Real Food Chicken Nuggets

We haven't eaten Mickey D's in FOREVER...
And thank goodness!
But since starting our real food journey, it's been tricky to create a real food version of everything my toddler used to love.
Namely his favorite lunch: chicken nuggets.
But I did it!!!
And these nuggets are soooo good!

Here's the recipe:

You will need:
1 large egg
1 TBSP grapeseed oil vegenaise
2 cups of cooked organic chicken
1/4 cup shredded organic cheese
whole wheat flour for coating
salt and pepper or seasoned salt to taste

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pulse chicken in a food processor until finely chopped. (But don't over do it!!!)
3. Combine remaining ingredients with chicken in a bowl.
4. Scoop by rounding tablespoonfuls and drop a few at a time into a bowl full of whole wheat flour and coat each nugget.
5. Place nuggets on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I usually take this opportunity to mash them down a bit and shape them into cute nuggety looking nuggets...if that even makes sense...
7. Bake for about 18 minutes turning them over halfway through.

I love to make a double or triple batch and freeze them (flash freeze on a cookie sheet before placing in a freezer bag). Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes from frozen. Way better than Tyson nuggets. Watch "Food Inc." and you'll never want to eat another Tyson product again!

Family Adventures: Touch a Truck

We love to spend time together.
And we spend LOTS of time together. Saturdays are special because my husband generally doesn't have to work so we really try to have some sort of family outing.
Here's what we did yesterday:
Touch-a-Truck
The number of vehicles available was amazing!
Carson LOVED it. Here he is touching an auger truck.

Man Towels

"Man towel...it is for the man."
-Carson Sites, 2 yrs. old (and a man)

Man Towel Criteria:
1. Must be larger than a washcloth.
2. Must have a RED stripe, not blue.
3. Must come from the dollar store.

Baby Towels, you have been put on notice:
Your kind is no longer welcome. We will not grace your fluff with our sticky pineapple Man Hands.
For in this house, dwell MEN...
...well, Mommy too...
...and a baby sister...
...ok, you can stay...But don't even think about coming near Carson's placemat.
Or you will be promptly thrown to the floor.
In. Dis. Gust.

A Caterpillar Named Chrysalis

Something has been eating the turnips in my garden.
And I caught him red-handed...or rather brown footed: a scrubby-looking little caterpillar.
Lucky for him, our unit has been on butterflies so he now resides in our house and we spoil him rotten.
I got the idea for growing a caterpillar into a butterfly here:
http://learningdevelopmentactivities.blogspot.com/2012/03/caterpillar-to-butterfly.html?m=1
There are kits you can buy but this is the frugal way to do it. The trick is knowing what kind of caterpillar you have because they are very picky eaters and often starve if not fed the right foods.
Luckily for him (unlikely for me) know EXACTLY what he eats: turnip greens, broccoli, radishes...pretty much everything in my garden.
And now for the name:
I asked Carson what he would like to name his caterpillar...Thomas? Elmo? Freddie?
He thought about it..
"Caterpillar name is...Chrysalis."
Ok.
THAT won't be confusing.
But you gotta admire this kiddo's love for words.
Here's Chrysalis, our fat little Variegated Cutworm (he's actually going to be a moth not a butterfly):