In my experience teaching Nutrition Bites, I've been thrilled to help many families. The parents hire me, yet the entire family benefits.
Children learn kitchen safety, how to use applications & of course how to cook. Beyond that comes all of specialty work of teaching nutrition and coaching. The lessons & knowledge are shared back at home with "Look at me!" moments, increased self-confidence & role modeling for siblings.
Many times picky eaters end up in my kitchen studio. They are sometimes the most challenging work but my greatest accomplishments.
For example, this one child has been consistently challenged to eat something other than chicken nuggets. This week we tackled the issue by making homemade chicken nuggets.
We made three choices:
Plain nuggets
Garlic & Onion seasoned nuggets
Italian seasoned nuggets
Three of the ideas I used to help this student along are easy to do at home.
Make a healthier nugget coating.
Let him help cook the recipe from scratch.
Let him decide out of options which flavour he likes best.
He surprisingly selected the most flavourful & nutrient-dense option!
I love how my students grow their own minds and tastebuds after only a few lessons. It never gets old when I celebrate healthy food choices with an initially reluctant student.
Here's the simple recipe we made for Healthy & Easy Chicken Nuggets:
Ingredients
2 cups of Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of Wheat Bran (extra fibre) or Psyllium Husk Fibre
1/4 cup of Wheat Germ (extra vitamins)
2-3 teaspoons of seasoning
2-4 boneless, chicken breasts (fresh or frozen)
1 egg (optional)
Seasoning Ideas
Italian or Marinara seasoning (usually basil, oregano, or parsley)
Fajita seasoning
Garlic & Onion (Natural Yeast) seasoning*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Mix first three ingredients together in a large bowl with one type of seasoning.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces.
Toss chicken pieces into a bowl filled with dry mix coating. Make sure all sides are coated. Press coating into chicken pieces where seasoning isn't sticking.
For extra thick coating (optional): Crack egg into a separate bowl & scramble. Dip check pieces quickly in egg "wash" and re-dip pieces into the dry mix.
Discard extra dry mix seasoning when done coated by raw chicken.
Place chicken pieces in one layer on a baking sheet. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, approximately (Cooking time will depend on size of chicken nuggets).
I'm always ready, willing & able for helping others get healthier in little bites. Feel free to contact Nutrition Bites for more information on any of the Healthy Food & Nutrition services offered for children, adults and small businesses.
*Epicure seasonings are by far my first choice. They are super healthy compared to many store-bought options. I also am an independent Epicure Consultant because I was a loyal customer to families in my community & across Canada. For more info you can check out more on my website & follow my Epicure Page on Facebook.