When people take my Healthy Eating 101 class there is often a time when "information overload" sets in. They begin to feel overwhelmed with all they have learned and start to think they will never, ever be able to do everything they need to do. It is then that I try to communicate that with just a few baby steps you will begin to see amazing results. The number one thing that is of the most importance is to eliminate the artificial ingredients you eat. The best way to insure your food is real is to make it yourself.

 

    There is hardly a child (or adult) in America who has not eaten a chicken finger or chicken nugget from a fast food restaurant. Yes, fast food is convenient but is that convenience worth the price? Last month I blogged about the true cost of fast food and showed that just by making the same thing at home you can use all organice ingredients and still come out cheaper than buying it. But the monetary cost isn't the only cost. The real price comes with the damage these highly processed foods do to your bodies and to the bodies of your still growing children. Ok! Ok! We all know fast food is bad. But do you really know how bad?

 

    In researching this article I compared the published chicken nugget (or strip or fry) ingredient lists of five well-known national fast food chains. The shortest list was over 20 ingredients and the longest was a staggering 54 ingredients long! Every single one of those ingredient lists included monosodium glutamate, many of them used MSG multiple times in the seasoning, breading and in the chicken itself. Every single one of those ingredient lists included multiple doses of highly refined rancid vegetable oils and four out of five included hydrogenated vegetable oils in several places. In addition to those known harmful ingredients they also included heavy-duty chemical preservatives and other industrial ingredients not available to the average mom's kitchen.

 

    So what do we do? Our kids want nuggets! So we make them ourselves. I do not mean we buy frozen premade chicken nuggets either. While the leading frozen brands manage to leave out the MSG they are by no means a healthy food choice. Their lengthy ingredient lists include several forms of highly processed salt, rancid vegetable oils and preservatives. No, what I mean is we make them from scratch. It really isn't hard, they taste great and you probably have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen. So give this homemade chicken finger recipe a try see how much better you feel leaving the false food behind. You can even double the recipe and freeze your own homemade nuggets to make truly healthy fast food. Don't forget to check out the bonus recipes for dipping sauces!

 

    The recipe calls for Ezekiel 4:9 brand breakfast cereal but if you already make your own bread, especially if you make sourdough bread, you can make your own crispy coating in place of the cereal. Take several slices of homemade bread and grate it on the large holes of a box grater. Place the crumbs on a large cookie sheet and dry them out in a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. When the crumbs are nice and crispy you are ready to use them in the recipe or put them in a zip-top freezer bag and use them whenever you need dried breadcrumbs.

 

    Crispy Chicken Nuggets

1 1/2 cups Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole grain cereal original flavor OR homemade breadcrumbs

2 Tblsp unbleached all-purpose flour OR sprouted wheat flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp Real Salt Season Salt OR other organic general purpose seasoning

1 stick of butter preferably organic from grassfed cows

1 1/2 lbs. of boneless chicken, preferbaly from humanely raised, pastured chickens

 

    You can use boneless thighs and save a bit on the price. This is good if you are a fan of dark meat, otherwise use boneless breasts. I like to buy bone-in breasts for half the price and take the bones out myself. Cut the boneless chicken into strips or nuggets or chunks.

 

    Place the Ezekiel cereal in a food processor or blender and process until the cereal is of a more fine texture, about 30-45 seconds. In a wide shallow pan combine the ground cereal, flour, sea salt and season salt. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.

 

    Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Assemble the cut up chicken, melted butter and cereal mixture next to each other on a kitchen counter. Dip the chicken into the melted butter, allow the excess to drip back into the pan then dredge the chicken in the seasoned cereal mixture and place it on a large baking stone or cookie sheet. If you are using a cookie sheet you can line it with parchment paper. Baking stones are usually seasoned well enough that the chicken won't stick so the parchment may not be necessary.

 

    When you finish dipping and dredging all of the chicken pieces and have them arranged onto the baking stone or cookie sheet take the remaining butter left in the saucepan and drizzle it over top of all the pieces. If you don't have quite enough leftover butter to get all of the pieces you may need to melt another tablespoon or two to have enough.

 

    Place the chicken into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until the chicken is done and golden brown. Serve right away with plenty of dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauces

 

    A favorite chicken finger restaurant in my hometown of Auburn is Guthrie's. Their secret dipping sauce is especially good with any chicken nugget or finger. Here is a good approximation of their special sauce. Be sure to make it ahead so that the flavors have time to blend.

1/2 cup good quality safflower mayonnaise OR homemade mayonnaise

1/4 cup organic ketchup OR homemade fermented ketchup

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp organic soy salt

freshly ground black pepper

 

    Mix the mayo, ketchup, garlic powder and soy sauce in a bowl. Grind a layer of black pepper over the top of the mixture and stir well. Grind another layer of pepper over the top again and stir again. Chill for an hour or more.

 

    Honey Mustard

 

    There really isn't a recipe for honey mustard. Just take equal amounts of your favorite mustard and a good raw honey and stir them together. Start with 1/4 cup of each to get enough sauce for dipping.

 

    Other ideas for dipping include homemade or a good bottled barbecue sauce, salsa, or good ol' ketchup and mustard.

    You can find more delicious recipes in the Well Fed Family's Eating With the Seasons cookbook.