Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers

My son absolutely loves these chicken fingers!  I love that they are healthy for him (and us)!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup  flour (I use oat flour due to wheat allergy)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 large egg whites (egg sensitivity, use almond milk)
• 1 pound sliced chicken tenders

Preparation

1.   Preheat oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and  coat it with olive oil spray.

2.   Place almonds, flour, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor; process until the almonds are finely chopped and thoroughly mixed, about 1 minute. With the motor running, drizzle in oil; process until combined. Transfer the mixture to a shallow dish.

3.   Whisk egg whites in another shallow dish. Add chicken tenders and turn to coat. Transfer each tender to the almond mixture; turn to coat evenly. Place the tenders on the prepared rack and coat with cooking spray; turn and spray the other side.

4.   Bake the chicken fingers until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.

Don't forget the homemade ketchup or I also make my own Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce.

Honey Mustard dipping sauce

Ingredients

• 1½ tsp honey
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

White Vinegar for Cleaning and beyond

I am beginning to wonder if there is anything vinegar can't do!

I can't believe how long vinegar used to sit in my cabinet and never get opened.  Now, I have it my cabinets in my kitchen and bath, in my laundry room, and in our garage. It seems like we use it for everything: kitchen, bath, cooking, garden, laundry, and even deodorizing!  We have cut chemicals out of our daily routine all together.

Since “green” cleaning has become more popular, vinegar is finding it's way into more buggies at the grocery store. White vinegar can still be purchased fairly cheap and I will put it up against any commercial cleaner any time and it will win every time!

10 uses for white vinegar around the house

1. Clean your produce -  If you don’t want to rinse fruits and veggies in plain water, you can simply wash them with 10 parts vinegar and three parts water. This will keep berries from getting fuzzy if it takes you a while to eat them.  Need a little extra cleaning:  add a little lemon juice and a touch of baking soda to the mix to get non-organic veggies really clean. Just be sure to rinse well with plain water before eating.

2.  Give new life to leafy vegetables - Don’t throw away wilted lettuce. Soak in a bowl with cold water and a splash of vinegar for 10 minutes. Just rinse and dry before enjoying your revived produce. Works great with Kale.

3.  Drain Opener - Pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain (let sit for a few minutes to absorb odors)  Pour in 1 cup of vinegar.  Allow to fix and bubble up and leave for 20 minutes.  Pour boiling water down the drain (about 1 quart).  Have you priced Drano lately?  That stuff is expensive and this works just as well.  Another thing I have wasted money on over the years, we live in an old house with old pipes.

4. Fabric Softener – White vinegar is very effective at removing soap residue in the laundry and softening your clothing. Add one cup to the fabric softener dispenser of your washing machine, or fill a fabric softener ball with vinegar and toss it in the load. Laundry comes out feeling soft and fluffy, with no chemical coatings or perfumes like commercial softeners. Also it will help keep colors from fading.  WARNING:  Never use bleach and vinegar together, it produces highly toxic fumes.

5.  Get your dishes to sparkle - Pour vinegar into the rinse aid dispenser of your dishwasher and stop spending the money on expensive commercial rinse aids. This trick works well whether using commercial or homemade dishwasher detergent. If you are like me and hand wash your dirty dishes, add a cup of vinegar to your rinse water for spot-free dishes.

6  Cooking - Make pickles, dressings, and flavor soups and sauces with vinegar. My son has an egg allergy and I discovered that you can replace an egg in baking with 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp water, and 1 TBS of vinegar.  This works great in pancakes, that is all I have tried it in so far.  (and no you do not taste the vinegar)

7.  Cleaning around the house – Vinegar has replaced all my cleaning bottles.  I use diluted vinegar on floors, walls, windows, carpets, showers, sinks, mirrors, and faucets. I sprinkle baking soda inside the toilet bowl and spray vinegar around the lid, bow and allow it to sit. After a few minutes I scrub the inside of the toilet, wipe away any remaining vinegar, and flush! Cheap, easy, and effective. The smell dissipates, but if you have a hard time with the smell, make my Citrus Scented Vinegar Cleaner.

8.  Kill grass or weeds chemical-free - Spray full-strength vinegar on young weeds or grass that creep into places they’re not welcome. This will work within 24 hour.  Larger, tougher weeds may need several sprays.

9. Deodorize -  Pet odors are improved by spraying a mixture of 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/2 cup water enhanced with a few drops of my favorite essential oils. Spritz this mixture into the air throughout the room; the vinegar smell will dissipate after a few minutes leaving a fresh scent.

10. Keeping away ants - Ants do not like vinegar. Spray in cracks, around baseboards, on counter tops, or anywhere ants tend to crawl around your house. No need to put poisonous ant traps on your floor that kids or pets could get into.  I can't tell you how many chemicals I have sprayed around my house inside and out over the years.  So wish I had known about this a long time ago. 

Homemade chicken nuggets

My son's favorite food in the world is chicken nuggets.  What kid doesn't love them?  However once we started watching our ingredients and learning more about how our foods are handled before they get to our plate, I just couldn't buy them already made anymore.  Have you ever searched McDonald's chicken nuggets on www.foodfacts.com?   Go here for a look  45+ ingredients, including TBHQ (petroleum based preservative) and hydrogenated oils.  Ever watched the video on how chicken nuggets are made?  Go here to view.  Those two websites will pretty much keep you from ever buying another chicken nugget.  So here is the solution.  Making your own, it is simple and your kids will think you are the most awesome Mom ever!  I even like them.

Ingredients

• 2-3 skinless chicken breasts
• ¼ cup oat bran
• ¼ cup wheat germ **
• 1 Tbsp coarsely ground flax seed
• ¼ cup coarsely ground almonds
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp white pepper
• Pinch of garlic powder

• ½ cup water or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten **

**egg sensitivity, use almond milk instead and drop the water.

** Wheat allergy - split oat bran and flax seed to make 1/4 cup to replace

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or coating lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
2. Cut chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, about 1½ inches square. Set aside.
3. Next, combine all dry ingredients in a large container with a tightly fitting lid. Shake well. This is your coating mixture.
4. Combine water and egg in a medium bowl (or use almond milk).  Dip each piece in the water-egg white mixture. Then dip each piece in the coating mixture. Make sure each piece is well coated.
5. Place on the baking sheet. When all of your chicken has been coated and your baking sheet is full, place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is done. Two chicken breasts will yield about 15-18 1-inch pieces.

Honey Mustard dipping sauce

Ingredients

• 1½ tsp honey
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

or homemade ketchup    Homemade ketchup Recipe

Melissa

No Bake Cookies - Dairy Free

Dairy Free No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

I made these for my son last night to put them in his lunchbox for a Valentine's Day surprise.  I shaped them into hearts.  (as best I could)

Ingredients:

¼ cup dairy free butter (I use ghee, clarified butter)
1/2 cup sugar
¼ cup almond milk
¼ cup peanut butter
1 cup oatmeal
2 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:

1.  Melt butter & sugar together in a pan over medium heat.
2.  Once melted, add the almond milk. Stirring frequently.
3.  When it comes to a rolling boil, boil for one to two minutes.
4.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.
5.  When the peanut butter is melted in add the cocoa powder and mix well.
6.  Add the oatmeal and stir until completely covered.
7.  Drop by spoonful on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Makes about 12-14 cookies.

Melissa

Fudge Bar - dairy free

Last year my 9 year old son was diagnosed with 42 food allergies/sensitivities.  (That is a long story for another day.)  With that event happening in our lives, we changed our diet completely and I literally had to learn to cook all over again.  It has been amazing and so wonderful for our family.  There were so many things that he couldn't have that we had to focus on what he COULD have.  

Most of the time recipes that I post will be allergy friendly.

This is one of his favorite snacks (even though it contains an avocado).  He even loves to help me make them.  Letting your kids help you make things really helps them better understand foods and makes it much more fun for them. 

You will have no guilt in allowing your child to splurge on this sweet treat!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup raw honey*

3/4 cup + 2 TBSP water

1 large, ripe avocado

2 ripe bananas 

 

Directions:

Place ingredients in a blender in the order listed above. Blend until smooth, stopping the blender a few times, as needed, to scrape down the sides with a spatula and/or to push the ingredients down into the blade.

Pour in Popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 8 hours.

Run mold under hot water until the fudge bar slides right out.  Enjoy!

*In case you are not familiar with RAW honey, it is not the honey you buy off the shelf at your local superstore.  This is honey made in your area by beekeepers, usually found at your local Farmer's Market or a health food store.

Melissa

Featured on Allergy Free Wednesdays!