When you think about healthy eating options, foods like chicken nuggets or chicken tenders wouldn’t usually feature in the top ten.
All that crumbing and oil certainly doesn’t make for a nutrient rich meal or snack!
Add to that the sugars, salt and a high calorie count these foods usually contain and it’s easy to see how these types of foods fall firmly into the ‘fast food’ category.
One we try and avoid when following a weight loss plan or trying to lose pregnancy weight.
The thing is, the basic components of these foods aren’t bad at all.
Chicken is a great source of protein, essential for weight loss while the right kind of crumbing can add complex carbs, vital for sustained energy.
The problem lies in the preparation and cooking. High GI crumbing, bucket loads of additives and deep frying all take away from the nutrients that might otherwise be found in a lightly crumbed chicken fillet.
This recipe changes all that. Using lean chicken tenderloins or breast (ideally organic), rye/multigrain bread bread crumbs, organic, free range egg and a small amount of olive oil cuts out the majority of the nasties and leaves behind the good stuff.
I originally prepared these for my son as he loves finger food and feeding himself, but after tasting them, decided they’d be a delicious addition to my diet as well.
Perfect as part of a sandwich (wholegrain or sourdough bread, baby spinach, tomato slices, avocado, chicken tender and a squeeze of lemon juice) or basic salad (a whole heap of greens, snow peas, baby beets, low fat fetta, a shredded chicken tender and olive oil/balsamic dressing).
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken tenderloins or chicken breast sliced into strips and trimmed of all excess fat (I use Lilydale Organic)3 slices of day old rye or multigrain bread
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp parmesan
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 large free range egg, lightly whisked
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Directions
- Place bread in the bowl of a food processor and whizz until broken down into coarse breadcrumbs. Pour into a large ziplock plastic bag.
- Add parmesan and dried parsley to ziplock bag and shake to combine.
- Pour cornflour onto a dinner plate and spread to cover evenly.
- Pour lightly beaten egg onto a dinner plate.
- Place chicken tenderloin into the egg, coating both sides.
- Repeat with cornflour.
- Gentle place each tenderloin into the ziplock bag with the breadcrumb/parmesan/parsley mixture.
- Seal bag tightly and shake to fully coat each tenderloin. You may need to use your fingers to manipulate the mixture onto each tenderloin to ensure good coverage.
- Heat olive oil over medium/high heat in a large frypan.
- Cook the tenderloins in batches. Turning after approximately 5 minutes per side (tenderloins should be crisp and golden but not burnt).
- Once cooked through, remove from frypan and place on a chopping board or large plate lined with absorbent kitchen paper. Place another 2 pieces over the top and press gently to remove any excess oil.
- Serve in a sandwich or as part of a healthy salad.
Makes approximately 6-8 tenderloins – Calories per tenderloin – 150
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