Whole Living Radio Interview: How to Stop Fighting Over Food with Your Kids

Last week, I had the great pleasure of being on Martha Stewart Living's Whole Living Radio with host Terri Trespicio. As new as I am to radio, Terri made the experience fun and painless. There were a lot of great calls from savvy parents. Here's the followup post by Terri that really gets to the heart of the book where we try to help parents get through the food issues without a struggle.

I can't say I excel at this every day, but I try very hard to just not fight over food. Ali and I have also chosen to go the honest route — no stealth veggie hiding. It's a bit tougher route, but better in the long run. I've always believed that food is something to be enjoyed and relished together — not a source of conflict. Still, we parents know, it's just not always easy. We'll keep trying together.

Many thanks to Martha Stewart and Whole Living for their support of the book!

Beans and Greens (and Grains) Soup

Book Giveaway

First a bit of business, Susan and Claire, you two are the winners and will EACH get a copy of The Cleaner Plate Club. I loved all the comments so much that I decided to send out my last two copies I have on hand instead of just one giveaway. Lovely, Suzanne, who ended up doing a book giveaway on HER site, I will be happy to send you both a copy to give away and one for you.

So, farmerfare [at] gmail [dot] com with your snail mail addresses for the three of you!

Beans and Greens and Grains Soup

Beans and Greens is the name of a great program here locally for six farmers markets. Basically, any food stamp card purchases of fresh, healthy produce are doubled. So, five dollars will buy a food stamp recipient TEN dollars in healthy food.

As a salute to this program that makes healthy food available to folks who need it most, I decided to create a special soup, a meal in a bowl, that can be made from beans and greens as well as whole grain purchased on the cheap from the bulk bins. The chicken sausage is optional, but a nice addition. Kale and leeks are spring vegetables that should be making an appearance very soon (I hope).

2 leeks, white parts and light green, diced (or a small onion)

4 carrots, peeled and diced small

1 tbs. olive oil

1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped

1 cup whole grains such as whole wheat, barley, whole oats or brown rice

(Kashi's pilaf is also a great grain blend for this)

12 oz. cooked mild chicken sausages, sliced

1 lb. frozen black eyed peas, (see below for canned or dried options)

10 cups chicken broth

1 large parmesan rind

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot with a lid. Add the leeks or onion and the carrots. Place the lid on and sweat the veggies for 10-15 minutes to begin to release the flavors.

Add the whole grains and the broth. Bring to a boil. Add the kale and sausage, parmesan rinds, frozen beans. When this returns to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and simmer for 50 minutes, or until grain is cooked al dente. Remove the rind. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For dried beans, soak the beans overnight first. Sweat the veggies as above, add the dried beans and 12 cups of stock. Cook for 1.5 hours until beans are just becoming tender. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe. For canned beans, rinse and drain 2 cans of beans. Add these for the last 20 minutes of simmering.

You Say Tomato, I Say Perfect Kid-Friendly Tool

First up, congrats to Suzanne! She won the Cleaner Plate Book Giveaway. Suzanne be sure to email farmerfare [at] gmail [dot] com with your snail mail details.

I was lucky enough to be a guest on our local NRP affiliate KCUR's show, Central Standard. We took a lot of great calls from parents with tips and recipes about how we can feed our kids healthier — without the fight.

Book Giveaway! The Cleaner Plate Club

Give The Cleaner Plate Club a Listen with this podcast from KCUR, our local NPR affiliate!

Central Standard - The Cleaner Plate Club

It's been a crazy couple weeks back from vacation. Life is normally a blur, but it hit warp speed. I would guess the big news around this kitchen is that our book is now out and we're doing some of the PR work for it — along with the busy day job, of course. The link above was a new experience for me, I spent 45 minutes on live radio, taking calls from parents. They had some great tips, recipes and insights so give it a listen. Sorry about my voice.

Congrats to _vtg_ as you were the only comment for the last book giveaway, you will get all three. Cool, huh? Leave me your snail mail address at farmerfare [at] gmail [dot] com.

Which brings me to this month's book giveaway, a copy of my book, The Cleaner Plate Club! Since it would be kind of vain to review my own book here, I'm just going to post some of the nice comments from folks who have read it.

You know the drill, leave me a comment below and you will be entered into a random drawing.

“This book is jammed with info: guidelines, pantry lists, meal-planning techniques and time-savers—yet the energetic authors make it feel as fresh as our next family dinner can be, with their plate-cleaning help. “ — BookPage

"Presented in a colorful, kid-friendly style, with mom-next-door chatty text, this guide offers advice on what to choose and how to cook it in a fast-food age." — Library Journal

"This crayon-colored real-food manifesto from mommy bloggers Bader and Benjamin, gives parents plenty of ammo in the never-ending battle to get their kids to eat better." — Publishers Weekly

"Authors and bloggers Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin both believe that having children should not automatically necessitate cooking one meal for the adults and a separate meal for the little ones. And their book, The Cleaner Plate Club, proves that they know what they’re talking about." — Sacramento Book Review

“Keeping your resolution just got easier thanks to The Cleaner Plate Club, the incredibly engaging book by esteemed food bloggers Beth Bader and Ali Benjamin.” — Mother Earth News

“A down-to-earth guide for busy parents trying to raise healthy kids.”

— Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe

"In our hectic, fast-paced, busy lives, parents often put healthy eating on the back burner. The Cleaner Plate Club is full of tips to help families go ‘from nuggets to nutritious.’ A must have for every family’s kitchen!"

— Jennifer Shu, MD, Pediatrician and co-author of Food Fights

“It's like Michael Pollan for real people.”

— KCUR, Kansas City Public Media (link includes recipes!)

“A friendly, balanced mix of real food manifesto, vegetable encyclopedia, and regular weeknight cookbook.”

— Kitchen Daily