©2005 GranolaChic™, All Rights Reserved

I am excited to offer this recipe! You would not think something so allergy friendly would be so DELICIOUS but they beat Grandma’s fried chicken and they are more healthy too!!! See tips for the spicy adult versions. This is something I have made quite often by grinding my own flours, but I only just decided to use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour and it worked great (just a new twist on an older recipe of mine). Not many people want to mess around with grinding their own flour so this makes the recipe very easy as well as healthy for moms and dads on the go.

Ingredients:

BATTER:

4 Tablespoons ENERG Egg Replacement (Parve)

4 Tablespoons purified water or distilled water

½ tsp Celtic Salt or Fleur de Sel

1/8- 1/2 tsp Organic Onion Granulated Spice Hunter is delicious brand

1/8 tsp Organic Garlic Granulated Spice Hunter is delicious brand

In a glass pie plate or on a small salad plate put the Egg Replacement, blend in the spices, and then incorporate the water to make a frothy batter. You want this to be thick enough to stick to the chicken, beef, lamb, or veggies but not so soupy so that it will not stick nor gummy so that it mounds in  globs. Place this mixture on the left side and make certain the breading mixture is on the right side. This will help the breading and batter process run efficiently, smooth, and with much less mess.

BREADING:

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour

1/2- 1 tsp Organic Garlic Powder granulated (not salt)

1 tsp Organic Onion Powder granulated

1 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

1/8-1/2 tsp Organic Paprika

1-2 tsp Organic Basil Minced Dry Herb for those children that don’t like to see green, give one or two a try and the flavor will usually sell them. If it’s an issue, just leave out the basil. It gives a really nice flavor to the tenders though. When you serve them with Organic Ketchup they seem to overlook the green specks….and they are usually browned enough it doesn’t stand out too much.

In a glass pie plate or on a small salad plate blend all of the ingredients and place on the right with the batter on the left side. See diagram in TIPS.

CHICKEN:

1.25 lb (20oz) Raw Organic Boneless Chicken Breast cut into strips or Raw Organic Boneless Chicken Tenderloins  You may use lamb, veggies, beef etc.

Smidge of Celtic Sea Salt for a fine sprinkle

1-2 cups Organic Coconut Oil for pan frying

Organic Ketchup for side condiment

Serves 4

In a cast iron or stainless steel skillet heat the Coconut Oil over medium heat until hot, not boiling or popping. You may test a piece of batter and if it fries immediately when you place it in the pan you know that your oil is ready.

You are going to want to have four plates ready to go, with the chicken plate on the far left, next the batter plate, followed by the breading plate on the right, and to the far right the platter where all of your pre-battered chicken will be ready for the frying process. If you use your left hand for the meat and the batter and you only use your right hand to bread the chicken you can keep yourself from having really caked up hands and avoid a huge mess in the kitchen. In keeping with your right hand being the “dry” hand without touching the chicken, take a small smidge of Celtic Sea Salt and sprinkle on the chicken. With your left hand take the chicken tenders or nuggets 1-2 at a time and dip them in the batter. Then place those two on the breading plate and with your right hand cover the chicken with the flour. Then with your right hand lift the chicken and give it a gentle tap on the plate or a little shake over the plate to remove any excess flour and then move those two pieces onto your prep plate. Continue the process until all of your chicken, beef, or veggies are battered. After all of your food has been battered you are now ready to fry or bake those beauties. Move them two or three at a time into your hot oil and start frying ( if using a small pan, do not fry more than 3 at a time or it will bring the temp down on your oil and you will have greasy chicken not really fried crunchy chicken) (When using a regular frying pan I do not fry more than 4-5  chicken strips at one time for the same reason) (Chicken nuggets would be about 8-10 at a time max for perfect crunchy nuggets). Fry them until golden brown on one side and with your tongs flip them over and on the opposite side frying them until golden brown. If you are using a meat thermometer make certain the internal temperature reaches 165°.  With your tongs remove them from the oil and set them on brown paper grocery bags to allow any excess oil to drain. These are tender, juicy, crispy on the outside, and full of flavor!! Continue frying the additional pre-battered chicken pieces and serve with Traditional Gravy, GranolaChic Gluten Free Gravy, or Ketchup. The adult versions are spicier and have delicious dips that may be served with them. I love the Bobby Flay inspired Pasilla and Ancho Honey dip for both chicken and beef tenders. Look for that in future blogs.

TIPS:

 Use the same batter for CHICKEN FRIED CHICKEN, CHICKEN FRIED STEAK….oh my goodness and now that you have gluten free gravy to go with this you may now eat old fashioned favorites with a healthy, allergy friendly twist.

For Chicken Nuggets simply cut chicken into 2 inch squares (to make the chore of cutting meat a little bit more easy put the meat in the freezer and allow to freeze only until firm not until thoroughly frozen. Remove from the freezer and they cut really nice and stay in a uniform shape.

Serve the Fried Chicken, Chicken Fried Chicken, or Chicken Fried Steak with Traditional or GranolaChic Gluten-Free pan gravy.

Make ahead: It is possible to pre-batter all of your chicken, lamb, beef, or veggies and then wrap them with unbleached parchment paper and plastic wrap, and then secure in a glass Pyrex dish with a secure lid and then place them in the freezer for frying later so that all of the messy work has been done and all you have to do is pull out a few pieces at a time and fry them.

Pan Gravy Recipe to follow.

Adult version Chicken Tenders, Chicken Fried Chicken, Chicken Fried Steak to follow.  The difference is adding spices you like. To taste I add pasilla, ancho, cayenne, paprika, to the breading. Then offering a spicy dip usually with a honey or sweet sauce as well as a spicy dipping sauce really makes this a fun treat to serve to those who like a little zip to their zing.

 If you do not have time to make these at home or if you have no desire to make these at home and you want a Wonderful alternative to fast food chicken tenders or chicken nuggets make sure to check out Allergy Free Foods ™ Company as they have really good chicken tenders and nuggets and they strive to offer allergy free preservative free foods which is what we love. Here’s a link to their site http://www.allergyfreefoods.com/  . If you like their products write them. It is important to support those that are offering products that benefit you and are in line with your beliefs. That will only encourage more companies to follow the cruelty free, organic, allergy friendly way of life.

See our recipe for Store Purchased Chicken Nuggets that features Allergy Free Foods™ Brand Frozen Chicken Tenders and Nuggets.

Try this simple Cinnamon Roll inspired dessert for a gluten free or almost gluten free cinnamon roll treat that the big kids and little kids alike are sure to enjoy!  (Gluten-free depending on the tortillas you use). You don’t have to wait for the dough to rise, I promise as soon as they come out of the oven they disappear. They are super super easy, super fast, and super yummy. You will be  a hit with your kids…….they do have calories, and organic sugar so beware.

WARNING: You may NEVER EVER NEVER want to mess with the old fashioned cinnamon rolls again once you taste these and see how fast and easy they are to make!!!

(rolled version)

In the photo I heavily dusted mine with organic powdered sugar but you can lightly dust them, drizzle with icing over the top just like cinnamon rolls, you can also serve them as I do sometimes with just the yummy gooey buttery cinnamon sugar stuffing from the inside drizzled over the top. You cannot go wrong no matter how you top this easy treat.

Cinnamon Roll Tortillas

Copyright 2007, GranolaChic®, All Rights Reserved

1 batch (12) of homemade tortillas: (or 1-2 packages of your favorite tortillas I use organic spelt in wheat or regular if I buy tortillas). You can find this at Whole foods spelt has low gluten and the gluten is easier for our body to digest that regular gluten. The brand that is so delicious is …..Rudi’s Organic Bakery Spelt Tortillas.

Salted Organic butter (or Amish Butter): I use this because of the high salt content and believe it or not,  it makes this taste more sweet.

Organic powdered sugar

Organic sugar cane

Organic cinnamon ground

1-2 pie plates

Heat oven to 350 and simply lay a tortilla flat on your pie plate. Generously sprinkle with ground cinnamon, dust with both sugars, add generous portions of butter in pats evenly placed around the tortilla. Place in the oven just long enough for the butter to melt and the sugars to combine with the butter to make a gooey filling (5 minutes). Remove from oven, spread the filling with the back of a spoon to distribute the gooey filling, roll your tortilla and then cut. I use the back of a small cereal spoon to lightly press the tortilla and to portion out pieces I am cutting with the knife. Add the left over juices from the pan on top of each serving and eat them up, you may also make a delicious cream cheese frosting and drizzle over the top, or dust with organic powdered sugar. While you are serving one batch simply slide the next batch in the oven and before the first batch is devoured your second batch is ready to cut. This is a fun and very easy naughty treat that tastes just as good as cinnamon rolls without all of the fuss and without all of the additional bulky bread filling. I hope you enjoy!!!! Better yet, I hope your kids enjoy!!!!! 

Have  A GranolaChic Day!!!!

Tips:The filling should be VERY messy, don’t worry if there is so much gooey filling that there is a lot left in the pie plate. The next batch that cooks will get the yummy filling on top and bottom and that won’t hurt a thing…it will only add to the flavor.

Alternative: You also do not have to Roll  the tortillas. You may simply fold them if it is easier and less messy. When your tortilla comes out of the oven take your fork or knife and use it to fold the tortilla in half, then make even slices in the tortilla, next fold each slice, drizzle with desired topping,  and serve. See photos below for the folded version. 

This is the folded version, the rolled version is just simple you take it from the oven and roll it up as you would cinnamon rolls and then cut slices. Drizzle and serve (see top photo for rolled version, the finished product looks like a small cinnamon roll). Either way works fine. Happy eating.

1. If you can see the pan has lots of cinnamon sugar butter mixture, it is messy and that’s ok.

2. Step two, simply fold in half. You will use the additional gooey drippings to drizzle over the top later!!!

3. Slice strips and before folding add more of the pan drippings to each slice, so that each serving has more gooey center.

4. Fold.

5. Place on plates, drizzle with topping and serve.

Why tortillas? I have a client that is allergic to baker’s yeast as well as many other items. They cannot have traditional cinnamon rolls, breads, etc. One of my goals in working with people is meeting their cravings in fun ways even if it is not the traditional food that would first come to mind. For those with yeast allergies flat-breads, raw sprouted and dehydrated, as well as crackers are great substitutes. It’s one of those things where you just have to break the rules and PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD. 

I have a special little chef in my life that is allergic to cow dairy, wheat, oats, yeast both baker’s and brewer’s as well as many other things so the tortillas I mentioned above would not work for an individual with oat allergies because those specific tortillas have oat in the ingredient list. I make special tortillas or flatbreads for that individual. If you have specific allergies or are cooking for someone with specific allergies feel free to email me and I will be more than happy to give you ideas or recipes to meet the needs of high allergy sensitive people.

Remember: Add a little bit of green to everything!!

GranolaChic

I have a heart for mothers and I have worked with many moms and I prefer the challenge of bringing fun foods into the family menu that kids LOVE!!! I have had so many moms tell me their kids hate broccoli or veggies and by the time they taste our yummies the kids honestly fight over who got MORE broccoli and want a second batch. I love cooking in the kitchen with my (little chefs or little clients) and I hope to encourage you to bond with your children in the kitchen too. Fast food is well….fast but not fun, not bonding, not creative, not exciting and it does not build fond life-long memories. While it takes more time to allow children to participate in meal preporation, it is much more messy with little hands in the pot, and it’s presentation may appear disheveled a bit……. just think of the brilliant masterpieces that will unfold and the bonding that will take place as you cook together. I will give you ideas, tips, and recipes.  Please give me time because I have far more recipes than I have time to write. Once you start cooking with your little chef please send me an email and share the fun stories. Remember, it will not be perfect, it does not have to be perfect, but the outcome will be brilliant. It will be brilliant because even if you have a burnt crooked crust all that your little chef will recall is that you indulged them with a portion of your time and they will feel it was the greatest dish ever made. Who knows, perhaps you will inspire a future chef….that is what my Italian grandmother did for me. Again, thank you for checking in, keep stopping by, send me an email with any questions you may have, and have a GranolaChic Day!!!!!!

The Granola Chic

 Who doesn’t like snow-cones? We have them almost every day; yes even in the cold, as our naughty treat (but there’s nothing naughty about this treat). It’s also a RAW food.

GranolaChic’s Perfect Snow-Cone Syrup  (with fresh fruit)

Copyright 2001, GranolaChic ™,All Rights Reserved 

1/2 bag Frozen Organic Fruit (Strawberry, Blueberry, or other)

1/4 Cup – 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup or alternate sweeteners like organic brown rice syrup, Agave Nectar, Simple Syrup from organic sugar, etc (The sweetener needs to be sweet and make it to taste…..each batch will be a little different depending on the ripeness of the fruit you are using)

ICE and your snow-cone machine

This will serve Two with enough for seconds. For a family of Four an entire bag of frozen fruit will usually leave enough for left-overs.  

The recipe I created with fresh/frozen fruit has been a HUGE hit with even children that do not like organic or healthy food. They didn’t even know the snow-cones were not traditional and they asked for seconds!!!

For two children take ½ bag of frozen fruit like organic strawberries or organic blueberries and allow them to thaw for a few hours in the fridge and then blend them until perfect and smooth. Then add your favorite sweetener (to taste because each batch will vary depending on the ripeness of the fruit) you may use simple syrup, organic rice syrup, maple syrup, Agave Nectar, and blend. Add this as Perfect snow-cone syrup. Maple syrup works the best and it tastes the most like the real snow-cone syrups…only….your kids are getting REAL fruit.You can also use fresh fruit in the same measurement as the frozen fruit, blend, add sweetener, and serve.

TIPS: If you are in a big hurry or you simply do not want to prep or wash the blender ….take Cascadian Farms Organic Fruit Juice in Concentrate and allow it to thaw in the fridge for a few hours. When the juice has thawed completely, prepare your snow-cones and use the Un-Diluted  juice as your snow-cone syrup. No FUSS, No MESS, No CLEAN-UP. They have really yummy flavors grape, raspberry, etc.

Other ideas: This is great over ice cream, mascarpone cheese, Chèvre with this syrup as a generous topping for faux cheesecake, serve over brownies as a drizzle, angel food cake, strawberry shortcake…OH YES, serve with cake, the ideas are endless. Add fresh fruit as a garnish on the plate, bowl, or platter and serve.

More ideas: If you take the fruit and you do not allow it to thaw and you blend it by adding the sweetener along with the fruit into the blender it creates a wonderful granita quality treat.

We have purchased the Cascadian Farm Organic Raspberry Juice in frozen concentrate and it went over with EXCELLENT reviews by children. Moms and Dads liked it too.

 We say fresh is best but for those moments when you need something FAST and EASY and you want to also be HEALTHY we love to give recommendations on products we have tested ourselves and we feel confident you will love. Hopefully, it will save you money and time by helping you choose products that have a great flavor and have been pre-tested by children, instead of wasting money on products that taste like cardboard and have wasted your time and money.

Tips: This makes wonderful Popsicles.

Another idea is to take the juice in concentrate form and put it in the fridge for a few hours. Allow it to thaw completely. Then use the concentrated juice (not diluted) as a YUMMY snow cone syrup. Try Grape, Raspberry, or any of the flavors for really yummy snow-cone syrup. Your children will never want a sugar based snow-cone AGAIN. And, you’ll be their HERO. How can you get better than that?

The syrup can be made fresh for snow-cones too and I will hopefully post recipes soon on how to make the syrup from organic frozen fruit and Agave or Maple syrup which we make on a daily basis at GranolaChic.

R.W. Knudsen Organic Unsweetened Apple juice is SOOOOOO delicious and it would be hard to beat the flavor!! It is naturally sweet.

We have tried the 365 brand at Whole Foods and the kids REJECTED the juice. We even did a blind taste test with children to see if they could tell the difference and THEY COULD EVERY TIME. We at GranolaChic could tell too and we usually really endorse the 365 brand. It just cannot touch the R.W. Knudsen juice.

Value: We purchase the 1 gallon glass jugs and we use the jugs again later for other juices or for water. The smaller quantities cost more if you compare the price in gallon containers. The rate is around 7.99-8.99 per gallon. You can get sales on the non-organic but recall how important organic is especially for fruits like apples, strawberries, blueberries, & grapes. Little ones have such a hard time with pesticides because of the size of their bodies and the amount of toxins in non-organic fruits. It’s worth the few extra dollars to prevent illness if you can at all afford to do so.

Tips:I heard the argument once that larger companies with commercial crops that have taken on organics have organic food but the food gets over-sprayed with some chemicals. If this is a concern, try to buy local organic produce because the crops are small and you know they don’t have the commercial crop close to have concerns with over-spray. Also, purchase from companies that are small and they don’t share crops with commercial growers.

Last: We endorse making fresh organic juice at home (because fresh is the best). We make everything from carrot, orange, apple, to mixed juices. I will try to post some of those recipes soon. If you have any requests email and let me know.

Have a GranolaChic® day and try A Little bit of Green in Everything!

Overnight Oatmeal   (no cooking required)

Copyright 2001, GranolaChic®, All Rights Reserved 

1 cup organic oats (no quick cooking oats,  the real thing)

1 cup Milk (enough to cover the oats completely)

1-2 Tablespoons Agave nectar or maple syrup (to taste)

1 tsp – 1 Tablespoon of Goat butter (optional) melt and pour over top if you are making warm oats

This is so easy and I have made this for years for little ones. I just decided to make it one day, I didn’t want to cook it because I didn’t want to lose the nutrients, and it went over really great. I hope your family will enjoy this for years to come.

Take organic oatmeal (again, no quick oats), place it in a bowl, cover with raw goat’s milk (or milk of your choice… nut milks etc), add agave nectar or maple syrup, cover and put it in the fridge for the next morning. You may heat it or serve it as a cold cereal. We enjoy it cold. If you need or like a little more milk just add that right before you serve the oats. If for any reason you have added too much milk, just pour the additional milk off of the top before you serve the cereal.

By not heating the cereal or cooking the oats you retain the RAW as well as the nutrients in the milk as well as the oats.

Tips: If you want green oatmeal just add a teaspoon of your favorite greens into the oats and mix really good right before you serve.

Butter: Certainly optional and it is only good if you are serving it warm. For the dairy free version use nut milk and omit the butter completely. The kids love this cereal cold and request it a lot! You cannot get easier than this and you can feel confident that they are getting all of the nutrients in this raw cereal too.

Quick version: You may prepare this and place it in the fridge and it will be ready in a few hours. It will take several hours for the oats to soak up the milk and give it that (the kids call it soggy) texture (adults will call it cooked texture) if you serve it too soon it will be too chewy. Just for the record a dad told me that he has never liked oatmeal but he really likes my version because it is moist and still a little chewy and the cooked version to him; according to his childhood memories, is soggy and gummy. I didn’t want the kids “soggy” description to make you feel it is a soggy cereal because it is not. It really makes the perfect texture. I do prefer the overnight version because it has the perfect consistency, but I have had the request first thing in the morning when it was not on our menu for the day so I improvised and promised it for an afternoon snack.

Kid Friendly Kombucha

Copyright 2007, GranolaChic, All Rights Reserved

Let’s talk Kombucha. This recipe is not for KT (Kombucha Tea) and it is not for Odwalla; nor is that our intent. It is for the yummy blend the two make together and the recipe GranolaChic created using Odwalla and KT together for a fast, easy, and healthy treat.  The kids beg for this and they are not getting a lot of Kombucha but they only need a small amount (if you believe in allowing them to drink it in the first place). I suggest researching and seeing what you believe about Kombucha and if you feel this is for you and you feel comfortable and safe growing Kombucha I hope that you enjoy using my idea.

1-2 oz Kombucha Tea

8 oz Mango Tango by Odwalla (feel free to substitute with another brand this is just a GranolaChic favorite)!

That’s it. Just add a small amount of Kombucha Tea to the Mango Tando stir it in the glass and serve.  It tastes almost exactly like orange juice because the KT cuts the sweet notes in the Mango Tango and you have the earthy not quite sour taste of KT. This allows the health benefits but allows the palate to develop and acquire a taste for KT without the aversion. If it is good for you but it does not taste good then it does not matter how good it is for you because it will never help you if you cannot get your children to eat it in the first place. It’s all about the love not the fight. OK, so it’s fun to have a food fight but it’s not fun to fight about food…now think about that one.

Variations: This is the original GranolaChic Mighty Mango Kombucha. Feel free to use other fruits with which you may blend KT from light to strong measurements. Puree of mango is wonderful to add to perfectly brewed KT. Pour KT into a glass add your mango puree (1/4 of a puree of mango added to 8 oz of homemade KT) it’s a taste preference so see what you like. Mix and enjoy. Mix with a wooden chopstick they make great stir sticks. This recipe is straight ahead and strong not sweet. The Mango Tango for kids has the sweet flavor as they add apple juice, orange juice, coconut and other blends to make a delightful drink. GranolaChic’s Mighty Mango, is better for you if you drink without sweetener but if you just have to add sweetener we have added maple syrup or agave nectar (100% organic and pure) to the KT and Mango nothing more and nothing less….but Mighty GOOD hence the name. You can also use this as a marinade for fish or use it for a delicious salad dressing.

Coffee Milk (alternate name …Brown Milk)

Copyright 2001, GranolaChic®, All Rights Reserved

8 oz Goat Milk, rice milk, almond milk (milk of your choice) I prefer RAW Goat if it is legal in your state or Meyersberg from the cold milk isle.

1 tsp -2 Tablespoons Blackstrap Molasses….Start with the smallest amount and work your way up to the larger measurement

Pour milk, stir in molasses, stir until blended and enjoy it’s that simple.  

OK, so there’s not a drop of coffee in this drink but they feel like they are so grown up with a name like this…we are just being silly. For those non-coffee drinkers the name BROWN MILK works great. I don’t call it CHOCOLATE MILK because I have a recipe for that too and it uses raw chocolate powder (so that name is taken). This may seem oh so silly to you, but if you begin serving your little ones GranolaChic milks your children will let you know exactly which one they want and why.  I created this not only for nutrition but because someone we know was a big Starbucks fan and the kids wanted to join in and enjoy a coffee creation too. They knew this had no coffee but they also knew it was especially wonderful and just for them. Things like this make all the difference in life.

This is something I drink for additional iron, calcium, and nutrients. The children beg for this drink. I am not big on “sneaking or hiding” ingredients in food my style is more being silly, funny, and fun. We just make eating FUN and because it is a child’s nature to play, to be silly, & to have fun, they have no trouble cooperating…..they are just amazed to see that grownups know how to be silly…..that’s what makes it fun, that’s what makes them laugh. Again, it’s the memories. They will always recall coffee milk, perhaps they will crave it into adulthood, and even better yet perhaps they will share coffee milk (brown milk) with their children.

See my link to Raw Goat Dairy in AZ and in TX. The people with whom I deal not only go through the safety measures required by the state but they go above those measures because they care about people and they know that children are getting this product. They take serious the fact that most children drinking this product are doing so because of autism, allergies, or other health issues and they want to have good conscience that their product is going to help not hinder a child’s health. So, look for the link. I will post that soon. I will also tell you why the farms above are so amazing in a later blog.

You know I love making my own chicken nuggets, broccoli bites, and spinach snacks but this is something that I wanted to recommend if you do not want to make your own nuggets or if you are in a time crunch and have little bellies that are grumbling.

 Gluten-Free manufactured for AllergyFree Foods Company check this out:

Gluten-Free (wheat, oats, rye, malt & barley)

Soy-Free

Peanut-Free

Tree Nut-Free (walnut, cashew, almond…etc)

Egg-Free

Milk-Free (casein etc)

The GranolaChic places 1-2 Tablespoons of preferred oil in a heavy duty skillet over medium-high heat. Brown both sides of the chicken nugget and allow the nuggets to become crunchy (the kids are used to the fried variety if they have ever had chicken nuggets and believe me this is the same or better) do not skip this step if you do not allow the crunchy browning they will be good but not great the browning makes this a healthy substitute for the commercial nuggets out there, add Celtic sea salt, sprinkle with organic onion powder, sprinkle with organic garlic powder. Serve with organic ketchup or eat plain. These are so delicious. They taste better than any fast food chicken nugget out there. These are uncooked nuggets, so by using a thermometer make certain the internal temperature of the nuggets reaches 165.

 The package recommends heating the oven to 375 and baking them. I have gotten a better flavor with my above recipe.

 If I see TBHQ or preservatives in the package I walk away. Look at your packages and demand healthier ingredients….the manufacturers do listen. Remember that you are their bread and butter and they cannot survive without YOU, so don’t buy it if you don’t believe in it, and write or call them and let them know what quality you demand. You and your children DESERVE the BEST!!!!!!