Works for Me Wednesday: Snack Packs

It's summertime. The kids are out of school, playing hard, sweating, coming in and going out my back door and my front door all day long/ They're building forts and tearing them down. They're swimming and slip 'n sliding and sprinkler splashing and puddle stomping.

And they're hungry.

All. The. Time.

I found something that works for me.

I make snack packs for them to eat between lunch and dinner. This eliminates the following:

• "Can I have a snack?" --> The kids know that they can have whatever they'd like from their snack pack, at whatever time they need a snack.
• Standing at the fridge with the door wide open. --> They simply grab their snack pack and close the door. They choose their item(s) and put the snack pack back in the fridge. Less electricity wasted.
• Eating too much junk. I treat kids' meals and snacks this way: I will decide what to serve you. You will decide how much and when to eat it. By packing snack packs for the kids, I am giving them choices that I approve of.
• Being wiped out of the "good" snacks on shopping day. --> I don't know about you, but my kids eat about six snacks per day on an active day. SIX SNACKS! EACH! The "good" snacks include freshly baked cookies, purchased fruit leathers, and anything that might remotely be considered junky. If allowed, they would devour those before reaching for fruits and healthier alternatives. By packing Snack Packs, I'm rationing the junk. Better for my wallet, and better for their bodies.
• The hassle of preparing snacks throughout the day. --> Like I said, they eat a lot. Preparing snack packs takes about five minutes of my day, all at once, instead of having to prepare snacks all throughout the day.

And finally, the Snack Packs let my kids have control over their snacking. The first day I did this, Picky Eater ran out of food in her Snack Pack halfway through the day and was upset. I gave her extras, but I've told the kids that once it's gone, it's gone. The Snack Pack is meant to carry the kids over from lunch until dinner. Every day since then, it has done just that. Here are some example Snack Packs I've made the kids:

watermelon, strawberry Greek yogurt with fresh strawberries added, and Snapea Crisps

Jammy Sammy, two sandwich cookies, Pocky (yes, a junky Snack pack on this day!), applesauce, and a large strawberry

Watermelon, Blueberry Greek yogurt with fresh blueberries on top, and a candy necklace kit.

Okay, I Can Compromise. (aka Chicken Nuggets, Revisited)

Day 116.

Way back in January, I made some yummy chicken tenderloin "nuggets" with an almond crust. They were kid friendly and adult approved. They were a hit around here. But they aren't the most frugal thing I could have made, so it's time to revisit them. We are looking at a probable move by this time next year, probably to Germany! So I need to start stashing extra money away now. Anywhere I can cut corners, I will. And where's the easiest place to do that? In the kitchen.

I wanted to make chicken nuggets. They had to meet several criteria:

1. They had to be wholesome.
2. They had to taste delicious.
3. They had to be made from what was sitting around the house, because it's "use it up" week and we're running out of things fast. That meant no egg, no dairy, no oil.

When I made the almond-crusted tenderloin, I was going for breaded chunks of chicken. This time, I was going for the texture of premade chicken nuggets. That meant lots of additives. Just Like Store-Bought! Except that you can pronounce all of MY additives. And they're all real foods.

Think of this recipe like a whole tray of tiny meatloaves. Tiny, chicken meatloaves. Just like meatloaf is only partially meat (lots of fillers), these are partially chicken. But completely wholesome.

One suggestion: If I had olive oil, I would have pan-fried them in it instead of oven-baking. They would be ten times tastier in olive oil. But they were delicious as written.

"Real" Chicken Nuggets

What You Need:

for the chicken mixture:

• 2 lb cooked chicken, removed from bones and skin
• 1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato
• dash of hot sauce
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour (process oats in a food processor until they resemble flour)
• 2 Tbsp corn meal
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 large onion, minced
• 1/4 cup water or broth

for the breading:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 Tbsp dried minced onion
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/3 cup water

How it's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Dump all the chicken ingredients in the food processor and process until it looks like chicken paste. ;) If it frightens you to look at it, smell it. You'll feel better because it will smell very, very tasty.
3. Set out two pie plates. In one, mix together the flour, cornmeal, dried minced onion, oat flour, sea salt, and parika. Whisk together the mayonnaise, tahini, and soy sauce until smooth. Stir in the water. Pour this into the other pie plate.
4. Form the chicken paste (sorry, don't know what else to call it. You'll understand when you make them!) into nuggets. Dip them in the tahini-mayo mixture, then the breading mixture, coating both sides.
5. Spray with olive oil cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the nuggets over after the first 15 minutes.

On the side, I served sliced kiwis, and mini cheese ravioli with sauteed butternut squash. Picky Eater ate EVER-EE-THING, and exclaimed that I had found the meal she loves. I was so pleased. :)

(P.S. I gave up the Diet Coke a while ago and have been doing really well without it. I weaned myself onto Iced Tea with sugar, then slowly reduced the amount of sugar in it until I was drinking unsweetened iced tea, and I find it refreshing now. I tried some Crystal Light yesterday for a change of pace and was unable to finish a glass. I found it sickly-sweet. No headaches, no withdrawal, since I switched to iced tea right away. And I love the money I'm saving!)

Kid Pleasing Menu

I don't cater to "kid palates" because I believe all children should be exposed to a wide variety of "real world" foods. However, now and then I like to make something specifically designed to tickle the taste buds of my kids. Rather than heat up some frozen minced and formed chicken nuggets and fry up some frozen french fries, I try to keep the kid feasts wholesome, pleasing to the eye, and delicious for adults, too.

Here's a meal that kids can sink their teeth into right alongside the grownups in their lives. It uses chicken breast, almonds, Parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil, and sweet potatoes. Mmm...

Chicken Breast Tenderloins with an Almond-Parmesan Crust & Sweet Potato Coins

serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb chicken breast tenderloin
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 cup each whole wheat and white)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 eggs, beaten
• non-stick spray

How it's Done:

1. In the bowl of your food processor, combine almonds, flour, all the seasonings, and the cheese. Process until smooth. Keep processing while you slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Transfer breading to a shallow dish.
2. Dip each tender into the beaten eggs, then roll in the breading. Press the breading into the chicken to get as much to stick as possible.
3. Spray each piece on both sides with non-stick spray. Place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until no longer pink.
5. A yummy dipping sauce: combine equal parts honey and Dijon mustard. Much better than the store-bought honey Dijon.

For the Sweet Potato Coins:

1. Peel and slice into 1/4" rounds two sweet potatoes. Place on a cookie sheet with raised sides and drizzle with 2 tbsp each olive oil and melted butter. Sprinkle with 1 tsp sea salt. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then raise the temperature to 450 and bake another 20 minutes.