Kids Veg'n Nuggets

 Veg'n Nuggets

This is a recipe that will be there for you when you're busy/running behind/have a child pulling at your pant leg screaming...and you need to get a healthy lunch in their bellies in a HURRY!

It is a delicious recipe for nuggets that are packed with nutrition and fun to eat! They are crunchy and sturdy and perfect for dipping. They freeze well, so they can be ready in a flash for a quick, healthy meal. This recipe makes about 30 nuggets so that's more than 7 meals that will be ready and waiting in the freezer! It takes a little prep work, but this can be done in stages (see recipe below) or all at once. The trick is to just steam the veggies until fork tender and then cool them quickly in an ice bath. You don't want them to get mushy. The nuggets are tasty and simple on their own, or can be dipped in all kinds of dipping sauces: peanut, tomato, avocado, orange-miso....go nuts!

Ingredients:

 1 small head broccoli separated into little trees

4 large carrots peeled and cut lengthwise and in half

4 small fingerling potatoes cut into quarters NOT peeled (about 1 cup)

1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed

1/2 cup raw walnuts chopped up

2 T flax seed, ground into flax meal
1 cup breadcrumbs

1 plus 1/2 T nutritional yeast 

1 plus 1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t salt

Phase 1 Prep (15 min):

-Spread walnuts out on a baking sheet and bake at 325* for about 5-6 minutes

-Fill large bowl full of ice water and set aside

-Get a large steaming pot ready, place potatoes and carrots on the bottom, each on their own side, and the broccoli on top. Steam for about 5 minutes for the broccoli, or until just fork tender and about 7 minutes for the potato and carrots, or until just fork tender (you don't want them to get too soft).

-Transfer steamed veggies to ice water bowl and submerge. Drain and transfer to another bowl.  

**If this is all the time you have right now, place walnuts in airtight container once they cool and set aside. Cover slightly steamed veggies and place in fridge until you can complete next two phases.

Phase 2 Prep (5 min):

 -Place garbanzo beans in food processor and pulse a few times until most are chopped up a bit, some beans will still be whole, and that's ok. Transfer beans into a large bowl. (This phase can be done with a potato masher if you don't have a food processor (or don't want to get your food processor dirty) see picture below).

-place slightly steamed veggies in food processor and pulse a few times until chopped up a bit. You don't want to over process, you want small chunks of veg. Transfer veg to bowl with beans. 

-Add walnuts, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder and salt. Mix.

**This is also a good stopping place if you can't finish the final phase right now. Just cover bowl and place in fridge until you can finish the nuggets.

For phase 2, you can replace food processor with potato masher. Follow same steps: first garbanzo beans, then veg. Only smash up. Leave small chunks.

Phase 3 Prep (10 min to make nuggets plus 30 min bake time):

-In small bowl add 6T hot water to the 2T ground flaxseed. Whisk together.

-Spread breadcrumbs out on a plate.

-Generously spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

-Set up your nugget-forming area by lining up nugget mixture bowl, flax bowl, breadcrumbs plate and cookie sheet.

-Start forming nuggets by taking a little over 1T of nugget mixture and forming into rectangles. Dip rectangle into flaxseed bowl and shake off excess flax mixture. Dip into breadcrumbs on both sides, then line up on cookie sheet.

Clockwise from top right: nugget mixture, cookie sheet, bread crumbs, flaxseed bowl.

-Bake at 375* for 30 minutes, flipping the nuggets after 15 minutes

 To Freeze:

Cool completely. Put nuggets in freezer-zip bag and then place bag in air tight container. They will last for months.

To eat from freezer:

350* for 12 minutes

NUTRITION:

Broccoli is a super food. So many vitamins and minerals...if our kids are eating broccoli each day, we are definitely doing something right! Fingerling potatoes have their nutrients concentrated in the peel, that's why we keep it on. Vitamin C and potassium as well as carbs to keep our kids fueled. The garbanzo beans and the walnuts are our protein source in these super-healthy nuggets. Garbanzo beans also contain vitamins and minerals and significantly boost your intake of manganese and folate. Walnuts also have those awesome Omega-3s.