I use breadcrumbs all the time. I use breadcrumbs in rissoles/meatballs, to crumb fish, veggies and chicken, as a crunchy top layer to oven baked dinners such as tuna mornay – the list goes on. I often make my own, as it’s so easy, and I haven’t found a good store-bought product that doesn’t have strange additives and preservatives. Recently, I wondered about improving the basic breadcrumb by making them more nutritious and using it to pack even more goodness into our day. All you need is a food processor.

So this is the Pick ‘N’ Mix Breadcrumb. You decide what does into your crumb. You can also add flavour by using dried herbs and spices, grated lemon rind, or finely grated cheese.

Nutrition Note: Mix and match your crumbs to boost your child’s intake of protein, fibre, health promoting antioxidants and phytoestrogens, unsaturated fatty acids including the valuable omega-3 fatty acids, and other nutrients such as calcium.

Freezing:

You can freeze homemade breadcrumbs. Transfer your mix into a sealable freezer proof bag and label/date. Store for up to three months. Simply defrost in the fridge before use. See our freezing and defrosting guide.

10 recipes using breadcrumbs:

1. Crumbed fish fingers 
2. Chicken Schnitzel strips 
3. Lamb and quinoa rissoles 
4. Crumbed tuna and veggie patties 
5. Saffron Risotto Balls 
6. Tuna Mornay
7. Chicken and Halloumi Balls
8. Chicken and cannellini bean nuggets 
9. Power Meatballs 
10. Mushroom and Barley Burgers 

For this particular mix (pictured) I used 2 slices of multigrain bread, 1/4 cup quinoa flakes, 1 tablespoon almond meal, 1 tablespoon rolled oats.

Ingredients

• 1-day old Multigrain bread (preservative free), crusts removed
• Quinoa flakes
• Chia seeds
• Flaxseed/Linseed
• Sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Crushed nuts - e.g walnut or almond meal
• Rolled oats
• Other ideas: herbs, spices, cheese, lemon rind.

Method

Step 1

To make pick 'n' mix breadcrumbs simply choose the ingredients (from above list) that you would like to use and place in a food processor. Process until you have desired consistency. -

Step 2

EXAMPLE: I used 2 slices multigrain bread, 1/4 cup quinoa flakes, 1 Tbsp almond meal, 1 Tbsp rolled oats, for this particular mix. -