Healthy Fried Chicken Strips & Salad

Fried chicken is considered a bit of a no-no these days, in our fat-paranoid society. But I love it. The homemade version, that is. My Mum (being a Southern girl from Texas) makes the best fried chicken ever. However, I've figured out how to make a healthier version that's just as good as Mum's (hope you don't mind Mum!), and I serve it with lots of salad to make this a deliciously healthy meal that the whole family will enjoy!

This recipe can be made into chicken strips, or cut into nuggets for the kids, or made with whole chicken pieces. (If you're cooking chicken pieces, you'll need to have a lid on the pan for part of the time to help them cook through, turning the pieces now and then and checking if they're done by poking them through the middle with a skewer.)

Chicken Strips
(Serves 6 or so)

1. Slice up chicken thighs into 2cm strips:
- 1 kg chicken thighs

2. Whisk up eggs & milk in a bowl:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup cashew or almond milk (or preferred milk)

3. In another bowl, mix together:
- a cup or so of rice flour (can make your own in the Thermomix)
- 1 tsp of herb salt
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

4. Begin to coat the chicken strips in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture, while heating a large, heavy frying pan with the oil and ghee on med-high heat:
- a good drizzle of melted coconut oil
- a good drizzle of melted ghee
(The oil & ghee should just cover the base of the frying pan - no need to have the chicken 'floating' in it.)

5. Fry the chicken strips on both sides until golden brown. If the oil drys out, you can drizzle in a little more. Drain on paper towels and enjoy with lots of fresh salad!


Carrot, Celery & Cranberry Salad

Here's one of our favourite salads - a quick and easy grated carrot salad, jazzed up with dried cranberries! You can add cranberries to coleslaw too, and some roasted pumpkin seeds for extra crunch - it's so good. (Thanks to Leeanne for this idea!)

Chop in Thermomix on speed 5 for about 4 seconds:
- 4 carrots, quartered
- 2 celery sticks, quartered
- a couple of tablespoons of homemade mayonnaise, or aoli
- a handful of walnuts (optional)

Stir in on reverse speed 3 for a few seconds:
- a handful or two of dried cranberries

{I was sent a couple of bags of delicious, dried cranberries to try, and they are just amazing! Not too sweet (like other brands), and they're dried whole. Here's the link if you'd like to order some - you can get them from 2Brothers Foods Online. I've heard so many good reports about 2Brothers - great products, great prices, and awesome service.}


Leafy Green Salad

Very quick and easy... and so satisfying.

Toss is a big salad bowl:
- a couple of big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
- a few more handfuls of baby cos lettuce leaves
- spiralized raw zucchini (or super thin slices)
- some avocado slices

That's it :) I like mine with a big blog of my homemade herb and garlic mayo - my hubby likes his with balsamic vinegar.