Amazing Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets

Chicken nuggets gag me.

Except occasionally from Chick- fil- A, those are tasty – just not great for your body.

Chicken nuggets that are made from pieces and parts and are extruded to special shapes gag me.

They also gag my children, especially when they get a chewy part.  You know what I’m talking about. We call those parts chicken toe nails. Ewwww! It is so nasty to get a bite of chicken with the texture of a toenail blended in.

I have spent the last 3 months revamping how we eat due to the c diff colitis infection our 15 year old is battling.  One of the things we have done is to make sure she gets plenty of healthy sources of protein to help her body heal.

Whenever you are sick, your body needs more protein to repair.

Chicken nuggets are a classic go-to for easy fast and yummy. When they are homemade they do take more time BUT you eliminate the gag factor.

One of our new favorite dinner recipes is a chicken nugget you don’t have to fear because you know where the chicken comes from.

The coating is gluten-free and super delicious.

We love it because it doesn’t call for breadcrumbs. We have almost eliminated all bread from my daughter’s diet - simple highly processed foods (she won’t eat 100% whole wheat bread) make bacteria thrive. We want c diff to die not thrive!

If you are trying to EAT less processed foods, FEWER carbs and more WHOLE FOODS, this recipe is for you! Bonus – it’s super tasty, especially with a slice of fresh squeezed lemon across the top.

Amazing Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets!

Awesome Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets

• 1 pound chicken tenders or chicken breast (sliced in ¼ inch chunks)
• 1 cup almond meal (flour) (Costco has the best price I’ve found)
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• Pepper
• 2 large eggs

Set oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

Combine almond meal, parmesan, paprika and pepper in a small bowl. Beat eggs in separate bowl. Dip chicken pieces in egg then almond mixture and place on prepared baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with a squeeze of lemon. It’s like a burst of warm sunshine….so tasty!

Thanks for reading! Give this recipe a try, your body and your taste buds will appreciate it!

Brooke

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Simple Crock Pot Green Chile Chicken with Masa Dumplings: FAST FOOD Part 2 of 3

Simple Crock Pot Green Chile Chicken with Masa Dumplings

Imagine your busiest day of the week filled with all things nutso where you are stretched as thin as silly putty about to snap. Then add something else to your to-do list. Like eat. Eating isn’t all bad, especially when it’s something fabulous and easy and delicious and good for your team.

Enchilada sauce, chicken, black beans and masa.  BAM! That is it my friends.

Masa? Que Paso? Masa is corn flour used to make corn tortillas and tamales. We LOVE homemade corn tortillas and tamales but again….labor of muy loco love cuz they are a crazy amount of work to make. To be fair to tortillas though, we make them several times a month and those bad boys are so worth the effort! Just not on those days when life is super nuts.

Back to masa and why it is so spectacular. Masa harina is a whole grain and because it comes from corn, it’s gluten free if that matters to you. If you need it gluten free certified make sure it’s on the label (like Bob’s Redmill). Otherwise masa is a cinch to work with and it’s super delicious, its good for you without tasting like liquid alfalfa. Sold right?

You will find it on the bottom shelf at the grocery store in the Hispanic section.

We invented these masa dumplings when we had no time to make honest to goodness real homemade corn tortillas, fill them with the chicken and bake…I needed to simplify crazy delicious enchiladas. This recipe does that.

Back to dinner on the craziest day of the week.

FOUR ingredients, whole grain, whole foods….AWESOME!

This recipe also has 3 different levels of difficulty based on how much time you have.

Simple Crock Pot Green Chili Chicken with Masa Dumplings

• 1 28 oz can green chili enchilada sauce
• ¼ can water added to the green chili enchilada can, swirled around
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound chicken (pork would work too)- I only thaw it in the fridge overnight (when I remember) so it’s still pretty frozen in the morning

Use a crock-pot liner, spray with oil or do nothing at all (that’s how I do it) to the inside of the crock pot. Place enchilada sauce, water, black beans and chicken. Dial crock pot to low and let it go to work while you attack your day. I usually start this meal at 7 am, when I get home at 3 I shred the chicken and add the masa.

***EASY LEVEL ALERT*** need things simpler? Don’t add the extra water, once the chicken has cooked all day, shred it and scoop the shredded chicken into flour tortillas or corn shells. BAM…Dinner ready

***MEDIUM LEVEL ALERT *** If you have an extra hour before dinner add this step:

• 1 2/3 cups masa (whole grain corn flour used to make tamales – you find it in the Hispanic section)
• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• Pinch of salt

Measure masa, add salt and blend. Add water to form dough, similar to biscuit consistency. If it’s a little sticky and wet it’s ok. If it’s so sticky you can’t get it off your fingers add a little more masa. Corn flour has no gluten so you can’t really over mix it with negative consequences.

Scoop golf ball sized globs and pat flat - about ¼ inch thick in the palm of your hand or your fingertips and drop into fully cooked shredded chicken goop in the crock pot. Spread the masa around (we push the layers of masa down with a fork) until all the masa dumplings are submerged. Crank the crockpot to high for one hour and your masterpiece will be inhaled shortly.

Serve atop fresh spinach with a side of tomatoes or summer squash. My kids love to dollop with sour cream.

Muy delicioso!

Brooke

 ***HARDEST LEVEL BASED ON TIME AND ENERGY*** Should you feel super energetic and prefer homemade green Chile tomatillo sauce, this is what I use. We grow tomatillos in the garden and literally have 2 – 5 gallon buckets of tomatillos. I love homegrown, homemade sauce so I freeze it in 4-5 cup portions and use that instead of the cans of enchilada sauce from the store.

Quick Green Chile Tomatillo Sauce

Boil

• 5 pounds of husked tomatillos
• 10-12 jalapenos, remove seeds and ribs if you prefer less heat
• 2 big pinches of salt

Add enough water to cover tomatillos and jalapenos, bring to a boil and boil 10 minutes. Drain in a colander.

In your blender add:

• 1 bunch cilantro
• 2 medium onion, course chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• 4 cups chicken broth
• Salt to taste

Scoop enough cooked tomatillos and jalapenos into the blender to fill about 2/3 the way. Add a cup or two of the broth so things swirl and grind to your smoothness liking.

 Add olive oil to bottom of stock pot, enough to coat.

Pour blender filled with pureed goodness back into the stock pot you used to boil the tomatillos. Blend in batches remaining broth, tomatillos and jalapenos until smooth. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 min to 1 hour.  Yields 14 cups.

FAST FOOD for Fall Part 1 of 3

Hey You Guys! (Think Goonies!)

Gotcha!  I have been AWOL for awhile BUT have not fallen off my rocker. This post is no ode to the deliciousness of Chick-Fil-A or McDonald's. We rarely eat at those joints because we hate how we feel after we are done noshing. I would bet you feel the same way but still need something as easy and convenient to turn to during those times you are caught in a meal crisis.

Perhaps you would like something easy, fast, affordable and good for you? We all do! Today I share my secret to keeping my family in as much fast food as they want. The only caveat is that this fast food comes from the freezer not a drive through.

The secret to fast food at our house is no longer a secret.  Cupcake tins, silicone cupcake liners (BPA free of course ;) and a freezer bag hold the key to easy, fast, affordable and good for you.

Make the grub, freeze the grub then enjoy your healthy grub when you are in a pickle. This works well for all sizes of families and even college students. Freezing portions of delicious food keeps it from spoiling, keeps you with good for you options and is super convenient.

Fast Food for fall!

I’ve been freezing food like this since college. I started with spaghetti sauce and this recipe for Calico Beans was the second one to do the cupcake tin routine. Love that silicone cupcake liners have been invented since then!

This recipe is incredibly flexible. It halves or doubles with no problems. It can be made vegan or carnivore. You can even leave out the sugar (I have done that but didn’t like it as much).

Calico Beans

Brown:

• 5-6 strips of pre-cooked bacon- it will crisp up in the pot, don’t microwave it (optional)
• 1 medium onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 1 pound hamburger, ground turkey or ground chicken (optional)

Add:

• 2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 oz) cans great white (northern) beans, NOT drained and rinsed
• 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, NOT drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp Tabasco or Franks Hot Sauce
• 1 Tbsp dry mustard
• 1 Tbsp white vinegar
• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Water, add enough to bring the liquid level just below the below the top of the beans. Bring to a boil then turn it down to simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours (stir occasionally)…if you have less time to let it simmer it’s fine too. It gets tastier as the flavors all meld together.

We eat with saltines, a string cheese and clementine’s or oranges. The vitamin C from the oranges helps your body absorb the iron from the beans and ground meat too.  Maybe that’s weird but it’s perfectly delicious. The kiddos eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Once it has cooled we scoop the leftovers into the silicone cupcake liners and freeze. Pop them out once they have frozen solid and store in a gallon bag.  FAST FOOD for fall AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!!!

Calico Beans - our fast food!

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Brooke

Pumpkin Muffin Cooler Than Lunch Recess

It’s that time of year again. Besides being fall in just a few weeks, it’s when lunches we pack our kids COMPETE with recess. Only the easiest and most delicious things get eaten first while the rest is trashed or left to decompose in the lunch box.

Unless your school is smart enough to have recess first. Ours has lunch first - sigh. And I have a first grader and his first shot at all day school and lunch away from my visual supervision.

Time to pull out the big guns and compete in his lunchbox = awesome momma nutrition vs. the playground.

It is a slow process to ease things that are better for him into his lunch when his buddies have chips, fruit snacks, sugary pouch drinks and such.

Balance and patience is what it will take to get them to eat foods better for them when they are surrounded by lunch boxes filled with junk.

Let me be perfectly open about one thing. 2 of my kids get chocolate milk every day in their lunch boxes.

Gasp….shhh,  I don’t think chocolate milk is evil. This is why it goes in their lunch boxes:

1. I know they will drink it
2. calories – they needs them to be able to focus when it’s learning time. Hungry kids don’t learn well.
3. decent amount of protein, vitamins and mineral – not straight juice with no protein to slow the insulin response
4. I am not anti-dairy
5. It’s delicious and convenient.  The end.

Chocolate milk confession aside, I’ve pulled out the big guns and am going muffin mode. They are the same shape as a cupcake so it has a coolness factor at the lunch table that makes it more desirable.

Muffins are a super amazing tricky way to sneak goodness and coolness into lunch without the kiddos realizing it.

The recipe today is for a whole grain pumpkin muffin. It’s sneaky awesome for a few reasons:

1. It’s whole grain = AWESOME!

2. It’s made with a veggie (shhh, kids don’t consider pumpkin a veggie)

3. cupcake shape gives it a very high cool status rating

4. moist and yet fluffy = easy to eat thereby improving chances that it will get eaten before the playground calls

5. Pumpkin’s deep orange color means it’s loaded with carotenoids - phytochemicals that prevent free radicals from damaging cells. Who doesn’t need that when they are surrounded by 30 of their closest friends covered in contagious germs 6 hours a day, 5 days a week?

6. Freeze well= super easy to pull out and add to lunches!

Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffin

• 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon (nutmeg and cloves to your liking too
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp oil
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup milk
• ½ cup chocolate chips (optional)

Blend dry ingredients. Put wet ingredients in a separate bowl and blend until smooth. Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins. Recipe doubles easily.

If you were wondering, this recipe is also very forgiving. I just made a batch and left out the oil and the milk and they are still fantastic.

Happy Baking!

Brooke