Clearing Your Kids' Plate Guilt-free!

Well maybe it depends on how much is leftover to be considered guilt-free, but you know what I mean. We mothers tend to prepare food for everyone else first, sometimes forgetting ourselves all together, and end up eating leftover, cold, half-eaten Mickey Chicken Nuggets or Mac and Cheese. Well if you don't want to eat that, why are your kids eating it? Convenience maybe? I hear ya on that! And don't think I'm preaching here because my son is not going to stop requesting Cars Spaghettios with meatballs, and I'm not going to stop giving them to him when I just don't have time or energy to make something healthier.

So once in a while, no big deal. But to constantly depend on the freezer isle to prepare quick lunches isn't as convenient as you think it is. Heating up dino-shaped chicken nuggets still takes 18-22 mins, and there are like 20 ingredients I can't pronounce. Chicken...sadly... is not high on the list. So I challenged myself a while back to see what I could make myself, control the ingredients, and would hold up in the freezer so I can have them ready-made for busy days. This isn't a newsflash, I know, but it helped me for a few reasons. One, I can make ONE MEAL for lunch and we all can eat it! No making the kids something quick and then taking a longer time on my food. Two, if I'm going to eat healthy and set a good example, then having my kids eat healthy should sure as hell be a big part of that. So here is the first of many kid-friendly recipes that my kiddos seem to enjoy most of the time ;).

Court's Chicken Nuggets:



*3 or 4 Organic Chicken Breasts
*Bread Crumbs or Panko, about 1 Cup (Panko is the crispiest but sometimes I make my own Whole Wheat Crumbs by giving stale bread a makeover in the food processor and storing)
*Fresh Parsley chopped up (optional, or substitute other herbs)
*Pinch of Lemon Zest (optional)
*All-Purpose Flour
*3 Egg Whites (can use whole eggs if you want, just adds fat)
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Olive Oil Spray
*Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper (experiment, play with other flavors!)

1. Slice against the grain, cross-wise, to make very think strips (about 2 cms thick). This works best if chicken is not completely thawed.
2. Mix Panko or Breadcrumbs, a handful of parsley, lemon zest, garlic, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
3. Set three bowls out. One with flour, one with the egg whites slightly beaten, and one with the breacrumb mixture.
4. Heat large non-stick frying pan on Med to Med-High heat. Add about 1 1/2 TBSPs of Olive Oil and a little spray right before adding chicken.
5. Take a few slices of chicken at a time, coat in flour, then dip in egg whites, then coat in breadcrumb mixture.
6. Place 4 or 5 chicken strips at a time in pan and cook until you see the underside of edges browning (about 3 to 4 mins). Flip over and let cook on the otherside another 2 minutes or so until crispy and brown.
7. Remove browned broken pieces carefully from pan to keep from burning. Continue to add a little oil and spray to keep cooking all the chicken. I transfer the cooked pieces to the toaster oven, set on warm, so they don't get too cold.

You could also bake these if you wanted to go even healthier, but they wouldn't turn out quite so crispy.

A great side dish to traditional chicken nuggets is usually fries, right? Well there are a few heathier alternatives you can do on your own. I'll give you 2 quick oven fries recipes, but the ones pictured were Sweet Potato Fries from Trader Joes. I was busy today, lol, and they are made with a lot of natural ingredients.



Oven Fries:

You need for both, a baking sheet, parchment paper and a large Ziplock bag

Pre-heat Oven to 450 degrees

Sweet Potato Version-

*2 large Sweet Potatoes (skin on or peeled, you're preference)
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*Salt, pepper, a dash of nutmeg

1. Cut potatoes in 1/2 in. thick circles, then cut into 1/4 in thick strips.
2. Toss in Ziplock bag with about 1/2 TBSP olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg.


Russet Potato Version Ingredients-

*2 large Baking Potatoes, skin on
*Extra Virgin Olive Oil
*1 to 2 cloves minced Garlic
*salt and pepper (to taste)
*shredded Parmesan Reggiano cheese

1. Cut potato in half. Then cut in half again so you have quarters. Take each quarter and cut 1/4 in slices lengthwise. Turn sliced stack on side and cut lengthwise again 1/4 in thick.
2. Toss in ziplock with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper.


Follow the rest for both types-

3. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out fries, spaced evenly on a flat layer. (in russet version, lightly sprinkle with the cheese)
4. Bake for about 20 mins, turn fries over, finish baking for about 10 more minutes until light golden brown.


You can freeze all these things in large freezer bags or freezer containers, so you'll have some for next time. Enjoy!