Egg Salad with a Twist

I have been thinking a lot about egg salad lately... I am not. sure. why...

When Mike hard boiled some eggs for me the other day, I have been trying to come up with my own recipe for egg salad... but then I just couldn't get that curried greek yogurt idea out of my brain. So, I went with it. I did throw in some additional veggies like carrots and celery, so it wasn't exactly the same thing, but same flavor I am sure.

We loved this egg salad! As I was making it, I asked Mike if he liked egg salad and he said sometimes he tastes it and thinks to himself "self, that is good." So I let him have a bite. I warned him that it was not the traditional egg salad that he was probably thinking about with mayo and mustard, but he loved it. He loved the sweet flavor and tangy combination from the yogurt and cumin. We had a winner.

I packed us both a few lunches out of this salad and it was a nice change up to our traditional leftovers for lunch. I had mine on a whole wheat bun with sliced tomatoes with a blood orange greek yogurt and some buffalo wing pretzel crisps. I am certainly getting my protein in lately with all the added egg and yogurt in my diet.

BTW, the blood orange Chobani? AWESOME. These new flavors are soooo good!

Remember the other day when I made a so-so dinner of a homemade pasta sauce with veggies over whole wheat spaghetti? Well, we had a bunch leftover, and I didn't want it to go to waste. Mike decided to doctor it up a bit by adding some seasonings and jalapeno chicken sausage. We ate that for dinner on Tuesday night, and it actually turned out really good. I crumbled some goat cheese on top of mine and it was really creamy.

I think the vegetables had a chance to soften up a bit more and the sauce was a little more flavorful. We are really getting good use out of 1 package of those jalapeno chicken sausages. I would so much rather eat them this way than in a bun. They add so much flavor to regular meals!

Can you tell who plated my dinner?

Wednesday's breakfast was completely random. We are out of bread, and I am still just not feeling like eating oats, so I just threw a bunch of things into my bag. Grapefruit, hard boiled egg, and mangoes...

The grapefruit is making me so happy every morning. I love fresh grapefruit! That combined with the mangoes is so very refreshing in the mornings. :) The egg is really just there so that I am not snacking for the rest of the day.

We went to they gym last night for a leg work out and got in a pretty good one in 30 minutes. I had to rush to get to the hospital on time, but I am glad we were able to get it in. Doing a leg work out, then running around a hospital floor for 4 hours, makes for some very tired and jello legs. Today I plan on doing cardio, arms, and abs since I have been pretty slack this week.

Which brings me to a good question. If I work out every single day on the weeks that I work 10-6, is it OK that I slack a bit on my 9-5 weeks when I don't feel like waking up before 7? Of course, I know it would be best to go every week, the same amount, but I feel pretty good knowing that I did 7 days in a row last week, so this week I am only getting in 4 days. Do you agree? Or am I just making up excuses for my laziness?

We do have one small problem in our house currently... a lot of these are leftover and being consumed... we don't want them to go bad! And, they are SO GOOD! Someone come over and eat them all so we don't have to!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 44
Sodium (-) 71
Protein (+) 16

Only the BEST Chicken Nugget Recipe Ever

Happy hump day! Wednesdays are always good days for a few reasons. 1. my office celebrates "casual Wednesday AND Friday," 2. only 2 more days til the weekend!

Gym Plan
Mike and I have developed a plan for next week that will hopefully get me to the gym at least 3 times and we can ride together. Riding together has been really helpful to our budget since we both work very close to each other, but very far from our house. Our gas bill is just so high, we had to come up with some kind of solution. But, when we ride together, I don't normally go to the gym. Mike has a lot to wrap up before the end of the year at work, so he is going to try to put in a few extra hours each day. Our plan is to drop him off early, I can go to the gym, and then go to work myself. Luckily, the gym I go to is very close to both of our jobs so, barring any eye traumas, I should be back to my gym routine soon!

Yum. that is all.
Boy, do I have a recipe to share with you. I made the BEST chicken nuggets ever last night and I can't wait to make them again. They were sooo tasty! So much better than any fast food restaurant and so much healthier! I found this recipe on Skinny Taste and followed it almost exactly. That recipe is a keeper. Although, I do want to try to create a spicy version soon.

The Best Chicken Nuggets
adapted from Skinny Taste

2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into nugget sized chunks
Salt and Pepper
4 tbsp of olive oil
6 tbsp whole wheat Italian bread crumbs
2 tbsp panko
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive Oil Spray

Preheat oven to 425 F.

After you cut your chicken up, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Mix breadcrumbs, panko, and cheese in a small bowl. Also, put olive oil in a separate bowl. Coat each chicken nugget with olive oil, then in the breadcrumb mixture.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and spray with the olive oil spray. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Flip each nugget, spray with olive oil again, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve with your choice of dips.

Lite Ranch, Spicy Sweet and Sour, & Sweet & Sour

I really couldn't get over how great these nuggets turned out. I think the spraying of the olive oil was definitely key. I had hoped we would have enough for leftovers today, but we ate them all. :)

After dinner last night, Mike and I put together some lunches and oatmeal for our breakfasts the rest of the week. This morning I enjoyed oatmeal - "Mike's Way" - with frozen raspberries and brown sugar.

Tonight, I am meeting up with some lovely ladies for an ornament exchange. We are all bringing a dish to share and I decided to bring a Cherry and Brie Pastry Bake. I can't wait to try it. I will post all of the goodies from tonight's festivities tomorrow. Have a great day!

Yesterday's Stats
Calories (+) 8
Sodium (+) 537 :(
Protein (-)2 :)