eating healthy food.
There was an entire decade of my life when I existed largely on refined sugars and processed grains. Gulp, for reals. I still cringe when I think back to the hundreds of Slurpees that I drank back then. At the time I was a long distance runner, and a nutritionally oblivious junk-food-vegetarian. I’d run an average of 9 miles a day and would then fuel up on cereals, bagels, veggie burgers, fries and sugar-laden beverages. My body looked healthy, so I figured I was doing something right.
Oy vey.
It wasn’t until my son, Andrew, was born in 2005 that I gave one single thought to nutrition. As he got to the age of eating solid foods I realized that I had to figure out what to feed him (duh!) and I didn’t have a clue where to begin. At the time the statistic came out that our children now had a shorter life expectancy that we do, mainly due to obesity and obesity-related diseases. Whoa, that was scary to hear. Suddenly I had the urge to study nutrition and to figure out what should my son eat to avoid a life of disease?
Andrew is now 9 ½ years old. He’s a tall, athletic, healthy boy who will try virtually any food at least once (yay!) I continue to repeatedly expose him to wholesome, real food with the hopes that his healthy eating habits will stick for life. And that his life expectancy can outrank mine
½ cup raw almonds
¼ teaspoon sea salt
dash of black pepper
¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 egg
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Pulse the raw almonds in a food processor until fine. (If your child has an allergy to almonds, use sun flower seeds or gluten free oats.)
Combine the ground almonds, salt, pepper and paprika in a shallow bowl. Whisk the egg in another shallow bowl.
Dip the chicken pieces in the egg mixture, and then coat in the almond mixture. Place on the prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Calories: 152
Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 10g
Sodium: 338mg
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 25g
Sugar: 1g