Mar

2

Book Review and Giveaway- The Cleaner Plate Club

48 Comments 

Entries for this giveaway are now closed.
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After the birth of my second child, I never really felt like myself. I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia, and realized that I was on a path to being out of control with my sugar levels and possibly on the road towards diabetes in the long run.  I decided to drastically change the way my family and I ate. One of my major rules was the ‘ Made by Me’ rule…if it isn’t made by me, we’re not eating it.  We can have cookies, but they have to be made by me so we aren’t getting preservitives, additives, food dyes etc….get the picture?

When I received this book, The Cleaner Plate Club: More Than 100 Recipes for Real Food Your Kids Will Love by Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin,  I knew right away that I was very interested in what they had to say.  The term Real Food has become kind of a popular phrase with cooking lately, but to be perfectly honest, its the direction that more households should be moving in when it comes to diet.

I love how the authors take a realistic viewpoint of the difficulties of eating real food in this day and age, as well as teaching your children about real food in a time where it doesn’t readily exist in the public eye. The first few chapters go into detail about how you can introduce ‘real food’ into your family’s diet. I love all of the shopping strategies you can use while seeking out the proper food for your family.

My favorite section of the book is the introduction to our veggies! We belong to a produce club, and often times there are veggies that I have never cooked with, let alone heard of. This book covers them all… AND has simple recipes! Yum!

Now for the fun part…would you like a copy of this book? A great addition to anyones family kitchen. Just leave a comment on this post answering this question:

What vegetable intimidates you, intrigues you, or would you like to learn more about how to cook?

I will then choose a comment using random.org to pick the winner. Only one entry per person please. This giveaway will end on Sunday,  March 6, 2011 at 11:59pm EST.  When you leave your comment, don’t forget to input your email address in the email address section so I can get in touch with you if you have won.

UPDATE:

I’m happy to announce that Comment #21 has won the book- Michelle wrote

“I love all sorts of vegetables but the one I have no idea what to do with is Rutabaga. Thanks for the chance to win what sounds to be an excellent book.”

Congratulations to Michelle!



By Kristen Stephens

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Comments

48 Comments so far

  1. Audrey Keglovitz on March 2, 2011 7:47 pm

    Parsnips ! I live on a military post and the commissary doesn’t get them very often. I would love to learn how to cook with them.

  2. Helen on March 2, 2011 8:15 pm

    This books sounds like something our family needs!

    I’d like to learn to do more with broccoli than just stir-fry or steam.

    Helen

  3. Lisa M on March 2, 2011 8:30 pm

    we joined a CSA last year and there were many vegetables we got that I was intimidated by! Thanks to the internet, I was able to make some yummy vegetables (which my 3 yr old was still unwilling to sample!). Anyhow, I still had problems with kale. Would love to try more recipes for them!

    Thanks for doing the giveaway!

  4. Tara on March 2, 2011 9:09 pm

    bok choy. I live in an area that has a large hmong population and the farmers market has a lot of really cool vegetables I’m not really familar with including bok choy.

    Tara

  5. Tasha on March 2, 2011 9:48 pm

    I would love this book. My little one loves veggies but I just don’t how to prepare them and make them appealing. I would love a kale recipe.

  6. Lindsey on March 2, 2011 10:14 pm

    Cooked greens! I’ll eat them raw in a salad and the kids won’t touch them at all. I have no idea how to cook them.

  7. Traci on March 2, 2011 10:20 pm

    I am intimidated by eggplant. The few times I’ve tried to cook it, it is just horrible! I could totally use this book to get my picky eater boy to try more foods!

  8. Paige on March 3, 2011 12:36 am

    We fight daily over veggie eating! I’d love to learn more about beets. They are so good but there must be more to do with them. I’d love any idea that incorporates veggies in a recipe and getting Evan to eat them!

  9. Paula on March 3, 2011 2:16 am

    Eggplant intrigues me. I’ve tried it once in a restaurant and liked it very much but I don’t know how to cook it. Would love to learn!
    Thanks for the chance!
    ap_lemos at yahoo dot com

  10. Kristin on March 3, 2011 3:12 am

    Right now I’m wanting to try parsnips. Gradually trying to get my kids to eat better too.

  11. Nabiha on March 3, 2011 3:58 am

    For me, it would have to be artichokes..I just can’t muster up the courage to give them a try.

  12. Jen on March 3, 2011 4:33 am

    I would love to find more things to do with asapragus. I love the flavor but I find that every time I buy it all I do is steam it. It tastes great that way, but it gets boring.

  13. Amy Copeland on March 3, 2011 4:50 am

    I would really like to learn more about squash. What the different types are, and how to cook them. A healthy diet is important to me for my whole family, my 2 young kids and the “kid” I married. ;~)

  14. Debbie Constable on March 3, 2011 4:56 am

    Artichokes intimidate me so much that I have never bought one!

  15. Mary on March 3, 2011 6:01 am

    I would like to know more about using Spaghetti Squash.
    I am diabetic, so this book would really come in handy.

    Mary

  16. nangy on March 3, 2011 6:30 am

    This book is just what I need,I would love to know how to cook with eggplant,acorn squash and swiss chard,they intimidate me so much.Thanks for the giveaway!

  17. Ruth Hill on March 3, 2011 6:46 am

    Squash–any kind–is what I would like to learn about how to cook. I often forget about them, and this would be great!

  18. Katherine on March 3, 2011 6:56 am

    I would love to have more options for squash. I really don’t like it much so ususally only put zuchinni in cookies or bread..I’d love other choices.

  19. Melinda on March 3, 2011 7:10 am

    I have a friend who is always making exotic veggies. I don’t even know how to spell what she’s eating, let alone cook it.

  20. Ellen Lai on March 3, 2011 7:28 am

    I love eggplants too, especially grilled ones with sweet miso paste. But not easy to find the sweet one.

  21. Meme on March 3, 2011 7:53 am

    I love all sorts of vegetables but the one I have no idea what to do with is Rutabaga. Thanks for the chance to win what sounds to be an excellent book.

  22. Nina on March 3, 2011 9:00 am

    Asian vegetables. Bok Choy and its relatives choy sum, etc. I see them in the Asian market but have no idea what to do with them and how they are different.

  23. Cyd on March 3, 2011 9:05 am

    Fennel! It looks so cool and can be prepared in different ways.

  24. Heather on March 3, 2011 9:53 am

    I would love to better understand how to use Jerusalem Artichokes.

  25. Heathery on March 3, 2011 10:02 am

    I’d love to learn more about squash. I eat it fairly often at restaurants, but there are so many kinds that I have no idea which kind I’m eating, and I don’t know how to prepare them!

  26. Sandra on March 3, 2011 10:27 am

    Kale and swiss chard. I want to incorporate them into our family’s diet in a way that both my husband and my son will eat them, but I haven’t found the right recipe yet.

  27. Kayla on March 3, 2011 10:58 am

    I would like to learn how to make things with eggplant!

  28. Heather on March 3, 2011 11:03 am

    Oh, I’m terrified of cooking eggplant. The one time I tried, it was the most horrible, slimiest, nastiest meal I’ve ever made. I’ve avoided cooking it ever since!

  29. joanne Carpenter on March 3, 2011 11:50 am

    How do you cook whole cauliflower heads?

  30. Claire on March 3, 2011 1:08 pm

    Globe Artichokes is a veg that I have no idea what to do with it. Do I peel all the leaves off? So what have I got left – not alot!!!!

  31. Amanda P on March 3, 2011 2:25 pm

    How about spinach?

  32. Julie on March 3, 2011 2:51 pm

    Beets! How on earth do you cook those things? How long do you cook them and how do you enhance the flavour?
    Oh yes my family (mostly the cook) could use the help of this book!

  33. Elaine R on March 3, 2011 3:17 pm

    I would like to know how to properly cook and prepare eggplant.

  34. Regi on March 3, 2011 4:23 pm

    Okra!..not Oprah! LOL. My husband is a diabetic so we are trying new vegetables. I would love this book. I laughed when I saw the title because my G-ma used to say it to me all the time. I was a member of the clean plate club and paying for it now.

  35. serena on March 3, 2011 5:04 pm

    i am very intimidated by brussels sprouts. who would eat them?!

  36. Sarah C on March 3, 2011 6:22 pm

    Hm, i’d love some ideas for iron-rich leafy-greens like kale and spinach. And I’m curious about okra too! As a kid I lived in India for a while and we ate okra often but now I’m just not sure what to do with it

  37. Euphemia Roecker on March 3, 2011 6:29 pm

    Artichokes…never cooked them, don’t know how to eat them!

  38. Nancy Musser on March 4, 2011 7:46 am

    I love to use veggies but definitely need help cooking them without taking out the nutrients (I always over cook). I have never used Kale but would love to learn to make it in a way my kids would love.

  39. Pam F. on March 4, 2011 8:26 am

    Eggplants. I like them, but they just seem so troublesome to make.

  40. Shari J on March 4, 2011 10:12 am

    Fortuantely we love all of the veggies grown here in the US and I understand how to prepare almost all of the Asian veges. Just love to cook and so our kids eat them all. But, I find myself stuck in a rut with certain favorites so I would like new ideas for cauliflower and potatoes! Seems simple, eh? Well, the East Indians do wonderful things with these veggies and I would like to know more about that.

  41. Michelle on March 4, 2011 12:07 pm

    Tunips & parsnips. I’d love to know more ways to serve them other than mashed/pureed!

  42. KarenStalker on March 4, 2011 6:11 pm

    Honestly, I would love ANY suggestions or recipes. I have four EXTREMELY fussy eaters, and every dinner time is a battle…. they eat the meat we serve up, and nothing else. HELP…. I would greatly appreciate it.
    Thanks for the chance!

  43. Amy Copeland on March 4, 2011 7:52 pm

    Squash…I know it’s good for you, but how do you make it taste good? :)

  44. michelle on March 4, 2011 8:47 pm

    I’m intimidated by eggplant, too, due to a couple of bad experiences. I would do just about anything to get my kids to eat vegetables!

  45. Rachel S. on March 5, 2011 11:49 pm

    Kohlrabi, Bok Choy, Fennel….all seem so foreign to me! Would LOVE to learn more about them. That book sounds perfect for my family of little picky eaters!

  46. Kimberlee on March 6, 2011 10:38 pm

    this sounds really cool…i don’t know what to do with jicama! help! :)

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