Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggets

I love chicken nuggets and fingers with french fries. I like to dip them in a lot of ketchup and BBQ sauce. I try not to eat them when I go to a sport bar because, well the obvious, they're not very healthy for you but mainly because I like burgers even more and find that chicken fingers are pretty much the same everywhere. I would rather order something more interesting. So I decided to make a chicken nugget recipe to make at home that is healthy. These are baked and do not call for oil or butter. They're super good too. Enjoy!

Serves about 4

-3 large chicken breast, skinless, boneless and cut into ½ inch pieces
-1 cup of buttermilk- Healthier choice: I use lactose free or skim

-1 teaspoon dried thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano and sage- or use Italian herb seasoning or Italian spiced breadcrumbs

-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-2 tablespoons lemon juice

-1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs

-1/3 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, use white if desired
-2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated optional

Pinch of salt and pepper

In a plastic bag place chicken, buttermilk, ½ herb mixture, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and lemon juice. Place in the refrigerator and allow it to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Add breadcrumbs, cheese, remaining herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cheese into a bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and roll around in breadcrumb mixture, a few pieces at a time. Place on to a sprayed baking sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 4 minutes, or until no longer pink inside and golden brown in color.

Serve with ketchup, mustard and/or BBQ sauce (for homemade recipe, check out sauce page)