Dinosaur Bones
Marilyn Le Breton 2001 (c)
Many, many years ago, many, many loooooooong years ago, years filled with frustration (mine!), when Jack used to strictly restrict his food intake, due to sensory issues, it seemed that my life was a never-ending cycle of making & serving up ‘things’ & chips. Burger & chips, sausage & chips & of course, chicken-blooming-nuggets & chips.
I am very pleased to say (boast) that since those mind-numbing Ground-hog food days, Jack now eats a huge range of foods, with different tastes, textures & combinations. He even does MIXED food!!!
One of the ways I helped Jack to expand his repertoire of food was to work on what he did find acceptable & change it ever so, ever so slightly.
He started to eat roast potatoes because I slowly changed the shape of his chips. I made them slightly thicker, then I made them circular, then I made them thicker & circular & then thicker still. Then I made them into tiny ball shapes (hazelnut size), then slightly bigger balls (golf ball) & then I started to roast them. Ok so he was still eating potatoes cooked in oil but …!
Oh, as an aside, if you have a chip fiend in the house (that must be about 98% of those on the Spectrum & 96% of those not on the Spectrum), do think about investing in a Tefal Actifry ™. These are great gadgets that cook chips in 1 tablespoon of oil – yep 1kg of chips with 1 tbsp of oil and they look & taste great. Only draw back is the cost of the Actifry ™ - very pricy, but if your child’s diet consists mainly of chips, it is a great investment in their health. I only wish they had been around when my boys were younger.
Anyway … back to the chicken-blooming-nuggets.
I combined my dislike of making them several times a week, with the need to expand Jack’s diet, using the chips-to-roastie method outlined above. In doing so I came up with ‘Dinosaur Bones’, combining Jack’s love of chicken nuggets and his obsession of the time - dinosaurs. These met the 'Essential Jack Feeding Criteria' – they contained chicken, they were coated, they were deep fried.
Because the chicken pieces are cut so thin, when they hit the heated oil, they bend & twist into strange shapes & look like dinosaur bones (well sort of, but absolutely identical if you are a young lad obsessed with dinosaurs!).
And I was happier because they were easier and quicker to make than chicken nuggets. So these were an all round winner :)
I am very pleased to say (boast) that since those mind-numbing Ground-hog food days, Jack now eats a huge range of foods, with different tastes, textures & combinations. He even does MIXED food!!!
One of the ways I helped Jack to expand his repertoire of food was to work on what he did find acceptable & change it ever so, ever so slightly.
He started to eat roast potatoes because I slowly changed the shape of his chips. I made them slightly thicker, then I made them circular, then I made them thicker & circular & then thicker still. Then I made them into tiny ball shapes (hazelnut size), then slightly bigger balls (golf ball) & then I started to roast them. Ok so he was still eating potatoes cooked in oil but …!
Oh, as an aside, if you have a chip fiend in the house (that must be about 98% of those on the Spectrum & 96% of those not on the Spectrum), do think about investing in a Tefal Actifry ™. These are great gadgets that cook chips in 1 tablespoon of oil – yep 1kg of chips with 1 tbsp of oil and they look & taste great. Only draw back is the cost of the Actifry ™ - very pricy, but if your child’s diet consists mainly of chips, it is a great investment in their health. I only wish they had been around when my boys were younger.
Anyway … back to the chicken-blooming-nuggets.
I combined my dislike of making them several times a week, with the need to expand Jack’s diet, using the chips-to-roastie method outlined above. In doing so I came up with ‘Dinosaur Bones’, combining Jack’s love of chicken nuggets and his obsession of the time - dinosaurs. These met the 'Essential Jack Feeding Criteria' – they contained chicken, they were coated, they were deep fried.
Because the chicken pieces are cut so thin, when they hit the heated oil, they bend & twist into strange shapes & look like dinosaur bones (well sort of, but absolutely identical if you are a young lad obsessed with dinosaurs!).
And I was happier because they were easier and quicker to make than chicken nuggets. So these were an all round winner :)
These are also corn, egg, and soya free.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast fillets
50g (2 oz) gram flour
1 tsp gf baking powder
½ tsp gf garlic granules
4 tbsp cold water
Method:
Cut the chicken fillets into very thin and long strips. The longer the strips, the better the resemblance to bones.
Mix all the other ingredients into a thick and smooth batter.
Dip the chicken in the batter and shake off the excess.
Deep fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes in a deep fat fryer set to 150c
Pat off the excess oil with kitchen paper.
Ingredients:
2 chicken breast fillets
50g (2 oz) gram flour
1 tsp gf baking powder
½ tsp gf garlic granules
4 tbsp cold water
Method:
Cut the chicken fillets into very thin and long strips. The longer the strips, the better the resemblance to bones.
Mix all the other ingredients into a thick and smooth batter.
Dip the chicken in the batter and shake off the excess.
Deep fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes in a deep fat fryer set to 150c
Pat off the excess oil with kitchen paper.
