Win a copy of “Clean Eating For Busy Families” by Michelle Dudash, RD

Revive Family Mealtime With Easy, Healthy Recipes

Between work, school, extracurriculars, and trying to fit in a workout, it’s no wonder we’re all crunched for time these days. If you’ve felt like family mealtime is getting put on the back burner lately, then now it the time to revive it and reconnect with your family! Michelle Dudash’s book, Clean Eating for Busy Families is a great tool to help you make the revival a little easier. A few lucky readers will be able to win a free copy.

Enter to Win a Free Copy of Michelle’s Book

Simply leave a comment below and tell me how cooking at home with more whole-food recipes will improve your life, and I’ll draw a few winners on May 1st.

I know you will love this book as much as I do. Michelle is a chef, food and nutrition expert, RD and mom! She knows her stuff and is sharing it all in this awesome book!

For more recipe ideas, motivation and other giveaways don’t forget to sign up for my monthly newsletter, follow me on Twitter and Pinterest, and ”Like” me on Facebook.

More Than Just Delicious Recipes

In addition to all the easy, family friendly recipes Michelle offers up suggested weekly, monthly and quarterly shopping lists and shares a list of cooking tools and tips to help you feel confident and prepared in the kitchen. (Who hoo!)

She even gives advice for dealing with picky eaters. Many of the recipes even include notes that provide suggestions for using up excess ingredients, and easy substitutions.

What Are People Saying About the Book?

This refreshing cookbook truly reflects our time by delivering what we all crave: decidedly delectable meals that boast fresh, natural ingredients, robust flavors, exciting textures, and vibrant colors.”

- Robin Miller, author of Robin Takes 5, nutritionist, TV personality

“Clean Eating for Busy Families is a valuable resource for busy parents who yearn to serve their families great tasting, nutritious meals in the time they have available.”

-Cheryl Forberg, R.D., James Beard award-winning chef and the original nutritionist for NBC’S The Biggest Loser

Enter Today, Limited Number of Copies Available!

To enter to win your own copy of Michelle’s book, Clean Eating for Busy Families, leave a comment below telling me how cooking at home and using more whole-food recipes will improve your life.

I’ll draw winners on May 1st! You will get an autographed copy of the book.

Don’t Wait… Order the Book Now!

This book would make an excellent gift for any family – or just for YOU! Find it online. Here is the Barnes & Noble link to buy the book .

For more book giveaways, recipes and wellness tips don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Pinterest, “Like” me on Facebook, and sign up for my monthly newsletter.

Disclosure: I did not receive compensation for writing this post or running the drawing. Michelle is a dynamo. I love her book and I asked her if I can do this for her.

Barilla is Pitching In to Get Kids in the Kitchen

Big Apple Bound

I’m so excited to have the opportunity to watch this awesome Italian culinary experience next Monday April 16, 2012 in New York City. I was invited by Barilla to come watch as they partner with the Italian American Committee on Education (IACE) to sponsor a cooking series for kids called “Eat Healthy and Speak Italian”. It’s held at The International Culinary Center in New York City so I’ll be taking the train up for the day to see kids learn about food and cooking from professional chefs, and even how to speak Italian!

Kids Can Cook

Healthy adults start out by being healthy kids. More and more people care about where their food is coming from, which is great. Kids will get involved with cooking when given the opportunity. It’s a great way to bond with them and spend “WE time”. Getting kids into the kitchen is so important in helping them form healthy relationships with food and help promotes their own personal wellness and self care.

In a previous post I talked about the importance of family meals, and the fact that research has shown that kids who share family meals 3 or more times per week are more likely to be in a normal weight range, have healthier eating patterns, and are less likely to engage in disordered eating.

Here’s a little background on the event:

The educational cooking classes are a celebration of Italian food and culture, where students ages 10-15 will learn to cook traditional and nutritious pasta dishes from scratch. Renowned Italian Chef Cesare Casella, Dean of The School of Italian Studies at The International Culinary Center, will teach students to make authentic Italian recipes, demonstrating the same techniques used in the school’s professional culinary career programs.

The kids will even get the opportunity to prepare dishes including whole grain pastas and fresh vegetables. Working with whole grain pasta is such a quick and easy way to get a wholesome dinner on the table. For a quick primavera, you just need to mix fresh or frozen veggies with store bought pasta sauce and whole grain pasta and you have dinner in 15 minutes!

Stay tuned to hear more about my experience at the event Monday! In the meantime, check out Barilla’s website for some tasty recipes.

My Interview in Women’s Running Magazine – Top Nutrition Contenders

I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, who writes for Women’s Running Magazine. In the article, we put certain foods head-to-head and tallied which food packed in a greater nutritional punch. Here is a sneak peak at some of the contenders:

Fresh vs. Frozen Blueberries: Frozen Blueberries

Stats: Frozen blueberries can be more convenient so you can have them year round when fresh is not available. When frozen, the nutrients stay sealed in, whereas fresh blueberries can spoil quickly and lose nutrients the longer they sit on the shelves and in your fridge.

Kale vs. Spinach: Kale

Stats: While spinach is a prime example of a nutrient-dense vegetable, kale offers more beta-carotene and vitamin C per serving. Additionally, kale offers more than two times the amount of vitamin K, which has been linked to prevent the onset of diabetes. Other nutritious perks? Lutein and zeaxanthin, which both work to maintain eye health.

Canned Tuna vs. Canned Salmon: Canned Salmon

Stats: Other than containing more omega-3 fatty acids, canned salmon contains more vitamin D than canned tuna. Also, munching on the tiny bones will offer extra calcium.

Read the article to see all of the contenders battle it out!

Interested in Women’s Running? Go to their website or follow Women’s Running on Twitter @WomensRunning!

Balancing Health with Culinary Arts: An interview with Chef Charlie Ayers

I scored an interview with Chef Charlie Ayers of Calafia. Find out what he thinks about cooking healthy and eating delicious food.

1. As a restaurant chef, what is essential for creating healthier menu options?  Whether it is swapping out butter for a healthier oil, or lower fat dairy, etc., how do you keep high-taste in tact while still offering healthful options?

C.A: It is important to give your guests compelling flavor profiles, so that they are satisfied and not missing the added fats that are normally associated with restaurant foods.  We tend to use a lot of ingredients that are versatile and can be either applied to Latin American or Asian cuisines.   We make all of our own dressings, our ketchup is made in house with no high fructose corn syrup, and instead use an organic brown sugar in small amounts as a sweetener. I try not to use added fats when working with product that already has a naturally high fat content, and I try and bring out the flavors of the foods with the combination of using fruit and vegetable juices instead of adding additional fats.

2.In regards to restaurant health, taking healthy foods into the restaurants, what would be the essential first steps to going towards a healthier menu?

C.A: By using more grains, legumes, leafy greens and nuts, versus always getting proteins from animals.

3.In regards to ingredient choice, portion control and nutrition—relying on high-quality, great tasting ingredients such as seasonal produce, whole grains, lean meats and pantry staples such as walnuts and olive oil is important, what are some concepts applicable to the industry that are useful for food service and home cooks?

C.A: Using flavorful spices that you might not normally pick up and use, for example curries, celery root, saffron, creating your own peppercorn blend and/or herbed salts. Using proteins such as nuts, legumes and quinoa.

4.What would you consider the largest mistake consumers make when a) ordering food at a restaurant,

C.A: Not reading the menu properly and realizing that spicy really is spicy, or that tempura is fried.

and b) cooking at home?

C.A: Not seasoning their food properly, you can do wonders with a little salt and pepper.

5. What is one thing consumers can do to make eating and cooking choices healthier?

C.A.: By being a little bit more adventurous when it comes to trying different flavor profiles, you can have flavor with out having to add fat.

6. What is one ingredient that can help?

C.A.: A little salt.

7.  From the institutional perspective, how are healthy menu options offered, and which are the most well received?

C.A.: When I was at Google, two of the most popular healthful dishes were the mahogany salmon and tofu lentil loaf which we serve at Calafia today.

8.What are some of the flavor profiles which people are most attracted to?

C.A.: At Google the most popular flavors were the east Asian and Asian flavors, this is true at Calafia as well.

9.  What’s worked the most and what have your clients/customers asked for more of, and really wanted, and responded well to?

C.A.: Latin Asian flavor dishes are our most popular, as well as our vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Dads Cook Too: a Father’s day look into the Kitchen

By: Carlene Helble-Elite Nutrition Intern

Happy Father’s Day Dads! It’s no secret we appreciate you and your handiness around the house, but have you tried the kitchen recently? Trade in your hammer for a spatula and test out some simple and nutritious meals. By next year we’ll be complementing your cooking skills too!

Fellow R.D. Janet Helm’s article ‘Dad’s gift to the family? Cooking Dinner” advocates men in the kitchen also. If you want to give back after your big day, cook more… and not just with the grill. Statistics show that less than 15% of all meals consumed at home are prepped by the guys.  It doesn’t have to be fancy or restaurant worthy, but Dad in the kitchen can help inspire the family meal to make a come back, which ‘many experts believe is key to battling childhood obesity’ says Helm. These fun at home meals tend to be (almost always!) healthier and lower in the stuff that can really hurt your wellness in excess, like cholesterol and sodium. Showing your kids everyone can learn to cook and try new foods and recipes provides bonding time, but also life skills that will serve them well down the road.

So what’s keeping you from jumping right in the kitchen gauntlet? Helm cites that working with food can be seen as ‘unacknowledged and female-only’ but it shouldn’t be. Even the Food Network brought in the big guns with Bobby Flay, Emeril, and more recently, Guy. Don’t know where to start? Our awesome R.D. thought of that too! Helms suggests ManTestedRecipes.com for trouble shooting and, well, the URL really says it all.

Start small: chop some veggies, or make home made trail mix with the kids. You just may find that the kitchen isn’t so unnerving after all. The next thing you know, you be the chef of the household. Bon appetite and Happy Fathers day!