business goodwill work together to create and protect the valuable asset known as a “brand”.

The Canadian restaurant wanted only to use the word “Barbie”. The court was not convinced this would cause consumer confusion. This decision might have been different if the restaurant’s goods and services had been more similar to Mattel’s.

And it would have been a totally different case if the restaurant had also copied Barbie artwork, infringing Mattel’s copyrights.

Importantly, copyright rules protect against copying – brand owners don’t need to show that the copying will damage its reputation or jeopardise its market share.

A global network of IP treaties

Some will bridle at foreign firms using their IP muscle against New Zealand firms.

But international protection of IP has been around since at least the end of the 19th century. Owners of strong trademarks have also had entry into some markets blocked by businesses who used the brand first.

Aotearoa New Zealand is now party to a network of international IP treaties that help prevent this from happening.

These treaties are often linked to trade. Protecting IP is part of the quid pro quo for lowering tariffs for our goods in foreign markets. And it works the other way around: local artists and creative brand developers enjoy reciprocal protections for their IP in foreign markets.

For a small business getting a “cease and desist” letter, this can seem like cold comfort. Repainting a van or rebranding a pub is an irritating expense.

But when the IP system works well, it encourages creativity. To avoid problems, local firms need to come up with their own original brands and imagery. As with any branding strategy, that will require investment and creativity. But these efforts enrich our culture and, it’s hoped, the local businesses that do the hard yards.

Graeme Austin, Chair of Private Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

‘Knowledge of self’: How a key phrase from Islam became a pillar of hip-hop

The popular phrase ‘knowledge of self’ – invoked by numerous rappers who adhere to Islam – is nearly a millennium old. Paul Hawthorne for Getty Images

Su'ad Abdul Khabeer, University of Michigan

I was 9 years old when Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” dropped. I have vivid memories of the bass-laden track booming out of car stereos and hearing it on Black radio, like Kiss FM’s top eight at 8 p.m. countdown.

On the track “Move the Crowd,” Rakim – also known as “the God MC” – rhymes “All praise is due to Allah and that’s a blessing.” Growing up as a Black Muslim in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, I was already familiar with the phrase. Like all Muslims, I learned to say it during my daily prayers and as an expression of gratitude.

But when Rakim laced those words into the lyrics of what ultimately became a popular song, he affirmed what I was seeing around me in my Brooklyn community – that Islam and Muslims were prominent features of Black life.

Rapper Flavor Flav and Chuck D of the rap group Public Enemy film their ‘Fight The Power’ music video in 1989. Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

A key concept

Rakim dropped another familiar phrase in the song: knowledge of self.

With knowledge of self, there’s nothing I can’t solve
At 360 degrees I revolve
This an actual fact, it’s not an act, it’s been proven
Indeed and I proceed to make the crowd keep moving.

When Rakim extols the benefits of “knowledge of self” to himself as an emcee and a human being, he is drawing on a philosophy that has been critical to Black Islam, a term I use to describe the different forms of Islamic belief and practice found in Black America.

Knowledge of self comes from this tradition, beginning roughly a century ago, which has become known for advancing Black consciousness, resistance and redemption. Knowledge of self is an ethical pursuit to understand one’s place in and relationship to the world in order to positively change it.

In my 2016 book, “Muslim Cool: Race, Religion and Hip Hop in the United States,” I demonstrate how knowledge of self is fundamental to hip-hop. It is often described as hip-hop’s “fifth element,” the others being DJing; emceeing or “rhyming”; graffiti or “writing”; and dance, from “b-boying” to “pop locking.”

The concept of ‘knowledge of self’ was instrumental in Lauryn Hill’s breakout 1998 single ‘Doo Wop.’ Tim Mosenfelder via Getty Images

While the phrase and the consciousness that it represents have been mentioned in too many songs to count – from Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” to Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop” and Talib Kweli’s “K.O.S. (Determination)” – history shows the term has been a part of Islamic literature for nearly a millennium. For example, the first chapter of the celebrated 12th-century Islamic scholar Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali’s famous text “The Alchemy of Happiness” is titled “The Knowledge of Self.”

In my book, I make the case that Islam, specifically Black Islam, gave hip-hop knowledge of self.

Elijah Muhammad led the Nation of Islam from 1934 until his death in 1975. Bettmann via Getty Images

The lessons

Rakim’s reference to knowledge of self’s being an “actual fact” is a nod to the “actual facts” of the “Lost-Found Muslim Lessons,” the catechism taught by Master W.D. Fard Muhammad, who founded the Nation of Islam on July 4, 1930. Master Fard taught these lessons to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who would become the religious movement’s leader.

These lessons are fundamental to the way that the Nation of Islam understands the world and the role of Black people in it. The lessons are also studied by the Nation of Gods and Earths, a related spiritual path, of which Rakim is a member. Knowledge of self comes to hip-hop through these lessons.

Rakim was not alone. During the golden age of hip-hop, a period from about the mid-1980s through mid-1990s, rappers – influenced by Black Islam – steadily proclaimed their knowledge of self in their music. Big Daddy Kane declared there’s “no pork on my fork,” an acknowledgment of the Islamic injunction against the consumption of swine. The Poor Righteous Teachers gave the Arabic greeting as salaamu alaikum with the dome of Harlem’s Masjid Malcolm Shabazz in the background in the music video for “Rock Dis Funky Joint.” And from Brooklyn to the California Bay, acclaimed emcees like Guru and local acts were rhyming about “praying to the east,” a reference to the Muslim practice.

Poor Righteous Teachers was one of many rap groups whose music was influenced by Black Islam. Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images

The message

Long before rappers spoke of knowledge of self in the 1980s, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad expounded on the term in his book “Message to the Blackman in America,” released in 1965 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. In it, he emphasized Black self-reliance – with knowledge of self being a key component.

Elijah Muhammad’s book ‘Message to the Blackman in America’ played a critical role in Muhammad Ali’s life. Bettmann via Getty Images

“The so-called Negroes must be taught and given Islam,” Muhammad wrote. “Why Islam? Islam, because it teaches first the knowledge of self. It gives us the knowledge of our own. Then and only then are we able to understand that which surrounds us … this kind of thinking produces an industrious people who are self-independent.”

In some ways, it comes as little surprise that a term promulgated by a fierce advocate of self-reliance in the mid-1960s would be so widely embraced by hip-hop shortly after it was born as a counterculture in the early 1970s.

Hip-hop’s consciousness

When Black Islam helped hip-hop culture cultivate knowledge of self, it created an aspiration, arguably unique for contemporary popular music as a whole, to not just rhyme about it or write graffiti about it, and so on, but to apply it in real life. As a result, knowledge of self became hip-hop’s consciousness, emphasizing an awareness of injustice and the imperative to address it through both personal and social transformation. Critically, this consciousness, while informed by Black Islam, is embraced by hip-hop community members of all stripes.

The 1989 song ‘Self-Destruction’ opens with a sample of a speech by Malcolm X. Bettmann via Getty Images

The consciousness led to different forms of hip-hop-based activism. Songs against gun violence like The Stop the Violence Movement’s “Self-Destruction” and “We Are All in the Same Gang” by the West Coast All Stars.

“Self-Destruction” opens, not inconsequentially, with a sample of a speech by Malcolm X, the onetime spokesman for the Nation of Islam and icon of Black Islam. The consciousness also contributed to the formation in 2004 of the National Hip-Hop Political Convention, which set the stage for other, albeit less radical and comprehensive, engagements with politics by the hip-hop generation, like the Vote or Die campaign and the push for Obama in 2008.

Nearly 10 years later, this consciousness was on display at the 2017 Grammy performance by A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes and Consequence that was an open call to “resist” in the Trump era. This consciousness also continues to inspire the many organizations like Kuumba Lynx and the Inner-City Muslim Action Network in Chicago that use hip-hop as a form of arts-based activism for youth.

And, of course, it remains in the music.

The knowledge continues

On the track “Family Feud,” Jay-Z – like Rakim – praises God, but this time in Arabic: “Alhamdulillah,” Mumu Fresh questions others’ knowledge of self with the line “Good morning, sunshine, welcome to reality/I tried to wake you, but you were sleepin’ so peacefully in your fallacy.” Busta Rhymes dropped “Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God,” full of warnings and prophecies. And in a freestyle viewed around the world, Black Thought rhymes about the wisdom he got at the masjid. This consciousness is so entwined with music that Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright” became a Black Lives Matter movement anthem.

Like hip-hop, this consciousness operates globally. Take, for example, the Iraqi-Canadian Narcy, Cape Town’s YoungstaCPT, Cuban hip-hop artist Robe L. Ninho and the U.K.’s Enny, whose works track their own journey for knowledge of self.

Things have changed since Rakim dropped “Move the Crowd” in 1987. Gentrification is pushing my community out of Brooklyn, and Islam and Muslims are more known and subject to the state and interpersonal violence of anti-Muslim racism. Yet hip-hop still affirms what I see around me – knowledge of self is as vital as ever.

Su'ad Abdul Khabeer, Associate Professor of American Culture, University of Michigan

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Simplify School Nights with Easy, Cheesy Meals

Putting a delicious, kid-friendly meal on the table in an hour or less is goal No. 1 for many families. When the hectic schedules of back-to-school season are in full effect, saving some precious time in the kitchen can make all the difference.

Take a homework timeout and bring loved ones running to the dining room for family favorites like Sweet Heat Pickled Beet Grilled Cheese. This modern take on a childhood classic pairs sourdough bread with brie cheese, a spicy-sweet hit of hot honey and juicy Aunt Nellie’s Diced Pickled Beets.

If letting your oven do the work is an even more appealing solution, try an easy recipe like Bacon Wrapped Potato Stuffed Chicken. As a meal and side dish all in one, this simple weeknight dinner starts with cutting a pocket into boneless, skinless chicken breasts before filling with cheesy goodness.

Layer cheddar cheese slices inside the chicken then spoon in READ German Potato Salad made with thinly sliced potatoes, bacon and a sweet-piquant dressing. Finally, fold the chicken breasts closed, wrap with bacon slices and bake 40 minutes to tender, juicy perfection with a final broil to crisp the bacon.

To find more family-friendly meals fit for busy weeknights, visit AuntNellies.com and READSalads.com.

Sweet Heat Pickled Beet Grilled Cheese

Recipe courtesy of MacKenzie Smith of “Grilled Cheese Social”
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
Yield: 2 sandwiches

• 4          slices (3 ounces each) sourdough bread
• 2          tablespoons hot honey
• 1          small wheel (8 ounces) brie, at room temperature, cut into thin strips
• 8          ounces Aunt Nellie’s Diced Pickled Beets (1/2 jar or 2 individual diced pickled beet cups)
• 2          tablespoons fresh basil, cut into thin strips
• 2          tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2       teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste

1. Place two bread slices on cutting board. Drizzle with hot honey then add 4 ounces brie evenly across bread.
2. Drain beets and pat dry. Add evenly on top of brie followed by basil and remaining brie.
3. Spread 1 tablespoon butter on one side of remaining bread slices. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt. Place top piece of bread on each sandwich.
4. Heat cast-iron or frying pan over medium-low heat then add sandwiches butter sides down. Butter top sides and add remaining garlic salt.
5. Cook about 5 minutes on each side, or until bread is golden brown and cheese has melted, flipping halfway through.
6. Once sandwiches have cooked on both sides, remove from heat and serve.

 

Bacon Wrapped Potato Stuffed Chicken

Recipe courtesy of “EZPZMealz”
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

• 2          pounds (approximately 4 large) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 8          slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 1          can READ German Potato Salad with sauce
• 8-12     bacon slices
• nonstick cooking spray
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Using sharp knife, slice pocket or slit into each chicken breast and fold open.
3. Place two slices sharp cheddar cheese in pockets then spoon 4 ounces potato salad onto cheese.
4. Fold chicken over and close so cheese and potatoes are inside pockets.
5. Take 2-3 bacon slices and completely wrap stuffed chicken breasts, tucking loose ends of bacon on undersides of chicken.
6. Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray then place bacon wrapped chicken on tray. Season chicken with pepper, to taste.
7. Bake approximately 40 minutes until internal temperature of chicken reaches 160 F.
8. Turn oven to broil on high (500 F) and broil 2-3 minutes to crisp bacon until chicken reaches 165 F.
9. Remove from the oven and rest 5 minutes then serve.

SOURCE:
Aunt Nellie’s
READ