Cooking with Kinders: Chicken-less Nuggets
As a kindergarten teacher, I am always looking for way to engage my kiddos in real and meaningful learning. One of the silver linings of virtual teaching is that our weekly cooking sessions have been able to continue from home, with me in my kitchen and m kinders at home in theirs. In this Cooking with Kinders series of posts, I will be sharing some of the recipes that we have been making together.
We never judge healthy and unhealthy food, but use terms like “always” and “sometimes” foods. I want all my students to form lifelong healthy relationships with their food, and to nurture their innate ability to eat intuitively. Which means that no foods are inherently “bad” or good.” From pancake cereal to Tofu nuggets, every week we have cooked up something delicious, and even the parents are surprised when their children are eating foods they were turning their nose up at in other forms.
A very balanced plate of tofu nuggets made by one of our SK students.
Last week we engaged our kindergarten class in an inquiry about birds. We explored all kinds of feathered friends, from eagles to sparrows to penguins, and even chickens. Yes, chickens.
So in celebration of these delightful feathered animals, we decided to make our recipe this week chicken-friendly, while at the same time staying kid friendly by cooking up a childhood favourite— nuggets!
So here we are with this week’s cooking class recipe: Chicken-less Chicken Nuggets!
Using tofu to replace the usual chicken breast, these nuggets still pack the same dense chewiness, especially when coated in our favourite kinds of crumbs.
Many of the parents in our class sent me messages exclaiming their surprise that not only were their kids willing to "try” tofu after making this recipe, but they actually loved it!
While this is a plant-based, and even “vegan” recipe, if you make the batter without eggs or dairy, of course the goal here is NOT to turn kids off eating meat.
The goal is to expose them to all kinds of new foods to expand their tastes and preferences, as well as to gain a better sense of connection to their food and where it comes from.
Nuggets made by one of our SK students, and arranged like a sun!
The main takeaway of this lesson was that tofu is tasty and good for you, and so is chicken. We can be happy and healthy eating both of these foods, meat and meat alternatives. No food is morally good or bad, right or wrong —but balance is always a good idea!
While most our our kids were able to participate with us in the moment (with some adult assistance!) those in our class whose parents were working were encouraged to follow along using play-dough if they wished, cutting rolling and shaping their dough into “nuggets” along with us.
Other kids were gung-ho in copying down the ingredients so they could try the recipe with mom or dad later that evening or on the weekend. And some kids just watched and enjoyed the spectacle, munching on whatever snack they had to eat.
We do have two or three kids that either are not engaged with these cooking segments, or simply do not show up. I know that some educators choose not to host cooking demos with their class so these kids are never “left out.” We considered that too.
However, we cook once a week, for no longer than thirty minutes, and have found that the amount of fun and learning the majority of our students get out of this activity far outweighs the two or three who do their own thing for this brief segment.
We have even had kids who are never able to participate with us in real time share that “cooking class with Ms.GP” is still their favourite activity of the week.
Oh my heartstrings.
(not our students— stock image)
I suppose the takeaway is to listen to your students and their families, and do whatever best accommodates your own class. But also remember that you will never be able to please everyone. ( The weeks that we experimented doing purely online and independent activities garnished more complaints of disengagement by far.)
Anyways, without further ado, lets get on with this recipe! Click here to get an easy to print version!
Note that because it does involve individually battering the strips of tofu, it will take a little longer than most other recipes we make to prepare. But the kids have a blast dunking their tofu nuggets into the wet and then dry batters, as well as making their own crumbs out of cereal or crackers by banging them while in a ziploc bag.
We also encouraged them to use cookie cutters to make nuggets in some fun shapes before battering!
Use cookie cutters to cut your tofu nuggets into fun shapes!
Chicken-less Nuggets
A plant-based take on a childhood favourite. Made these with my kindergarten class for the first time and they received rave reviews from the kids and parents alike!
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings---4
Main Ingredients
1 Block Extra Firm tofu
1 cup bread crumbs, cracker, or cereal crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika (or more garlic!)
1 teaspoon dried basil or parsley (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup nondairy milk (or regular milk)
2 tablespoons ground flax or chia seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Recipe Steps
Ensure tofu is drained of all water, pressing it between two cutting boards lined with paper towels. Then use a sharp knife to cut tofu length wise to make two flat rectangles. Cut those rectangles into strips or bite of equal size, whatever size you want. Feel free to use some cookie cutters to make fun shapes for your nuggets as well! Put tofu aside to prepare batter, In a medium-sized bowl, make your wet batter by whisking together milk, chia or flaxseed meal, cornstarch, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together your dry coating, made up of crumbs, salt, and spices.
Time to dunk and coat your tofu! To keep the batter on your nuggets and not on your hands, set up your cooking station so that your wet batter is on your left and your dry coating mix is on your right. Have a tray lined with parchment paper or foil on your very far right.
Use your LEFT hand to pick up a piece of tofu and dunk it in the wet batter. Using the same LEFT hand, lift the tofu out of the batter, giving it a small shake to remove excess batter, and drop it into the dry coating mix, CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH THE MIXTURE with that hand. Now, with your RIGHT hand, toss a handful of crumbs onto the tofu to fully coat it. Use the same RIGHT hand to pick up your fully-coated nugget and place it onto the baking sheet.
Repeat the same process for every piece of tofu you have, keeping your left hand for the wet batter, and your right hand completely dry for handling to fully-coated tofu nugget.
Once all nuggets are formed and on the tray, place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip your nuggets over to the other side to bake for 15 minutes longer. When the coating is slightly more golden, they are done. Eat them while hot and crispy with your favourite dunking sauce of choice.
What sauce do you like to dip your nuggets in?
That was a big topic of discussion by the way. The sauces each of our kiddos liked best for dunking nuggets. We actually turned that into a math lesson by coming up with a survey and bar graph to portray our kids’ favourites. The winner was hands down Sweet and Sour Sauce, with ketchup and plum sauce tied for second!
Have you tried tofu with your kids (biological or educational)? How did they like it?
Bon Apetite!
Jordan
“Ms.GP”