So a big component of preparing for a 30 hour, 200 mile race is making sure you’re packing well. I want to make sure that I’ve got everything I need without OVER-packing (something that I have a rather strong tendency to do). So I’ve been casually gathering things over the past week to make sure that I’m not forgetting anything. Yesterday I packed up most of the things I’m going to need (though I’m sure there will be a few last minute swaps and additions, for sure!) and gave my duffel bag a trial run.

Since, as mentioned, our all-blogger team is being generously sponsored by New Balance, packing my fitness clothing isn’t much of a challenge. I’ve had a chance to test out all of the running gear that they sent us, and have my three running outfits all picked out. I have three sports bras, three pairs of socks, and three hair bands too. I’m even bringing the extra items that I won’t be running in — like these infamously short run shorts — because while I may not enjoy the chafing, they are super comfortable just to lounge around in.

New Balance also sent us an awesome secondary package just a day or so ago with some team-branded clothing! So we have a tank, long sleeve technical tee, and running windbreaker all with Off Balance branding! So exciting, and the tank is not only vented with a sweet logo, but it’s super flattering too. Win-win!

It was actually much more difficult for me to decide what to pack in terms of non-fitness clothing. Ultimately, I figured that things are going to be pretty casual (with the possibility of going to do something slightly nicer Saturday night if we’re not all dead), so I’m packing a couple of cute tees (including my Team Peeta shirt! RAWR!) and one sundress. I’m planning on wearing my jeans on the plane.

And yes, that is 7 pairs of underwear you’re seeing folded up in the background there. Underwear is the one thing that I believe can NEVER be over-packed! On the side you might also be able to make out a rolled up plastic-lookin’ thing. That’s three huge Ziplock bags for me to put my race outfits in. All of the relay race packing suggestions I’ve read say to pack your three race outfits in separate plastic bags — that way, it’s easy to pull them out when it’s time to change, and you also have a place to put them back when you’re done! I know it probably seems gross to put sweaty clothes in a plastic bag, but consider that I, the Sweatiest Exerciser Ever, am the first runner. That means that there are like 29.5 hours left in the race that my vanmates would have to put up with my stinky clothes if I didn’t seal ‘em off, hahaha. What, TMI?

I do have just a FEW non-clothing things that I’m packing too. Since I’m flying and don’t want to have to check a bag, I’m trying to keep my extras limited. But I want to contribute to the team/my van, too! So I’m bringing baby wipes (for post-run wipe downs, since there won’t be any showers), a roll of TP (just in case!), the Dreamie travel blanket that Ben gave me for my birthday (if I decide to try to catch even a few minutes of shut-eye in the van, haha), and a jar of Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful (for eating by the spoonful).

Of course, I can’t forget the most important thing that I’ll need to be bringing — my sneakers! New Balance also sent me this awesome pair of flip flops in my latest package, which I was counting on relaxing in between running legs. Unfortunately one of the support straps broke! I’m really bummed, because they are SO comfortable (they remind me of Rainbows!), but I guess I’ll have to resort to my UnderArmour flippies instead. Le sigh.

So there you have it! Additional things I’ll be bringing that aren’t shown include my camera (duh!), iPhone (duh!), charger (duh! Are you sending a pattern?), a hand towel (suggested by our New Balance contact to wipe down post-run), PJs for Thursday and Saturday nights so that hotel roomie isn’t subjected to THAT (bahaha!), toiletries (including men’s deodorant – this is no time for my usual Dove Cucumber and Green Tea!), and some very minimal makeup.

Any last minute suggestions for what to bring, what to do, or how to survive? General words of encouragement are also welcome, since I’m still mildly freaking out about the running part of this whole shebang… though, as my loving and rational boyfriend reminded me, I’ll only be spending a fraction of the relay (like, what, 2 hours total?) actually running. But still. Think good thoughts for me!

I christened my beautiful, glorious, entirely too expensive birthday gift from Sean with a meal of epic proportions (for more than one reason, natch). Also, I feel it bears noting that I have named my french oven. Her name is Francette.

As promised, the first dish cooked up in my new baby is a delicious, hearty lamb stew with dried plums as inspired by Katniss’ favorite dish from The Hunger Games. I figure that enough time has passed since my 10,000 Hunger Games posts that I can bring it back now, hehe.

I should probably tell you now that I did not follow the recipe from The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook that my friend Lara gave me for my birthday. I used the book, along with this recipe, to give me a general idea of what ingredients to include, but from there I pretty much took off on my own. The reason I didn’t want to follow the recipe in the book was because it had like 28937 ingredients, including a bunch of fresh herbs, both white sugar AND brown sugar, as well as a cup of ginger ale (?). Too complicated! I’m sure the recipe from the book is very tasty, but I like things to keep things simple and, more than that, EASY.

This recipe definitely falls into the simple and easy category. As with any low-and-slow cooked meal, it is a little bit time consuming at first, but after you have all the stuff in the pot, you really get to just set it and forget it. From what I have gleaned, there are two options for making stews: on the stovetop or in the oven. Since it’s already hot and humid as, well, you know, around these parts, and my brother (side note: check out his redesigned photography site!) refuses to turn on the air conditioner, turning my oven was not ideal for me. Plus, I figured with a stovetop recipe, if I want to try making it in a slow cooker next time, the process will translate more easily.

I was able to find lamb specifically designated for stew, that was already cut into chunks in the meat section of my local Giant. If you can’t find something similar, I think that lamb shoulder is the ideal cut, although leg of lamb would be equally as delicious, just more stringy in texture. All the other ingredients are pretty standard (dried plums are the same thing as prunes, and I found them in the nuts and dried fruit section of the grocery store).

Admittedly, by the time the lamb, veggies, and stock were all bubbling away together, things smelled and tasted so good that I was actually some doubts about throwing the dried plums (read: prunes) into the mix.

In the end though, I knew that I had to be true to the one defining characteristic of this stew (it is in the NAME after all!) and toss them in there. I added them with about 25 minutes to go on the stove, and I loveloveLOVED the end result. I’m a huge fan of savory + sweet combos, so this was really perfect for me.

The entire dish reminded me a lot of a chicken curry-type dish that my mama makes. It has a stew-like consistency because the sauce gets so thick, and she always adds raisins to it. It seems a little weird at first to add dried fruit to a dish like that (or like this!) but it just really works! I would definitely call this one a supreme success, and a dish that I will certainly be making a lot in the future — though granted, it’s not exactly a summertime dish, so I may have to waylay it’s follow-up performance to the Fall.

It’s not easy to make a photography of stew look good, but rest assured, it tastes AMAZING!

I served this gloriousness over a bed of jasmine rice, although I think that wild or brown rice would have seemed a little more rustic. I think it also would be delicious just on its own (maybe with a crusty piece of bread to sop up all the saucey goodness?) since, as mentioned, it is very hearty and has everything in it: protein (lamb), veggies (carrots, celery, onion), and a carb (potatoes).

Lamb Stew with Dried Plums
Print this recipe!

This hearty, delicious recipe is inspired by Katniss’ favorite dish from The Capitol in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. Simply seasoned with fresh, earthy ingredients, the dried plums add just the right touch of sweetness to this delicious and filling dish. Serve over rice or on its own!

Ingredients:

1 lb. pre-cut lamb for stewing (shoulder or leg cut into pieces is fine too)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 small yellow onions, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped
6 – 7 medium carrots, chopped
5 baby white potatoes, chopped
1 cup dried plums/prunes, chopped
16 oz. low sodium beef broth
1 cup red wine of choice (use a wine you enjoy drinking!)
2 – 3 tbsp olive oil
2 bay leaves
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Instructions:

1. Using a paper towel, pat lamb pieces until dry and season with salt and pepper. In a dutch oven or large stock pot, heat olive oil to medium-high heat and brown the lamb on both sides. Remove from pot and set aside on a plate when finished.

2. Reduce the heat to medium, and add roughly chopped garlic and onion to the pot. Sautee until they begin to get soft and translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze pan with red wine, making sure to scrape all the bits of stuck-on deliciousness from the bottom and sides of the pot. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, and cover the vegetables with beef stock. Season with additional salt, pepper, garlic powder, and add bay leaves. Bring to a simmer before adding the lamb and juices back in. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

3. After an hour has passed, add dried plums. Taste and season to your preference. Cover and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, then serve!

Nutritional info per 1/6th serving: 353 calories, 9 g fat, 43 g carbs (6 g fiber), 21 g protein.

Mm-mmm. It was Sean-approved too, if that matters to those of you who are considering whether their boyfriends, husbands, brothers, or dads would be willing to try it. I can’t wait to bust into some leftovers for lunch!

This weekend ended up being particularly awesome. I didn’t, alas, get in my two-a-day run as I had originally intended (I did still RUN, however, just not twice in one day), but it was pretty great nonetheless. The real star of the weekend was the amazing blogger dinner that I got to attend thanks to my new best friends at Chobani!

It just so happened that Claire was invited to attend this dinner as well, so the two of us set off from good ol’ Falls Church together.

The dinner was in a private dining room at The Federalist, which is a really swanky little restaurant in DC. The menu was specially prepared by the restaurant’s chef to feature Chobani greek yogurt! As a self-proclaimed foodie, it was really fun for me to see what creative ways the chef came up with using yogurt for.

We pulled up to the restaurant and were immediately greeted by Jackie and Emily from Chobani, as well as a few other DC-area bloggers. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a group shot on my camera, but if I can get a hold of one from someone else, you might recognize a few familiar faces. Huzzah for real life and internet-life colliding!

While we were waiting for the entire group to gather, I started off the night with a glass of my beloved prosecco. What can I say? I love my bubbles.

After we were seated, we all immediately began gushing over how nice it is to go to dinner with other bloggers, because you’re not the only one playing the role of food paparazzo, hahaha. It’s automatically understood that nobody touches the food until everyone has gotten their photos, haha!

The menu, as I mentioned, was comprised of dishes that incorporated the use of Chobani greek yogurt. We all got the same starter and dessert, and had a choice between lamb, halibut, and pasta for our entree.

To start us off, they plopped down two bread baskets — one full of normal rolls, and one with cornbread. I think it’s pretty obvious which one I went for, hehe. It was moist and delicious!

Shortly thereafter, we were given our starter: a white gazpacho (which I’ve never had before!) with shrimp, grapes, and minted yogurt. It was DELICIOUS. Super creamy (though the waiter said there was no cream in the actual soup — just cucumbers and almonds!) and very flavorful. I could easily have slurped down the whole thing, but I restrained myself because it was a big bowl and I knew we had two more courses to go. The soup was probably my favorite dish of the evening though, and I’m not very well-versed in cold soups so that should say something!

For my entree I chose the yogurt-poached halibut, which came with small roasted potatoes, artichoke hearts, and lima beans. I thought that all the side accouterments were yummy (which was bound to happen with all the butter that was used, hehe) but unfortunately the fish itself was a little lacking. I think it was mostly a textural thing for me. With a thick cut of fish like that, I was hoping for more of a sear or grill on one side at least, but it really just had the texture of being steamed (I realize the menu said “poached”, but I guess I skipped over that when reading, haha). It was pretty flavorful, so that’s definitely something, but I just didn’t find it to really stand out.

Now, lucky for me, Claire ordered the lamb and was nice enough to share a little of it with me. After my very first bite, I knew that this is what I should have ordered instead. They served it two-ways, sliced and then also a little loaf of shredded lamb mixed up with spices (including fresh dill!) and both were DIVINE. The yogurt sauce that came with it was also delicious, and it was nice to see lamb + yogurt done up in a non-Mediterranean way, since I think that’s what we all would have expected.

As side dishes for the entire table to share during our main course, we were given mushrooms and roasted cauliflower. Both Claire and I agreed that the mushrooms were definitely lackluster (not enough salt, perhaps?) but the cauliflower was outstanding. Some of it got really crispy during the roasting process, and it had tons of garlic on it. I may have to try to recreate some sort of garlic roasted cauliflower fish on my own now — I’ve never had any that good before!

Finally, our last course was served. It was an incredibly, decadent-but-light-tasting panna cotta made with greek yogurt. Let’s just all say it together: NOM. It was served with a fresh strawberry sauce and a shortbread cookie (which I mostly left), and was absolutely heavenly. The texture was really impressive, I wish that the chef had come out to explain if they used cream as well, or if it was really just yogurt (plus the eggs and sugar, and all that other traditional custard stuff). Either way, it was pretty amazing. I completely demolished it, hehe.

So, as you can see, it was a pretty fantastic meal and dining experience. I really loved getting to hear Emily (from Chobani) talk about the company’s origins and founder. She is clearly really passionate about her job and the company, which always makes you fall just a little bit more in love with it. We even got little goodie bags at the end that included a water bottle, tote bag, and little recipe box! I’m not sure if I’ll actually have the patience to hand-write all my recipes onto the cards that came with it, but I do love the idea of having hand-written recipes to pass down to my eventual children’s children’s children, or what have you.

The only unfortunate note to the night was that shortly after we left the dinner, my stomach decided to start stabbing itself with a thousand sharp knives. I had eaten more dairy than I had in probably well over a month that night, and my stomach was NOT happy with me for it. I’m still not 100% used to having to tailor my eating for my lactose intolerance since it’s a relatively recent development, and most of the time I just “happen” to avoid dairy because of my preference for non-dairy milk anyway. (Can I just reiterate my joy that cheese somehow seems to be okay with my digestive system? HALLELUJAH!)

My stomach pains fortunately subsided by the time I got home, but it was kind of touch-and-go there for a while. Poor Claire had to deal with my moans and groans for the entire car ride home, haha. Oh well, all’s well that ends well, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I’ll just try to remember to take a LactAid next time.

Oh sure, it started out the same as any other week. Full of work, good intentions, and general life stuff, y’know? But for a myriad of reasons, this week has had just a little something extra to it.

First of all, I have literally worked out more days in a row this week than I have in who knows how long. Score!

Secondly, I got to have a stellar blog-turning-real-life-friend meetup with Kate (and got to have my first taste of crawfish to boot!). Score!

Thirdly, my eating has been really on point this week. I’ve been tracking well, feeling good, and stuck to my (unannounced) goal of only eating out for one meal (which was the aforementioned crawfish awesomeness). Score!

Fourthly, I am literally still reeling from the amazingness that was the season finale of The Vampire Diaries last night. I do not know how to process all these emotions. I’m still stuck somewhere between crying, shouting, and jumping for joy because I totally called the ending happening like, two episodes ago. I HAVE TOO MANY FEELINGS. Score…?

And lastly, to cap off my epic week of epicness, I received this box from my epic boyfriend:

Qu’est-ce que c’est?

And inside the box, you ask? Why, my belated birthday present!

A Le Creuset french oven. And it is truly glorious.

GLORIOUS!

So the story is that back in April, on my actual birthday, Sean gifted me with a tiny silver knob that said “Le Creuset” on it. I was super confused at first, since I couldn’t tell what it was. I had told him a long time before this that a Le Creuset french oven had been on my Christmas list for five years straight, so I thought that maybe he got me a magnet or something as a joke? Well, it turns out, it was actually a replacement handle for the pot, since the factory knob that comes with the lid is only oven-safe up to 375 degrees.

I’m not going to lie, I may have started to tear up when he told me that my real gift was the french oven. Though for those of you who already know the story of how I burst into tears when Ben, my brother, got me a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas three years ago, this should not surprise you.

So basically, not only is this gift incredibly generous, but it just goes to show that Sean’s a thinker, too. No melted pot lid handles for this gal! SCORE! It took me forever to decide what color and size I wanted (he let me pick!), since I’ve been obsessed with the Kiwi green color for the longest time, but it’s been discontinued. Sad! The Dijon color is pretty rad too though, as you can tell.

Some of you may be wondering (or more likely, not caring at all) what I’ll be christening this gorgeous piece of cookware with? Well, I’ve known that for a while. My gorgeous friend Lara gave me this gem at my birthday party:

And I think I literally clasped my hands together in glee when I realized what I could now make. Any guesses, my fellow Hunger Games fanatics?

Why yes, yes I will be making your favorite lamb stew with dried plums, Katniss. Thank you for asking. You all know how I feel about actually following recipes (I, er, don’t), so I’m sure that there will be more than a few swaps and additions that I make to this thang. Hopefully it’ll be successful (haha…ha?) and I can share the deliciousness — in picture and recipe form — with you all!

In the meantime, just know that this is proof that persistence CAN pay off, and le dreams DO come le true… if your boyfriend is awesome enough. Have an amazing Mother’s Day weekend, everyone!

PS: For those of you who are local to the Metro DC area, my friend told me about this sweet contest from local caterer Saint Germain Catering. Just submit a photo of your mom, a short blurb on why she’s so great, and you could win a $200 catered dinner for your wonderful mama! Enter on their Facebook page, I know I did! (Feel free to “Like” my entry too, hehe!)

Slice of bread, egg paty, slice of cheese, tomato, ketchup

Strawbs

Grapes, carrots, celery

Jalapeno pretzel crisps (these are amaaaaazing!)

Baked Chick-Fil-A Nuggets

Peanut Butter & Co’s White Chocolate Wonderful… times x80,000 (IT’S SO GOOD OMGAH.)

Cajun seafood extravaganza!

In other, non-teenager related news, I got to have a super fun dining experience last night! I met up with the fantastic Kate last night, marking our first foray into real-life interaction. We’ve been blog buddies for a while, and live so close to each other that we finally realized we had no excuse not to get together! The two of us met up at Chasin’ Tails, a Cajun/New Orleans-style seafood restaurant in Falls Church/Arlington (On 29, where the Bear Rock Cafe used to be, if you’re familiar with the area).

We are having crawfish, woman, not HAM. Tsk.

Their motto? “No plates, no forks, no rules.” It’s quite apt, since they just bring your order in a big bag, which you then dump onto your paper-lined table and knock yourselves out. It was very reminiscent of those crab boil places in Ocean City where you sit at a table lined with brown paper, you get a bib and a hammar, and they just dump a bucket of crabs in front of you. It always makes for a fun, if rather messy, dining experience! Chasin’ Tails also gives you a big metal bucket to dump your trash in, as well as a roll of paper towels that was WELL UTILIZED.

Their menu concept is pretty simple: the main feature is the “Bayou N’ A Bag”, where you pick your seafood (crawfish, shrimp, crab legs, lobster, mussels, clams, etc) in 1 lb. amounts (no half-pounds), pick a sauce (cajun, lemon-pepper, garlic butter, or the whole shebang which combines all three), and pick your spiciness level. They also have a bunch of fried side items and appetizers, and serve gumbo and jambalaya as well (you get a spoon for those, haha).

We ordered a pound of crawfish (it was both of our first time trying it!) and mussels, the former done cajun style, and the latter done in the “Whole Shebang” sauce. We got them both medium spicy, and we are SO glad we did. The spice really built up, so I can’t even imagine how hot “Hot” is… let alone “Nawlins Hot”, which was the top level of spicy you could order. ::shudder::

Each bag came with a little cob of corn, a slice of andouille sausage, and a baby potato in them as well. They were both SUPER delicious! We had to get our waitress to show us how to eat the crawfish (is it pronounced craw-fish or cray-fish?), which looked to me like the mutant lovechild of a lobster and a shrimp.

Right??

I was initially wary of trying “mud bugs”, as they are apparently called sometimes, though I’m not really sure why? I guess I just don’t love eating anything that really looks like an animal… which I’m sure is making all of my vegetarian readers shake their heads in shame. Turns out that I really had no reason to be squeamish – they’re easy and you really get used to the spindly legs and whatnot. The process for eating them evidently goes like this: Pull the tail and head apart, suck the juice out of the head, then pull the meat out of the tail!

Kate, proud of her handiwork!

The meat from the tail tasted just like shrimp to me, though perhaps a little less delicate in texture. Really yummy, though I’m not sure I would eat it again for the meat itself. I think it was more about the experience. Otherwise, it’s a lot of work for very little meat!

Neither of us had a very good concept of how much was appropriate to order, and it turned out that the seafood alone didn’t end up being too much. After all, it’s not like you’re really eating and entire pound of seafood MEAT, the pound includes the weight of the shells/casings/whatever. So I think that ordering three lbs of the seafood dishes between two people would be a good amount (so there would be 1 1/2 pounds each, that way).

We ended up ordering a couple of side items halfway through our seafood chow-down because I could tell that it wasn’t going to be enough. Chasin’ Tails doesn’t really have any non-fried side items though, other than the corn and stuff that comes in the seafood bags, so in the future I’ll definitely make sure I order enough of the main dishes to go around.

Kate and I ended up splitting an order of the cajun fries and six chicken wings, both of which were incredibly delicious but obviously super fried and terrible for you, hahaha. Our waitress was really talking up the wings and sold me on trying them. Three wings for each of us isn’t TOO bad, right?

I would definitely come back here. It’s a pretty unique restaurant for this area, and while I’ve never been to New Orleans, or really had THAT much experience with cajun food, it all seemed pretty delicious to me! I think it would be super fun to take a bigger group of people to, so you can all get different kinds of seafoods to share. The food was flavorful (the Whole Shebang sauce was epic!), our waitress was really nice, and they definitely know what they’re doing in terms of spiciness. My recommendation would be to order conservatively on the spice level if you’re at all wary about it.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

A Chick-Fil-A is about to open a mile from my house.

I know. I KNOW.

Soon I will have unfettered access to the world’s most delectable little nuggets of chicken-y goodness… and waffle fries.

This does not bode well for me. We had a Chick-Fil-A on campus at JMU and… well, you already know how I ended up my senior year, haha. Since moving up here, though, the closest restaurant location is still quite a ways from where I live and work, so there hasn’t been too much of an issue with OD’ing on the chicken. Well, apparently that will be changing come June.

I just love those nuggets so much! And while yes, there are far worse things that I could be eating in the realm of fast food, I still don’t really NEED an extra 400 calories and 18 grams of fat for the nugs, PLUS an additional 390 calories and 20 grams of fat from the fries (and that’s without dipping sauce!) in my daily diet. (Chick-Fil-A nutrition info can be found here.)

So, in the interest of saving myself the agony of prolonging my weight loss efforts any longer than necessary, I decided that I had better be proactive about this.

Enter Iowa Girl Eats’ recipe for homemade Chick-Fil-A nuggets. Sean and I made these a month or so ago, and they are really delicious. The key? Marinating your nugs in pickle juice! They really do give them that same juicy flavor you get from the restaurant. Apparently the word is that Chick-Fil-A actually injects their chicken with pickle juice? Go figure.

Of course, while her recipe doesn’t call for deep-frying in peanut oil, like the professionals at Chick-Fil-A do, it does still call for not a small amount of oil. So this time around, with the craving for Chick-Fil-A bright in my mind, I decided to try baking them instead. Y’know, save myself a couple hundred calories so that I can shovel down MOAR CHIKEN instead.

I still coated them with flour to give them a little bit of a crispness to the outside, and I also adapted the marinade just a little bit from the original recipe. You guys might not agree, but for me, True Lover of Pickles, I just didn’t find the pickle flavor to be enough last time, hehe.

I’m not going to lie to you and say that these are JUST as good as the original. I mean, c’mon, baked-something never really compares with fried-something on the flavor spectrum. But that said, these are still pretty damn good! They’re moist, fun to eat, and full of flavor. Oh, and super easy, too! This method is far less labor-intensive than pan-frying was, where I had to stand over the sizzling oil and fry them in batches. This is really closer to a set-it-and-forget-it kind of deal.

Baked Chick-Fil-A Nuggets (adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)
Print this recipe!

These juicy little nuggets are so much fun to eat! Baked instead of deep-fried, they retain all the flavor of the nuggets you love without the extra fat and calories. You could also forgo the flour coating entirely and grill them up instead. Either way, pop them into whatever dipping sauce you like, and enjoy them guilt-free!

Ingredients:

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders
2 cups skim milk
2 cups pickle juice
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose of whole wheat flour
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

Instructions:

1. In a sealable bowl or large ziplock bag, combine milk, pickle juice and egg. Season with a little pepper and garlic powder if you like. Cut chicken into small, bite-sized chunks and add to marinade. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain chicken from marinade, and in a separate bowl or large ziplock bag, combine flour with more salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Drop the chicken in, seal up the bowl or bag, and shake it until chicken pieces are thoroughly covered.

3. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray. Spread out chicken nuggets on baking sheet (you may need more than one, or to cook in batches), and bake for 18 – 20 minutes, flipping them over once.

Nutritional info per 4 oz. serving: 219 calories, 2.8 g fat, 14 g carbs, 31 g protein.

You can really make the marinade for whatever amount you want. I used up an entire package of chicken breast tenders and ended up with a ton (I like having leftovers!), but you can easily just do a single breast’s worth. Since the ratio of milk to pickle juice is 1:1, just adjust accordingly! I served these puppies alongside a salad (romaine, strawberries, and raspberry vinaigrette) and some leftover coleslaw I had that I mixed with a little chopped tomato. Noms!

I also whipped up a fakey version of Chick-Fil-A sauce (which is basically just honey mustard dressing + barbeque sauce) for some delicious dipping action. Just make sure you don’t go too overboard on the dipping sauces, since that will obviously tack on a lot of extra calories. Bon Appetit!

Oh, and if you’re wondering why I took some of these photos with me awkwardly in them, it’s because I was too lazy to take my phone out of it’s case (which doesn’t have a hole in the back for the rear camera), haha.

Watermelon, NOM. (40 calories)

Sandwich: whole wheat white bread, turkey, cheese, sprouts, lettuce, light Miracle whip (~350 calories)

Steamed broccoli – I ate about half of what’s shown (50 calories)

Uncle Sam’s strawberry cereal (~200 calories)

Whole wheat white bread with peanut butter and jelly (~230 calories)

Green grapes (60 calories)

Velveeta shells and cheese. This bowl, x2. Whoops! Hehehe. (~800 calories)

TOTAL: ~1,730 calories

Yeah, I know, dinner was bad news bears. But still, consider my overall caloric amount plus the fact that I got a run in, and I’m definitely counting the day as a win.

I actually followed through with (the first day of) a workout plan for once, whaddya know? Yesterday evening, I met up with my lovely friend Joy for a nice 3-mile jaunt on the bike trail. My ankle was giving me some grief after a while, so it ended up being more like 2.5 miles ran, .5 mile walked or so, but still! We maintained a really good pace (er, for me) while running too, which was quite novel. The weather conditions were pretty perfect, too — breezy with the sun still peeking out as it set.

FEED ME.

My legs do admittedly feel a little heavy today though (so pathetic, haha), so I’m actually kind of glad that I have Zumba tonight to work ‘em out a little bit. All the jumping and bouncing we do in those classes really works my hamstrings… which is a very good thing as it turns out. Due to a little last-minute race leg change-up, I’m now the first runner in the relay. While I’m totally STOKED to kick-off the relay and absorb all that awesome starting-line energy (one of the things I love most about racing), it also means that my first leg is going to be straight uphill for an entire mile. I know. I KNOW. Just thinking about it makes me want to do this:

Just bury me under these pillows and go on without me, team.

But alas! I’m going to rock it out, and the (literal) mountain shall indeed be conquered! I intend on switching up the 3.5-mile treadmill run I had originally planned for tomorrow and replacing it with a 1- or 1.5-mile incline run instead, along with some weight-work perhaps. I’m just going to crank the tready’s incline up to 5 and see how long I can last, hahaha…ha…ha.

In other news, look at Daxter’s hilarious face!

And that, as they say, is that. Random? Maybe. But I really couldn’t think of a smoother transition, and I felt the need to share his adorable mug with you all today. Don’t even try to say you don’t love it just a little bit.

Have a great tolerable Tuesday! (Since Tuesday is by far the absolute worst day of the week, I feel it would be wildly presumptuous to think that anyone could have a “great” day today, hahaha.)

PS: I’ve got a Daily Eats post coming your way in a few, too! SHOCK! Who am I?!

I’m so, so excited for this experience… and so, so scared. I’ve been reading recaps on blogs of similar relay-style races (Ragnar, Hood to Coast) and am getting simultaneously pumped up and petrified. It’s an odd feeling, haha. On the one hand, I feel honored just to get to be a part of this whole experience. I mean, it’s going to be awesome, New Balance is generously sponsoring our team, some of my favorite people in the world will be running with me, and I’m going to get to meet a whole slew of new friends, too!

And yet, at the same time, I’m still feeling pretty self-conscious going in because I’m the least runner-y runner in the entire group. It’s hard not to get down on myself for being slower or heavier or less in love with the sport of running than the rest of my super-accomplished teammates, y’know? I’ve definitely had my fair share of moments where I’ve second-guessed the fact that I agreed to be part of the relay team in the first place. I’ll admit, the most powerful driving force behind keeping my doubts at bay has been wrapped up in the fact that I hate being left out of awesome stuff. This relay definitely qualifies as awesome stuff. And I know that if I had said no to this, I would have REALLY regretted it once I started reading the other ladies’ recaps, haha.

Team Off Balance

I mean, let’s be honest: My legs for the race are totally fair (2.8, 4.78, and 3.37 miles), so I really can’t be that worried about running the actual distances. And we’re not running to win (obviously), so I should be able to focus the having fun part, right? Well, that said, I’ve also never had to run more than once a day before, let alone on little to no sleep. Heh.

Despite my best intentions to at least practice a two-a-day run before now, I haven’t done so yet. So this weekend I will DEFINITELY be testing one out — once in the morning and once in the afternoon or evening — just to get an idea of how my body will react. Cognitively, I know that the excitement, adrenaline, and general kick-assery of the relay is going to go a long way in terms of helping me get through the physical part of the race. Still though, you know me. I’m a worrier. So regardless of how prepared I am, I’m sure I’ll be in freak-out mode pretty much from now until my plane lands back in DC nonetheless. (Aren’t my teammates so lucky? Hahaha.)

I don’t usually post a lot of specific information about my workout/training schedules here (since I find it boring to read on other blogs, hahaha), but I figure that it’ll be good for me to line everything up officially (you know, so I actually DO it). So here’s the plan for the next 11 days to get me fully prepared for my cumulative 11.51 miles!

Monday (5/7): 3 mile outdoor run
Tuesday (5/8): Crosstrain – Zumba
Wednesday (5/9): 3.5 mile treadmill run
Thursday (5/10): Crosstrain – Cardio Dance Class
Friday (5/11): Rest
Saturday (5/12: 3 mile AM run, 2 mile PM run
Sunday (5/13): Rest
Monday (5/14): 4 mile outdoor run
Tuesday (5/15): Crosstrain – Zumba
Wednesday (5/16): 2.5 mile outdoor run
Thursday (5/17): Rest/Fly to Boston!

And then Friday (5/18), Reach the Beach begins!

11 days. Here we go!