Almond & Flax Crusted Fish Sticks

I found a recipe using ground almonds as a coating on fish and was inspired to make some fish sticks based on this concept. For once my made-up recipe turned out amazing! Jared has never been so excited about anything I've made and Grey loved it too. It is super healthy and a great way to add fish into your diet without tons of added oils and chemicals from store-bought fish sticks. We ate them too quickly so I have no pictures. This is a perfect recipe to double or triple and freeze the extras for lunches or quick dinners.

Almond & Flax Crusted Fish Sticks

3-4 tilapia fillets (I use the frozen, bagged fillets from Costco-thawed)
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 egg whites or 1 egg  beaten
4 tbsp bread crumbs
4 tbsp finely chopped almonds (I put mine in the food processor until blended to a consistency of fine bread crumbs)
3-4 tbsp ground flax
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp minced onion
salt & pepper to taste (I didn't measure--sorry)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Cut tilapia fillets into fish stick size--I cut mine into fourths. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.

Set up a "dipping station" with the remainder of ingredients. Place flour on a small plate. Put eggs into a small bowl. In a third dish combine bread crumbs, almonds, flax, garlic powder, onion and salt & pepper. Coat the fish sticks in flour first, then dip in the egg mixture, lastly dip in bread crumb mixture to coat.

Place fish on cookie sheet and either spray tops with cooking spray or drizzle with a small amount of canola or olive oil. Bake until fish begins to slake when tested with a fork. I flipped mine halfway through so it would be nice & crispy on both sides. It took about 10 minutes. Serve with tartar sauce or even just a squeeze of fresh lemon. Enjoy!