Plantain Chicken Tenders (Serves 4)

Most kids I know love chicken strips, and Henry is no exception. Baked chicken strips are an easy weeknight meal with just a short amount of prep time. The dried plantains give them a delicious crunchy coating.

This recipe is Henry-approved.

If dried plantains are not a staple in your pantry, you can find them at Trader Joe’s. Their plantain chips are pre-salted so no need to add any salt to this recipe.

Henry creates a play dough scene while I prepare the Plantain Chicken Tenders.

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breast cut into strips

1-½ cups dried plantain chips

1 t ground cumin

1 t ground coriander

1 clove garlic

1 egg

1 T whole milk

1 T olive oil

Plantain chips chopped in the food processor.

Directions

Put plantain chips, spices and garlic into a food processor. Grind until the mixture is in small crumbs. This will be the breading for the chicken.

Prepare your breading station with two shallow dishes. I like to use pie plates, one for the egg dip and one for the dry ingredients. For the egg dip, lightly whisk the egg and milk. Pour the plaintain mixture into the second pan.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat baking pan with olive oil.

Dip each chicken strip in the egg mixture coating on both sides. Then, dredge each cutlet in the plantain mixture so that it coats both sides. Place chicken in oiled baking pan.

Cook 25-30 minutes until juices run clear when tested with a fork.

Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.

Plantain Chicken Tenders, Sweet Potato (Tiger) Fries, and Cuban-style Black Beans

How your kids can help

2-year old: Pushing the button on the food processor to grind the plantain mixture.
3-year old: Pouring the plantain mixture into the breading pan.
4-year old: Whisking the egg and milk.
5-year old: Choosing the dipping sauces for the chicken strips

Chowing down on Plantain Chicken Tenders.

Comments

The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook

UPDATE (10/2/12): Unfortunately, I did not hear back from our original winner. Congratulations to our alternate winner for "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook" -- Robin Pfefer. UPDATE (9/29/12): I am happy to announce that Kashia Clopper is the winner of "The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook". When I was first thinking about using the Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) model for Henry, I was unsure about whether it would really work. I was excited about BLW’s claims of less stressful meals that the whole family could share together. Plus, I was all for encouraging Henry to gain new skills by learning about the shapes, textures, colors, smells and flavors of food. This sounded ideal in theory, but would it work in practice? After some fun but ineffective attempts at letting Henry feed himself, I went in search of resources to learn more about BLW. I needed to learn how to prepare meals for our family in which Henry could participate. That’s when I found “ The Baby-Led ...

Do Your Kids Eat Everything?

UPDATE (3/15/2013): Congratulations to Kia as the random drawing winner in this giveaway! Thank you to all those who entered this contest. Before we began our food adventure with Henry, Daddy and I had many conversations about how to encourage Henry to become “a good eater.” After watching other parents constantly struggle with their toddlers, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do from the start to prevent picky eating. That’s when we read “ French Kids Eat Everything ” by Karen Le Billon . The book is an easy and enjoyable read about the year that Karen’s family spent in France and how it changed the way her family eats. The heart of the book explores the 10 French Food Rules for raising happy, healthy eaters. “French Kids Eat Everything” sparked numerous discussions at our dinner table about how our family eats. We have become more conscious of our assumptions about food and how that will influence Henry’s understanding of mealtimes. In addition,...

Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Set a good example

This week’s Tuesday Tip for Picky Eaters: Set a good example. As parents, we are the first role models for Henry. He will learn from our example, so Daddy and I need to eat our fruits and vegetables too. I am not a big fan of mango, but I let Henry watch me eat it with a smile on my face. Then he wants to try some mango too. Henry is more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when he sees Mommy and Daddy eat them too. A recent study confirmed that when parents lead by example their children have a more nutritious diet. The best way to inspire healthy eating habits is to demonstrate them first-hand to your children. Another study found that when parents ate an extra serving of fruit or vegetables each day, their child ate an additional half serving. Yes, it is important to talk with kids about food. But don’t just tell your child to eat their vegetables, let them see you eating a balanced meal that includes plenty of fruits and veggies. It may not always seem like it,...

How to Feed a Henry

Search This Blog