first, a quick note on life. we’re still in the process of finding out the loan amount and getting everything to fit into our budget. i’m a ball of anxiety. therefore, i’m eating carbs, carbs, and more carbs like its my job. even though i am acknowledging what i’m doing I CAN’T STOP. i’m SUCH an emotional eater and i feel like everything right now is just too much. i need to snap out of this binge. i’m right back at my highest weight right now, not that i know the exact number.. i’m too afraid to step on the scale. anyways.. back to this guilt free DELICIOUS recipe!

*this is two batches, since i was cooking for quite a few

homemade guilt-free chicken nugs!

prep time: 10 mins cook time: 15-20 mins

(makes 4 servings. 1 serving = about 8 nugs)

stats/serving: 208 cals, 8 carbs, 4 fat, 31 protein.

ingredients*:

• 1 package of boneless, skinless chicken tenders
• ~1/4 cup of whole wheat italian breadcrumbs
• ~1/8 cup of whole wheat flour
• ~1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
• ~1/2 cup of egg whites

*i didn’t really measure here, so these are just approximations, but a little went a long way!

instructions:

1. pre-heat oven to 400*
2. prep your chicken. my package had 8 tenders, and i cut each piece into about 4-5 smaller pieces to give me a good ‘nugget’ size.
3. combine ww flour, ww breadcrumbs, and cheese into a shallow bowl and mix.
4. put egg whites into a separate shallow bowl.
5. coat nuggets in egg white mixture and then breadcrumb mixture until completely covered and place onto a wire rack coated with cooking spray.*
6. once all chicken is coated and positioned on wire rack, place in the oven for about 15-20 mins. (mine took about ~16 mins. i wasn’t really watching the clock and didn’t set a timer)
7. once all nuggets are cooked through (165*), remove from over and let cool for about 3-5 mins.
8. ENJOY!

*how much of the breadcrumb mixture you will need depends on how ‘coated’ you want your nuggets. i used a wire rack in this case because i find the chicken cooks more even without having to flip and risk losing any breading!

they were a hit! i served them with a squash/zuchinni/potato/tomato bake and annie’s ww mac’n'cheese. these would def be very kid friendly! yogi was pleading for some, but we said it would spoil his kibble

Q: what was your last dish you created that made you toot your own horn?

i’ll do a little recap since i was absent friday..

i weighed in friday morning and the scale read 261! i lost 5 lbs in a little over 5 days!! i’m happy with that! then, from there, the day got crazy!

i got to work at 7:30 and was swamped as soon as i got there. between meetings and trying to get mid-year spreadsheets and recons to the auditors, i barely had time to think. 2:15 hit and i hadn’t even had breakfast yet! (since i changed my eating, i found i do 10x better with a filling breakfast, so at this point, i was ravenous!) i went down the road to jimmy johns and got a turkey sandwich with sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and avocado on whole wheat. it was sooooo good, def not something i would normally have, but i was starving and i knew my grapefruit and protein shake would not hold me over.

i ended up working 2 hours later than expected and then went out to dinner, where i had a broiled crab cake with a few sweet potato fries. best. crab cake. ever. there wasn’t anyyyy filler! it was straight crab meat and herbs. so good.

i did miss my workout because i overslept friday morning and then didn’t feel like it at 10:30 last night and planned to do it this morning.

well.. this morning i felt like crap. so that didn’t happen. both workouts will be complete by the end of sunday! (pure cardio and plyometrics)

we headed to ikea today and got some really great things! some pillows, a rug (for $20!!!!!), 2 chandeliers, a kitchen table, and a kitchen hutch (not really sure how to explain it!) all for a great price! however, we were packed like pickles on the way home!

i wish i could find the products on the website to show you, but you’ll just have to wait until we move in

i will show you a pic of the house.. it’s a modular and we are buying almost 4 acres of land to put it on. i can’t wait for the dogs to have plenty of room to play!

now i’m relaxing by the fire, hoping this nightly sickness will go away.. my whole body is aching right now

Q: how do you feel about ikea furniture? a great deal or too much of a pain to deal with?

yesterday was a pretty heavy post, but i’m feeling a lot better today, other than the fact that i cannot walk down stairs without looking like a complete idiot..

i have DOMS like no other right now.. they always say the third day after an intense workout is rough and they are right. those ‘they’ people know their stuff, whoever they are!

before i get into today.. i want to discuss the rest of my eats yesterday. my lunch and afternoon snack stayed the same ( i also got in over 1.5 gallons of water), but we ended up going out to mexican for dinner with barbara’s family so we could see all the babies. i went into it thinking i was going to get a salad with grilled chicken on top and refrain from ANY chips and guac. chips with a mixture of the ‘white sauce’ and salsa are my favorite part about mexican restaurants, so i knew i was in for a challenge.

as we pulled up, i decided that i was going to make this my free meal for the week.  i didn’t want to set myself up for failure. before, when i was doing BFL, i would have a free day where all the rules were thrown out the window. i loved that because i never felt deprived.. if i wanted something bad enough, i would just wait until my designated free day and indulge.  this go ’round ( i’m still following the 40/40/20 BFL eating), i have decided to cut back to only one free ‘meal’ once a week. i feel like i was indulging too much and only hurting myself in the long run.

so yeah, i had chips, white sauce + salsa, fresh guac (hold the cilantro.. YUCK!) and a chicken taco salad. i def didn’t eat the whole thing, but i did have some of that delicious shell.. mmm! gosh, i love mexican food!

so, nothing terrible, but i am keeping myself accountable here and need to make these choices known.

today, i’ve had a post workout protein/recovery creamsicle and i just finished my new obsession favorite snack: greek yogurt + banana + a container sprinkle of cinnamon + packet of stevia. i really wish i didn’t have to use the stevia, but greek yogurt alone hits me the wrong way, so i need something to offset that tartness. the rest of my meals will be chicken + pasta + veggies, then i have chicken marinating with some sweet potatoes and veggies for dinner

back to my workout this morning.. it was insanity: cardio recovery. don’t let the ‘recovery’ fool you into thinking it’s a piece of cake. i can feel soreness in my abs more from today than i have the other two workouts. i will tell you, i love a good case of DOMS, but this is crazy. i will be purchasing a foam roller this afternoon!

that’s all for now! i’m feeling good about starting this time.. let’s hope the motivation keeps rolling! i have a new product call ZRII coming in the mail that i cannot wait to try!

Q1: this question is for anyone who has had a wordpress blog before (if there are any of you reading this) how do i get a picture on the right side of my screen? i can’t figure it out!!

Q2: are there any meals/restaurants where you just know that you’re going to indulge, whether you try to or not?