CookBook Giveaway: The Cleaner Plate Club
Today I have an extra-special giveaway for you! Remember the Whole-Grain Chocolate Chunk Cookies that I made last week? Well, they were from a brand-new cookbook called The Cleaner Plate Club by Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin. When I made those cookies last week (they were soooooo good), I sent the post to the publicist promoting The Cleaner Plate Club. She was a delight! Not only did she send me a free copy of the cookbook, she agreed to give one lucky reader of A Better Bag of Groceries a copy also!
These days, I rarely buy cookbooks. My husband did buy me Mastering the Art of French Cooking for our anniversary (so sweet!) last year. And I did buy one of the Jessica Seinfeld cookbooks because it was only $3.00 at Staples when we were there buying moving supplies. But basically, I get most of my recipes online. Well, I have to say, The Cleaner Plate Club is a reason to buy a cookbook again. It is chock-full of amazing recipes that your whole family will love. This week, we made Fish Curry from page 221.
Cooking the fish was simple and easy. I spread it out on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet:
The sauce was so delicious – and not too spicy for my kids:
To accompany the Fish Curry, we made The Cleaner Plate Club’s recipe for Coconut Rice.
My kids loved the rice. They ate it again the next night. The turmeric gives it the yellow coloring. I love introducing my kids to new spices, colors and textures. I am hoping that they grow up to appreciate all kinds of food.
But back to this cookbook….It really is more than just a cookbook. It’s a fantastic primer for new cooks, because it goes over some of the basics (like what it means to saute, or roast, or the best ways to peel, core and seed). And it also has lots of interesting factoids interspersed throughout the book. For example, did you know that the chicken nuggets is one of the fastest-growing foods in the American diet, particularly among very young children? Yup, according to the Wall Street Journal, the nugget now accounts for about 5 percent of all restaurant orders, more than double what it was in 1990. (Cleaner Plate Club, p. 199).
So, what I found from this cookbook is that Ali Benjamin and Beth Bader and I have similar goals: cook real food, trade up for better nutrition, teach families how to put a good meal on the table.
Today’s Giveaway:
One lucky commenter will win a copy of The Cleaner Plate Club. To enter, tell me the toughest thing it is for you to get your kids to clean from their plates (is it spinach? chicken? milk?) You can enter twice if you know the NuVal score for that item. If you do not have kids (or don’t have them yet), you can still enter. Just tell me, what it was that you hard the hardest time cleaning from your plate when you were a kid. (For me, it was sausage and other meats - yuck!)
I’ll select one winner at random at 8 am Eastern time on Friday, so don’t delay. Good luck everyone!
Posted by: Melissa 60 comments
Posted in: Cookbooks
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:12 am
The hardest thing for me to clean from my plate, since I don’t have kids, was fish and other seafood. I had a traumatic experience eating fish once, even though it was a chain fast food restaurant… I can do it now, but boy it was tough to get over it! Haha!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:14 am
Great giveaway! As I have three kids, I could use this. With each kid it’s different. The oldest doesn’t like potatoes (unless they are french fries, even though we’ve spend a ton of time explaining that french fries ARE potatoes). The middle child doesn’t really like pasta. The youngest is VERY picky and her tastes change constantly. It’s a bit of a battle! We eat quite healthfully most of the time, but catering to their likes and dislikes is frustrating. Usually, they just have to eat some of what we give them, because I am not willing to be a short order cook!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 8:02 am
I need this cookbook for my family! I am vegan and everytime I make anything they turn up their noses. This sounds like recipes I can make and just put out there and they will think it is their food and not ‘my food”. Sounds great!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 8:25 am
I have a 5 month old so she has no trouble eating!!! Although you should ask me again when we introduce solids. My worst food (it makes me nauseous thinking about it) was mushroom quiche. Yikes!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 8:39 am
When I was younger I wasn’t a fan of a chicken and mushroom casserole my mom made – I’d love it now.
And I didn’t like carrots…but now I do.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 8:46 am
My parents had a very hard time getting me to eat any meat besides chicken. They would tell me to take just two bites so I could get a little protein. The funny thing is that I still don’t like meat (even chicken as much as I used to!)and have seriously considered just becoming a vegetarian!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:06 am
I was a really picky eater as a kid, luckily my nephew isn’t that bad. My SIL and bro have a hard time getting him to eat protein sources though! I would love to give them this book, especially since baby boy #2 is due any day now!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:09 am
For me the hardest thing was any vegetables that weren’t olives, carrots, or broccoli. I was very specific.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:10 am
Really any vegetable! But the greener, the more difficult. Spinach, collards, kale, etc. weren’t even looked at, let alone actually eaten. A veg to my son was iceberg lettuce with a gallon of dressing! Thankfully he was never sick, never overweight and played sports and never got tired. Sometimes I wonder if I really birthed him
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:10 am
The thing I can’t get my kids to eat is mushrooms. But we’re working on it!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:11 am
At this point, the hardest thing to disappear from the plate is any kind of meat, including chicken. I would love to win this cookbook!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:11 am
And the Nuval score for mushrooms is 96! Wow, I had no idea it would be that high!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:14 am
As a follow-up to my earlier post, the nuval score for chicken breast is 39.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:18 am
I would say it is fish. My kids are not big fans unless is it breaded and fried.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Hardest thing for me to eat was lima beans or peas.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:23 am
I have 3 kids and for the older two it’s texture. My 16 year old eats NOTHING with a texture like mashed potatoes or anything she calls “mushy”……mac and cheese, or any cheese sauce for that matter. My 13 year old won’t eat salad or rice….those two textures just don’t do it for her. My 10 year old is more about taste…..she doesn’t like most brightly colored vegetables. Each of my kids gets to have 2 things they don’t have to eat and hers are broccoli and asparagus. So she does eat carrots and green beans…..but not so happily.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:24 am
I can’t get my older son to eat any green vegetable except lettuce. No broccoli, green beans, peas, nothing. It’s so hard to get veggies in that boy!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:31 am
Actually the toughest thing is to have healthy, hot dinner on the nights we have sports practices. They need healthy food for fuel. Having a hot dinner everyone will enjoy – fast – is a real challange and I find I’ve fallen into a rut. New recipes would be helpful!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:34 am
My kids are great vegetable, fruit and whole grain eaters. However, they will not (no matter how I disguise it or change the name) eat any type of meat- no chicken (I envy the parent that can do a quick dinner of chicken nuggets), no beef, no fish. They have never eaten hotdogs, etc. While I think this is really great in the long run, I always have a hard time making sure they get enough protein. Thankfully one of them does eat eggs and they both like beans and dairy.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:42 am
I need a cookbook for my family. I am trying to get my children to eat better and try all vegetables. I even went so far as to make mini meatloaves and stick in spinach in the middle and told them it was parsley just so they would eat it. It also doesn’t help when their father turns up his nose at eating all the healthy fruits and veggies as well.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:46 am
I had the hardest time eating peas. My mom put bacon bits in them! Gross right? Now peas are my favorite vegetable!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:50 am
I hated eating anything with onions! I only just recently got over that
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:52 am
My daughter is a grown women, but as a child she did like to eat broccoli and fish. Today she will eat some broccoli, but still won’t eat fish. I would love to will this The Clean Plate Cookbook as I am always looking for healthy receipes that will attract both adults and children to eat.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Broccoli score is 100 and Hoddock score is 64
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Since I don’t have kids I will tell you the hardest thing I had trouble clearing from my plate when I was young… Meat! I have never really like meat; no wonder why I am a vegetarian now
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:05 am
Sweet potatoes, squash and asparagus.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:17 am
My son refuses to eat anything green. He will try carrots and eats a lot of fruit, but vegetables are a constant struggle.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:20 am
The hardest thing for me was lima beans and greens. Both of which I love now!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:38 am
The hardest thing for me is any type of beans, especially black beans.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:39 am
My sister has 3 young sons (5,4 and 2). The 5 and 2 yr olds will eat (most of the time without complaint). It is the 4 yr old. He refuses to eat veggies or most anything else. He will eat pepperoni pizza and grilled cheese and that is about it. I have found though that if I make zucchini bread and double the amount of zucchini and take out a bit of sugar he will eat that and he will also eat artichoke dip (with potato chips –of course). My sister is expecting baby #4 and she would like the 4 yr old to eat nutritiously .
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 11:03 am
I don’t have kids, so the hardest thing for me when I was a kid was beans, any kind, hated all of them. Now I love them, go figure!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 11:51 am
My son wont eat any purple vegetables!!! I dont know what it is but any lettuce with purple on it or purple cabbage is a NO Go!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Fish (salmon) rates an 87 on NuVal scale.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
My 6-year-old won’t touch cooked spinach. Loves it raw, but wouldn’t even taste it cooked!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Spinach scores 100 on NuVal!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
Can’t get my kids to touch any type of fish!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
I hated eating spinach too. I would fill my mouth with as much as I could from my plate and when my parents weren’t looking I’d spit it into my napkin. Now I love spinach and hope that when my husband and I have kids that they won’t do what I did!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Meat is definitely the hardest thing to get my oldest to eat. I won some kind of lottery with my youngest who will try anything!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
My son refuses to eat peas! He loved them when he was a baby though. I would love to win the cookbook.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
I have a hard time getting my son to eat scrambled eggs. The median Nuval score for eggs is 33.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
I can’t get my boyfriend to eat lentils or chickpeas… I am vegan so eat a LOT of legumes, but I always have to make chicken or pork for his protein, he won’t touch them!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
i am blessed with two picky ones. one: meat texture is a turn-off (so we chop and disguise). the other: all things veggie (so we chop and disguise). { great giveaway! }
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I cannot get my daughter to eat any fruit or things with any type of sauce.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
Well my kids are quite grown now. However the toughest thing to get them to eat was LIVER!!!! sorry, thought I was doing a good thing….its funny!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 5:43 pm
I dont have kids, but my little brother refuses to eat peas. He will sit at the table all night up until bedtime if he has to in order to not eat them.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:28 pm
With out a doubt…Brussel Sprouts! I have tried every creative way to entice my three children to eat them.
“no way, Mom”. They will trade up anything else to get out of eating them.
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:36 pm
I would have to say fish for my kids – must be because their Dad is not a fan – but I love it! By the way Melissa – how did you know I have The Boston Globe magazine open at the “Better Way to Snack” article featuring The Cleaner Plate Club book AND that I am waiting for a coupon from Borders to go buy it???
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:37 pm
Maybe we will start with some Haddock with a NuVal score of 64
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
My son used to literally dissect his food… removing any bit of onion, green pepper, or mushroom he could find in anything! Over the last few years he’s grown out of it though and is much more accepting of these and other foods he disliked. It pays to be persistent!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
and of course the foods he didn’t like get great NuVal scores… green peppers (94) and onions (93)
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Meat! I hated it all when I was young. I’m still not a big fan to be honest. Milk was another thing that I couldn’t stand and still can’t. Yuck!
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
For me it would be Brussels sprouts. I hated them when I was growing up but I love them now.
joosbornenc at yahoo dot com
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 9:53 pm
I can’t get past the asparagus my
Dad forced me to eat
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
I didn’t like raw tomatoes, but got over it
on Jan 20th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
My daughter refuses to eat spinach (NuVal 100!). I have to hide it in a casserole so that she can’t tell that it’s there! What’s funny is that when she was a baby I made her food and she would eat anything-once she was a toddler though, she flipped her switch and was turned off from veggies in general. She’s 4 now, so she’s getting better at trying new things…again.
on Jan 21st, 2011 at 1:55 am
It difficult to get my son to eat anything green — whether it’s lettuce, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, etc.
rsgrandinetti@yahoo(dot)com
on Jan 21st, 2011 at 10:38 am
The toughest two things for me to eat as a child were liver and canned peas. Oh, yuck! Still don’t like either one.
on Jan 21st, 2011 at 3:40 pm
the hardest things are broccolis
on Jan 22nd, 2011 at 4:12 pm
The toughest for me was “green” noodles!. They were some ofthe first spinach pasta available at the grocery store ~ 45 yo. I literally choked!
Once I started making my own pasta, I decided to try and make my own. It worked! I started experimenting and truly enjoyed the process and results!
on Jul 16th, 2011 at 8:33 pm
[...] cookie sheet cleaner abetterbagofgroceries.com [...]