Lectin-free Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I’ve been seeing a lot of interest lately from parents trying to get their children to eat better, healthier food. And give up some of the worst offenders in the Standard American Diet such as sugar and heavily processed food. I can imagine how difficult it is for these parents when their kids are surrounded by so many unhealthy choices.

So I’ve been thinking to put together a menu to help parents help their children eat better. Easy to prepare, easy to store for few days and even freeze, and quite fun to involve the children in the preparation process.

I’ll start with this homemade chicken nuggets recipe, because well, it is one of the children’s most favorite foods.

What’s in a chicken nugget?

When fast foods push chicken nuggets as a healthy alternative for children, they don’t tell you what’s in it. To start with, you will never find a chicken nugget in any type of restaurant that is made with breast from a pasture-raised chicken. You will find organic, range-free, all-natural (whatever that means, I always wondered). That doesn’t mean anything anymore. The birds are still confined in small and dark spaces, inhumanly raised and fed grains, with no real access to pasture.

“You are what you ate, ate.” Dr. Steven Gundry, The Plant Paradox

So to start with, if you eat chicken, choose the best pasture-raised option you can find. There are few relatively big farms in the US (such as Primal Pastures and Burgundy Pasture Beef) that deliver nationwide. There are also local small farmers if you search enough. To be really clear here, most still supplement with grains, but it is minimal and if it’s the best option available I would go with that as opposed to fast-food nuggets or organic chicken.

Now, what else is in fast food chicken nuggets? According to draxe.com (and confirmed by other articles): TBHQ (a petroleum-based preservative), autolyzed yeast extract (containing MSG), GMO corn, dimethylpolysiloxane anti-foaming agent, hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium (a great amount!), bleached wheat, sugar (dextrose); not to mention that 60% of the ‘meat’ is fat, blood vessels, ground bone and gristle. Plus they are deep-fried in canola or mysterious vegetable oil that has been reheated and reused numerous times. SAD!

Homemade healthy chicken nuggets recipe

For lectin-free homemade chicken nuggets, you just need pasture-raised chicken breast, spices (such as iodized sea salt and pepper, Hungarian paprika and maybe cayenne pepper if you and your family like them a little spicy, onion powder, garlic powder, maybe some thyme/rosemary/sage?), pasture-raised or omega 3 eggs, almond flour and cassava flour. Easy right?

If you want to serve the chicken nuggets with a dipping sauce, try these lectin-free options: Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing (Lectin-Free), Green Dream Herb Dressing and my Barbecue Sauce.

Print Recipe

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

(7 votes, average: 3.57 out of 5)

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By Claudia Curici – Serves: 4

Prep Time: 25 mins – Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts (halves) from a pasture-raised chicken
• 2 pasture-raised / omega 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• Spices: iodized sea salt, pepper, Hungarian paprika, organic garlic and onion powders
• Avocado oil

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 400F.

2

Cut chicken breasts into stripes on their lengths and sprinkle with a mix of spices.

3

Put the two flours in two separate plates.

4

Beat the eggs well in a deep plate. Add some salt and pepper to the eggs.

5

Coat the stripes with a thin layer of cassava flour. Soak each stripe into the egg mixture.

6

Next layer and last will be the almond flour.

7

Arrange on an oven pan oiled with avocado oil (you can also use parchment paper) and bake for 15-20 mins, depending on how big they are. Check one after 15 minutes, you don't want to overcook them.

Notes

You can make more batches at once and freeze or store them in an air-tight glass container in the fridge for few days. They are good to eat warm or cold.