Whole Grain Baked Chicken Drumettes

THE THOUGHT BEHIND IT:
I love chicken wings. Most recipes though, call for deep frying and tons of sugar. So much so that some recipes I perused on allrecipes.com had up to 2000 calories for six wings! Yowsers. Whenever possible, I eat whole grains. They're tastier and so much better for you than white flour or bread crumbs. Weetabix flakes are super tasty for breakfast and great for breading.
My philosophy with cooking is natural first, low fat second. Sure, I might've been able to use something lower in calories to dredge the wings in than egg, but hey, the egg is all natural!

I eat these with rice and a salad. I make enough rice that I can easily get two meals out of this recipe. My favorite kind is organic brown rice. You'll be seeing a lot of it in my recipes as its nutty flavour is absolutely irresistible. For dinner tonight I've got parboiled long grain because to my dismay, I'm out of brown!

My green side is just a salad with whatever I have in the fridge. I eat fresh vegetables if at all possible and always keep a ready supply of salad fixings in my crisper. And of course, all my fixings are organic!


WHAT YOU NEED:

3 flakes of Organic Whole Grain Weetabix Cereal
Pepper and salt
Chili flakes
Garlic powder
Cajun spice
One egg
12 good sized chicken drumettes, skin on.


WHAT YOU DO:

1. Preheat oven to 400'F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil.
3. Crack the egg, whip'er up.
4. Get a ziploc bag and drop in the three Weetabix cereal flakes. Crush 'em up. This part is all up to you. I like my wings spicy, which is why there's chili flakes and cajun spice. Do whatever your heart desires! I never do this part with exact measurements. I just add stuff til it looks about right.
5. Dredge the drumettes in the egg and shake 'em in the Weetabix mixture. Set them on the lined pan.
6. Pop them in the oven for about an hour. Voila! Crunchy, flavourful chicken delights.

THE COST: Drumettes: $5.15
Three flakes of Weetabix: $0.60

Servings: 2
Cost Per Serving: $2.87

NOTE: You should use the meaty drumettes. The Weetabix coating would be too dry for wings. This also tastes great on chicken legs, thighs or breasts!

Do these taste like restaurant wings? No! But they're not 2000 calories, either.

The Way I Eat and Cook

Before I begin posting recipes, I thought I'd outline a little about what my tastes are like. I don't eat seafood, I don't like spinach or beets. Other than that, I'm willing to explore just about anything under the culinary rainbow. I love, love, love tomatoes. If you don't like them, well, you may not like some of my recipes!

I shop between Fairway Market (my local grocer with a large Asian section) and Small Potatoes Urban Delivery. I go to www.spud.ca, place my order from a great selection of organic, local produce, and it shows up at my door! That's great for someone who doesn't have a car. It's also great because when I'm eating local, I'm usually eating what's in season.

Most of the time, I do a large meat run and stock up my freezer. Organic meat is very difficult to find and is quite expensive, though I will buy it if I can get my hands on it. Buying all my protein at once not only assures that I can always cook something, it saves me money because it cuts down on my supermarket visits. Between SPUD and my meat runs, I only need to go into the grocery store maybe once or twice a month. Other than buying milk and creamer and the occasional treat! I find I spend most of my money on impulse buys while perusing the aisles. I get a fresh produce box from SPUD for $30 a week which includes condiments and bread. This supplemented with about $60 for a meat run does me easily for a month or more.

Now, on paper that might sound like a lot. But I challenge you to pull out your grocery receipts and look at how many times you order out or grab Subway. Also, hold judgment until you see what kind of awesome food you get for that money. Cutting out the temptation to grab that box of cereal bars or that tub of macaroni salad does wonders for your budget. If you add up my budget and divide it by 31, you come out to $5.80 a day, and that includes leftovers for lunch and a bowl of cereal or a bagel for breakfast! Some people spend that just on Starbucks every morning. Best of all, save for the meat, everything is organic and/or local.

For dinner tonight, healthy chicken wings with parboiled rice and organic salad.

An Introduction

Welcome to Budget Organic! The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my trials, tribulations, taste sensations and flavour flops as I endeavor to cook healthy, sustainable food. What's more, I'm going to do this on a student budget!

Students have always been the ones most interested in social change and at the forefront of movements. With limited funds, textboots and tuition, it can be difficult to make the switch to green eating on a budget. I'm convinced it can be done. In most cases, my recipes will also include a cost breakdown. Keep in mind though, that food costs will vary by area and I'm living on an island. That means my costs are most likely higher than where you live!

Most recipes are scaled for families. In most cases, mine serve one with a generous helping of leftovers. I hate eating the same thing more than two nights in a row! My aim is to keep my food budget reasonable while not sacrificing taste. This is real cooking, folks. Most of us can't run out to the market every day, so there'll be no hard to find, specialty ingredients or expensive cuts of meat.

I love to cook! My techniques are not overly simplified, but if I can do it, so can you. My recipes will be trans fat free and focus on preservative-free, fresh ingredients. All this leads to both a healthier body and a healthier planet.

From time to time, I'll do reviews of various organic brands and link to articles about the green movement.

So please, let me know what you think of my recipes if you try it and join me on my Budget Organic odyssey!