DIY Recipe: Whole30, Cannabis-Infused Chicken Fingers

It’s mid-January, so if you’ve embarked on a Whole30 to start the new year, chances are your enthusiasm may be starting to wane.

For those of you unfamiliar with Whole30, it’s a 30-day eating protocol where you abstain from:

• Dairy
• Grains
• Added sugar
• Alcohol
• Soy
• Legumes
• Preservatives

Instead, you focus on eating meats, vegetables and healthy fats. Once the 30 days is over, you reintroduce the other foods one by one to see how they truly make you feel, so you can evaluate if they have a place in your overall diet.

A couple of weeks into my first Whole30, I started having dreams about bread and pizza; I hated my friends who drank wine in front of me; I felt tired and angry; and my eating habits felt so boring. In short, the midpoint of a Whole30 can be rough.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

Certified Whole30 coach Todd Shipman agrees and wants you to know you’re not alone. “This part of Whole30 is well known as the ‘darkest days’ where most people drop off and go back to their past way of eating,” he says.

“We may be expecting to see or experience major shifts, which just haven’t made their presence known yet. It takes longer than just a few weeks to reverse a lifetime of eating the standard American diet,” Todd advises.

This recipe for chicken fingers frankly saved my second Whole30. My husband begrudgingly joined me for this one, and he experienced the midmonth lull—hard. He was really close to giving up when I made these chicken fingers along with a side of veggies and baked sweet potatoes one night for dinner.

He wolfed down the entire plate and said, “If more meals are like this, I think I’ll be OK.” He made it to the end of the month and lost about 25 pounds in the process. This recipe stayed in my regular rotation, and I still make it all the time—Whole30 or not.

Is Medical Marijuana Whole30 Compliant?

For those medical marijuana consumers who’ve embarked on a Whole30 or are thinking of doing so, you can complete the program without having to give up your medicine. Whole30 founder Melissa Hartwig writes that the organization’s official stance is: Marijuana’s OK strictly for medicinal purposes.

She says if a doctor has prescribed you cannabis, that trumps Whole30 rules. And even if you haven’t gone so far as to get a formal medical diagnosis, if you take marijuana to treat crippling insomnia, pain from fibromyalgia or debilitating migraines, as long as it’s therapeutic and used responsibly, it’s acceptable within the Whole30 framework.

But you may be wondering how to consume cannabis and not give into the munchies, which can be a side effect of marijuana consumption for some.

The first tip would be to find a product such as Level’s Stimulate Tablinguals or cannabis strain like Durban Poison that doesn’t tend to stimulate your appetite. The cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)—found in both of these things—has been shown to reduce appetite.

RELATED: PSYCHOACTIVE THCV: THE CANNABINOID THAT KILLS YOUR APPETITE

But Todd has lots of great practical tips to keep your medical marijuana from derailing your Whole30: “Set yourself up for success. Keep the noncompliant stuff out of easy reach or out of your kitchen entirely. If it’s not there, it’s not an option. Be aware of your behavior and cravings that normally would come up, and plan ahead. My personal choice is a sliced-up bell pepper with guacamole, as I crave crunchy stuff.”

In general, Todd is a big believer in putting your Whole30 goals down on paper—even at the midway point—so you remember why you wanted to do a Whole30 in the first place. “Why did you decide to do this? What’s your motivation to stay committed? If you don’t have one, make one right this instant, because it’s what will keep your head above water when things get flooded,” Todd suggests. “Improved health, feeling better, increased energy, joint mobility, quality sleep, better digestion and family reasons are great starts for your why.”

Ingredients for Whole30, Cannabis-Infused Chicken Fingers

• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into strips
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 cups almond meal
• 20 mg cannabis tincture of your choice (Adjust according to your tolerance and preference.)
• Spices to taste: salt, pepper, dried parsley, paprika, others of your choice

How to Make Whole30, Cannabis-Infused Chicken Fingers

I’ve added the cannabis tincture at the egg wash step, but if you’re making this for the family or are in a situation where only some people want to consume, you can add the marijuana tincture into any Whole30-approved ketchup, mustard or other sauce for dipping instead.

Serves 2

1. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Trim any fat off of the two chicken breasts and cut them into strips.
3. Crack an egg in a Pyrex bowl and beat. Mix in your cannabis tincture if you want to infuse the entire dish.
4. Fill a second Pyrex bowl with the almond meal. Add the spices of your choice. (My favorites are paprika and garlic salt, and I probably mix in about 2 tbsp of each.). Be liberal with the salt and pepper.
5. Take the chicken fingers and put them in the egg bowl, making sure each piece gets fully covered. If your bowl isn’t big enough, you may need to do half of the chicken at a time.
6. Next take the chicken fingers out of the egg bath and place into the almond meal. It’s best to do this one at a time with a fork. Make sure to shake off any excess egg before the chicken goes into the almond meal.
7. Roll the chicken strip in the almond meal, coating it completely.
8. Place your chicken finger on a lined baking sheet; repeat with the rest of the chicken fingers.
9. Bake your chicken fingers for 10–12 minutes, then remove them from the oven. Flip them over and bake the other side for another 10–12 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly before serving.
11. If you opted not to add your cannabis tincture to the egg wash, now’s the time to add it to any dips you serve with the chicken fingers. You can give each person an individual ramekin of your dip, ketchup or mustard so that they can add their personal marijuana dose according to their tolerance level and desired effects.

Photo credit: Sara Dubler

If you’re new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our Cannabis 101 index of articles. And if you have questions about cannabis, ask them and our community will answer.