Michelle Dudash R.D. - Clean Eating for Busy Families: Get Meals on the Table in Minutes with Simple and Satisfying Whole-Foods Recipes You and Your Kids Will Love-Most Recipes Take Just 30 Minutes or Less!

Michelle Dudash comes clean with the best ways to feed families hungry for healthy, kid-friendly foods. Now if we could just get them to clean the dishes!

Carolyn ONeil, M.S., R.D., co-author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! and Lady of the Refrigerator on Food Networks Good Eats

Michelle Dudash displays a passion for delicious food thats easy to make and good for you, too. She simplifies how to feed your family healthy meals, snacks, and side dishes without sacrificing great taste. As a mother of three, I really appreciate that!

Elizabeth M. Ward, M.S., R.D., author of MyPlate for Moms: How to Feed Yourself & Your Family Better

Michelles practical tips will easily enable any on-the-go mom or dad to prepare healthy and delicious recipes for their families while embracing the concept of local and sustainable food. The scrumptious recipes and gorgeous food photography speak for themselves.

Toby Amidor, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., nutritionist and blogger for FoodNetwork.coms Healthy Eats blog

What a refreshing alternative to take-out! This is fast food that parents can feel good about.

Denise Maher, health and nutrition editor and founder of Alternahealthgrrrl.com

CLEAN EATING
FOR BUSY FAMILIES

Get Meals on the Table in Minutes with

Simple & Satisfying Whole-Foods Recipes

You & Your Kids Will Love

MICHELLE DUDASH, R.D.

CHAPTER 1
Clean Kitchen Know-How: Getting Started, Shopping Lists & Tips

CHAPTER 2
Satisfying Salads, Soups & Appetizers

CHAPTER 3
Speedy, Sustainable Seafood

CHAPTER 4
Protein-Packed Poultry & Meat Mains

CHAPTER 5
Hearty Meatless Meals

CHAPTER 6
Quick & Tasty Side Dishes

CHAPTER 7
Secretly Skinny Sweet Treats

MY BIGGEST PROBLEM IN THE KITCHEN IS COMING UP WITH NEW DINNER IDEAS THAT ARE HEALTHY, TOO; DISHES THAT ARE EASY TO MAKE, NOT WEIRD, AND DONT FORCE ME TO GO TO THREE DIFFERENT STORES TO FIND THE INGREDIENTS. I FEEL LIKE WE EAT THE SAME THING EVERY WEEK. TAKEOUT IS EASY, BUT ITS FATTENING. WHAT DO YOU MAKE FOR DINNER? DO YOU HAVE ANY RECIPES FOR ME? HELP!

Busy Moms Everywhere

Does that sound familiar? Its typically the beginning of most of the conversations I have with the many moms I talk to. Whether from television host coworkers, attendees at speaking engagements, or stay-at-home moms at cocktail parties, its one of the questions Im asked most frequently, as soon as people find out Im a chef and registered dietitian.

The reality of cooking for my family hit home for me after the birth of my baby Scarlet. For several days straight even I, the chef nutritionist, stared into the refrigerator wondering what Id have time to make for dinner. On one such occasion I figured out how to adapt my lighter chicken curry recipe to the slow cooker, and thats when the idea for this book hit me. Over the next few months I created original and improved recipes that fit my new-mom lifestyle. Just like moms often choose a shorter hairstyle and more practical shoes, I adopted a simpler, easier style of cooking using clean ingredients. Now I want to inspire and educate other families about how easily they, too, can eat clean with a little knowledge.

{ My Five Food Rules for Eating Clean }

The clean concept boils down to eating whole, minimally processed foods made with natural ingredients that are good for your body and good for the planet. Keep these tips in mind, and youll be on your way in no time:

The less processed foods are, the more naturally occurring vital nutrients and the fewer harmful ingredients they contain. Also, if you cant pronounce an ingredient on the label, you probably shouldnt eat it. Instead of components that sound like things from lab experiments, opt for foods with ingredients you find in home kitchens.

Especially avoid these ingredients:

Partially hydrogenated oil

Artificial food coloring (Blue 2, Green 3, Red 3, Yellow 5 and 6)

Artificial sweeteners (acesulfame potassium, saccharin, aspartame)

Nitrates and nitrites in cured meats

Large amounts of refined added sugars and salt

Each color of the rainbow provides a unique blend of disease-fighting, immunity-boosting antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. The more natural colors you choose, the more varied and inclusive your diet will be.

Foods that travel shorter distances to get from farm to fork leave a smaller carbon footprint, making them better for the planet. The closer, the better, but find what is comfortable for you. Start by reading the signs next to your produce and the labels on the backs of packages. Ideally, choose foods from your country rather than the other side of the world. Even better, choose foods from within your region, state, or county. This doesnt have to mean making multiple trips to farmers markets if they are more than a few minutes away.

Most foods taste better and contain higher amounts of nutrients when theyre eaten during peak season and havent been sitting in warehouses for months. Dried foods and foods frozen or canned within days of harvest come in at a close second. The better foods taste naturally, the less you have to manipulate them with added sugar, fat, and salt.

Learn what you can about the companies you buy food from. Do the farmers treat their animals well? Are the plants sprayed with minimal amounts of pesticides or, preferably, none? How do the companies treat their employees, and what is their regard for sustainable practices? While you probably wont find all of these answers on the backs of food packaging, glean what you can from company websites and the media. Every time you check out at the grocery store, you are voting for who will fail or succeed.

Food not only nourishes and fuels our bodies and minds, it also provides entertainment, encourages curiosity, invites togetherness, and rejuvenates the soul. Food should taste good first and then be good for us also. A variety of flavors, including salty, sweet, sour, pungent, and bitter, paired with different textures, makes for the most satisfying meal. We should feel free to savor flavorful foods until satisfied, rather than eat around cravings and long for something else minutes later. As often as possible, enjoy food intentionally while seated at the table and avoid mindless snacking.

{ Getting Started Right Away }

Ive structured this book so that you can start cooking clean immediately, with this introductory chapter providing helpful, but not essential, background information. Ive also sprinkled Go Green and Go Clean sidebars throughout the recipes, enabling you to learn along the way as you cook. Go Green sidebars focus on local and seasonal eating tips, while Go Clean sidebars focus on eco-friendly practices and nutritional tips.