Help Santa make some gainz this Christmas by supplying him with these Snickerdoodle Oatmeal protein cookies! I promise he won't be able to taste the protein. ;) Seriously, these are SO good. I ate all 5 HUGE cookies for breakfast this morning because I am 28 years old and I do what I want. You can too. :P

SNICKERDOODLE OATMEAL PROTEIN COOKIES (makes 5-6 large cookies)
397kcal: 13F/32C/38P (9g Fiber) for entire recipe

Ingredients:
- Any low-cal oatmeal packet (I used OatFit) or 25g oats
- 34g vanilla whey (I used MTS brand)
- 14g coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 60g cashew or almond milk
- stevia to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
4. Spray cookie sheet with pam and use a spoon to scoop dough into 5-6 cookies on cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, then check every 3 minutes until cookies are golden brown and ready to eat!

Enjoy and feel free to eat preworkout, for breakfast, or dessert! Be a rebel without messing up your macros. ;)

As we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've been seeing a LOT of blogs, IG posts, and YouTube videos on "staying on track" during the holiday season. I also know most shows are over for the year and most people are reverse dieting during this time, which is awesome! I just wanted to take a minute to write something that might surprise you, but I think it's important enough to put it out there in the universe. And that is...

DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!!!

If tracking your macros on Thanksgiving makes you happy, freaking do it! If it mitigates your anxiety, go for it! There's nothing wrong with that! Also, there's nothing wrong with NOT tracking! Unless you're deep in contest prep, one day of not tracking is not going to mess you up. Just do what you want and don't let anyone make you feel bad for it. BOOM. :)

I am not saying you should go balls to the wall eating everything in sight or have a binge-fest. If you've been tracking macros for a while, though, you probably have a pretty dang good idea of how much you should eat. So if you are not tracking, just eat mindfully and you'll be fine.

This Thanksgiving, I personally will not be tracking everything, but I will try to aim to hit my protein (estimating). Other than that, I'm going to eat mindfully and enjoy. I'm also probably going to lift on Thanksgiving because it makes me happy, not because I feel like it's necessary. Anyways, I just wanted to offer my $.02 on the matter. Much love and have a happy, stress-free Thanksgiving! <3

- C

Remember the days of getting home from school, poppin' some gushers, stabbing a nice cold CAPRI SUN and watching your favorite nickelodeon cartoon (or cartoon network… TOONAMI perhaps?) all the while making sure your tamagachi doesn't starve to death or suffocate in its own poo?? The days of TRL, POGS, GAK, and Sailor Moon... OH YEAH. I'm bringing it all back to life in this video. Reminisce with me over the best decade to grow up in -- THE 90's. I want to hear what your fav shows/music/food/anything is from the 90's too, so let me know what yours are! I love it all. I had a lot of fun making this video, I hope you enjoy!!

- C

Guess what? My soon-to-be coach advised me to continue to reverse diet until we start prepping (later than I expected)! Umm... HECK YES I will! I guess I thought it would take me a lot longer to get as lean as I need to be for the show than it actually will. That's why it's so important to have a good coach -- they can give an outside, unbiased, objective insight. If left to my own devices, I would have been cutting calories like crazy already... while my metabolism would have had the potential to be in better shape pre-cut. Thank God for Dr. Layne Norton.

The last time I was actually super lean was about a year before I started this blog. If I could go back in time and tell my past self that I was going to gain 10-20 pounds in a few years, I would have probably flipped my shiz. I am not afraid to admit I was a little crazy in the head. My life literally revolved around my refusal to eat and it consumed my mind 24/7. I remember looking in the mirror at my concave stomach thinking I should just lose 5 more pounds... so messed up.

Anyways, I just wanted to say that IIFYM and reverse dieting have not only changed the amount and quality of food that I eat, but they have also completely changed how I view myself as a person. I am so much more than a shell, more than a body, more than skin and bones. I used to think that being as skinny as possible was the ultimate "happiness" I could achieve in life, as ridiculous as it sounds that was my reality; I knew this was wrong thinking, but I didn't think I could change the way my brain was programmed. Not sure if some of that delusion was caused by the lack of food, but I'm now at perhaps the best place I've ever been in life. I'm 22 pounds heavier than my lightest weight, 10 pounds heavier than I was last year, and I am so incredibly content. Not just with my body, but with who I am and the confidence I feel to be completely myself at all times with all people. It's a pretty cool and empowering feeling.

All that to say, IIFYM and reverse dieting freaking rocks. That's all. :P

- C

I'm a dork. :D

Why is it always Sunday when you crave Chick-Fil-A nuggets?! Am I right? :P Good thing you can make them yourself for even better macros and taste with today's recipe!

HEALTHY CHICKEN NUGGETS
191 kcal -- 4.6F / 3.5C / 32.3P

Ingredients:
- Chicken breast meat (raw)
- Coconut flour
- Famous Dave's steak & burger seasoning (or any of your favs)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 (if you want baked nuggets) --OR-- heat up grill to 400 (for grilled nuggets).
2. Cut chicken breasts into nugget sized pieces.
3. Put coconut flour and seasoning in a bowl and mix. I'd say for every pound of chicken you use, put about 14g coconut flour in the bowl; you want just enough to coat the chicken.
4. Dip chicken nuggets in the dry mixture until all pieces are completely covered. Grill or bake for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.
5. Dip in ketchup, buffalo sauce, BBQ sauce, chick-fil-a sauce... whatever you want! :) Enjoy!

- C