McMakeover - Healthier Chicken McNuggest

Ingredients in 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.

MMMM - dimethylpolysiloxane, used in making Silly Putty, it's also a critical ingredient in Rain-X.  It's also found in Wendy's fries.  Or at least their old "unimproved" fries, the new ones seemingly made out of shards of salt licks.

And what's TBHQ? That's tertiary butylhydroquinone, a butane based preservative, which among many other things, is used in the stabilization process of explosive compounds. One to four grams of TBHQ can cause some serious symptoms that will make the flu look like winning the lottery.  Five grams of TBHQ can kill you.

Many of the store bought nuggets don't have those two particular ingredients, but they are still full of things like sodium phosphates, caramel color, methylcellulose, and " spice extractive", even if they come in little dinosaur shapes.

No thanks, I'll eat at home.  Happy Meal toy notwithstanding, if my grandchildren want "McNuggets" my chicken will come with a beak, not a beaker. Ad in some homemade brad with a thin slice of cheese and a little salad and they will say "McDonald's WHO?

Ingredients in a Johnson household McNugget.

Fresh grain-fed chicken breast, grated fresh ginger, a squeeze of lemon juice, butter, flour, cayenne pepper, extra virgin olive oil, a cast iron skillet.

Chop one extra large chicken breast into large nugget sized pieces.  If you have the patience to cut them into little dinosaur shapes like the frozen grocery store nuggets have at it.  Mine are shaped like pieces of chicken.  I'm creative that way.

Dip each piece in a mixture of a few tablespoons of melted salted butter to which you've added about half a thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated and a splash of lemon juice.  Dredge in a small cereal bowl of flour to which you've added a few pinches of cayenne pepper.

Cook in a medium/hot cast iron pan with just a little EVOO until lightly brown on both sides (turning with tongs), reduce heat, cover and cook until done.  Remember, you are just lightly browning, not frying in a lot of oil.  Just a few minutes is all it takes and it turns out buttery, savory and oh so juicy.  Serves two for a light meal or snack.

Frangipani - Natural Skin Care that Works

I've reviewed a few bath and body lines here but there is one product line that is a personal favorite.  Like any review, I will not accept free product or payment and I don't promote something that I don't personally have in my house and use.  I share because this is what I would share with my family, which now, includes you folks.  I also, would rather promote the "I DID build this" small business owner, especially an Indiana one.

Indianapolis based  Frangipani Body Products  specializes in all-natural skin care and body products and has one many skin care world awards including a 3rd Annual Beauty with a Conscience Award.

When I first saw the products in a local magazine when I was living in Indiana, I didn't know it was an Indy-based company. When I checked out all the positive feedback on Facebook from others with similar ages and skin types, I HAD to order some. The owner and creator of the products, Tracy Land, originally had been making them to heal her own skin, as she battled the skin condition rosacea (which I have as well) then sold it to a few friends while she worked in the Quality Assurance end of IT.

Tracy continued to develop the concept and when her position was eliminated, instead of just picking up an unemployment check, she started refining the products, producing the products and selling to the public, using word of mouth, farmer's markets, trade shows, etc.  I can only imagine how much telephoning, strategy, business planning and legwork that was. The product was a hit and is now carried in a number of stores, including Whole Foods, in addition to being available online.

My skin has done so much better with natural products in the long term.  My skin is very fair and cantankerous on a good day and the rosacea has made my cheeks irritated and red since grade school. Put it this way - kids used to call me "Beet Face" and even as an adult, people were always asking how I got sunburned.  Not anymore!  I love the Frangipani products for what they've done for my rosacea.  They may cost a  bit more than what you can get at the drug store, but conventional products use a LOT of water and fillers to keep production costs down, meaning you use more product for the same effect. Frangipani products are also seriously less in price than most department store lines (you have to pay those 20-year-old supermodels you know), which frankly, did nothing to help my rosacea despite many claims otherwise.

Frangipani products contain only plant-based ingredients, and almost NO water. Only a small amount is needed so the product is quite long lasting which makes it a value.  Compared to what I spent at the Lancome and Clinique and Estee Lauder counters over the years for things that only made my skin redder and more irritated. . . a bargain!

Sure, I could go out and get buffed and abraded and bo-toxed, quick, fake fixes. I prefer a product that heals the skin in the long term, helping it glow from the inside out.

I have no desire to be 20 again, (which is like 2 in dog years). Aging gracefully is wonderful.

The Frangipani products.  So many - cleanser, creams, serums, Shea butter creams that would be perfect for gals OR guys to make work-worn hands feel like velvet, lip balm, all kinds of things.  The skin care selections range from blemish prone skin of a teen to OMG, I remember 8 track tapes! My favorites are the cleanser and the facial serum. I love gel cleansers but they dry my skin.  Cream cleansers remind me of Grandma's Ponds Cold Cream and make me break out if I use every day. The Frangipani cleanser is smooth and very creamy but it lathers just enough to clean and rinses completely, without rubbing,  leaving my face soft without having to irritate it with a washcloth. To exfoliate, there is an exfoliating product that's plant oil based with little jojoba beads that gently get rid of dry skin, as they gently dissolve. I use that in the shower every morning in place of the cleanser.

I'm thinking the facial cleanser might work well for guys for shaving.  The faint coconut and olive oil based scent is very pleasant but NOT girly. Tracy does not use fragrance oils in her Frangipani line, but only essential oils, much gentler on the skin while still smelling wonderful.  

What Rosacea?

The blemish serum is also great.  Even with super dry skin I still was getting acne like breakouts and clogged pores from various sunscreens I am pretty faithful in using. The Blemish Serum is very moisturizing but it doesn't result clog pores at all and it has some essential oils with healing antiseptic properties that are very beneficial to acne-prone skin.  I had found that with many serums I'd get blocked oil glands that left bumps on my face that took forever to go away.  In the morning, the Blemish serum, under the Shea Butter Cream or the wonderfully smelling Regenerating Flower Cream (which I use in the Winter), leaves my skin soft but super smooth and helped clear up those bumps, even if I wear sunscreen or foundation over the top of it. I alternate that with the Protective or Regenerating Serums at night for extra help with dry skin and the rosacea.

I also love the body oil, (you have to try that one) it's rice bran oil based so it soaks right in after bathing avoiding that whole, "Honey I just got out of the shower and moisturized and would love a hug", wherein he complies and you go shooting out of his arms like a watermelon seed and bounce off the walls, ruining the mood). And both the grapefruit and the lavender blends smell incredible but not overpowering

Check the website out (just click on the Frangipani name in purple at the start of the post).  Everything can be shipped promptly and the beautiful amber recyclable glass bottles are carefully packaged so there is no breakage (and trust me on the body oil thing.)