Oven "Fried" Chicken (gluten free, grain free, dairy free)

Mcdonald's chicken finger nugget happy meals; the stuff that 80's kids dreams are made of, right? Oh dear God put the breaks on what was my mother thinking?!  My tastes and diet have certainly changed since those early day's, but a girl still has cravings right?! Speaking of cravings I distinctly remember one late night my husband, Rich, bringing me home Publix Fried Chicken. I was eight months pregnant and I ate 3 large pieces at 10 o'clock at night! Today's recipe is adapted from the Joy of Cooking's sauteed breaded chicken. It is a fiber packed gluten free rendition of chicken fingers.


Gluten Free Oven "Fried" Chicken

4 chicken breasts cut into tenderloin strips

1/2 cup almond meal/flour

1/2 cup of flaxseed meal

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/8 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 egg beaten with 1 tsp of water

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  To make the breading toss all your DRY ingredients (almond meal through garlic powder) in a mixing bowl then pour onto some was paper on the counter or a large plate. Crack an egg in mixing bowl and beat with 1 tsp of water. Dredge your chicken pieces through the egg mixture then into the breading and then place on baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Enjoy!

Oven "Fried Chicken" served with homemade potato fries and kale

Today's Workout Blip:

Today was legs and abs circuits of my  Get in Shape Girl Bikini Plan which I did at home.  Remember last week's spout on holding planks for 90 seconds. Well I am one proud mama to say I held ALL 3 sets for 90 seconds! This program has reinforced in me that if you push yourself you will get stronger and push beyond your own physical limits. So again I ask how long can you hold a plank?

Roxy, my workout buddy for today at home

Let's Connect!

You can now follow me on pinterest  and twitter @LeanGourmet. Also on the sidebar of the blog you can sign up to have the blog emailed to you. I have a facebook page too!

Until next time stay strong and carry on!

Brooklynn

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Doughnuts (gluten free, grain free,dairy free)

Picture by Brooklynn

One of my favorite Saturday morning memories is my mom, Bonnie, stopping at the local Robert's bakery after the midnight shift at the local steel mill and bringing home pecan rolls and doughnuts for breakfast. I can still see my little brother's  blue eyes light up upon seeing the white cardboard box wrapped in string.  Robert's Bakery was a family owned business in my hometown of Butler, PA. It has since closed as many of my favorite local businesses back home. Those days of gluten fried goodness are behind me, but I still wanted my two year old Isabella to experience Saturday morning doughnuts. Today we broke from our traditional Saturday morning pancake regimen, despite her protest, and I made the vanilla version of the Spunky Coconut's Chocolate Doughnuts with a lemon glaze. This batter does require use of a doughnut pan as it is not thick enough to roll out and shape. I picked a pan up at my local Home Goods store for $9.99 yesterday. Now I know what you are thinking. Doughnuts, healthy? Really? To that I say yes! The main ingredient is natural almond butter. These doughnuts are a different experience than your traditional, but just as good with a glass of ice cold milk!

Picture by Brooklynn

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Doughnuts (gluten free, grain free,dairy free)

I followed the recipe of  the vanilla version of the Spunky Coconut's Chocolate Doughnuts and
my modifications include:
1/4 tsp regular liquid stevia (instead of vanilla stevia)
1/4 cup of coconut milk
4 TBS of coconut flour
1/2 cup of blueberries
I added all the ingredients listed in the origional recipe into my Blendtec including the berries and pureed until thick and smooth. I had to use 4 TBS of coconut flour as the berries thinned the batter. My batter's consistency was too thick to pour out of the blender. Makes 6 doughnuts.
Lemon Glaze
2 TBS of homemade clean powder sugar (recipe below)
1 tsp of FRESH lemon juice
Mix the powdered sugar and juice then drizzle onto cooled doughnuts with a spoon.
Clean Powdered Sugar Recipe
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 tsp arrow root powder
Place ingredients into food processor and blend until a fine combined powder is formed.

picture by Brooklynn 

She loved them and told me they tasted like cake

Today's Workout Blip:

Today's workout came from  my workout plan the Get in Shape Girl Bikini Plan. I decided to workout at home since we were on a lazy Saturday pace and it was getting too late to take Isabella to the gym child care. I also love working out at home so Bell can see me exercise and how fun it is to be active and healthy. We set the example; right parents? The workout was three giant circuits or rounds of  11 exercises performed for the required number or reps one after the other. It was an intense 30 minutes! My favorite exercise was the plank knee drive it really rocks your core muscles! I performed my reps in a full pushup position( not on my knees) and did 10 per leg. Give it a whirl! I also completed my 20 burpees a day challenge. For cardio I performed 10 rounds of 50 seconds jump roping with 10 seconds rest between jump roping. I use my gymboss interval timer. There is also an App for Gymboss in the Apple store! It was short, sweet and intense.

Let's Connect!

You can now follow me on pinterest  and twitter @LeanGourmet. Also on the sidebar of the blog you can sign up to have the blog emailed to you. I have a facebook page too!

Until next time stay strong and carry on!

Brooklynn