Baby Chicken (or turkey) Nuggets

Our little linebacker began taking interest in our food around 2.5 months and was attempting to steal our forks at 3 months.  We started him on solids at 4 months.  Since he was beginning so early, we decided to feed him purees in lieu of the original plan to practice Baby Led Weaning.

I am a firm believer that good health starts from the beginning.  Growing up, my favorite snacks were carrots with ranch dressing and strawberries.  Today, if you put a crudite tray in front of me, I am still all over it.  Clay and I try to be healthy and really wanted to build a foundation for Bryson that would last a lifetime.  That meant foregoing the convenience of packaged foods and artificial flavors, both in his purees and the adult food he consumed.  Sure, if bacon cheeseburgers and onion rings are your thing, it's easier to give baby a piece of what you're eating, but baby's well-being should trump convenience every time.

I started out making Bryson's purees.  With each new food, he got the jarred stuff once or twice and if he liked it, I made a batch.  I used only organic frozen varieties even though we aren't strict about eating only organic fruits and vegetables.  Frozen vegetables are much more nutritious than canned, or even from the produce section oftentimes, because they're frozen at their peak.

At 6 months, we began to give Bryson chunks of food, starting with things we knew he liked: carrots, pears, etc.  Now that he is almost 8-months-old, he is almost past purees.  At dinnertime, we all sit at the dining table and Bryson gets some of what we're eating.

Since some of our food isn't baby-friendly, I have been experimenting with recipes for Bryson and have stumbled upon a hit!  Not only does he love it, but it's great for him, is easy to make AND can be frozen for future use!

Seriously, iPhone, you couldn't take a better picture??

Ingredients:

- 1 pound ground chicken

- 1 apple 

- 1-2 adult carrot(s)

- 1/2 yellow or white onion

- 1 egg

- 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

- 1/2 garlic clove

- 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

- dried thyme, if desired

- black pepper, if desired

Directions:

- Peel the apple and shred the carrot. Cut into chunks and put in a food processor with the garlic and onion.

- Process the ingredients until they're smooth, but still chunky.  They don't need to be pureed.

- Combine apple, carrot, onion and garlic with ground meat.

- Add in the white of the egg.  Adding the yolk may make it runny.  Add desired spices.

- Mix everything together well.

- Add 1/4-cup of the bread crumbs and mix.

- Add remaining bread crumbs if needed.

- Form into balls, then flatten each ball into a nugget shape.

- Heat a stovetop grill or pan on medium heat.

- Add 1 tbsp olive oil and allow it to heat up.

- Cook the nuggets on each side for roughly 7 minutes.  Don't overcrowd the pan or they take forever.

- Finish in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes if you're unsure if they're done.  Babies CANNOT eat under-cooked meat.

Tips:

- I actually used turkey because our grocery store stinks and didn't have ground chicken. You can use any meat, but I recommend using something with 9% or less fat. I used 97/3 because I prefer extra lean.

- Bryson has never had garlic before, so I only added it to half. If your baby hasn't had or doesn't like onion, garlic or spices, play around with the combination.

-This yields a lot of nuggets, so you can freeze them for later.  I packaged 5-6 nuggets together in plastic wrap, then put all of the packages together in one ZipLoc bag.  Adding the plastic wrap helps prevent freezer burn and makes it easier to get smaller portions out.

The apples and carrot release their juices during the cooking process, so the nuggets are super soft and easy to chew.  When Bryson took his first bite, his eyes got huge and he grabbed for more.  I'd say he's a fan!  I hope your little one loves them too!