ProCakes Review

Posted in Clean Eating, FitFluential, Food, Products, Recipes by chicken nugget girl

I was so excited when I found out I got to review ProCakes’ protein pancakes. Healthy protein pancakes were one of the first foods I had at my friend’s place in Hawaii when I started eating clean. They are basically a staple in the clean eating world.

Here’s a little bit more info about this special yummy pancake mix…

ProCakes is a high protein, carb smart, gluten free pancake mix with no added sugar. It’s uniquely designed to help satisfy hunger while enhancing your diet with the protein your body needs to stay lean and healthy. It’s comfort food for the fit inspired.

I especially love the no added sugar aspect of ProCakes. I am definitely trying to cut down on added sugar lately, as I keep reading more and more about the effects of sugar on our bodies (source).

ProCakes is even cooler because it is a fitness inspired company run by a very awesome blogger, Caren, at The Fit Habit. The company’s products are mindfully macro-balanced, which is sweet. A macro-balanced diet = a healthy dose of carbs, fats and proteins, which serves as building blocks for a strong, lean body.

Pancakes with side of strong, lean body for me, please!

I’m also glad the protein isolate ProCakes uses is whey protein. Whey protein is my protein of choice in all of the smoothies and protein bars I make. Here’s a good article on why to use whey protein.

Another great thing about it is that it is GLUTEN FREE. A lot of my friends and family are gluten free these days.

*****

I made my ProCakes test kitchen run last Saturday morning. Ok…late morning.

The ingredients part of the recipe is super easy to do: no food prep needed, just quick and painless addition of TWO little ingredients.

1 EGG

(FREE RANGE, of course! An organic tip: to really make sure your eggs are coming from happy and healthy chickens, don’t just buy cage free eggs – buy free range – where the birdies can roam around on the farms and have plenty of livable space.)

1/3 cup MILK

Unfortunately, I kind of botched the test kitchen run.

Meaning my pancakes turned out not so pretty. Obviously I need buy some more so I can redeem my sad little guy. Just blame it on my lack of pancake making skills. I am thinking a round cookie cutter would serve just fine as a shaper next time. #testkitchenfail

Even though my pancakes didn’t quite do ProCakes visual justice, they TASTED good! ProCakes’ protein pancakes have a little more of a sweet cookie-ish taste than usual plain pancakes, which is definitely a plus. The dash of cinnamon in the mix goes a long way. ProCakes are totally not your run of the mill, bland health food.

YOU can buy your own protein pancake ProCakes HERE!

ProCakes sent me the product to review. All opinions are my own.

8Aug2013

Back to the Grind

Posted in Clean Eating, Food, Health, Products by chicken nugget girl

Now that my summer vacations are over, my body will surely be thanking me. This is because when I was on my multiple getaways this summer I cared to shovel my face with delicious food.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s fine on occasion and in moderation, but unfortunately – I go big or go home.

So as I return home, I am refocusing and getting serious about eating clean again and working out on the reg. I’m sick of feeling shitty when I eat like shit or bad about myself when I skip my run with the excuse that it’s miserably hot out. I’m promising myself that I’ll try my best to get back on the healthy train. All you can do is try your best, right?

For me, the healthy train means eating clean 95% of the time with one big free meal a week and a few chocolate and/or alcohol dalliances here and there.

A friend asked me recently if I count my macros.

I had no idea what macros were! luckily she explained it to me – and little did I know I had all the info in my Eat-Clean Diet book.

The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged, page 28.

She also told me about My Fitness Pal, an iPhone app that I had heard about but never tried. She said she used it to count her daily macros and it’s helped her a lot.

I’ll do a full review of the app once I’ve used it for awhile and can really tell you about it. But it is already proving helpful with portion sizes – one of the main issues I need to work on! I am floored at some of the actual serving sizes it’s showing me in comparison to what I previously assumed appropriate serving sizes were.

Here’s to saying goodbye to an indulgent, relaxing summer and kickin’ my ass into gear for the end of the year. Who’s with me?

1Mar2013

Friday’s Five

Posted in Friday's Five, Products, Read, Run, Running Gear by chicken nugget girl

One of my favorite blogs, Carrie Bradshaw Lied, does a Friday feature called “Friday’s Five,” that shows pretty/funny/inspiring things from the past week or the week ahead.

I look forward to her hip Friday posts so much that I’m going to start doing my own Friday’s Five! #copycat

1. Inspiration for Saturday’s long run.

(source)

2. Finding the “lost” BIC Bands in the pocket of your workout jacket.

3. This hilarious gif of Jack Nicholson being just as creepy as usual.

(source)

4. Bubble baths and starting a new book club read.

The bubble bath did help my back a little bit! I took an extra rest day yesterday in hopes it would magically heal my teensy muscle strain.

(source)

5. It is finally March…

Which means 17 days until the Shamrock Half. The countdown has officially begun.

(source)

What are your Friday’s Five?

3Jan2013

BIC Bands Giveaway Winner

Posted in Giveaways, Products by chicken nugget girl

And the lucky winner is………

Katy at Savor Life’s Flavors!

A solid blue BIC Band is coming your way, Katy! Please shoot me an e-mail with your address at chickennuggirl@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Giveaways are fun.

28Dec2012

My First Giveaway!

Posted in Giveaways, Products, Run, Running Gear by chicken nugget girl

This is a big day in Chicken Nugget Girl land because this is my 100th post! That seems like a lot of posts of incessant ramblings. It seems like just yesterday I was gearing up for the Tough Mudder, and now I’m signed up to run my first half marathon!

So why do a giveaway? Because I can!

All the real bloggers have sweet giveaway after giveaway. I’m not cool enough to have a “real” giveaway yet, but I want to THANK YOU for reading!

That’s the awesome thing about blogging – you can write whatever you feel and do whatever you want with your tiny space on the internet. So however tiny it may be, I want to give back to you for taking the time to visit my internet space.

You are so important to me because you inspire me to run further and faster. You are my motivation to find new healthy recipes to make and explore a healthier lifestyle.

You’ve read about my obsession with BIC Bands, so I am giving one lucky reader (I’ve always wanted to say that) their very own BIC Band.

To enter:

Leave me a comment below telling me which BIC Band you would like to have from the BIC Bands website!
For an extra entry, follow @chickennug_girl on twitter and leave me a comment telling me that you did.

Giveaway ends on Wednesday, January 2nd at 11:59 pm. Winner will be chosen on Thursday, January 3rd.

This giveaway is only available for U.S. readers. The winning BIC Band will be shipped to U.S. addresses only.

This giveaway is not sponsored by BIC Bands – it’s sponsored by ME! I was not compensated for this giveaway.

27Dec2012

I Have Lots of Exciting Things to Tell You

Posted in Products, Race, Run, Running Gear by chicken nugget girl

1. Christmas was awesome.

(source)

I spent Christmastime surrounded by family and friends and it was perfect!

It also helped that Santa was overly generous to me – he must be excited that I started running this year or something. I almost felt a little guilty that I got so many sweet goodies. I’m sure they’ll all pop up on CNG at some point, but I’ll highlight a few of my favs because I am so excited to use them that I’m debating squeezing in runs this week at an ungodly hour.

So without further ado, some of my amazing gifts:

Foam Roller

And not just any foam roller, but a fancy foam roller from Trigger Point. Thanks, Mom!

I was so eager to start foam rolling that I immediately did on the floor in front of everyone on Christmas morning. Until a little birdie stole it from me!

Garmin Forerunner 10

I was completely blown away that my dad got me the Garmin Forerunner! I am dying to use it. Saturday long run, here I come. Slash I may just wear it at all times because I am in love.

(original via)

For once I won’t have to study satellite images of the specific arrangement of foliage on mapmyrun.com to determine how far I need to run/ran.

2. I am officially signed up to race a new distance.

When my friend Mal told me that she was going to run the Anthem Half Marathon in March and asked me if I wanted to run too, I didn’t hesitate to register!

Eeek!

I am slightly terrified but also really excited.

The Anthem Half is on the same day/course of the Yuengling Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach. You can see the beach from the course and it’s supposed to be really flat, which is absolutely necessary. I don’t want a repeat of the Tough Mudder where I sucked it up running-wise on the rolling hills of Crumland Farms.

The Shamrock Marathon weekend is so legit that there is even a race expo! I’m finally going to get to see all the cool booths and gear that real running bloggers talk about.

I never thought sprinter me would even want to run a half marathon – ever. But I do! I’m pumped to have a new race and new distance to train for that will really challenge me.

Did you get or give any cool running gear this Holiday season?

Tell me what race/event you’re signed up for next!

26Oct2012

An Ode to Diet Coke

Posted in Products by chicken nugget girl

My dear Diet Coke,

(source)

You taste so delicious;

so refreshing and so bubbly.

(source)

You seem like a necessity,

whether with a salad for lunch

or alongside french fries and junk.

(source)

You were always there for me too,

when I was sleepy, studying for a test,

(source)

or taking a fun road trip.

(source)

But I feel like you lied to me,

(source)

or at least didn’t tell me the truth

about the risk of heart disease, diabetes,

and having a stroke.

(source)

If I keep you around, it won’t be good

for my health nor my waistline.

Though I’ll love you forever,

I have to let you go;

so goodbye, good riddance to you:

Diet Coke!

(source)

19Oct2012

FitKit Guest Post: Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Posted in Clean Eating, Products, Recipes by chicken nugget girl

What is FitKit?

FitKit is a place where nutrition is made personal for everyone. Their mission is to build a community around making health and fitness transparent.

: https://fitkit.me/

FitKit also has a sweet blog that features awesome recipes, workouts, and healthy living tips.

: http://fitkit.me/blog/

Want to know how to make delish Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps?

Check out my guest post on the FitKit Community Blog!

30Sep2012

früsh

Posted in Food, Products by chicken nugget girl

Photo by Patrick Carlson

What is früsh?

früsh is a blend of real fruit and yogurt that offers 9 grams of protein per serving, plus fiber, calcium, and probiotics. Actually, one serving of früsh has 50% of your daily value of calcium. And all runners know how important is is to give your bones lots of calcium. No stress fractures for me, please!

This brand-new product is all-natural and is especially convenient for health conscious people on the go.

When I was approached to host a früsh Tasting Party, I jumped at the chance!

I knew my a cappella group, The Noctonals, would be great früsh taste testers – we certainly never have trouble voicing our opinions!

A special thank you to the super-talented Patrick Carlson at The Carlson Chronicles for being my fabulous früsh photographer.

Photo by Patrick Carlson

There are four flavors of früsh:

strawberry
strawberry banana
blueberry
peach

Photo by Patrick Carlson

Everyone had a grand ‘ol time früsh sampling.

Photo by Patrick Carlson

Cheers to Richard’s favorite flavor – peach!

Photo by Patrick Carlson

Our tasting party began to get silly as the night progressed…

with Ali’s früsh mustache

Photo by Patrick Carlson

and Jessica trying to get every last drop of her früsh from her cup.

Photo by Patrick Carlson

What I really like about früsh is its texture. Some smoothie products are way too watery, and aren’t thick and full flavored, like früsh is. I like that früsh really fills you up like a fresh-made just-blended smoothie would.

Chris was concentrating very hard/seriously contemplating what his favorite flavor of früsh was.