• Beginning of May: listed our house and sold it in a day! Major YAY but followed by panic since we didn't have a house to move into. Small, minor detail.
• End of May: completed my 2nd of 4 semesters of my Masters Degree in Nutrition! 
• Beginning of June: started my third semester of grad school.
• Mid June: moved out of our sweet little house...cried a bit. I still miss my house and my kitchen! Moved in with sweet friends who let us stay with them for 5 weeks! Oh yea and bought a new house!
• End of June: presented and defended my thesis project to my faculty advisors. This included the 13 page paper I wrote all while moving...that was interesting. Eventually approved!!!!!!!!! 
• Mid July: moved into our new house! May the painting and redecorating commence!
• Beginning of August: spent 2 days administering surveys to enrolling parents about their children's eating habits for my thesis. Then, 3 days later, went on an amazing vacation (just the hubs and I!) to Portland, OR and Seattle, WA! I think I will be vacationing in Oregon every year for the rest of my life, until I can eventually retire there. So in love with the Northwest!
•  Mid August: started my last semester of graduate school!!!

So welcome back! And for those of you who are new here... Hey! I'm so glad you're here! Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Linnie! I'm a proud wife still very much in love with my high school sweetheart, obsessed dog mama to Monroe the cutest Brittany spaniel you've ever seen, graduate student in Nutrition & Dietetics, food lover, chef wannabe, bookworm (like seriously, I think our mail man is already annoyed with the amount of books I order from Amazon), amateur house decorator, Fixer Upper fanatic, and imaginary best friend to the Pioneer Woman and Jen Hatmaker. That about sums me up.

Here's what you'll find here....mostly nutritious recipes and good evidence-based nutrition information. I say mostly nutritious recipes because, hey, we're all human, I enjoy cake every once in a while! I stress moderation when it comes to food, not complete abstinence from certain things, that leads to insane binging....we'll say I know this from a friend. I'll pass on some yummy recipes I make to you, and try to teach you a thing or two that I've learned in my schooling along the way. If you go home and make one of my recipes and introduce something healthy to your family and enjoy it, I'll consider my job here complete! 

Here's what you won't find here....dieting tips, how to get skinny quick schemes, etc. My goal as a dietitian is to help people become their healthiest selves through good nutrition. This does not include specific eating patterns, like trendy "diets" such as the juice diet, the cabbage soup diet, and all the other ridiculous diets like that. They. Don't. Work. What does work? Making small decisions every day that lead to living a healthy life. 

With that said, I want to share with you a really good, easy meal! Since school just started, I thought it would be good to post a quick dinner recipe for all of you mommas out there who are tired and busy and don't want to spend forever putting a good nutritious meal on the table for your family. It has chicken! It has veggies! It's in ONE PAN!

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

2 tbsp. butter, melted

2 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried basil

Salt and black pepper, to taste

16 ounces baby red potatoes, halved

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

24 ounces broccoli florets (about 5 cups)

2 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley

Preparation Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet by coating with nonstick spray, or cover with foil. Go with the foil! Majorly easy cleanup! 

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons olive oil, butter, honey, brown sugar, Dijon, garlic, oregano and basil. Check the taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Set aside.

Place potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix the potatoes around a bit to distribute the oil and seasonings. Add chicken in a single layer on top of the potatoes and brush with the mustard mixture. 

Place into oven and roast until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees, so cook about 25-30 minutes. Stir in broccoli during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. After initial cooking time is over, broil for 2-3 minutes, or until caramelized. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes: I almost always halve my chicken breasts lengthwise. Chicken breasts are ginormous and I always worry about them getting cooked all the way through. Oh yea, and chicken breasts are larger than a serving size should be. So cut them in half! Also, if you or your picky little ones don't like mustard, don't worry. Once it's all cooked, I couldn't taste the mustard at all. You can also make this recipe with other veggies such as fresh green beans or asparagus. You could even replace the red potatoes with sweet potatoes. So make it your own and use what your family likes best! 

Nutrition Facts:

     Calories: 519.1

     Total Fat: 19.4 g

     Sodium: 193.5 mg

     Total Carbs: 43.6 g

     Protein: 45.6 g