Posted Aug 17, 2010

It won’t be long before brown paper bags and small plastic sandwich bags return as part of mom and dad’s regular pantry stock.

San Marcos parents will be packing their kids’ lunches again as school starts at the end of this month, and it never hurts to try and think a little outside the lunchbox. All parents want both nutrition and affordability, but making your kids eat it seems the tricky part.

Years ago, I interviewed an interesting chef and author, Missy Chase Lapine, who had devoted her culinary efforts to tricking kids into eating healthy stuff. Coincidentally, she’s also the same author who sued Jerry Seinfeld’s wife in 2008 for allegedly plagiarizing her book “The Sneaky Chef.”, Released in 2007, was a recipe book with strategies for hiding healthy foods in meals that kids will like. The recipes take kid friendly classics like chicken nuggets and spaghetti and working in fruits and veggies where they least expect it.

Lapine recently released her fourth book in the series, “Sneaky Fitness,” which is essentially more of the same from the culinary instructor. How about sneaking 3 cups of nutrient-packed spinach into a sweet puree, which then becomes part of a honey barbecue sauce? Sneaky, indeed.

Cooking method is also a big deal for Lapine — oven bake those chicken nuggets instead of throwing them in a pan of boiling grease. If you can’t make your kids eat something they know is healthy, at least cut out the fried and the fast food aspects of their meals.

Honey Barbecue

Chicken Nuggets

recipe by Missy Chase Lapine

– 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

– 2 large egg whites (about 6 tablespoons liquid egg whites)

– 1/2 cup Purple or Orange Puree (below)

– 1/2 cup store-bought barbecue sauce, divided

– 2 tablespoons honey, divided

– 1/2 cup ground flax or wheat germ

– 1 cup crushed whole-grain cereal flakes (from about 2 cups of cereal)

– 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small nuggets

– Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place flour in a shallow dish or on a plate. In another shallow bowl, beat egg whites with 1/4 cup of the Purple or Orange Puree, 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce, and 1 tablespoon of the honey and place next to the flour. In a third shallow dish or on a paper plate, combine the ground flax and crushed cereal. Place remaining puree, barbecue sauce, and honey in a clean bowl and set aside to use as dipping sauce.

Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour, shaking off excess, then dip in the egg mixture, followed by the cereal mixture. Press the breading evenly onto both sides of the chicken. Put on wax or parchment paper and store in the refrigerator for cooking tomorrow or proceed to cook immediately.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place breaded nuggets on a lightly sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn chicken nuggets over once with tongs, then return to oven for another 10 to 12 minutes until cooked through.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Serve with honey barbecue dipping sauce.

PURPLE PUREE:

–3 cups raw baby spinach leaves

–1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no syrup or sugar added)

–1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

–1-2 tablespoons water

Thoroughly wash the spinach, even if the package says “prewashed.” If using frozen blueberries, quickly rinse them under cold water to thaw a little, and then drain.

Fill the bowl of your food processor with the spinach, blueberries, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of water; puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally to push the contents to the bottom. If necessary, use another tablespoon of water to smooth-out the puree.

This recipe makes about 1 cup of puree; double it if you want to store another cup. It will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days, or you can freeze 1

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