There are two foods he will eat though, chicken nuggets and pancakes. We like to have those two items on-hand in the freezer for the days that we just can't get him to eat anything else. However, buying frozen, gluten-free items costs an arm and a leg and to be honest they are filled with a lot of ingredients we prefer to avoid. So, this weekend we decided to make a large batch of chicken nuggets and pancakes and see how well they did if we froze them.
We'll start with the pancakes because they were the easiest. We just mixed up a batch of our coconut flour pancakes (recipe below), let them cool, laid them single file on a cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer to harden a little bit, and then threw them in freezer baggies. The next morning we took them out and heated them up in the toaster oven, (micro-wave or toaster would work also) topped them with butter and pure maple syrup and.... he LOVED them! He begged for them all day long, in fact everyone in the family loved them so the bag didn't last long! They are perfect for hectic mornings.
Or lazy weekend mornings when Little Chef enjoys breakfast in bed...and uh yes, he really, really likes grass-fed butter and demands huge slices of it on each pancake. lol We love how happy he is with his food here... not a single "I DON'T LIKE IT"!
Easy Freezer (or anytime as they are even better fresh off the griddle) Pancakes
8 cage-free, farm fresh eggs
2 really ripe bananas- mashed
1 tablespoon coconut sugar syrup* or preferred sweetener (*Bring 1 1/2 cup coconut sugar and 1/2 cup water to a boil, simmer for 3 minutes, remove from heat, and store in fridge.)
1 teaspoon vanilla
10 drops vanilla stevia
1/4 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon corn-free baking powered
Beat eggs well.
Beat in mashed bananas
Beat in honey and vanilla.
Mix coconut flour and powder in another bowl and then beat into wet mixture.
Pour little amounts onto hot griddle, smaller pancakes are easier to flip.
Cook for 1-3 minutes, flip, and cook for just a few seconds to one minute as they cook fast once flipped.
Enjoy!
10 stars from everyone!
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Ok, now the chicken nuggets were also a huge hit but we are not going to lie...they were a PAIN to make. It made a huge mess and took hours! However, he LOVED them so much that it was worth it. He ate them for lunch, dinner, snack time, and begged for more at bedtime. In fact we were a little disappointed that we spent all that time in the kitchen making them for the freezer but kept eating them until there were not many left to freeze!
We served them with the most amazing Raw Ranch Dressing from a recipe we found online, it is so delicious and easy to make! Everyone loved it but Sister Chef most of all, as soon as she tasted it she asked if she could make a salad to go with it. :-)
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
They are pretty simple to make, just really, really time consuming.
We cut up chicken breast into cubes.
Then we dipped them in eggs, then coated them in a mixture of almond flour, shredded coconut, and arrowroot powder. About 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup coconut, and 1/4 arrowroot.
Then we browned them on each side, for a few seconds, in coconut oil, on the stove in a skillet, placing them on paper towels after they were brown. (This doesn't cook them, just gives them a nice, crispy coating.)
Then we baked them, at 400 degrees, in the oven until cook all the way though, 20-30 minutes.
Then we ate them!
Everyone gave them 10 stars!
Next time we are going to try to skip the browning in oil part and see if they turn out with just the baking as it would save a lot of time but we are not sure if Little Chef would eat them as well because he loves the crispy part. We will let you know how it goes though once we attempt this.
To freeze, the same as the pancakes, place on cookies sheets until a little frozen and then transfer to freezer bags. Heat in the oven to serve.
Enjoy!
For the Chicken Nuggets.. Should that really be 12 cup flour or 1/2 cup flour?
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