Ask any of my siblings, fish sticks were my jam growing up! I used to devour them frozen (they're already cooked when frozen lol) or baked; sooooooo gross, I know- I'm WEIRD, ok?! Even with the gluten free craze, and more and more gluten free fish stick options becoming available out there, I have yet to find a clean version out there in processed-food-land.
I have finally perfected this recipe and I am so excited to share it with all of you! I made these using wild-caught cod and a crispy, crunchy gluten free, Autoimmune Protocol friendly "breading". But I wanted to take it to the next level and make this a complete meal recipe for you all so I have made it into a sheet pan recipe! As I am sitting here writing out the post for you guys, I cannot wait to get home and pop the leftovers into the oven for a delicious and nostalgic lunch today!
I even created an Autoimmune Protocol and allergy free tartar sauce (find the recipe HERE) to go along with these little gems!
Don't let allergies, protocols, or eating clean keep you from enjoying the foods that you once loved!
Instead, I hope to motivate you to find healthier alternatives by inspiring you to put your kitchen mad scientist hats on & get creative in the kitchen!!
This recipe is nutrient dense, Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) friendly, grain free, gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, nightshade free, paleo, primal, & Whole30 compliant!
What Makes this High-Vibing Food?
First and foremost, putting your own love, gratitude, time and energy into making foods at home will automatically raise the vibration of the foods/meal. This will also help to balance your sacral and heart chakras. Putting your love into the food you prepare will literally raise the vibrational frequency as love is the highest vibration out there!
You are what you eat and what your food eats. Using organic, GMO free, free/pasture raised, wild caught, minimally processed ingredients lead to an overall higher vibrational frequency. Basically, eating organic provides us extra energy currency!
This dish is rich in protein, which is grounding and protective. It also supports the root chakra.
Contains root veggies, which help to provide grounding energy to support the root chakra.
This recipe is full of healthy fats and/or oils, which supports the sacral chakra.
Contains orange colored foods. Orange vibrates at about the same frequency as the sacral chakra. So, eating orange foods helps to maintain the proper root chakra frequency.
This recipe is higher in carbohydrates, providing the solar plexus chakra with both long-lasting sugar sources (like fiber) and quick acting sugars like glucose.
This recipe is high in fiber, which supports all three of the lower chakras as it aides in the movement and flow of bulk during the digestive processes.
This recipe is loaded with starchy veggies, which is supportive to the solar plexus chakra in small quantities.
Contains yellow/tan/golden colored foods, which help raise the body’s frequency to that of the solar plexus, helping to balance it.
As a whole, the spices in this recipe, work through the third eye chakra.
A Short Note on Swaps or Ingredients:
*While I cannot guarantee that using these swaps will yield the same flavors I have create in this recipe, these swaps should generally work well! *
Be sure your coconut milk is full fat and unsweetened. For the strict phase of the AIP, be sure there are no added gums (the only ingredients should be coconut/coconut meat and water).
Equipment Needed to Create this Recipe:
2 sheet pans
parchment paper
a good knife
cutting board
large mixing bowls
high-powered blender
2 large, shallow bowls
a small whisk
Crispy Fishstick Sheet Pan Meal
(gluten free & AIP/paleo)
Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 30-40 minutes Yield: 3-5
Ingredients:
3 fillets of wild caught white fish, such as cod
2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into French fry shape
1 bag Jackson's Honest sweet potato chips
1, 5 oz. bags of thick plantain chips
½ -¾ cup full fat, unsweetened coconut milk
1-2 tbsp. avocado oil
4 tsp. garlic granules
3 tsp. onion granules
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. dried dill
1 heaping tsp. tapioca starch/flour
1 tsp. pink Himalayan sea salt
½-1 tsp. garlic granules
½-1 tsp. sea salt
How to Create this Recipe:
First, pre-heat the oven to 375 ° F. and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut the sweet potatoes into thin, French fry shapes. Soak them in water for at least 20 minutes.
While the sweet potato fries soak, you'll need to make the "breading". To do this dump all of the bags of chips into a high powdered blender (I use my Vitamix) and turn on to a medium low setting. Using the tamper, push all the chips down into the moving blade. If you need to, stop the blade, open the lid and push down any intact chips from the sides. Turn on the blender again and blend until you have a "breading" like consistency.
Then, dump the "breading" into a large, shallow bowl. Add the garlic, onion, parsley, dill, and salt. Mix until incorporated. In another large, shallow bowl, add the coconut milk and tapioca starch. Whisk to combine. Set both bowls to the side.
Next, drain and then blot the sweet potato fries dry. Toss with 1-2 tbsp. avocado oil. Fill one of the baking sheets with the fries, in one layer. Do not overlap the fries. Sprinkle with the garlic granules and sea salt. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. The fries will stay in the oven while the fish sticks cook as well.
While your fries start to bake, take out your 3 fillets of white fish. Cut the filets into Fish stick shaped pieces. sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt.
Then you are going to set up stations: 1) Raw fish sticks 2) Coconut milk wash 3) Chip "breading" 4) One parchment lined baking sheet.
Going in rounds, take a raw fish stick and place it into the coconut wash, flipping it so it is totally covered. Let excess liquid drip off of the fish. Then dredge the fish stick in the chip "breading", flipping to make sure each side is covered in breading. Then place the fish stick onto the lined baking sheet. Do this until you have no more fish sticks left. You shouldn't run out of chips, but you may need to make more of the coconut milk wash as you go.
Before placing the baking sheet of “breaded” fish sticks into the oven to cook, flip your sweet potato fries, cooking both the fries and fish sticks for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F. Then, rotate your baking sheet 180 degrees and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the fish sticks are cook through, flake easily and are crispy!
Portion into 3-5 servings. Serve with my Egg Free Tartar Sauce.
Enjoy!!
* NOTES:
I tried making the "breading" several different ways and it doesn't work as well the other ways. If you crush them yourself in a zip bag, they will still be too big of chunks, and my KitchenAide food processor definitely didn't cut it. So, I highly recommend using a high-powered blender, like a Vitamix.
These also hold up well for left overs! Just heat them in the oven at 350-375 ° F. until heated through.
They will last in the fridge for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
NUTRITION
Serving Size: 1 (based off of 4 servings total)
Calories: 697
Fat: 37 g
Carbs: 72 g
Protein: 19 g
*All nutritional information are estimations and will vary.
