A new twist on an old tradition....

 

 

One meal we LOVE around these here parts is homemade chicken nuggets.  Every child {and adult}, does a little happy dance on chicken nugget night =)

They are much, much healthier than any other kind, restaurant purchased or store bought.  Why? You can use free-range chicken for the meat, look here at localharvest.org or eatwild.com,if you're having trouble finding a source for this in your area.  Also, all the other ingredients can be tailored to fit your families' health needs and tastes. 

The original idea I got from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, and then, as usual, I took it and twisted it to make it my own. (By the way, I just noticed the price on amazon is less than 6 dollars!  Not bad.  Also, I saw she has a new one that just came out a few weeks ago called Double delicious.)

Recipe: 

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

1 cup of whole wheat (or homemade from leftovers from making bread) breadcrumbs.

1/4 cup golden or regular flax seed meal (freshly ground if possible)

1/2 cup sweet potato puree (bake a sweet potatoe for an hour at 400 degrees, then puree)

1 Tablespoon of Bragg's amino (or any organic/healthy soy sauce version you like)

1 large egg, lightly beaten (free range if you have access to them)

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

    ~Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ~

1.  Cut chicken breast into chicken nugget sized pieces with a sharp knife.

2.  In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs and the flaxseed meal.  Set aside.

3.  In a second bowl, combine the sweet potato, soy sauce, egg and coconut and mix together.

4.  Take chicken pieces, first dipped into the wet mixture, then roll them into the dry mix.  Place on an oiled sheet for the oven.

5.  Bake for approximately 16-20 minutes.  Cut the largest piece on the tray in half to see if they are done.  

~For our family of 6, I used 8 chicken breasts.  That fed us all supper one night, and then 5 of us brought them for a cold lunch the next day to our homeschool co-op.

Our family could not taste the sweet potato at all, so if you are not lovers of them, that's okay!  You still get all the benefits without that flavor coming through.  The coconut gives just a bit of crunchy sweetness, not an overwhelming coconut flavor.  I have a friend who used cauliflower puree here instead of sweet potato.  Really, your imagination could go crazy here, and you could use a different wet or dry ingredients each time.  I hope your family enjoys these yummy nuggets.

Enjoy!!!

 

{This post is a part of Works for me Wednesday; Real Food Wednesday as well as Pennywise Platter;also Fight Back Fridays and Life as Mom}

Comments

[Jennifer]

Yum! My son will go crazy for these.

[Joy Y.]

I'm glad your son will enjoy these, Jennifer! Let me know if you change the recipe up at all, cuz it's fun to learn from each other!

Joy

[Erin]

Could you make these ahead of time and reheat in the oven? I'm thinking nuggets in the freezer for a truly last-minute meal?

[Joy Y.]

Yes! At times we have made as much as a quadruple batch of these, and stuck the extras in freezer bags in the freezer. I wouldn't reheat in the microwave (we really avoid using ours anyway...), the oven would be the best place to re-heat them for a better texture. It is so nice to have things on hand for last-minute meals. Thanks for a great question, Erin.

[Joy Y.]

I should also make note that I have always baked them first before I froze them....maybe that's just a given, but I wanted to be sure everyone was aware of that =)

Joy

[Naomi]

Can I safely assume that you mean "1/4 CUP" of coconut? Can't wait to try these!

[Naomi]

Oops, sorry but I have another question: How much chicken breast did you use and how many people does the recipe serve? (Guess that's two questions, huh?) :)

[Joy Y.]

Hi Naomi,

Yes, I did mean 1/4 cup of shredded coconut...and I revised the post to answer your questions, just in case others wondered the same thing. Hope that helps! Ask as many questions as you like, I really don't mind at all....it's fun to "converse" with you guys who are reading the blog. Have a wonderful meal!

Joy