My Favorite New Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets

For those of you who are both new to the wonderful world of food allergies and those that are well established, I think it's safe to say that when we find a product that is safe for us and easy to make, it's  a blessing. I will be the first to admit that although I cook 95% of our meals from scratch, there are a few select foods that I still have to purchase due to time restraints, my picky children and my schedule. And I am ok with this- you do your very best when you can. If this means that the food allergy consultant and blogger does not always make some of her foods, so be it. It's the truth and a fact of life. The important thing to focus on is which products you are choosing to purchase.

My son has always been the one who has an aversion to chewing meat. He won't eat steak, but he will eat a hamburger, he won't eat chicken breast but he can wolf down a ton of chicken nuggets. As a dedicated mom, I always encourage him to at least try foods in case his taste has miraculously changed overnight. I don't force foods on him but I do expect him to try them. My daughter- I think if I gave her fried rocks, she would eat them. Just goes to show you that everyone is different and either they will grow up and eat all types of food textures or they won't. My concern does not lie with what form the foods are eaten- my concern is getting the foods into them.

My most recent find was a double "Yay!". Not only did I try a new product but I found it in my local Lowes Foods store. Don't get me wrong, Whole Foods is a second home to me but sometimes it's nice to make one trip instead of two (or three, or four) and even get the occasional store discount or a coupon...OR, Double Coupons...imagine that!

I was browsing and I saw a package of Applegate Naturals Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets. I shook my head, thinking "They probably have egg in them". I flipped over the box and to my surprise- no egg! No egg, no dairy, no nuts and no yeast (no yeast means mom can eat them too). How awesome was that?! I did want to double check about the egg so I perused their website. This is what I found regarding egg and their products:

Consumer Question Posted:  "Are there an egg products in the gluten free chicken nuggets or any other gluten free products? You list gluten, casein, and dairy free but not egg free. I do not see it on the box but need to know before I feed them to my son. He loves your organic chicken and natural turkey slices"

Applegate Naturals Response via Gerry Clarkson: "Thank you for reaching out to us. You will be pleased to know that our gluten free nuggets are free of eggs. The only products that we have that include eggs as an ingredient are our, Natural Chicken Pot Pie and Natural Wheat Free Corn Dogs"

As always, we tried out one nugget to see if anything happened. We never, ever try a lot of anything new all at once. After all, the smaller the amount the smaller the possible reaction would be. Better safe than sorry- always. I am happy to report that all was fine and the entire box was gone within the same day (mostly by me!). The texture is perfect- these nuggets are like an allergy-friendly version of the perfect, crunchy fried chicken that you have always wanted to try. They cook up fast and they are a good size for meals or as a snack. I am actually drooling thinking about them.... umm, chicken nuggets! My apologies- food gets me excited.

Are you wondering what they are made of? The ingredients are: Chicken, Water, Corn Starch, Salt, Extract Of Oregano, Battered And Breaded With, Water, Rice Flour, Tapioca Dextrin, Corn Starch, Salt, Spices, Spice Extractives, Extract Of Paprika, Extractive Of Turmeric, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ground Celery, Breading Set In Vegetable Oil. I also noticed online that Applegate also has chicken tenders....can't wait to find those! Thie products can be found at http://www.applegate.com/

Thanks Applegate Naturals for this really delicious product. Our family appreciates your family and I hope you continue to keep up the good work for all of us out here that really need you.