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The Cleaner Plate Club
At last, feeding kids well doesn't have to be a battle! Parents are all too familiar with the challenges in serving fresh, healthful food. There are picky eaters, cereal aisle tantrums, and school menus that are more nuggets than nutritious. Complicating matters, the most healthful foods don't come with their own directions. Finally, there's hope for parents who want to swim against the ever-rising tide of Pop Tarts and potato chips. The Cleaner Plate Club offers a friendly, non-judgmental, and often humorous guide to feeding kids seasonally, healthfully, and without fuss. Written by two working moms, The Cleaner Plate Club offers simple solutions, recipes, meal suggestions, and tips to help parents get kids to eat good food that's been grown locally or organically and -- guess what? -- enjoy it. They recognize that cooking real food isn't difficult, but it does require some know-how, which they supply with humor and compassion. Together, the authors show readers how to prepare foods found at the farmers' market, plan ahead and estimate prep time, and get used to cooking food that doesn't come with printed directions. Their fresh advice will help parents eliminate food waste, plan for leftovers, present foods that are appealing to kids, and quit fighting with their children about food. The Cleaner Plate Club offers kid-tested recipes for every meal, basic vegetable preparations for farmers' market finds, and more healthful recipes for sweets and snacks. Readers will also find shopping strategies, the reasons kids like the foods they do, and vegetable profiles (including nutrition information and tips on selection, storage, and preparation). Expert advice and innovative ideas about feeding kids make this book a must-have for any parent. Fresh, funny, and nonjudgmental, The Cleaner Plate Club is a recipe for healthier kids and happier parents.
305 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2011
14 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Beth Bader
1 bookBeth Bader has been a photojournalist, writer, and shark wrangler. As much activist as cook, she is, most of all, a mom determined to make the world a better place for her child, one meal at a time. She is a food blogger at Expatriate’s Kitchen expatriateskitchen.blogspot.com and contributes to EatLocalChallenge.com and EatDrinkBetter.com.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 6, 2017
this book has been so great that i ended up buying it (i have it from the library right now). it is full of exciting recipes and full of great information and helping your child have a healthy relationship with food. i can't wait to try more recipes from it!
it has also helped with using our CSA foods better. this is our first year being part of a CSA (community supported agriculture), and we get LOTS of veggies that i am almost not sure what to do with, but this book explains what the veggies are, how to store them, and gives recipes for them... that are actually good!
it has also helped with using our CSA foods better. this is our first year being part of a CSA (community supported agriculture), and we get LOTS of veggies that i am almost not sure what to do with, but this book explains what the veggies are, how to store them, and gives recipes for them... that are actually good!
January 10, 2015
This was a library read. I guess I was looking for more snack and lunch ideas than anything else which were helpful.
This book is ideal for someone starting square one and needing to know how to start implementing a more balanced, kid-friendly plate.
I feel the majority of picky eaters are made when a) kids decide to be contrary just to give parents the foodie finger of control, or b) parents get tired with ideas for feeding their kids. Regardless, these kids end up with a palate that only tolerates cold cereal, PBJ sandwiches, and something out of a happy meal. My golden foodie rule: try it once, if you dont like it, we'll find something else that you will.
Before I get "Die Food Nazi Parent!" responses, I will add that Ive been a working mom (like the author) and a stay at home mom of four. I too, have had time restrictions and the "what do I make next" syndrome. (If this is you, I feel your pain) However, healthy food choices will affect your child for their eeeeeennnnntire life. Why wouldnt you want to give them all that and the proverbial bag of chips....okay Veggie Booty Kale and Spinach Puffs (not in the book but still a huge favorite at our casa).
I liked that the book focused on a variety of foods and using seasonal ingredients or farmer's market. I especially liked this because Im big on supporting local growers and farmers. The supermarket survival tips were also invaluable.
Overall, I wasnt looking for a such broad approach on kids meals but what I did find was excellent advice and recipes any parent could use...picky eaters or not.
This book is ideal for someone starting square one and needing to know how to start implementing a more balanced, kid-friendly plate.
I feel the majority of picky eaters are made when a) kids decide to be contrary just to give parents the foodie finger of control, or b) parents get tired with ideas for feeding their kids. Regardless, these kids end up with a palate that only tolerates cold cereal, PBJ sandwiches, and something out of a happy meal. My golden foodie rule: try it once, if you dont like it, we'll find something else that you will.
Before I get "Die Food Nazi Parent!" responses, I will add that Ive been a working mom (like the author) and a stay at home mom of four. I too, have had time restrictions and the "what do I make next" syndrome. (If this is you, I feel your pain) However, healthy food choices will affect your child for their eeeeeennnnntire life. Why wouldnt you want to give them all that and the proverbial bag of chips....okay Veggie Booty Kale and Spinach Puffs (not in the book but still a huge favorite at our casa).
I liked that the book focused on a variety of foods and using seasonal ingredients or farmer's market. I especially liked this because Im big on supporting local growers and farmers. The supermarket survival tips were also invaluable.
Overall, I wasnt looking for a such broad approach on kids meals but what I did find was excellent advice and recipes any parent could use...picky eaters or not.
September 13, 2012
I agree with everything these two women had to say about the state of our nation's food and the health of our children. But I found the recipes to be rather unusual. And not kid friendly for the child in my household (or husband for that matter). For example Braised Red Cabbage with Blueberries, Raisins and Goat Cheese; Carrot-Quinoa "Biryani"; Lima Bean Hummus. We did find one recipe that we cannot wait to try since B likes pumpkin and gingerbread- Pumpkin Molasses Cookies.
March 2, 2011
Occasionally, a ‘cookbook’ comes along that is so much more than a compilation of recipes with a bit of storytelling (or worse, a lot of storytelling and few recipes) and snazzy food photos. When they do, and especially when the focus of the book is about cooking for families with children, they deserve all the praises we can bring them.
The Cleaner Plate Club by Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin is a fantastic example of how a cookbook can be so much more than recipes or preachy advice about cooking and feeding our children or eating more locally grown foods. It is also a great example of how cookbooks – based on solid recipes, sound advice, useful information and a bit of collaboration can become so much more than a sum of their parts.
Each of the parts of the book are thoughtfully designed and constructed – thoroughly useful in and of themselves, but the real take away value is to ‘just relax’ when it comes to food and cooking for kids. Not that the subject is presented un-seriously, but the authors have found a way to balance wanting to cook good food for our families and children with all of the pressures of our lives, the media, the snooty ‘locavore’ crowd and hovering, well-meaning relatives with a touch of humor and a suggestion to not take all this so seriously.
There is useful and sound advice about how children model what they see and experience in terms of food – things all parents should keep in mind, and that fighting over food with our children is not the way to go. Great information is presented for all parents, but perhaps more importantly for new parents, about nutrition, shopping, farmers markets, why children don’t like vegetables at a certain age and how to navigate the grocery with a minimum of hair-pulling and screaming. The lists of snacks and foods to keep for ‘anytime’ eating – and the very useful notes on the ever growing list of sweeteners available, are great go-to topics that are easy to find, understand and use by busy parents. This book will be greatly appreciated by those new moms and dads ‘strollering’ at the weekend farmers’ market or who have just bought their first CSA share and are wondering, like the rest of us, what you can really do with all that summer squash.
Cookbooks that originate from sometimes highly-skilled, always passionate blog writers must take care to not simply compile recipes that have already appeared online. It takes good writing, cooking and cookbook editing to keep things fresh and topical. Not all are successful in doing so. The Cleaner Plate Club reaches well beyond the authors’ respective blogs and charts a clear and cleaner course for parents looking to feed their children and families with a thoughtful purpose. The recipes are not ‘kid-like’ in any regard – they will certainly be enjoyed by the parents too, and they leave enough room to tinker with and include great suggestions for substitutions and seasonal availability.
Trust in great local, seasonal ingredients, a few things in the pantry, throw in a few good recipes and a bit of sage advice and the challenges and joys of cooking for a family with children can be realized by anyone willing to follow along with Bader and Benjamin. Just remember to relax a bit now and then.
The Cleaner Plate Club by Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin is a fantastic example of how a cookbook can be so much more than recipes or preachy advice about cooking and feeding our children or eating more locally grown foods. It is also a great example of how cookbooks – based on solid recipes, sound advice, useful information and a bit of collaboration can become so much more than a sum of their parts.
Each of the parts of the book are thoughtfully designed and constructed – thoroughly useful in and of themselves, but the real take away value is to ‘just relax’ when it comes to food and cooking for kids. Not that the subject is presented un-seriously, but the authors have found a way to balance wanting to cook good food for our families and children with all of the pressures of our lives, the media, the snooty ‘locavore’ crowd and hovering, well-meaning relatives with a touch of humor and a suggestion to not take all this so seriously.
There is useful and sound advice about how children model what they see and experience in terms of food – things all parents should keep in mind, and that fighting over food with our children is not the way to go. Great information is presented for all parents, but perhaps more importantly for new parents, about nutrition, shopping, farmers markets, why children don’t like vegetables at a certain age and how to navigate the grocery with a minimum of hair-pulling and screaming. The lists of snacks and foods to keep for ‘anytime’ eating – and the very useful notes on the ever growing list of sweeteners available, are great go-to topics that are easy to find, understand and use by busy parents. This book will be greatly appreciated by those new moms and dads ‘strollering’ at the weekend farmers’ market or who have just bought their first CSA share and are wondering, like the rest of us, what you can really do with all that summer squash.
Cookbooks that originate from sometimes highly-skilled, always passionate blog writers must take care to not simply compile recipes that have already appeared online. It takes good writing, cooking and cookbook editing to keep things fresh and topical. Not all are successful in doing so. The Cleaner Plate Club reaches well beyond the authors’ respective blogs and charts a clear and cleaner course for parents looking to feed their children and families with a thoughtful purpose. The recipes are not ‘kid-like’ in any regard – they will certainly be enjoyed by the parents too, and they leave enough room to tinker with and include great suggestions for substitutions and seasonal availability.
Trust in great local, seasonal ingredients, a few things in the pantry, throw in a few good recipes and a bit of sage advice and the challenges and joys of cooking for a family with children can be realized by anyone willing to follow along with Bader and Benjamin. Just remember to relax a bit now and then.
September 13, 2012
I had more hope for this book than it delivered. I think I was hoping for information that I didn't really know, and I didn't really learn much. Helpful if you didn't know anything about local eating though. Also, I was hoping for more tips if locavorism isn't really an option for you. Studies haven't really convinced me that organic, local produce is substantially better than conventional. It "tastes better"? Penn & Teller put the kibosh on that one. Anyways, there are tons of recipes in here that I'll have to try, especially to introduce veggies that we don't normally use (like kale!), but other than that, I'm glad I got it on sale.
February 14, 2012
I read this book hoping to get ideas on to cook healthier in a way a kid would eat. This book had information on how to get kids to eat more, such as having them help with the cooking or giving veggies fun names like xray vision carrots. But the actual recipes were disappointing because they were not simple enough for everyday cooking and certainly didn't seem more kid friendly than other recipes.
June 20, 2011
I am already giving this 5 stars because I plan to buy it! If you are interested in healthier eating for you and your kids, this book looks great! Pictures of veggies, suggestions on buying and storing and healthy recipes that I actually am interested in cooking and eating...sometimes the healthy recipes look not very appealing to me...this is great resource, one I have been looking for!
July 8, 2011
Only one thing wrong with this fabulous book - the title - because it implies it is a book about feeding children only and it is actually one of the best books on basic easy cooking, nutrition, etc. because of the explanation of a vast array of veggies and grains, etc. - how to buy them, cook them, what they look like etc.
Buying this for the house.
Buying this for the house.
May 18, 2011
The authors make a clear, sensible case for feeding your children home-cooked food with fresh or frozen vegetables and whole grains. The recipes seem easy enough to follow (I tried two), and there are plenty of informative bits that make this worth owning for when I need a refresher/inspiration.
May 26, 2012
great for all of us in charge of feeding our families! especially those with picky husbands ..... ah-hem.....i mean young children. great pointers on introducing new foods to their palates, as well as fun recipes that don't require martha stewart-like skill sets.
November 25, 2011
This is a fantastic book! It is very, very informative and has lots of great, easy recipes.
April 27, 2023
This was a library read.
Very informative, lots of nutritional info. This information makes the book one I would want to purchase.
The recipes were not really in my wheelhouse. I was interested in a few of them.
Very informative, lots of nutritional info. This information makes the book one I would want to purchase.
The recipes were not really in my wheelhouse. I was interested in a few of them.
January 31, 2020
Read through but haven't tried the receipes yet. It has inspired me to think about trying more veggies again. I keep getting discourged because my husband is also a picky eater.
July 5, 2023
a review of different foods and making family meals more healthy
was wishing the vegetable section was more creative but a good start
so classic recipes and good references of ingredients
was wishing the vegetable section was more creative but a good start
so classic recipes and good references of ingredients
August 16, 2019
Was like a hot mess of a text book with too many fonts, formats, side bars, pictures, balloons for text, and I didn't even realize when I was in the recipes.
October 12, 2013
Have only tried one recipe - Chicken Chili - but the kids actually loved it. It was delicious - mild spices, but very flavorful,and we served it in little mini bread bowls (rolls that were hollowed out.) It was a big hit!
The recipes in this book aren't necessarily quick to make, but seem to be simpler versions of "grown up" meals - curries, stews, etc. - for younger palates. Despite my best efforts, I have two picky eaters. They both like fruits and veggies, but never the same ones, one likes meat, one doesn't, they have a hard time with one pot meals....needless to say, I'm always looking for recipes using "real," nutritious food that my girls will enjoy. I serve healthy food often, but the busier we are as a family, the less time I have to cook something special, so when I do, I want it to be a crowd pleaser. I hope the rest of the recipes will use flavors that are appealing to children....if I can try the Fish Curry and get my kids to like it, not just tolerate it, this book deserves more than five stars!
The recipes in this book aren't necessarily quick to make, but seem to be simpler versions of "grown up" meals - curries, stews, etc. - for younger palates. Despite my best efforts, I have two picky eaters. They both like fruits and veggies, but never the same ones, one likes meat, one doesn't, they have a hard time with one pot meals....needless to say, I'm always looking for recipes using "real," nutritious food that my girls will enjoy. I serve healthy food often, but the busier we are as a family, the less time I have to cook something special, so when I do, I want it to be a crowd pleaser. I hope the rest of the recipes will use flavors that are appealing to children....if I can try the Fish Curry and get my kids to like it, not just tolerate it, this book deserves more than five stars!
September 5, 2011
Fabulous book! It's almost 300 pages, but if you're expecting the majority of those pages to be filled with recipes, you might be disappointed. But it more than makes up for this lack with the tons of great tips and information about healthy eating. Included are shoppping tips, in-depth descriptions of vegetables and pantry items (such as grains and beans), information on the food industry, ideas for quick breaskfasts and lunchboxes, and ways to teach kids about nutrition. It's like the Bible for heathy eating. And yes, there are also plenty of delicious, healthy recipes as well.
I checked this out from the library, but this is definitely going on my to-buy list.
I checked this out from the library, but this is definitely going on my to-buy list.
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July 19, 2011“Consider this book the directions that don’t come with real food,” write working moms Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin in their blog-inspired book, The Cleaner Plate Club (Storey Publishing, 2011). Ditching food-from-a-box shortcuts, Bader and Benjamin promise that kids will eat real food and that it really can be made on the fly — they have the kid-tested recipes to prove it. And if your offspring don’t devour the zucchini-bacon fritters and pumpkin white-cheddar soup, you most certainly will.
January 20, 2013
I highly recommend and value this book which I borrowed from the library. My advice is to bite the bullet and purchase this one. Not only is it resourceful for making good food choices, but also includes several noteworthy recipes and the nudge to get you to try new, less popular vegetables. This book for perfect timing for me as I've been working on making some healthier lifestyle changes! Loved it!
April 1, 2013
I love this cookbook! So many great ideas for snacks and meals for the whole family, along with advice for healthy eating and for drawing children into the preparation of meals. This is one I go back to again and again.
June 27, 2014
I use this book so frequently that I don't bother putting it on the shelf; it lives on my counter. It's packed with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas that will appeal to both kids and adults. And it's a good read to boot. Buy or borrow? Definite buy.
May 3, 2011
Although I do not have time to "shop the farmers markets", I did find some useful tips and recipes in here.
August 8, 2011
I got this from the library, but I think this is one I need to buy. Very clear, practical food descriptions and excellent recipes!
July 26, 2012
So far I'm really into this book. We'll see if the 5 stars hold up once I actually try some of the recipes... ;)
Finished. Yes, really instructive and good recipes.
Finished. Yes, really instructive and good recipes.
June 21, 2013
HAD TO BUY THIS ONE! GREAT tips and GREAT recipes. So easy to follow through the book. :)
August 11, 2015
There are quite a few recipes I want to try. It has helpful ideas for school lunches.
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March 29, 2016(rec' by Kristin Odom)
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews