Clare’s Baked Cheesy Chicken Fingers

So here we are flying through the week again, and as always I am looking for a meal I can have on the table for my family, nice and quick after a long day’s work. This is a great one for the kids to help with, always great as a finger food when you have people over and ideal to over make and pop next week’s portion in the freezer or to take to school / work with a wrap or salad the next day, these always go down a treat with my family and I hope you enjoy them too. In my opinion these are far tastier than any chicken take outs 🙂

>>>>>>>>>> Claire’s Baked Cheesy Chicken Fingers <<<<<<<<<<

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Total Time:  55 minutes

Ingredients

• 125g/4½oz fresh breadcrumbs using really nutty brown bread

• 2 tsp parsley

• pinch of salt and pepper to taste

• 4 boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into strips

• 50g/2oz plain flour

• 3 medium / 2 large free-range eggs,  beaten

• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil

• 4 tbsp of finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 100ml of milk

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Oil two baking trays with melted coconut oil.
2. Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley in a bowl. add the finely grated cheese and mix well, add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Place the flour in another  bowl.
3. Dip the chicken pieces in the milk, then the plain flour, then in the beaten egg and finally coat in the breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess and lay the cheesy chicken fingers on the oiled baking tray.  This is much easier if you keep one hand clean from the egg and milk for dipping into the flour and bread crumbs.
4. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, turning once. Remove from the oven when completely cooked through and golden-brown all over.
5. Serve the cheesy fingers with a variety of dipping sauces, use red sauce, barbecue sauce , the curry dip I used for chips, or any you like best. My family love these with a green salad in summer and with baked chips and beans during the colder months.

This was done with a whole chicken breast but works equally well with the fingers

Tip: Over prepare these and freeze additional batches (before placing in the oven) in your freezer containers and over cook a few for your lunch the next day, to bring to work with a salad, or in a wrap or for the kids chopped up with some pasta in their lunch boxes.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people    <

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

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Seared Chicken with Apricot Sauce (help’s with any sweet cravings)

I was asked for a simple dish that is tasty, quick and super simple to recreate so I choose this:

Fresh apricots, white wine, apricot jam and tarragon combine in a quick sauce that’s delicious with chicken. I pound the chicken thin so that it cooks in just a couple of minutes.(I use parchment paper and a rolling pin) Let this easy recipe inspire you to create your own variations. Try different combinations of wine (or even fruit juice with a touch of vinegar) and other fruits and preserves. Serve with: Quinoa or brown rice and steamed Spinach or steamed Broccoli .

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (about 120g each), trimmed or all fat and tenders removed
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided ( I leave this out, maybe try adding 1/2 this quantity until you no longer need it at all)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon canola oil (I use Coconut)
• 3/4 glass white wine (Use a dry white wine if possible)
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 4 fresh apricots, pitted and chopped
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon , or 1/2 teaspoon dried

PREPARATION

1. Place chicken breasts between 2 pieces of cling film / parchment paper & Pound with a rolling pin, meat mallet or heavy pan until flattened to an even thickness, about 1/2 inch. Sprinkle ( if taste requires) with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off excess. (Discard any leftover flour.)
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned and no longer pink in the centre, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, cover and keep warm. (If necessary, cook the chicken in two batches with an additional 1 tablespoon oil.)
3. Off the heat, add wine and shallot to the same pan you have cooked the chicken in, Return to medium heat and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly reduced, should take about 3 minutes. Add apricots and cook until the fruit begins to break down, again no more than 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in jam, tarragon and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Return the chicken to the pan and cook until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the chicken with the sauce, some rice, vegetables and Enjoy!

NUTRITION

Per serving: 252 calories (Chicken and Sauce Only) ; 5 g fat

Steamed broccoli with a squeeze of lemon (½ cup)
22 calories

Steamed spinach with a squeeze of lemon (½ cup)
21 calories

Quinoa tossed with chopped fresh herbs (½ cup)
111 calories

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Week 5 Food & Activity Diary (admittedly not my best week)

Well week 5 has to be hands down my least active and worst food week to date 😦 But I had kind of planned it like this, ‘honest’  as my regular readers will know I have been on a 21 day No candy, No cakes, No white bread, No white pasta, No white rice, No chips, No fast food (be it curry’s, burgers, pizza etc) No chocolate, No ice cream, No alcohol challenge, this came to an end before the weekend so I indulged in a nice Thai meal from Limerick’s newest Thai and Noodle restaurant KAYA and I choose to have my favourite from here which is ‘NASI GORENG’ Malaysian Fried rice (I opted for brown rice) with prawn, chicken and topped with
a fried egg and grilled chicken sate, incredibly tasty and a real treat at the end of my 21 day challenge. I washed this down with 3 very large glasses of my favourite wine 🙂 , After just 21 day’s without any wine I was actually quiet merry after my three glasses.

I then headed off to Dublin Saturday and Sunday night, to enjoy some night life, get in some shopping, visit the new beauty bar in Penney’s and to see the fab Ed Sheeran, a busy few days filled with fabulous moments and memories that will last a life time 🙂 On week 5 and I have been taken this plan very seriously and I think the odd down time and weekends like I just lived are as important as the food and activity plan.

I found the 21 day No candy, No cakes, No white bread, No white pasta, No white rice, No chips, No fast food (be it curry’s, burgers, pizza etc) No chocolate, No ice cream, No alcohol challenge pretty ok to do and I felt great from doing it that I have decided to jump right back in to another 21 day’s 🙂 (My hubby and kids just love this decision) 🙂

So as much as I think breaks are needed and treats are good I also think you need to use them as a break and not the norm, if I didn’t go straight back into the 21 day challenge then I may give up altogether and this can not happen. I am too determined for that!!

I have served up some delicious foods to the family this week even though I had a bit of a break and from a few weeks ago where they thoughts some meals were a little boring or tasteless, they are now enjoying them and I think I am learning to create ‘Clean meals’ better than I could 5 weeks ago.  We have swapped out most junk food for healthier food options and as a family we are all feeling better. I do not buy junk food in the supermarkets, I think if it is not in the house then it is highly unlikely that in the evening (when the dinner is done, the soaps are on and my feet are up / this is my weak time) I will get up and walk to the shop for nibbles or nice things. even the label ‘nice things’ or ‘treats’ is wrong, sugar is not good for us, white breads and pasta are not good, yet we have been programmed to think these are our treats, out rewards in food form, the marketing teams and advertising people behind these ‘nice things’ have fooled us all 🙂 the swine’s!!

This is a selection of some of the food’s I prepared at home this week, the hubby and the kids fancied something nice so i treated them to home-made scones ( I gained serious brownie points with these) 🙂

Exercise wise, activity wise, I actually did ok , even with my days away. I used the gym in the hotel I stayed at in Dublin, I attended two ‘Fit Camp’ classes and one ‘Spinning’ class, with still walking to and from work each day, this is a serious improvement from where I was 5 weeks ago. If you would like to join me on one of the classes I attend in Limerick then get in touch and we can go together, messages I have received from readers over the last few weeks mentioned the lack of an exercise buddy or the fear of entering a class alone when they did not have any idea what to expect, has been putting them off attending. So if you would like to join me then you are more than welcome. Get in touch and we will attend together 🙂

Still an on-line Unislim member (in membership alone) not actively following the plan because as I said last week, I find the on line plan so what confusing and the advise given by Unislim has been to attend a class (as yet I have not found the time) but this week I hope to find time to do this, I have a fairly busy week in work and a few social events to get in, so it maybe the following week before I attend a class but I am determined to learn how this plan works as from looking at all the plan’s out this seems like the best for me and the social media supports via Twitter and Facebook are brilliant.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Claire with the hair McCarthy ❤

Here we are, Week 3 of my Food and Activity diary

Wow Week 3: Already?! Time really does fly 🙂 Ok so we are still eating clean, moving more and sticking to the ‘One Big Change’

The week was some what more challenging than week one or week two, for a few reason’s but most of all because I had a party to attend on Saturday night and I had a trip to the Cinema over the weekend to see Noble. Last weeks ‘One Big Change’ involved the No crisps, candy, wine and so on, which was in abundance at the party and snacks are all over the place at the cinema.

So the party on Saturday night, there were snacks, nice things and alcohol everywhere and I did not touch any of it, I choose to not pick at anything as if I began I may not stop! and I stuck to drinking water with a lime wedge. Was this decision easy, well yes but sticking to it was not very easy but then I woke up Sunday very proud of myself for sticking with my plan and staying focused 🙂 I found people watching very interesting on Saturday night, It is not often I am in a room full of people who are all getting drunk and I am the one to remain sober and I found waking up, without the dreaded hangover on Sunday a real blessing 🙂  Sunday as I was bright eyed and not like the cat in the picture 🙂 I decided I would head off to the Cinema to see Nobel, this wold never have happened if I had been drinking on Saturday night but this trip came with the smell of popcorn (not allowed for another 10 days), bags of sweets and chocolate everywhere (again not allowed for the next 10 days) ((as per last weeks ‘One Big Change’) but I got through it, found it odd not struggling with the massive box of popcorn and slurping on the over size fizzy drink, but again proud that I got through this without feeling deprived or sorry for myself.

Have carried on with Spinning and Walking and this week I am going to attempt a new class (all in ext weeks update) 🙂 Finding I want to move more, if I don’t do some activity, I am thinking I should be. This is a great place for my mind to be 🙂

This week I have found many tasty, easy to do meals for me to do, there is lots of vegetables, meat, fish, still using Coconut oil to cook foods that require oil, still not eating any candy, cakes, white breads etc and this week I have included Chia Seeds as my ‘One Big Change’  these practically tasteless seeds have a wide range of benefits, some of which are:

1/ Lose Weight Without Starving : The Chia Seed is a dieter’s dream come true. The tiny, healthy seeds can be made to taste like whatever you want, and their gelling action keeps you feeling full for hours. Hunger is the main reason people fail in the weight loss attempts, Chia seeds will keep you feeling fuller for longer with no excess calorie intake.

2/Keeping balanced levels of blood sugar is important for both your health and your energy. Blood sugar may spike after meals, especially is you have eaten high-starchy foods or sweets. This can lead to ‘slumps’ in your day where you feel tired and lack energy. By balancing your blood sugar, you not only lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, you also ensure steady, constant energy throughout your day.

3/ Eating a portion of Chia Seeds each day adds a healthy omega-3 to your diet. Omega-3 oil is usually thought of as “that healthy oil in fish” , But, what if you don’t eat fish each day? then eat Chia as this is the richest plant-source of the health oil. By weight, chia contains more omega-3 than salmon. Omega-3 oil is important in heart and cholesterol health.

4/ Chia seeds will keep you more energized all day long, Don’t want to feel like you need a nap mid afternoon? then have some Chia, your energy levels also impact on the choices you make when deciding what to eat. Chia is one of nature’s highest plant-based sources of complete protein.The combination of complete protein, vitamins, minerals and blood-sugar balancing gel all work together to make sure you have steady, never jittery energy.

5/ Chia is age-defying in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants have always been in the news due to their super benefits. You know that blueberries and sereral exotic fruits have them, but did you know that chia is extremely high in anti-oxidants too? The anti-oxidants found in chia are the reason the seeds stay fresh for so long. Kept at room temperature your chia seeds will stay fresh and ready to eat for over 2 years and this is without a single chemical or preservative.

These are just some of the incredible benefits for eating Chis Seeds and this is why I have chosen these as this weeks ‘One Big Change’

This is a simple, after work, mid-week meal, It is some salad and chicken with a sprinkling of Chia goodness and a simple meat free egg salad with a small wholemeal pitta bread , yummy 🙂

Sometimes the hardest part of eating healthier, is thinking what to eat, so with this in mind I am going to add some meals to the blog that are healthy, easy, quick yet tasty.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare With The Hair ❤