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
by Michelle Dudash, R.D.
Fair Winds
January 2013
$19.99/Paperback
ISBN-13: 978-1592335145

Contact: Dalyn A. Miller
617-504-6869
dalyn@dalynmillerpr.com

All moms know what a struggle it can be to get dinner on the table night after night—you want to prepare healthy and meals for your family, but picky eaters, busy schedules, and way-too-long cooking times always seem to stand in your way.

Clean Eating for Busy Families takes the challenge out of putting delicious food on the table every night by providing readers with a clear plan for dinner success. With streamlined weekly grocery lists, simple-yet-delicious recipes, and practical tips for healthy family eating, you’ll find it a cinch to trade in that uninspired takeout for wholesome meals that don’t just put the tummies to ease, but the mind as well.

• It’s Quick: From easy sautés and casseroles, to slow cooker meals, to pan-less grilling, all the recipes you’ll find inside list both mode and length of cooking time, so there’s no time wasted trying to figure out a time plan or what works best for your schedule. Plus, most recipes can be prepared in thirty minutes or less!
• It’s Clean: The ever-growing “clean food” movement, which focuses on a healthy, whole foods-based approach to eating, lies at the foundation of this book, so you can be sure you’re feeding your family the very best. From wholesome ingredient lists to nutritional analysis on every recipe, you can feel confident that every meal you prepare is both nutrient-rich and calorie-conscious.
• It’s Green: Featuring eco-friendly tips, along with information on how to go green while shopping and cooking, you’ll find it a cinch to keep your family and the planet happy. You’ll also find the peak season noted on every recipe, as well as substitutions for ingredients that are out of season, so you can adapt according to what works best for you.

And most importantly…it’s delicious! From Orange Peel Beef & Broccoli Stir-fry with Brown Rice to Baja Cajun-Crusted Tilapia Tacos with Pico de Gallo to Blueberry Whole-Grain Slump with Vanilla Greek Yogurt Clean Eating for Busy Families will enable families to enjoy night after night of delicious home cooking-without any of the hassle!

About the Author

Michelle Dudash, R.D., is an award-winning registered dietitian, Cordon Bleu-certified chef, healthy recipe columnist for The Arizona Republic and television personality. Her recipes have appeared in Martha Stewart’s Whole Living and in Better Homes and Gardens, and have also been served at A-list celebrity events. She is frequently quoted in publications such as USAToday.com, Prevention, MSN.com, Family Circle, Woman’s Day, and Women’s World and has appeared nationally on FOX and Friends, Better, and Radio Disney. Michelle has cooked at a Mobil Five Star restaurant and was a private chef serving guests including English royalty. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. degree in dietetics, and a few years later she earned her toque from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale, Arizona. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Sample Recipes

Pecan Crusted Chicken Fingers with Dill Dip

I’ll admit it. I love to eat breaded, deep-fried chicken strips dipped in creamy ranch dressing, and on rare occasions, I will order them while out running errands all day. I prepare this recipe at home after a decent lapse since my last fix. For ultimate satisfaction, pair with Oven-Fried Chips (page 52).

 For chicken:
½ cup (55 g) pecans
1/ 3 cup (40 g) whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons (5 g) paprika
2 teaspoons (6 g) dry mustard
2 teaspoons (6 g) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (2 g) onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon (15 ml) expeller-pressed canola oil
½ cup (56 g) panko bread crumbs
1 large egg
1 pound (455 g) chicken tenders, larger pieces cut in half lengthwise

For dip:
¼ cup (60 g) nonfat plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup (60 g) light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
¼ teaspoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 pinch salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

To make the chicken: Preheat oven to 475°F (240°C, or gas mark 9) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Whir pecans, flour, paprika, dry mustard, garlic and onion powder, salt, and pepper in a food processor until pecans are ground to a powder, about 30 seconds. Drizzle in the oil with the motor running, blending completely. Transfer mixture to a shallow dish and stir in the panko bread crumbs.

Beat egg in a second shallow dish and add chicken tenders, coating them completely. Transfer each tender to the breading, turning to coat evenly. Arrange chicken on the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and nearly firm, 8 minutes.

To make the dip: Stir all the dip ingredients together in a small bowl.

Enjoy the cooked chicken immediately with the dip.

Recipe Note
Chicken tenders come from the undersides of chicken breasts and are naturally portioned into strips, saving you time in cutting them. If you don’t have chicken tenders, substitute chicken breasts cut into 4 x 1-inch (10 x 2.5 cm) strips.

< 30
Total Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings, 2 to 3 tenders each (with 1 tablespoon [15 g] dip)
Per serving: 418 calories; 20 g total fat; 3 g saturated fat; 34 g protein; 23 g carbohydrate; 4 g dietary fiber; 120 mg cholesterol.

Buckwheat Noodle Soup with Edamame & Ginger

Get your Zen on with this Japanese-inspired dish. Your well-stocked “clean” kitchen will likely have all of these ingredients on hand for a quick, one-pot dinner.

1 tablespoon (15 ml) expeller-pressed grapeseed or canola oil
2 medium carrots, coarsely shredded (about 2 cups, or 220 g)
4 scallions, green parts diagonally cut into ¼-inch [6 mm] pieces, white parts chopped, divided
5 thin slices peeled gingerroot
2 cloves garlic, smashed
5 cups (1.2 L) organic or reduced sodium vegetable broth
2 (3.5-ounce, or 100 g) bundles dry buckwheat (soba) noodles
1¼ cups (148 g) frozen shelled edamame
1 sheet roasted nori (optional, found in Asian food section), cut into bite-size strips
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons (25 ml) tamari (or soy sauce)

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add oil. When oil begins to shimmer, add carrots, white parts of scallions, gingerroot and garlic and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil on high heat. Add noodles and bring back to a boil. Add edamame and maintain a low boil for 5 minutes until noodles are al dente. Stir in the nori and tamari.

Recipe Notes

• When reheating leftovers, pour in a bit more broth for a soupy consistency.
• You can get away with using only 4 cups (1 L) of broth if you’d like the finished dish to have a thicker consistency.

Go Clean

• Tamari is rich tasting, comparable to dark Chinese soy sauce, and it requires little or no wheat during the fermentation of soybeans.
• Buckwheat is actually an herb, with (surprisingly) no relation to wheat, and buckwheat noodles contain 3 grams of fiber per serving.

< 30
Total Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings, 1½ cups (app rox. 450 g) ea ch
Per serving: 300 calories; 6 g total fat; trace saturated fat; 12 g protein; 53 g carbohydrate; 8 g dietary fiber; 0 mg cholesterol.

These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:

Recipes from Clean Eating for Busy Families by Michelle Dudash, R.D.  (Fair Winds; January 2013; $19.99/Paperback: ISBN-13: 978-1592335145).  http://www.fairwindspress.com/.