Junk Food Junkie

Hey y'all! We are right in the middle of the week and I hope it's going well for you. I was up over 2 pounds when I weighed on Saturday which was both surprising and typical. I think I was getting paid back for the week before as my behavior last week didn't warrant that much of a gain. I'm feeling frustrated with my body. My lack of metabolism combined with the summertime slump I face every year as a teacher is zapping my motivation. I've done well this week but feel bloated and down after two disappointing weeks in a row. I'm doing everything I can to keep it going because I know once school starts, things should get better. My teaching routine bleeds into my food routine and getting up to work at the same time every day gives me more energy. Don't look for much positivity from me this week. I'm not feeling it.

One of the reasons I have issues is I have an undying love for junk food. I love chips and dip and fast food. I don't really eat it anymore, or at least not regularly, but I still crave it. One of my favorite dips on the planet is Buffalo Chicken Dip. I never make it but if other people do, I'll eat it until I'm sick. Well, it came to my attention that grocery stores have started selling it with the other dips. I thought this would be perfect because I would know exactly how many calories I was having and I could break out the measuring spoons so I didn't eat too much. So, I was at Wal-Mart and despite the horribly obnoxious and dumb branding, I bought their Buffalo Chicken Dip. I feel dumb for buying any food branded only towards men but to be honest, I also drink Dr. Pepper 10. Even though I contributed to the random sexism found in a dip, I will admit I enjoyed eating it. It wasn't as good as the fresh, hot dip I've had at parties, but it had great flavor and went well with the precisely 53 pretzels I ate it with. I'll probably seek out a different brand next time but I'm happy to know it's a snack I can buy anytime.

Not only do I love junk food, I also enjoy fast food. What I find more frustrating than anything about my fluctuating weight is that I don't eat the "no no" foods anymore. I can't remember the last time I just popped through a drive thru for a burger and fries, or had a pack of Oreos in the house. I don't eat chicken fingers or pasta dishes or desserts at restaurants. I've completely changed the way I eat and yet, I gain weight. All it takes is an extra beer on the weekends, or too much food on a Sunday night or one fun day at a food truck festival for me to gain weight. Anyway, I digress. I was craving foods that a toddler would ask for so I decided to make chicken nuggets and fries. I used the single serve fries that I've been using which are so easy to pop in the microwave. The nuggets were actually made with ground chicken. I combined the ground chicken (which was seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and parmesan cheese) and then formed them into a nugget shape. After that, I dunked each nugget in a combination of Italian seasoned bread crumbs, more garlic and more parmesan cheese. Excuse my aggressive man hands in the photo but I wanted you to see the process. Once they are all lined up on a pan, pop them in the oven at 350 around 15-20 minutes, until they are golden brown. While they baked, I made my fries (and also threw an egg roll in the oven to complete my brown food trifecta) and made a dipping sauce. I used light mayo, sriracha, garlic and ketchup. There's no exact plan for this. If you like it more spicy, add more hot sauce or if you want creamier, add more mayo. You get the idea. The nuggets had good flavor but I do wish that I had baked them a bit longer. Also, I like ground chicken, but for nuggets, I think I'll use chicken breasts next time in the food processor. The ground chicken flavor made it taste like chicken nugget burgers and it was a little weird. I mean, I ate it, but it was weird.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Until next time!

Bye!