Almond “Breaded” Chicken Fingers

When I was a little kid (and throughout most of my life lol) I have loved chicken fingers.  When I was younger and got to go out for dinner with family (sans mom and dad) I took the opportunity and ran with it; I ordered chicken fingers.  Sadly, those darn things aren’t that good for you and the breading makes my tummy turn.  Darn gluten…  Have no fear, my friends… I have a delicious alternative :)

Almond “Breaded” Chicken Fingers

What you need:

-        Chicken breast (you decide how many you need depending on how many people you are cooking for)

-        All natural almonds

-        Food processor or blender

-        Egg whites (2 eggs worth should be plenty depending on how much you are making)

-        Spices

-        Tongs

-        Flipper

-        Frying pan

-        2 Plates (1 to spread the chopped almonds on and 1 to place the cooked chicken on)

-        Cooling rack (to place cooked chicken on) OPTIONAL

-        Rectangular dish (to hold the egg whites)

-        Oil (you can use EVOO, coconut oil, or whatever you have on your meal plan!)

Instructions:

-        Take your almonds (I used about a cup) and throw them into the blender with whatever spices you like and chop them up!  I used a little bit of chili pepper flakes.  You can decide how fine or chunky you want the pieces of almond to be, but aim for a finer consistency.  Spread it out evenly on the plate.

-        Whisk the egg whites slightly in the dish.

-        Slice your chicken breast into thin slices.  This will help the chicken cook faster!

-        Dip each slice of chicken into the egg white and then over to the almond mixture and then place the “breaded” chicken on to a clean plate.

-        Once you have all of the chicken “breaded” put it in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes so the “breading” can adhere. 

-        While your chicken is sitting in the fridge you can heat up the frying pan.  Make sure to cook this on Low-Med heat as you don’t want to burn the almonds before the chicken has a chance to cook thoroughly.

-        Lightly oil the pan, I like to use a brush so I can spread out the oil evenly and limit the amount I need to use.

-        Once the chicken is ready to cook, space the slices out evenly in the pan and cook 4-5 minutes per side depending on thickness.  I like to leave the sides of the chicken almond free so I can see when the chicken turns colour.

-        Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly use the flipper to remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack (or plate).  The cooling rack will allow the chicken to cool on both sides without the bottom getting soggy from the condensation on the plate.

-        Depending on what you are allowed to eat on your meal plan you can use whatever dip you like!  Mustard is great or you can create your own veggie dip by pureeing some of your fave veggies!  A roasted red pepper dip sounds delish, don’t you think?

I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if you try it!  I will talk to you all very soon!

K