Entree
These gluten free, dairy free homemade fish sticks are a great alternative to the freezer variety. This fish sticks recipe is fresher, healthier, and fun for kids to make too.
Back to school means more than growing up and watching another year tick by – it means time to pack lunch after lunch after lunch and be prepared for dinners on the fly and on the go, as you shuffle from activity to activity. Time suddenly seems to go out the window and everything can feel rushed and hurried.
Luckily I still have a few more years before the real hustle and bustle starts, but I still feel the pain of having to always have lunch-ready food on hand, and most definitely feel the strain of needing to have a quick and easy {yet still healthy} dinner ready for my family every night. {Especially when our meal choices need to be gluten free and dairy free recipes.} Moving further away from our old activities has meant a lot of extra time spent in the car and not so much extra time left for things like food prep and cooking big meals.
On top of that, my kid is like so many other kids when it comes to food preference: he’d pick chicken nuggets and fish sticks every single deal, every single meal if I let him. It’d be really easy to cave in to that go-to choice every time we’re in a rush or in a bind, so instead I try to have things that are just as easily ready and available, but a bit less processed. One of old stand-by favorites are these paleo sweet potato chicken patties – there’s almost always a batch ready to go in the freezer – but lately I’ve been trying to broaden our horizons and added some fish sticks to the mix. This fish sticks recipe has made our easy, weeknight meal repertoire a little bigger.
These homemade fish sticks are still super easy to prepare as they use canned tuna {no need to have fresh fish on hand} and come together in no time. Plus tuna is packed with protein and healthy fats, so it’s a choice I feel good about feeding my kiddo. They’re gluten free and dairy free too. They’re good fresh, but I always make extra to pop in the freezer for those busy days and nights.
Full disclaimer: this is not the most attractive entrée I’ve ever made, although I think with a little practice I could probably do better. But it didn’t stop anybody from eating them!
Gluten Free Fish Sticks Recipe
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 5oz can Bumble Bee tuna
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/8-1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/8 cup almond flour
Combine tuna and most of the egg – save a little for an “egg wash”.
Add flour a little at a time – I used about 1/8 cup of flour but you might need more, especially if you use a flour that doesn’t absorb as much liquid.
It should still look a little dry but you’ll know you’re set when you can form the tuna into a stick shape.
Form “sticks”, then dip lightly into leftover egg and roll in almond flour to create coating.
Cook over medium heat in a saute pan with a little oil, a few minutes on each side until they get crispy.
Allow to cool completely before refrigerating or freezing if saving for later.
Feel free to add any flavor combo your family or kiddos like – lemon juice, Italian seasoning, cumin, etc.
[Tweet “Easy Homemade Tuna Fish Sticks Recipe #kidfriendly #glutenfree”]
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Click here for more Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes that won’t leave you trapped in the kitchen for hours or hunting down a million bizarre ingredients.
Food thoughts
This “Flavor Your Adventure” post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds.
Summer is one of my favorite times. Not because of the oppressively hot weather or the need for sunscreen at 7am, but because of the freedom and lack of rigidity. Even with a three year old, we’re already feeling the effects the school year imposes on your daily agenda. While I’m all for scheduling and planning, the idea of having absolutely nothing set in stone on the day’s to-do list is absolutely freeing and liberating. Sure there are things that have to be done, deadlines to make, and appointments to keep, but the general flow of the day and week is generally totally up in the air and it’s awesome.
I love being ready to drop everything and go do anything at any given moment, whether it’s something big and exciting like a road trip or something tiny {but equally as exciting} as a pool day or trip to the library with friends. The only way to make this work and not go totally crazy is to be prepared. For us, this means knowing where sunscreen and bathing suits are at all times, managing to not lose my keys or wallet, and always having easy, portable snacks on hand that will satisfy both myself and an opinionated threenager.
While we always have at least a small collection of pre-packaged snacks on hand {fruit cups, granola bars}, our go-to this summer has been trail mix. This is an easy one because it’s a basic simple formula that meets our needs {healthy, filling, allergy-friendly} but is also easy to change up every single time to prevent snack boredom.
The kiddo’s fave is Blue Diamond’s Roasted Lightly Salted Almonds, dried cranberries, raisins, and chocolate chips. Tossing in something slightly “exotic” like dried papaya, mango, granola clusters, or pumpkin seeds is basically the highlight of his snack-based day.
My favorite is coconut flakes, pumpkin seeds, and dried apricots, with switching up the variety by changing the flavor almonds I use. My current faves are honey mustard and wasabi.
When I’m feeling super on top of things {ha} we’ll make the mixtures into granola bars, clusters, or balls, but most of them we eat the trail mix straight up on whatever adventure we happen to be on.
This “Flavor Your Adventure” post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. For more snack ideas to “Flavor Your Adventure” this summer, visit Blue Diamond Almonds on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Recipe, Snack
If there’s one thing this gluten-free {and dairy free and soy free and egg free} trial has taught me is that I’m a carb girl. And a snack girl. Ok, that’s two things.
But really, I didn’t need a lack of gluten to tell me those things. I’m anti-low-carb diet. Especially when it comes to my own diet. I thrive on carbs. Good, whole grain, fiber-filled, nutrient-packed carbs.
There’s no doubt I’m a snacker. The whole graze-all-day thing doesn’t work for everyone {although it’s a great strategy for some} but it’s without a doubt what keeps me going.
Put those two things together {carbs + snacking} and I NEED baked goods at my disposal at all times. It’s a non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned. Making sure they’re healthy {ish} baked goods is the key.
Tearing me away from my bags of whole wheat and spelt flour put a tiny hiccup in my snacking requirements, but only for a minute.
I finally branched out and decided to play around with some non-gluten-containing flours and starches like sorghum and tapioca. {Others include brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, almond flour, oat flour, potato starch, etc.}
I first tried them in my coconut zucchini carrot muffins. I replaced the whole wheat flour with a blend of sorghum, tapioca starch, cornstarch, and guar gum. They were ok. Edible but not delicious. More a pure means of getting calories in, not necessarily a great gustatory experience.
Fast forward to this weekend. The three of us attending a going-away/engagement dinner for some friends, where among other great eats, were homemade treats of cake and brownies. Of course on the drive home all I could think about were those goodies. I had to have baked treats. Immediately.
So after putting the little one down for bed, I scrambled around in the kitchen and started tossing gluten-less ingredients all over the place. I made a mess. And a masterpiece.
Banana bread. The best banana bread I’ve ever made. I’ve struggled before to make a whole wheat, vegan banana bread that lives up to the Joy of Cooking banana bread I grew up on, and it always fell just short of my expectations. Well, not anymore.
Regardless of being gluten, dairy, and egg free, this is the best banana bread I’ve eaten. Ever. I really, really, really hope it wasn’t a fluke and I’ll be able to recreate it. I also hope my standards aren’t already lowered after a failed batch of muffins.
Hopefully in my haste to devour a sweet treat I got my portions and measurements right for the recipe. Considering this loaf is already long gone, I’ll be re-testing the recipe soon. I mean, it’s my duty to you, right? 
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 2/3 c sorghum flour
- 2/3 c tapioca starch
- 1/3 c buckwheat flour
- 1/3 t guar gum
- (can also use 1.5 cups whole wheat or AP flour)
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1/2 c granulated sugar or stevia baking blend
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 1/2 t baking powder {gf}
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t allspice
- 1/8 t ground cloves
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/3 c coconut or olive oil
- 1/2 c non-dairy, gluten free chocolate chips (or regular)
Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
Thoroughly mash bananas in separate bowl. Whisk in oil & vanilla.
Mix wet & dry ingredients.
Stir in spices & chocolate chips.
Pour into loaf pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly, then remove from pan to finish cooling completely.
Powered by
Why banana bomb bread? Because it’s da bomb. I have no apologies for bring back that horrible early 90s phrase. It just seems appropriate.
So, so, so good heated up and slathered with peanut butter. Mmm. Protein + carb + delicious = perfect.
Good thing there are 3 bananas in this loaf of bread- at least I was helping meet my fruit quota of the day, right?
Click here for more Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes that won’t leave you trapped in the kitchen for hours or hunting down a million bizarre ingredients.
