Friday Food Experiment

Gluten Free Friday!

I have spent the last two years testing different recipes for Wheat Free/ Egg Free options for C. Though he isn't allergic to gluten, we have found that because gluten is derived from wheat, most gluten free products are wheat free.

Gluten free food can be expensive, especially because the grocery stores seem to mark up specialty products. So rather spend a small fortune on food that C can eat, I have decided to experiment with different flours and ingredients to make kid friendly food, that doesn't taste like paste.

Experiment # 1, chicken nuggets. There are several brands out there that sell gluten free, wheat free, egg free nuggets, however for a box of 10, they can cost as much as $6.50/ box. I can buy organic chicken tenders by the pound for less than that.

Typically egg is used as the binder for breaded foods, however I have found that buttermilk (or if you are casein free even olive oil) works great. If you allow the chicken to soak in seasoned buttermilk for an hour or more, you will have tender and well flavored tenders. I like to use cornmeal as the breading, however if you are sensitive to wheat or gluten, ensure that the package indicates that the cornmeal is comes from a "gluten free" processing center. Many times oat and corn are processed in machinery that also processes wheat. Arrowhead and Red Mill brands sell "Gluten Free" Cornmeal and Oat Flour.

Ingredients

1 pound organic chicken tenders (cut into nugget size or can be used as tenders)
3/4 cup of cornmeal (more or less depending on how thick you like the bread coating)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder into buttermilk, whisking together until all ingredients are combined. Add chicken and allow to marinate for an hour or more, in the refrigerator. Place cornmeal on plate (for breading). Preheat oven to 375. (I use a baking stone to make the nuggets on, which gives the nuggets a crunchy consistency, like fried nuggets would have) Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture and toss in the cornmeal, applying the breading generously and evenly on the chicken. Place the chicken on the baking stone (or cookie sheet, which would need non-stick cooking spray or parchment lining) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the juices from the chicken run clear. Cook time will vary depending on your oven, the size of your nuggets or tenders, and the thickness of the chicken.

Eureka, gluten free nuggets, for a fraction of the cost of the store bought brands. Play with the seasoning, C likes things a bit spicy, which is why I add black pepper and garlic powder, but you could even just leave the nuggets plain and they will have a sweet, but slightly savory flavor.

Hopefully your little ones enjoy these nuggets as much as my guy does. I try to make large batches and freeze them in portion sizes to eliminate having to go through these steps each time C wants nuggets for lunch.