Processed Chicken Nuggets vs Homemade Chicken Bites

Who Knew?

Do you know what is in that Chicken Nugget that you are ordering for your kids?  Let me give you a few examples of their 38 ingredients.  Corn – of every description … fillers mainly!  The hydrogenated oil can come from soybeans, canola, or cotton (yes, you read right, cotton) and several synthetic ingredients that are byproducts of a petroleum refinery or chemical plant.  A whole long list of chemicals that are carcinogens and reproductive effectors.  Oh, and it is also flammable.  And the best part – something called tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) which is made from petroleum and is sprayed either on the nugget or inside the box to “help preserve freshness”.  This is a form of butane – you know lighter fluid?  Thankfully the FDA has only allowed processors to use this “sparingly”, I say thankfully because eating a single gram of TBHQ can cause “nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse.”  Eating five grams of TBHQ can – wait for it – kill you!  Chicken nugget anyone?

The Omnivore’s Dilemma

by Michael Pollan   

Now for the Clean Homemade Version

adapted from Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean Crispy Chicken Bites Recipe

3 organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup oat bran

¼ cup wheat germ

1 tablespoon coarsely ground flaxseed

¼ cup coarsely ground almonds

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon white pepper

pinch of garlic powder

½ cup water or organic chicken broth

1 large organic free range egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400F.  Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or coating lightly with extra virgin olive oil.  Cut chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, about 1.5 inches square.  Set aside.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large container with a tightly fitting lid.  Shake well.  Combine water and egg in a medium bowl.  Dip each piece in the water/egg-white mixture, then dip each piece in the coating mixture.  Make sure each piece is well coated.

Place on the baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden and the chicken is cooked.

Serve with a homemade honey mustard (mix raw honey with Dijon mustard).