Sunday, March 28, 2010

What's in YOUR chicken nuggets?

Hey Y'all! I hope everyone had an awesome weekend. Mine has been filled with family outings to the zoo, long walks, a couple of naps, and shopping. I also had the opportunity to watch an eye-opening new show on ABC, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Did you see it? If you didn't see it or haven't heard about it, Chef Jamie Oliver is "taking on obesity, heart disease and diabetes in the USA, where our nation's children are the first generation NOT expected to live as long as their parents."



I found it absolutely fascinating. And disgusting. At one point in the episode, he brought in a handful of children to show them how processed chicken nuggets were made. You can watch a similar demonstration here. Basically, he took a whole chicken and cut off the breasts, legs, and wings. With the remaining carcass of bones, fat, and connective tissue, he cut it up into chunks and then pureed it in his food processor. Then, he added stabilizer, fat, and flavoring, shaped the concoction into "nuggets," breaded them, and then fried them in oil. Voila! Chicken nuggets.



Vomit.



I honestly had no idea that this is what I had been feeding my child on a regular (once or twice a week) basis. I decided right then and there, no more store-bought processed chicken nuggets, no sir-eee!



So today, I brought out my trust Baby Bites cookbook and found the recipe for homemade chicken nuggets. I didn't have all the ingredients, so I improvised a bit. It was so simple, and even though it took a little bit more time and energy than buying the stuff in a box, the peace of mind I have of knowing what exactly is going into my child's body is worth it. And they were delicious to boot! Here is the recipe in case you are interested in doing this for your family. It made about 30 nuggets that I froze in portions of about 5 nuggets each so that I can warm them up whenever she is ready for a meal. Bon Appetit!



Ingredients

  • 1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into nuggets
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup baby food oatmeal - (I told you I improvised right? Honestly, I didn't have enough breadcrumbs so I used some of Baby B's cereal. It actually worked great with the texture and it is fortified with extra vitamins - another plus!
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Mix breadcrumbs, oatmeal, cheese, and garlic salt. Dip nuggets into flour, then egg, then breadcrumb mixture. Bake on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray for 10 to 15 minutes or until nuggets reach an internal temperature of 165 deg F.



(Recipe adapted from Baby Bites, Bridget Sweeney, copyright 2007)



CIMG1810



Erin

10 comments:

Kel said...

That is totally disgusting! Another easy way to make nuggets is to cut chicken breast into strips, dip them into water and roll them in Oven Fry. The trick is, don't fry them, bake them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Thanks for sharing!

iheartbowheads.blogspot.com said...

I am so right there with you!!!! I am loving that show and I am determined to put only food I make in my childrens mouths. We need to start a recipe exchange!!!!! :)

Holly

Kmama said...

Oh yuck. I don't think I can watch that show.

kBw said...

Oh my gosh! Mr. B and I watched it too and I will never, ever eat processed chicken nuggets again! Bravo for making your own chicken nuggets! I think Jaime Oliver would be very proud :) xoxo, kA

Unknown said...

Omg. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I am never buying nuggets. Again.

Having Leo read this now--he's wondering why I just yelled out that I will never feed the girls a chicken nugget again, lol!

xoxo

Mommy Moment said...

Thanks for sharing!
Smiles,
Jody

Sassy Salsa girl said...

What a good idea! I am not a chicken fan myself, but my kids love chicken nuggets. Freezing premade nuggets would be a great way to make something quick and easy for them. Thanks!
Also I haven't seen Food Revolution yet, at least not the whole thing. I think I'll have to watch it on my hubs computer tonight after the kids are in bed. It is too long to watch during the day while they are awake. Then again maybe I should have them watch it, lol!

Anonymous said...

Ew yuck. I'm sick at what my kids have been eating. Thanks for the recipe. We'll be making those from now on.

Messy Mommy said...

When Otter was on a low carb diet for epilepsy I always made him chicken nuggets with chicken, cream and butter (he had to have lots of fat) and crushed PORK RINDS! Ugh! They actually weren't all that bad though.

Cheryl said...

This is why I'm terrified of watching that show. If I hadn't already given up chicken a few years ago, I think I would have after reading that. Wow. And ew. That's awesome that you're making your own nuggets now. They probably taste a lot better, too!