Lovely Day

What a lovely day it is today. I started my day with my little tinkers, Seren and Carys, going to our church (LDS ) to help clean it ready for  general relief society meeting tonight and for church tomorrow.

Then we stopped at Target to get some more little halo oranges  and fresh blackberries for me, although I may make something yummy with the blackberries.  Then home.

But with the weather being so nice today, I decided to go to Walmart and get myself a bike and bike trailer for the girls. I have been really good exercising and watching what I eat lately...that I thought adding biking while pulling the girls in the trailer will help drop those pounds.

Well, 40 minutes biking while pulling the trailer behind is  quite the workout!!!

I'm pooped!!! Lol but the good pooped :-)

Legs feel heavy, my core got quite  a workout too. I'm gonna try and do this 3 times a week. Although im gonna have to get a better much more comfortable seat...Gosh, my booty did not like my seat!!!

But I know all this exercise is helping as of Wednesday just gone I've lost 2 lbs...YEAH ! It may not seem much, but to me it is! But  I have to keep going and shed those other few unwanted pounds.

Well, I best get my wrinkly girls out of the bath...they came inside from playing outside covered in sand and dirt !!!

I hope your day has been as warm, wonderful and tiring as mine :-)

A LOVELY DAY TO PLAY

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Homemade Breaded Chicken Tenders.

Homemade Breaded Chicken Tenders

With

 BBQ Garlic Dip

I must say, this was my first time making  breaded chicken tenders or as the girls call them nuggets.

AND

They were succulent & de-lici-ous!! 

And will have you going back for more

And super easy to make

This is what you will need

Raw or defrosted Chicken tenders

Pickle Juice

 (Enough to cover you chicken)

1 Egg

1/4 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Flour

1 Tblsp of Powdered Sugar

1/2 Tsp Paprika

1/2 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Black Pepper

1/4 Tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 Tsp Dried Basil

1/4 Tsp Celery Salt

Oil for frying.

(For my recipe I Tripled the ingredients)

Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1/2 Cup Mayo

1/3 Cup of BBQ Sauce

2 Tsp Johnny's Garlic Seasoning

Mix all of the ingredients together

I cut my tenders in half and trimmed any fat off.

Using the JUICE from your pickles

Pop the tenders and juice into a Zip lock bag and leave to marinate for 2 hours

In the meantime, you can prepare the breading.

Put all the dry ingredients into a shallow dish 

And mix through thoroughly

Next mix the egg and milk in a shallow dish. And once the chicken has marinaded, pour out the juice

And put the chicken into the egg mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Once the tenders have soaked for 15 mins in the mix,

Coat them in the dry mixture.

Set on a plate until your're ready to cook

I used Coconut & Vegetable Oil.

Heat oil.

Drop the tenders into your oil and cook for about 7 - 10 mins till golden brown and crispy

Or when sliced open there's no pink flesh.

Let the tenders, drain on kitchen towel then

Serve with dipping sauce

Delicious Homemade Breaded Chicken Tenders

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Hidden Killers

I'm the type of person who tries her best to cook our meals from scratch ensuring they are healthy. I try to use any body products for myself & our girls that are 'Good' which means - I make my own lotions HERE and body scrubs HERE and I use a shampoo that pretty much has good ingredients (after much research that is)

So, today I just wanted to share with you my readers some info that you may or may not know about. Some of the sites I use on a regular basis and how I 'Shop' for anything I would consider to use on our bodies. 

For many years I have known about some of the 'NO, NO' chemicals that are in most of everything, but some I have learned about over the last 2 years, thanks to our little girl Carys having super sensitive skin, but if i'm honest I don't like what the big named companies are putting into their products - even if they say it's 99% Natural ( If you learn how to read the label and its ingredients - you will realize it's not all that it's made out to be)

Below is a list of what to look for - I will add there are so many other products that have these NO-NO Chemicals so make sure you read the label BEFORE buying.

I love this site, you can type in a chemical and find out about it and its ratings on how good or bad it is;

CHEMICAL OF THE DAY -COTD

Ingredients to avoid¹

Prefixes ethyl, methyl, butyl or propyl

• What it is: Parabens
• Health risks: Endocrine disrupters that mimic estrogen; linked to weight gain and breast cancer
• Found in: Lotions and shampoos

Fragrance, DEHP, DHP, DBP 5, dibutyl phthalate

• What it is: Phthalates
• Health risks: Sperm damage, infertility
• Found in: Nail polish, shampoo, deodorant, lotion

Dyes: Blue 1, Green 3, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 33

• What it is: Coal tar
• Health risks: Carcinogenic
• Found in: Hair color, medicated shampoos

Triclosan, chloro, phenol, irgasan

• What it is: Triclosan
• Health risks: Endocrine and thyroid disrupter; promotes antibiotic-resistant bacteria; bioaccumulates in the body
• Found in: Antibacterial soap, shampoo, facial cleanser, toothpaste, deodorant

3-(4-methylbenzylidene)-camphor (4-MBC), octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC), octyl-dimethyl-PABA (OD-PABA), bexophenome-3 (Bp-3), homosalate (HMS)

• What it is: Sunscreen chemicals
• Health risks: Estrogenic activity; enhances the potential for pesticides to penetrate the skin
• Found in: Sunscreens

Polyethylene glycol (PEG, PPG, Cocoate), propylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, polyethoxyethylene, polyethoxyethylene mineral oil

• What it is: Petroleum byproducts
• Health risks: Carcinogen; liver and kidney effects
• Found in: Lotions
• WET WIPES.

Petrolatum

• What it is: Derivative of petroleum
• Health risks: Endocrine disrupter; carcinogen
• Found in: Lotions

Lead acetate, thimerosal, mercurius solubilis, mercurius sublimates, mercurius corrosives, mercuric chloride

• What it is: Lead and mercury
• Health risks: Found in higher levels in women with breast cancer; neurotoxin
• Found in: Hair color, wound treatments, artificial tears
• 
  

Isobutene

• What it is: Propellant made from petroleum processing
• Health risks: Carcinogen
• Found in: Moisturizer, shaving cream, foot spray, breath freshener
• 
  

Placenta

• What it is: Placenta, placental enzymes, placental extract
• Health risks: Filled with hormones that upset your own balance and increase estrogen
• Found in: Skin and hair conditioner

Hydroquinone

• What it is: Hydroquinone
• Health risks: Can cause a skin disease called ochronosis
• Found in: Skin whitener

Nano zinc oxide <100mm

• What it is: Nanoparticles
• Health risks: The safety of nanoparticles has not been tested, but they can cross the blood/brain barrier and move along nerves
• Found in: Sunscreens, lotions

READ THE FULL ARTICAL HERE WRITTEN BY ANGELA KOWIESKI

Here is the link to EWG site - http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2008/03/natural-products-contain-carcinogenic-contaminant

EWG Top Tips for safer Products - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/top-tips-for-safer-products/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/13/sodium-lauryl-sulfate.aspx

CLICK ON THIS LINK FOR A FREE DOWNLOAD FROM NATURAL HELATHY CONCEPTS

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Feild Museum, Chicago.

Last Sunday, before we drove home from Chicago,  we visited Chicago's Field Museum. 

It houses 'Sue' the Trynnosaurus Rex. 

And boy, she is quite the dinosaur!

There was quite alot to see...we managed to get to see pretty much everything,  even if it was a quick walk through the plant section and the worlds fair, and bio-mechanics!!.The girls didn't find them that interesting :-)

In most of our pictures, Carys is crying....she didn't much like the skeletal displays or the lions or gorilla. .. Etc. lol

Seren, on th other hand wouldn't stand to have her picture! ! Kids.

It was a nice day... even if our feet and legs ached from ALL the walking.

On the way home, we stopped at Portillo's diner... drive through. We ordered a classic Chicago dog, burger, a chocolate cake batter, shake and salad for me.

The shake... oh, I had a slurp and it was different to say the least..but an little too sweet for me (I know the lady who loves chocolate right!)

I had a bite of the burger... Very good and 2 bites of the Chicago dog and that was pretty good too. Salad... Well is salad right.

Then we drove home... All tired out.

I have to say, I stuck with my calorie counting and with all the walking l, plus I did ny exercise dvd too while there...I was way under my calories :-)

All in all....a much needed break and a great trip to Chicago.

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Sears Tower

Our visit to Chicago.

Skyline of the skyscrapers in Chicago.

And our trip up the Sears Tower or as it's called now the Willis Tower. Travelling up to the 103rd floor - makes your ears pop!

It was neat to look at the mini sized cars so far below.

And us having our picture standing in the glass Skydeck! ! But don't look down or you freak out....lol

All in  all a fun Friday Evening.

CHICAGO SKYLINE

LAKE MICHIGAN ON THE LEFT

THE BLACK SKYSCRAPER ON THE RIGHT OF CARYS IS THE

JOHN HANNOCK CENTER

SKYDECK

SEARS/WILLIS TOWER

SKYDECK!

SEE THE STREETS BELOW OUR FEET!!

HOW COOL IS THAT.

OPEN YOUR EYES, SEREN LOL

I WAS BRAVE AND KNELT DOWN!!

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Happy 4th Birthday Seren - Shedd Aquarium

Today has been a busy yet wonderful day.

We woke to celebrate Seren's 4th birthday :-) 4 wonderful, sleep deprived, quick growing years. Seren was lucky to be born in my home country Wales, Great Britain.  And she has been a delight since day 1.

She was so happy to get 2 Lalaloopsy Dolls.

We had breakfast and headed out. We we going  to visit Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

What a beautiful ornament building.  There were tons and tons of different types of fish. etc and most of all Sharks and dolphins. .. Although my cell died so I don't have any pictures of the dolphins

:-(

It was wonderful seeing all these beautiful creatures and the graceful movements they made in water.

Gosh, I Waugh I could swim like a fish!! I have adverse reactions to being splashed let alone swim with my eyes open under water lol.

We also went to Adler Planetarium which Carys slept through half of it. Seren liked son of the hands on stuff. I'll post pictures of that again as I had to use my camera.

We had dinner at 312chicago.
  An Italian restaurant. ...so nice and the food was delicious, even the girls chicken tenders were proper chicken and coated in such delicious batter. I had an arugula salad with balsamic dressing followed by a Butternut squash Tortellini..so good and then naughty we had this lush, flour less chocolate cake - which Jason and I shared ( less calories for me right)

 And it wasn't too expensive. And a shout out to our server... His name was Tony...complete with a full Chicago accent. He was fabulous.
 We even left him a little thank you message on the receipt with a nice little tip. .. Yes, he was that good.

He even came up to us as we  are leaving the restaurant and was so thankful.

Now, we are back at the hotel... Worn out and our new 4 yr old birthday girl, Seren is fast asleep... Carys on the other hand, is finding anything to do to cause mischief! 

So till tomorrow and our day at the Field Museum. .. Night night.

GOOD MORNING AND HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY SEREN

OHHH....LALALOOPSY DOLLS

OUSIDE SHEDD AQUARIUM

HUGS FOR THE FISH!!

INSIDE SHEDD AQUARIUM

BABY CATFISH

SPOTTED STINGRAY

HOLY HUGE FISH!! 

STINGRAY KISSING THE GLASS

SEREN WAS TAKEN ABACK BY THE SIZE OF THE FAKE SNAKE.

EVEN THOUGH SHE INISITED IT WAS REAL LOL

SAY CHEESE!

LOOK MAMA!! TURTLES

NEON FISH

SHARKS!!!!

Duh Nuh, Duh Nuh, Duh Nuh ( jaws music)

Beluga Whales

PENGUINS

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