Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Peanut Butter Chicken Strips and JIFF "Omega 3"

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Are you really fooled by this marketing? I hope not! I want to throw this down the aisle when I see people grab it off the shelf. The "hydrogenated oils" trump the fish oils that are added to the plastic tub...I should also mention that you can make healthy fish oils rancid by overheating them so they don't smell or taste "fishy," which you know they do because who wants a fish flavor in their peanut butter? BUT this is also why I nag my clients to spend the money on a quality fish oil. Cheap fish oil from SAM'S club is going to do more harm than good.

TRANS-FATS How they are made...
1. Manufacturers begin with the cheapest oils-soy, corn, cottonseed or canola, already rancid and full of free-radicals. Not to mention filled with ROUND UP!
2. Mix it with tiny metal particles - usually nickel oxide.
3. Put into hydrogen gas in a high-temperature machine.
4. Next, soap-like products and starch are added into the mixture to give it a better consistency.
5. Again subjected to high temperatures when it is cleaned by steaming.
6. This removes its unpleasant odor. Margarine's natural color, an unappetizing grey, is removed by bleach.
7. Dyes and strong flavors are then be added to make it look like butter.
Squashed and packaged in blocks or tubs and sold as a “cholesterol-lowering” health food.

This is also how they make peanut butter. It keeps the oil from separating and good for aesthetics and ease of use, but terrible for our health. It becomes a plastic that changes the structure of our cells...our bodies basically become "partially hydrogenated!" Your body focuses on fighting the free radicals from clogging your bloodstream and it can’t focus on up-taking nutrients in your “food” to build, repair, and replenish; which is the main purpose of eating. When this happens, we constantly crave food, our brain is smart, it will tell us to eat until we fill it with the vitamins and minerals that we need. Are you constantly hungry? Could this be the culprit? To read more on "Trans Fat and Weight Gain," check out the book, Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism.

So, if you make this recipe, make sure to use a natural peanut butter! Click HERE to find the one I love!



2 TBS coconut or sesame oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken sliced into strips
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp Organic Tamari sauce (soy sauce)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup Natural Peanut Butter OR Almond Butter
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Optional: 1/2 cup scallions, chopped

CHICKEN: Heat oil in large skillet and cook chicken until it is no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

SAUCE: Reduce heat to low and in a medium pan add ginger, Tamari sauce, peanut butter, coconut milk and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until sauce is bubbly and warm, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with scallions. Serve immediately. Makes 5 servings.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Traditional Dish = 360 calories, 17 carbs, 2.6g fiber
"Healthified" Dish = 290 calories, 3.2 carbs, 2.1g fiber

FYI: The McNuggets only have 2g protein per serving! There's barely any meat in them!

Chicken McNuggets: White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola oil, mono- and diglycerides, extractives of rosemary). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.


6 comments:

  1. Hi Maria, I love your Blog! I love Nutritious and Delicious too! Can't wait to get the rest of your books, just waiting for the iBook versions. Thanks for sharing all the info and recipes!!! I was wondering, can almond flour sub for peanut flour? Why do you prefer peanut flour. What are your thoughts on aflatoxins?
    thanks!

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  2. Thanks Della!

    I prefer almond flour over peanut, but I also have people allergic to almonds that can do peanuts. So I try to use both or give options for both.

    As for the aflatoxins, in peanuts intended for human consumption, the levels of aflatoxins are measured. However, there is no requirement for testing aflatoxin levels in animal foods. Other common foods that contain aflatoxins include corn, walnuts, pecans, and even milk.

    Aflatoxins grow on grains and legumes mostly during storage, so the grains and legumes must be stored correctly to limit this problem.

    Happy Cooking!

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  3. I just made this recipe and it was incredible! Tasted just like Thai chicken satay, which I adore, with exponentially lower carbs. I have ordered your cookbook and can't wait to try some more of your recipes.

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  4. Thanks! I'm SO glad you like the recipe!!!

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  5. Another satisfied customer! My husband and I loved this dish! We made "cucumber rice" with it and it was a nice compliment.

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  6. Thanks Molly!!! That makes me very happy!

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