We have this cook book that inspires us to, while our innocent children’s heads are turned, sneak veggies into the most unlikely of places.
Garbanzo beans into chocolate chip cookies, spinach into brownies, cabbage into armpits.
Well, not really. That last one was simply to make sure you were paying attention.
It’s a stealthy health attack on standard, less-than-healthy kid’s staples.
It’s called ‘Deceptively Delicious’.
And it’s pretty awesome.
It also happens to include a recipe that sneaks veggie puree into the batter of chicken nuggets. You can use broccoli, spinach, beet or sweet potato. We used one of our remaining butternut squash, steamed and pureed.
It was – to be perfectly honest – ridiculously time consuming {but then again, maybe I’m just a lazy cook}, but it’s scrum-diddly-umptious flavor made it worth it!
Almost completely.
If you’re feeling sneaky…have veggies, breadcrumbs, chicken {and some quality time in the kitchen} on hand….give this recipe a whirl:
Chicken Nuggets
{Jessica Seinfeld style}
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of whole-wheat, white or panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup of flaxseed meal (I simply ground up some flaxseeds)
- 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 cup of broccoli, spinach, beet, sweet potato or butternut squash puree
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast or chicken tenders, rinsed, dried and cut into small chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1tablespoon of olive oil
Directions:
- In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, flaxseed meal, parmesan, paprika, garlic, and onion powder, and mix well with your fingers.
- In a shallow bowl, mix the vegetable puree and egg with a fork and set the bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture.
- Sprinkle the chicken chunks with the salt. Dip the chunks into the egg/veggie mixture and then toss them in the breadcrumbs until completely coated.
- Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil.
- Place the chicken nuggets in the skillet in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan, and cook until crisp and golden on one side (3-4 minutes). Then turn and cook until the chicken is cooked through, golden brown and crisp all over (4-5 minutes longer). Cut into a piece to check that it’s cooked through.
- Serve warm with a yummy carb (rice, pasta, streak fries, etc.) and a salad.
Go ahead. Be sneaky. You could even dress completely in black and play a theme song as you dip and dunk.
Or something.
