My kids are salivating less when we drive by a MacDonald’s. After reading the China Study and having the honor of reading Rachel Randolph’s soon to come release, my husband and I opted to take the plunge. We went vegan. WAIT! Stay with me–we still love to have sushi once in a blue moon but we learned through several books and documentaries, many of our food items are processed and full of junk. Take MacD’s Nuggets for example:
According to McDonald’s own website, McNuggets contain “chicken meat, chicken skin, salt, flavour [hydrolyzed plant protein (corn, soy, wheat gluten), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate]. Coated with: wheat flour, water, toasted wheat crumbs, modified cornstarch, corn starch, yellow corn flour, salt, vegetable oil shortening (soybean), sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate, spices, sodium aluminum silicate (manufacturing aid), modified milk ingredients, wheatstarch. Cooked in 100% vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with THBQ, citric acid and dimethypolysiloxane).” 310 calories, 19g of fat (29% daily value for an adult!), 45mg of cholesterol, and 670g of sodium.
The main reason we opted to go plant-based was to remove the excess of hormones, GMO’s and preservatives in our kids’ diets. Having two children with special needs, the diet has made a humongous difference. One child no longer needs medication and the other is down to one pill from three.
Is it hard work? You bet, is it worth it? YES! So in honor of my children’s longing of Chicken Nuggets, I found a few recipes, tweaked them to our tastes and now I’m sharing with you!
- Ingredients
- ½ cup Almond milk unsweetened
- ½ tsp lemon juice
- 15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup textured vegetable protein (TVP)
- 1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1½ tbsp agave nectar
- 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 a dash of garlic powder
- 1 a dash of thyme
- ½ cup vital wheat gluten
- 2 cups unsweetened corn flakes
- ½ tsp poultry seasoning (not powdered)
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease or line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk non-dairy milk and lemon juice together until foamy with bubbles. In a medium bowl, mash chickpeas with a fork or potato masher until coarse. Or do what I do, pulse in a food processor 10 to 15 times and then add the chickpeas to the bowl.
- Toss in TVP, mustard, spices and agave. Add in 1/4 cup water and mix with a spoon.
- Once the texture changes to being more firm, turn out onto counter and knead for one minute to remove excess bubbles.
- Knead into a ball and set aside.
- Pour cornflakes into a separate bowl and mash until very crumbly, like thick and slightly bigger bread crumbs and set aside.
- Re-whisk non-dairy milk and then pour mixture into a shallow bowl.
- Break off bite sized portions of the gluten and flatten in the palm of your hand to it resembles a nugget shape.
- Dip into the non-dairy milk mixture so that it's coated on both side then press into flakes on each side, making sure it's completely coated.
- Place nugget on a cookie sheet and repeat with all nuggets. Bake nuggets for 10-15 minutes on each side, until nuggets are firm and crispy.
- 1 14-ounce package of extra-firm
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- Unwrap the tofu and shake off any excess moisture. Place the tofu in a freezer bag or wrap well in plastic, then freeze the sealed tofu for at least 24 hours.
- The next day, thaw the tofu by placing it—unwrapped—into a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl and microwave on high, checking every 2 to 3 minutes to make sure the tofu doesn’t cook. Once thoroughly defrosted, gently squeeze out any excess moisture and cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a shallow bowl, add the bread crumbs and spices, mixing well. In a separate bowl, pour 1/2 cup of water.
- Dip each piece of tofu first into the water, lightly shake off any excess water, and then coat with the seasoned bread crumbs.
- Put the breaded tofu cubes on a lightly oiled baking pan and baked 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
Dad’s Vegan Nuggets
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1 tsp poultry spice
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground flax seed
- 1 1/2 cup non-diary milk
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- In one bowl whisk together flour and spices, set aside. In another whisk water and olive oil. Once combined, add flour mixture.
- Stir until dough forms. It will be tough to knead, so stretch it as much as you can before forming it back into a ball.
- Roll dough out into a 12 to 14 inches. Let rest while you mix together the bread crumbs, nutritional yeast, tumeric, and paprika in one bowl. Set aside and mix the flax seed, soy milk, oil, and vinegar in another.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and lightly oil your pan.
- Slice dough into 24 pieces and shape into a nugget. Then dip in milk and then bread crumbs. Then repeat process once again to gain a nice coat of breadcrumbs.
- Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes on each side.