Nikki Dinki : Chicken Nuggets with Carrot and Beans

 Q + A

Tell me about yourself!

I am a chef and momma of 3. I love to create recipes that use vegetables in unique ways. My first cookbook was Meat On The Side where I made veggies the entrée portion of the plate and now More Veggies Please! is infusing classic dishes with veggies great for the whole family.

You can also catch me regularly on The Wendy Williams and Dr. Oz shows.

What do you love about this recipe, and how has it helped you with feeding your toddler?

I love these Chicken Nuggets with carrot and beans because my kids gobble them up and are getting veggies along with their protein. I make a ton of these and freeze them, it’s great to pull them out the freezer just like a store bought frozen nugget, 375 for 8-10 minutes and they are perfect. We eat these mostly for dinner and of course always with some “dippy dippy” aka ketchup.

What is your biggest tip when it comes to feeding a toddler?

Just keep trying! Kids are crazy! And as easily as they may drop a food and declare last weeks favorite meal untouchable, they can as easily pick up something new. But this only happens when they are given the opportunity. So I put new things in front of my kids all the time, a lot of times they go untouched, but then sometimes they pick up that new thing and actually try it and that is a great feeling.

What is your current eating challenge and how are you working to overcome it/how did you overcome it?

I’ve been extra busy since my cookbook came out, so ironically just as everyone else has been making my food I’ve been making less of it. So I have been trying to make bigger batches of things and storing them in the freezer so I can pull out muffins and tortilla and veggies burgers when I need them. Nothing is better than a freezer full of homemade goodies.

How do you keep your child entertained when prepping a meal?

My kids love to cook, so there is some of that happening. But also that means more mess and the recipes take double the time that they should. So when momma needs to focus and get stuff done my kids like to hang with me in the kitchen coloring and doing playdough while I cook.

It can still be hard to focus and I may have to stop what I’m doing to roll a playdough log here and there but we make it work. And luckily the recipes I still make day to day are the ones from my book, so I know them by heart and can get them done pretty easily.

Follow Nikki at: @nikkidinki