Running Frustrations and Panko "Fried Chicken"

Let me preface this post by saying I'm not a Southern girl, but I do like me some fried chicken! However, I'm not really a big fan of actually frying things. Lately I've been doing a great job of keeping my cholesterol in check and I'd like to continue to do so :) So get ready for my take on "fried chicken," which is a misnomer since there's nothing fried about this chicken at all.

...After hearing about my recent return to running. As you see on the sidebar to the right, before yesterday morning, I hadn't ran in nearly 2.5 months. And I died a little bit inside not to doing so. Several weeks ago, I severely injured my knee. I'd seen two sports therapists, have been using Rock tape and have several stretches I do every few days for my knee and ankle and all the muscles in between. After going that long without running, I started to lose it.

How am I supposed to workout without running if I can't afford a gym membership (without a job), don't have access to a free pool and my knee hurt after even limited motion cardio activities?? I basically was restricted to OnDemand yoga and stretching, but nothing gave me that same feeling as when I ran. I think this triggered a minor bout of depression for me. Well, maybe that or being rejected by SEVEN companies I've interviewed with now.

Either way, I felt the need to test the water yesterday. My knee wasn't crackling as much and at 10 a.m. the weather in Phoenix had cooled down to 81°!!! It seems as if all signs were point to run.

Except, my knee is not yet ready for it. I could only manage 1.49 miles before it started to bother me. Post-run I underwent some major icing, stretching and then a warm bath.

I'm still extremely overwhelmed. Am I going to be able to run again?? How long is it going to take to get back into it?? How come there are people who run multiple marathons a year, and when I started conservatively training for a half marathon, I could only make it to 8 miles before blowing out my knee?? And am I going to get a job SOON before being rejected by yet another company so I can afford to go to a physical therapist again?

So many unanswered questions. I'm feeling miserable about this entire situation, so I guess I'll stick to my OnDemand workouts until I can ease back into running at the right time...

Let's move in a happier direction, shall we??? How about that recipe I promised you before my running rant.

Panko "Fried Chicken"

• 6-10 chicken breast tenders
• 1 1/2 c Panko breadcrumbs
• 2 t Italian seasoning
• 2 t garlic powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 2 eggs
• oil spray

Cooking directions: Preheat oven to 350°, while it's heating, coat a cookie sheet with oil spray (I used extra virgin olive oil). The prepare three shallow bowls for the chicken. In one, combine flour, salt and pepper. Crack two eggs in a second bowl. In a third final bowl, mix Panko, cumin, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Note: I only used six chicken tenders and found this was more mixtures than I needed. It could easily be cut in half, or use double the chicken.

Coat a chicken tender into flour, dip into egg mixture and then give them a final dunk in the bread crumbs. Repeat for all the chicken tenders then place them on the cookie sheet.

The chicken tenders should bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

We had ours alongside sweet potato fries, dipping sauces of ketchup and apricot BBQ sauce and a big bowl of salad. Oh yeah, plus a chilled glass of white wine, which kept me amused during my wait for the tenders to cook!

Enjoy! They're a little different than your usual fried chicken, but still juicy and tender inside with a proper crisp on the outside! Dipping them in BBQ sauce was also fabulous :)