I read recently an article in the Guardian about the ‘What is Britain eating? The ultra-proccessed truth about 10 of our bestselling foods‘. What really made me sad was yes, the amount of processed food we’re feeding our kids. Now, I must admit, even pre-Thermomix, my mother brought me up cooking from scratch so even if I was making a pasta sauce, burger or cake, I normally did it from scratch. Even without a Thermomix, one can do things easily if you try. A Thermomix just makes it easier.
What I thought I’d share with my readers is how to make these top 10 best-selling products and how easy they are to make. Some might be alternatives but they will be the best alternative to the store bought, over processed food (if we can even call it food) we are feeding ourselves and our families.
The first food I want to tackle is Bernard Matthews Turkey Dinosaurs.
(Taken from the article)
Ingredients: turkey 46%, breadcrumb (wheat flour (calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), salt, yeast, turmeric, turmeric extract, colour (paprika extract)), water, rapeseed oil, batter (wheat flour (calcium carbonate, iron, niacin, thiamin), salt), starch, skimmed milk powder, milk protein, salt, potassium chloride, natural flavouring (milk), lemon juice concentrate, spirit vinegar.
“Something that has only 46% turkey is going to be full of a lot of other stuff,” says Scott; we should, therefore, be wary of this, nutritionally, if we’re looking for a healthy source of protein.
In spite of the breadcrumbs, there’s not much fibre – 0.7g per 100g once cooked. The company’s website promotes its dinosaurs as “Jurassic fun for kids” with “no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives”, but, says Scott, “I don’t know anyone who would have paprika extract in their home kitchen.” Paprika extract is a highly concentrated oil-soluble extract from capsicum pods. Nor would they have milk protein, which is extracted in a factory, or skimmed milk powder. The dinosaurs also contain two forms of salt – sodium chloride and potassium chloride, making up 16% of a child’s daily allowance in 100g (just over two dinosaurs).
We can make breaded chicken or turkey very easily and one of my family favourites. The breadcrumbs are actually one of the demonstration recipes we used to do back in the Thermomix TM31 days because firstly, it was such a wow factor using fresh (not stale or dry bread) and secondly, it tasted so good with the parmesan and herbs. With such fresh and flavoursome breadcrumbs, all you really need to do is roll the chicken pieces into the bread crumbs and either grill or fry them. So easy and so healthy. No additives, no preservatives, and no nasties. The better the quality of your chicken (or turkey), the better the quality nugget; but most importantly because you are making it, you know every ingredient in the dish.
So please, let’s stop buying store-bought nuggets and start making them at home. This recipe for breaded chicken is easy to make and truly delicious. I often make a double batch – one ready for dinner and one popped into the freezer for next time. Your kids will thank you.
