Coconut Flour Pancakes & what's been on my heart! ;)

So, it's been over a month since I have written a blog post!!!! Gah!  What can I say?! Well, 

alot actually.............

I'll start by saying t's such a busy time of year! But, truthfully ~ lately I have been focused on trying to find a new "fit track" that works for me in my beautifully fit journey! I was exercising vigorously 5 days a week & I wasn't eating enough to fuel my body to keep up with workouts like that. I come from the 1,200 calorie world....... & 1,200 calories are not enough to support a lifestyle of intense workouts 5 days a week. I have a fear of eating more because even though it's been a  long time ago..... I have been overweight & I DO NOT want to go back there! I know it doesn't make sense because I know all about how & what I should be eating to keep up a workout lifestyle such as the one I was living, but knowledge & application are 2 very different things. I am a creature of habit & if it works, I keep doing it. Also, I am after a very different goal that those that workout like that. So, what is the point of killing yourself with your workouts & not fueling up for it?? There isn't a point in it. As a matter of fact, it's harmful! I was completely fatigued, sore, cranky & burned out! I was depriving myself of a cheat meal once a week & totally obsessed with calorie & macro counting & all that crazy mess does is make me go on a binge instead of just allowing myself an indulgence once a week which is a lot healthier. I have a bad back & shoulders that already hurt all the time & a bad knee that I had pushed to the limit. I was working all these areas out anyway, despite the pain it was causing me. I physically had no choice but to lay off for a little while not to mention that mentally it was all driving me crazy! I decided to take a step back & re-evaluate. I am so glad I did! I am feeling a lot more satisfied in my gym routine & with my diet!
I have been at my goal weight & size for years. Do I look like a fitness model? No? But that was never my goal - or was it? My dream, yes..... but not my realistic goal I was trying to stick to...... So, why did I spend so much time comparing myself & killing myself in the gym trying to achieve the look of one? I think because in the world of fitness & health there is a very fine line between being a healthy version of yourself or trying to be a "perfect" version of you or even someone else  & that is a miserable & unrealistic way to live for most people. I know it was for me!  I had crossed that fine line without even realizing it. I was working out like I was entering a competition but eating like I laid on the couch all day! I don't recommend trying it. It isn't pleasant nor is it healthy!
So, for me, since I am happy with my weight & size & am looking to maintain, I have adjusted my diet & workout routine accordingly. I am keeping my calories around 1,200 still for my goal but not kicking myself if I go over  & I am playing around with my carb intake by carb cycling somewhat. I am also allowing a "cheat" day back in my life again. Sometimes it's a healthy cheat & sometimes it isn't. I am still working out but not as hard. I am doing cardio  3 days a week. Either HIIT or really fast paced for 20 minutes. Sometimes 25. I am working my bis, tris & legs 2 times a week & my abs 3 times a week. I am not working my shoulders or back at all due to the problems I have with them but will probably incorporate them back at some point in the future. I am trying to not be in the gym any longer than an hour tops! I am doing a 5 day split because I will always be a 5 day a week gym gurl! I just don't feel right only going 4. Sometimes life gets in the way & it happens but I try to avoid it. I know I will get off the gym  track somewhat with the upcoming holiday but that's ok! I have all kinds of stuff to use at my house cause I am an at home workout gurl too! I actually use my weights, step, stability ball, DVD's ,etc when life just doesn't permit me to get to the gym or when I just don't want to go but I still want to exercise. I am challenging myself to exercise 6 days a week. 5 at the gym & the 6th at home or outside. 
I have been a very active gym goer for years & I truly love to workout! Being so hard core with everything made me despise it. So, right now, lately......I am trying to find my happy place with it all & I am getting there one day at a a time. I am trying to stay balanced. I am 35 years old. I am not perfect!  I am happy with the way I look but there are also a lot of things I would like to change as well & I am sure there always will be. But, I am making a conscious effort to focus on the things I am happy with & not the things I am unhappy with about myself. I want to continue to stay fit & healthy but I want to love the skin that I am in. And I have to admit that I struggle with that. I am extremely critical of myself. I find myself all the time being envious of Cameron Diaz' abs, Jennifer Aniston's legs or Jamie Eason's shoulders. Who isn't?!  But God didn't make me a Cameron, a Jennifer or a Jamie....... He made me a Callie! And it's time I start giving myself some credit for being the Callie that I am! I have been through a lot in my life & am a true survivor! I am talented in many things & I am beautiful in God's eyes just the way He made me! If I am good enough for Him then I certainly should be good enough for myself! By the grace of God I will strive to be the best Callie I can be until the day my life is over. Lately my eyes have become so wide open to the emphasis the world puts on what we look like on the outside.  Enough already! Instead of counting carbs & calf presses we do in a day, we should be counting acts of kindness!! I know it sounds cheesy & I am by no means saying that we shouldn't care about what we look like at all! I am still all about looking my best & staying healthy, fit & all that jazz ~ always will be....... but what I am saying is that we don't need to lose our focus or compare ourselves to others but instead strive more to be the best person we can be by loving our ourselves & our bodies for who we we are & how they are! What they are capable of & what they aren't! And that we don't need to forget that fitness starts on the inside of us! And if we are spending most of our time obsessing with working out, counting calories & what we look like, then how much time is left for the things in life we do that will count for far longer than we will be on this earth?! Paying it forward with a compliment to a random stranger or anonymously paying for someone's coke in the car beside you? I was in Petco Saturday buying healthy dog treats for my babies & there was a rescue group there with 8 dogs they were hoping to find homes for. I opened my box of treats that I bought for my dogs & gave 1 to each of those poor dogs lying in those cages. My heart really went out to them! Here I was buying wheat free, apple cinnamon dog biscuits for my dogs that were in my warm house laying up on my couch while I am gone & there were these pitiful dogs that had been mistreated in their past & had probably never tasted anything better than an Ol' Roy dog biscuit at best!  Thankfully they have been found by a rescue organization but they may very well never know life outside of a cage! It breaks my heart to pieces y'all!  I am an animal lover anyway & I am not saying that this was an unusual thing for me to do & you are probably wondering why I even said that so let me explain & try to wrap this up...... life is so much more than skin deep. That sounds cliche but it's so very true! When we get overly involved in anything in our own little world, whether it be our work, activities, working out, spouse or kids, we tend to push the things outside our little world to the side hoping someone else will see them & take care of it. So, maybe you are a person of balance & none of this applies to you. If you are then that's great! Or maybe you are like me & get a little off balance sometimes & this is exactly what you needed to read. Whoever you are & whatever place you are at, I hope this challenges you to do whatever adjusting you need to do to make your health & fitness journey a more beautiful one that you keeps you fulfilled & happy, not imprisoned. I hope that you will start looking at the positives in yourself instead of the negatives. And more importantly,  I hope that you, like me, will look for ways to step outside of yourself & your little world & look for ways to make make the world around us a better, happier place!

                   Now, who wants pancakes?!

I got this recipe from Spoonful of Fit! Love her blog! You can check it out here!

I have been aching to try coconut pancakes ~ since pancakes are my Kryptonite but didn't have any coconut flour....... until tonight. I bought a bag of unsweetened coconut flakes  (dry flakes, not the flakes in the freezer section ~ not sure those would come out like flour...) at Kroger, tossed it in my Ninja (minus the plastic of course!) & about a minute later ~ 

Voila! Coconut flour!

Coconut pancakes coming right up! 

Super easy! Super yummy!

Low calorie, low carb, virtually no sugar, packed with protein & super delish.....

 what's not to love??!!

 Coconut Flour Pancakes

 Coconut Flour Pancakes
4 Tbsp of Unsweetened Coconut Flour3 Egg Whites
1/4 C Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla & a little bit of Stevia
It made 5 pancakes & I ate every one of them! 
*Nutritional content (pancakes only) ~ 198.5 calories, 12. 8 grams of healthy fat, 2.4 net carbs, 2 grams of sugar & 13 grams of protein!





 I topped mine with 1 Tbsp of sugar free syrup & had my usual egg scramble on the side ~ 1 whole egg & 3 whites! :D

Clean, Green & Lean Pinwheels

Ok, so I actually wrote this post this past Friday & when I went back to finish it up & post it, somehow most of it got deleted! Ugh! It was a really good one too!!! Definitely frustrated with Blogger about that! So, I honestly haven't had it in me to go back & rewrite all of it out in detail like it was so I 

am going to make it short & sweet! 

One of my favorite things are pinwheels! I love love love them! I usually only make them on special occasions and at the holidays -

 But this past week it dawned on me...... 

Why do I have to wait for a special occasion to make

 these wonderful little treats?! 

That's totally crazy!! 

They are so good and can be made in millions of different healthy ways & are the perfect easy go - to lunch or healthy snack!! So I got in the kitchen and have been making pinwheels for the past two weeks and having them for lunch!! You need healthy wraps to start & for the meat (which you can leave out & just do veggie ones too!), I used a large can of chicken - drained & rinsed of course (fresh is obviously better if you have the time & money  but the canned is a lifesaver if you are like me & short on both lately). I also used sweet peas in 1 batch then broccoli in the other. For the spread you can use Fat Free Cream Cheese but I like this Alouette Spreadable Cheese too cause it comes in flavors! And I use Hummus as well cause it takes a decent amount of spreadable stuff to make them stick, roll up & get firm enough to slice & I think more than 1/4 C of Cream Cheese is just too much. But, that's just me! Get creative & make yours however you want! Using 1 large can of chicken, a serving of sweet peas or broccoli (you choose) 1/4 C Cream Cheese, 2 Tbsp Hummus made up one batch of five which is enough to last you through a 5 day work week! Both batches came out really good! This is one of those recipes that will just keep getting better and better the more times you make it and the more creative you get with the ingredients!! I topped mine with salsa both times and it was really really good!! 

 Just make sure your veggies are chopped or mashed & your cream cheese is at room temp so you can mix it all together well! Then put it all in a bowl, mix & start spreading leaving about 1/8 inch around away from the corners to give it room to spread out. Then I wrap in saran wrap individually & chill til firm enough to slice into pinwheels! 

Oh yea!...... pimento & Paprika are great add ins & they make them pretty when sliced cause they add a splash of color!

YES, I shall have HEALTHY Hot Chocolate!

Hot chocolate........ 

when I hear those words I get all a warm fuzzy feeling inside

 & I think of watching The Polar Express on a cold night all snuggled up on the couch by the lights of the Christmas tree! What do you think of when you hear the words hot chocolate?

Actually, though I love hot chocolate as much as any red blooded American gurl, I rarely ever drink it because #1 - It's loaded with sugar, calories & carbs - the very demons that I work so hard to sweat off at the gym every day & #2 - I am very caffeine sensitive & since hot chocolate is something I usually think of  at night....... I also know this  decadent treat, if consumed at night,  will leave me lying awake til well after midnight resulting in plenty of time  to kick myself for the extra calories before bed before ultimately proceeding to download countless apps from the app store on my iPhone while waiting for the caffeine/ sugar buzz to wear off so I can sleep! Now, I can't lie, sometimes this can be fun- like at the holidays while lying in bed talking with my sister like little schoolgirls staying up past their bedtimes- but the holidays are fairy tale world & while I greatly look forward to them.........right now, I am in the real world &  I want to sleep! I NEED to sleep! So, anywho - today, when I got home from the gym & was preparing my post workout shake, I decided not to wait til night time or the holidays & Polar Express time.....

I wanted hot chocolate NOW! 

So, I glammed up my usual post workout shake & made it over into hot chocolate that I not only did NOT feel guilty about, but dare I say - PROUD that I "indulged" in!! It feels so awesome to me when I can take a beloved comfort food that would be so mean to my hips & make it into something that makes me feel like I got the  

moooooooves like Jagger! ;)

So...... yes, I shall have Hot Chocolate & 

it shall be HEALTHY!!!!

Dymatize ISO 100 Gourmet Vanilla

Before I go any further, I have a new protein powder that I would like to introduce! Dymatize ISO 100 Whey. Let me tell you that this is the Mother Ship of protein powders! It is so yummy! I mean this is the best protein powder I have ever tried! And it is lactose & gluten free w 0 sugars & only 100-106 calories, 1.5 carbs & 25 grams of protein per scoop! WOW! I have it in Cookies & Cream & Gourmet Vanilla. Both are fabulous! I buy my protein powders & all kinds of other goodies on bodybuilding.com!

 

Hot Chocolate

So, it's easy peas-y to make of course!

Take a cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk. - If you haven't tried Silk's version yet, oh my goodness!.... You need to! Then I just used 1 tsp of cocoa powder (you can add more depending on how chocolate-y you want it - but remember cocoa powder is bitter so don't add too much!), 1 scoop of Gourmet Vanilla protein powder & 1 Tbsp Stevia. Shake it up in your shaker bottle & then pour into a microwavable mug, microwave to desired temp, cuddle up & ENJOY!!!

P.S. This Gourmet Vanilla protein powder I am using made it kinda taste like it had melted marshmallows in it a little.....  

Mmmmmmmm...........

Cinnamon Apple Crumble Squares

FALL.........I LOVE this time of year!! 

You are probably going to hear that a lot from me over the next few months! I love the way the Fall air feels & smells, I love having my windows open, I love the falling leaves, the approaching holidays & of course, I love the food!!!....... ahhhhhh! To me, it is all DIVINE!!! I feel so alive this time of year! I have really been feeling great lately since I started doing the Body Earned program! I can see & feel myself getting stronger! I am lifting more at the gym & pushing hard with HIIT cardio! I am definitely seeing results & I am LOVING it!!! 

And since I am feeling the love everywhere lately, you can bet I wanna stir up some Fall lovin' in the kitchen! It was time for a new batch of protein bars today, so I reached for my tried & true fav -  Jamie Eason's Cinnamon Swirl protein bars, but then I thought,  "Callie, you need an Apple Cinnamon protein bar recipe!" And for those of you that are familiar w JE & all her protein bar recipes you are probably thinking, "Callie, JE has an Apple Cinnamon protein bar recipe!" And you would be right! However, I have to be honest, I have made them a few times & I have to say that (no offense to Jamie cause she is my total fav) but I do NOT like them AT ALL! And I am a HUGE Apple Cinnamon fan!!! I'm sorry! But, I have to be honest! They are the only ones of hers I don't like! But since I love the taste of anything Apple Cinnamon so much & this is the perfect time of year for it AND Dr. Oz just recently did a show on the Top 10 Anti- Aging herbs & spices & Apple Pie Spice was #5!!! (link to the article is below) And you know how I am about anti-aging, right?! So, taking all things into consideration, I figured it's high time I came up with an Apple Cinnamon bar that I DO like! So, anywho, long story short (semi-short) I got in the kitchen & a scrumptious new protein bar was born! YAY!  I am always so proud when I birth a new protein bar recipe that comes out really yummy 'cause clean baking is a lot of trial & error! 

Clean ingredients are very different to cook with if you haven't 

already experienced that already.  

I used my fav - JE Cinnamon Swirl protein bars as my recipe inspiration because I love, love, love the cinnamon "sugar" swirl part! And I have to say that I like these even better that those & that is saying A LOT 'cause her Cinnamon Swirl bars are the 

super dang & my total fav...... until now! 

I can't wait to have one of these warmed up with a glass of Cinnamon Almond Milk!! 

Shut the front door!!! 

YUM!!! 

Oh, & also, they made my house smell gloriously amazing! 

(besides the Scentsy I always have burning!)

Add caption

They are worthy of the name too!  Pretty & crumbly! Mmmmm.........

 Cinnamon Apple Crumble Squares

Dry ingredients:

1.5 C Oat Flour

2 scoops Vanilla Whey

1/4 C Stevia in the Raw

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Apple Pie Spice

wet ingredients:

4 egg whites

1/2 C Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/4 C Natural Applesauce

1 tsp Brown Sugar Splenda

*Topping:

1/ C Stevia in the Raw

1 tsp Brown Sugar Splenda

1 tsp Apple Pie Spice

1 tsp Cinnamon

*Preheat oven to 350. Blend oats into flour then blend remaining dry ingredients. (I use my Ninja for all of this, of course!) Add wet ingredients to the dry & blend until it's all mixed together-scrape sides of bowl or Ninja cause the flour always wants to stick. Pour into an 8 x 8 square pan then sprinkle Cinnamon Apple Crumble on top. Swirl with knife all the way through back & forth a couple of times then pop into the oven & bake until a toothpick comes out clean! As with all protein bar recipes like this, don't over or under bake! This can be tricky when you are first learning to make things like this! If you take it out & your toothpick comes out clean yet you cut into them & your knife is gooey, don't stress! Just put them back in for a few more minutes! 

*Makes 16 squares.

*Nutritional content: 34.5 calories, .5 gram of fat, 2.9 net carbs, .2 grams of sugar & 3 grams of protein!

(Nutritional content is calculated according to the protein powder I currently use which is MRM. You will have to adjust the content according to what kind you use or any other ingredients you alter)
* If you would like to read the article by Dr. Oz on the Top 10 Anti- Aging Herbs & Spices you can check it out here!!

Banana Power Muffins

Hey Fall y'all! 

This is my absolute favorite time of year!  It's been a little while since I blogged &

I truly miss blogging as often as I was but lately I have just had so many other things that have taken priority in my life & you all know how it is... there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do much less time enough to 

add on the fun things you want to do! 

I have still been making some great, healthy foods though! Last week I started the Body Earned program by James Wilson & it's getting me back to a place of stricter accountability which is good since I had taken a little break off from exercising due to my knee. I find that for me, I am so much more mindful of things I eat when I am working out hard in the gym on a routine than when I am taking time off....... I still eat healthy, I just notice that I don't do as well on monitoring my calories & such as I should. So, anyway, I am glad to be back & am LOVING the Body Earned program so far! I think what I love most about it is it's such active circuits that change every week & I am done in an hour! I LOVE that part! And believe it or not..... I am learning to love my cardio! Gasp! I know right?!  I do my cardio but I am not a cardio lover per say...... not normally but this program only calls for 20 minutes of HIIT 4 days a week & I can handle that! I have even been doing a 5th day of cardio....... so I am pretty proud of myself! :)

Anyway..... onto the ooooey gooooey stuff! ..... FOOD!!!!!!

So, I am really concentrating on my calories & macros with this program. Paying special attention to my carbs since I struggle with those. It is a learning process to find out what works specifically for my body. I have a deep, irrevocable love for bananas & I crave one every day! But they have a lot of carbs in them so I thought it's be wonderful to be able to satisfy that sweet banana craving daily without the guilt that comes from eating just one banana! So, of course, I thought banana muffins! Perfect to go with a protein shake after my morning  workout with half the carbs plus added protein & fiber! I haven't made any in awhile but I always think about banana muffins & bread in the Fall so I thought it was high time to pull out my favorite banana muffin recipe & give jazzing it up healthy style a whirl!

They came out totally to die for & made my house smell oh so good!

 

Banana Power Muffins

Banana Power Muffins

You will need:

2 C Oat Flour

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (I use MRM Rich Vanilla)

1/2 C natural applesauce

1/2 C Stevia in the Raw

3 egg whites

2 bananas - mashed

1/4 C unsweetened Almond Milk

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla 

~ 1tsp Brown Sugar Splenda & 1 Tbsp Stevia in the raw mixed together in a small bowl & set aside.

*Preheat oven to 350
*Grind oats into flour first in your Ninja (or other blender) then add remaining dry ingredients & blend. Add all wet ingredients & mix well. I stop blending after a 30 seconds or so & scrape flour off the sides then blend some more to make sure all ingredients get mixed in!
Pour batter into regular sized muffin tins until they are almost full (I like my muffins big!) & it makes 10 good sized, fluffy muffins! Don't forget to check your muffins & don't let them over cook! If you are new to clean baking, things bake a lot faster & are easy to over cook until they are tough or chewy so take out as soon as you notice they are fully risen & a toothpick comes out clean! Sometimes I even take baked things out when the toothpick comes out with just a little bitty bit of ooey gooey goodness on it so they'll be perfect! Depends on your taste preference but just don't overcook!
*Last but not least, while hot, I spritz the tops with no calorie butter spray, (not clean but it's fine in small doses) then sprinkle the tops with the Brown Sugar Splenda & Stevia blend to totally up the YUM factor! ;)
*Each little of figure friendly, Fall comforting muffin comes to 104 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 16 net carbs & 5 grams of protein!
~~~ One banana has between 26 & 32 carbs  depending on it's size! So, if you are watching carbs this is a great replacement that will satisfy a banana craving with half the amount of carbs! You can't beat that cause carbs add up fast! Especially with fruit! I will have one on the side with my scrambled 1 egg & 3 whites for breakfast or post workout with my chocolate protein shake! Pre & post workout are the best times to eat fruit! Especially the ones higher in sugar & carbs!  :)

Skinny Pumpkin 'n Protein Spiced Latte

So, I love coffee!..... 

however I am not a big coffee drinker. Only because it can be hard on my stomach & I am caffeine sensitive & yes, even decaf has small amounts of caffeine in it. But,  the cool weather always makes me crave a cup of hot coffee!  But I like sweet flavored coffee...... not just plain coffee. A couple of weeks ago I was out shopping with my best friend & decide I wanted to try my FIRST Starbucks! Yes, you read that right...... it was my FIRST time to ever get a Starbucks coffee! Almost un-American huh? Anywho, with it being Fall & all & taking into account that I am a Pumpkin-a-holic, I (of course)  wanted to try the Pumpkin Spice Latte that I always hear everyone rave about. So, I got a decaf Pumpkin Spice Skinny Tall Latte & it was yummy! But NOT skinny! I later learned that night that it had 40 carbs! 40!!!! Now, can anybody tell me how they call a drink w 40 carbs  "skinny"?! The answer is, no..... nobody can because that's NOT SKINNY!!! Geez Loise!!! That's CRAZY!!!! So, I made it my mission to make a Pumpkin Spice Latte that was TRULY SKINNY - not an imposter - & to also add some protein too! And I have to say that, as I am sitting here on my couch in my pj's with my windows open on this cool Fall morning with the scent of my Scentsy Clove & cinnamon in the air enjoying my last cup of my Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte while blogging right now...... it is even better than the Starbucks version!

 It's PUMPKIN-Y, YUMMY, HEALTHY & SKINNY!!!!

;)

Skinny Pumpkin 'n Protein Spiced Latte

 The following are what I use. You will have to adjust the ingredients depending on how much coffee you use.

*I use Folgers Simply Smooth Decaf (because of my tummy ) but just use your favorite coffee!
*I have a 3 Cup Coffee Maker (that really comes out to 2 full cups)

I brewed my pot of 3 (really 2) cups of decaf, then I poured it all into my protein shaker bottle & added 1/4 c Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk, 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder, a good couple of shakes of Pumpkin Pie Spice, a dash of cinnamon, a cap full of Vanilla extract, some Stevia in the Raw (I like mine sweet so do yours to your taste). Then I shook it up really well & poured a cup & put the rest back in my pot & back on the coffee pot to keep it warm. When you go back for cup 2, just stir it cause the protein & spices want to hang out at the bottom of the pot! Shaking it up makes it come out all frothy just like the coffee shop! I sprinkled a little extra cinnamon on top & added a cinnamon stick for stirring as well! Adds a wee bit of extra flavor but mostly just made the picture really pretty! ;)

*I had my 2 cups for 57 calories, 1.5 grams of healthy fat, less than 1 carb, 1/2 gram of sugar & 10 GRAMS OF PROTEIN!!!!

Take that Starbucks!

Pressed Chicken Nuggets & "Fried" Potato Chunks

I bet you forgot about me huh?! I have been MIA for awhile. Truthfully, I have just been busy with so many other projects lately! But, I am still here! Life has dealt me some unexpected twists lately but you know what I have learned? It's the trials in life that make you a better person & show you what you are really made of. For it's in the trials in life that we grow & change. It's up to you whether you let them change you for the better or for the worse. I choose BETTER!  Don't you?!

I don't know about you but the last time I ate a chicken nugget was........ well, it's bee so long I don't remember! Lol! So, Pinterest being the wonderful source of all things that it is...... made me want some so bad! I have never attempted to make anything like this before but I have had my experiences with things that have to be coated then dipped in batter & in my experience, it's been a lot of work & doesn't ever come out right for me. I end up ruining half the dry mix cause it gets all yucky! So, I took a different approach! It was easy & they came out perfect! And, hey..... who isn't all about that when it comes to cooking?

I cut my cleaned chicken breast up into chunks & I put them in a bowl with 2 egg whites & coated them really well. Then instead of dipping them all individually , I put them on a cookie sheet close together & I poured my mix of Italian Panko Bread Crumbs & Parmesan Cheese on top & pressed it on top of the chicken! Then I baked them at 450 until the tops looked crispy! I have a fear of cooking on high so they would have been crispier had I just left them in longer. Yours will probably be prettier but mine were still really good! Also, you could sprinkle the pan with the bread crumb mix first, then lay the chicken on top, then sprinkle the top again so the bottoms will be coated too! These were...........

Here they are before I seperated them!

After they are done baking, just seperate them into nuggets!

I seriously felt like I was BIG TIME cheating! I had them & my "Fried" Potato Chunks with some reduced sugar ketchup & I was in total Saturday night "cheat" heaven! Especially since it was healthy! That made it even better!



For the Potato Chunks I just cut a potato into wedges, sprayed them with nonstick olive oil or butter cooking spray then I sprinkled Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning on them, tossed them around in a bowl until they were well coated & put them on a skillet over medium heat & cooked them until they were done making sure to keep turning them over so they crisp up evenly! you could bake these as well if you wanted too!

Mmmmmmmmmm...........

That's a healthy twist on a classic Southern Comfort Food you can be proud of! :D