Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always loved this time of year. This end of summer / start of fall / back to school season is one of my favorites, and it always has been.
Maybe because I was (and still am) a little bit of a nerd. Maybe because fall is my favorite season and I’m ready for sweaters and boots and football.
I think what I love most about this time of year is that, more than anything, it always feels like a fresh start. I know most people think of New Years as the time to “start over” and make resolutions, but September has always felt more like a reset button than any other time of year.
It’s a time to reinvent yourself for the coming year, to meet new people, to make new habits.
Maybe your new habits will be studying more – or better – in school this year. Maybe it’ll be to step up at work and get a promotion. Maybe it’s to take better care of yourself. Maybe, like me, it’s a little bit of all of this (except the studying part….I am glad that’s over!).
My goal every year is to cook more at home and to find ways to make our favorite dishes just a little bit healthier, so I couldn’t be more excited about this recipe and this campaign!
Partnership for a Healthier America, All-Clad and a great group of bloggers have gotten together to spread childhood obesity awareness with some great (and healthier!) back to school recipes and fantastic giveaways.
Did you know?
- Approximately 12.5 million U.S. youth are obese and about 11 million more are overweight
- 1 in 3 children and adolescents in this country are overweight or obese
- More than 25% 17-24 year olds in the United States are now too heavy to serve in the military
- Over the past 30 years, childhood obesity in the U.S. has doubled among ages 2-5 and more than tripled among ages 6-11 and 12-19.
- Children with low neighborhood amenities or those lacking neighborhood access to side-walks or walking paths, parks or playgrounds, or recreation or community centers had 20-45% higher odds of becoming obese or overweight compared to children who had access to these amenities
I don’t know about you, but those stats aren’t very encouraging. What happened in the last 30 years that has changed the lives of the children in this country so much?
I don’t think there’s one answer to the problem, but I do know that being more active and eating at home – and healthier dishes – is a great way to start solving the issue. Eating healthy and offering more balanced and tasty options definitely starts with the family.
For more healthy back to school recipes, make sure to check out all of these great options:
- Caroline’s Healthy Red Velvet Smoothies
- Erin’s Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
- Erin’s Tomato Balsamic Ravioli
- Carla’s Dried Fruit & Nut Trail Mix
- Julie’s Lightened Up Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Megan’s Raspberry Peach Fruit Leather
- Carolyn’s Guilt-free Fig Newtons
- Miryam’s Nutella Breakfast Oatmeal
- Liz’s Gluten Free Oatmeal Peach Bread
And to help spread the word (and give more families the chance to cook more at home and make healthier dishes), we’ve got some great giveaways!
Each of us are giving away this 11″ skillet, and one grand prize winner will get this incredible 7 piece All Clad set to spruce up your kitchen!
Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
An update on your usual chicken tenders, this is a healthier option that uses finely ground almonds as the base of the breading. A little sweet from the almonds, a little kick from the spices, and even more flavor than any frozen chicken tender you can buy.
Ingredients:
- about 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat the eggs on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
- In a separate, shallow bowl or plate, mix the almond meal with the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.
- Slice the chicken breast pieces into 1-2" wide strips, cutting them evenly as possible. You'll want a total of 12-16 pieces so each person gets 3-4 tenders.
- Place a medium skillet on the stove top and heat 1 Tbsp of oil in the pan.
- Dip each chicken tender into the egg, coating each side and then coat evenly with the almond meal mixture.
- Cook in the skillet 4-5 minutes on each side, letting the almond meal brown. Once the first batch of chicken is done, add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook the remaining chicken tenders.
- When the tenders are evenly browned, remove from the pan and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until the tenders are cooked through.
This giveaway has been sponsored by Partnership for A Healthier America and All-Clad. I did not receive any compensation for this post.