Crunchy Chicken Strips – Healthy Chicken Nuggets

Just say no to nuggets!

I won’t start with a rant about processed chicken nuggets. I just won’t. You can watch Jamie Oliver (my hero) show kids what are in chicken nuggets here.

Let’s not focus on the negative, let’s focus on the positive. This recipe I am going to share with you is quick, easy, crunchy, gluten-free, tasty and a whole lot healthier than a processed nugget. It will serve four people, generously – but, they are so yummy, I bet the kids go back for seconds!

This recipe does use processed corn flakes and although they are not a totally healthy food in the strictest sense, I still think they are an okay option for every now and again. Use the Norganic brand I have suggested as a much better alternative to the leading brand which contains an obscene amount of salt. Find them in the health food aisle of major supermarkets. I wouldn’t rely on the leftovers for a good, low GI brekky for the kids though – save them for cooking or an afternoon snack. Right, ready to go?

Okay, so this is what you need:

500g or 2 large free range or organic chicken breasts

3 Cups of Norganic brand organic corn flakes (best option)

3 tablespoons of homemade mayonnaise recipe below (or use Norganic mayonnaise you if you don’t want to make your own)

3 teaspoons of dry oregano

2 teaspoons organic Vogel’s Herbamare (or salt, optional)

 Okay, so this is how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius and line a large tray with baking paper. Cut the chicken into strips and coat with the mayonnaise. You can pop them in the fridge at this point and crumb when you are ready.

Crush the corn flakes with your fingers in a large bowl or use the food processor/ thermomix. Be careful though, we don’t want powdered cornies, just the size of breadcrumbs would be good. 😀 Add the oregano and herbamare.

Coat the chicken in the cornie crumbs. Press on gently.

Place on the tray and spritz with some oil (I use my own oil sprayer with macadamia oil as a better option to cooking sprays). You can pop the chicken in the fridge at this point and bake when you are ready.

Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown and crispy.

A really nice dipping sauce (pictured in the first photo) is natural yoghurt mixed with some mango chilli chutney or sauce. You could serve these in a wrap (Sorj or Mountain Bread brand are best) with lots of salad or just with steamed veges on the side like I did.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. Stay tuned, because I have a few more recipes for you that also make great alternatives to chicken nuggets. I will post the recipes for you soon. As always, if you try them out, please come back and let me know if you like them and what the kids reckon!

My garlicy mayo (with a whiff of apple) recipe !

So this is what you need:

250g grapeseed oil

1 small clove of Australian garlic, crushed

1 organic egg yolk

1 teaspoon organic Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon organic apple juice concentrate

Good crack of black pepper

Good crack of pink Himalayan sea salt

So, this is how you do it:

Start with all ingredients at room temperature. Add everything except the oil to a food processor. Whizz for a minute or so until well mixed and starting to thicken. In a thin, slow stream, add the oil while the blades are still running. You may need to scrape down the sides. Take your time with this so the mayo doesn’t split. Store in a glass jar in the fridge – it will last about a week. Thermomix people, you can follow the basic mayonnaise recipe in the EDC book, just substitute these ingredients! 🙂

You might also like to try some other ‘just say NO to nuggets’ recipes. Find them here.