Clean Eating for Busy Families, revised and expanded: Simple and Satisfying Real-Food Recipes You and Your Kids Will Love

This cookbook has exceeded my expectations in a big way. I bought this for our family to start eating better in the new year and after two weeks, we have yet to have a mediocre meal. Every single recipe we have tried so far have been unbelievably delicious! My husband and I have always eaten pretty healthy but we found ourselves doing "easy solutions" for our kids (nuggets, turkey dogs, PB&J). This cookbook both meets mom and dad's dietary requirements and our kids think they are yummy. Each recipe has been easy to read and make, quick, healthy and so good. Last night, my husband excitedly said "can't wait to try tomorrow's recipe!" My daughter thought that the polenta cakes with tomatoes and mushrooms was "better than chicken nuggets". My son said that the angel hair pasta with goat cheese and veggies was "yummo" (said between shoveling in his mouth). I love the pictures, tips on each recipe, and all the dietary info for each meal (if you are tracking). One of my favorite things is that healthy stuff is hidden in each meal, arugula in the pasta or cauliflower in mac and cheese. This truly is a cookbook for busy families, with meals that kids truly do love. I can't wait to try every single meal in this book.

I don't eat meat. I occasionally eat seafood. So I am usually skeptical about cookbooks that aren't specifically for those on a plant based diet as they are filled with only meat options for the main course. Compared to other clean eating cookbooks the recipes are a lot simpler and quicker to make (and they don't rely on any crazy, hard to find ingredients that require a trip to the health food store.) I have had success with quite a few recipes out of this book (the pistachio tilapia is awesome!) but had to make sure I was reading my labels well. There is some reliance on processed foods (corn chips, dijon mustard, etc.) so it depends on how you are eating clean. (I have found that the definition clean eating varies some person to person.) If your diet calls for no processed foods ever, this isn't the book for you (unless you are willing to make everything from scratch - like mayo.) But if you are willing to read labels and find a "clean" or "cleaner" processed food without all the chemical preservatives, etc. this book would work for you. My family and I have really enjoyed it!

I bought a couple other "clean eating" recipe books at the same time as this one, and I have found Clean Eating for Busy Families to be the best of the lot. The recipes are both practical and delicious. After getting some initial supplies in stock, I don't feel like I have to run out to the store for special ingredients, as I do for the other recipe books. Like the title suggests, the book is a great buy for household cooks who already spent their hours and energy at work but still want to make easy, tasty and healthy meals.

The recipes do indeed look good and use mostly healthy ingredients. Though the recipes sound delicious, they seem very time consuming to make. I was looking for some healthy weeknight dinners that I could quickly put together: I don't have an hour to cook each night. In addition, the ingredient lists are quite substantial. I believe it would take a lot of time just to get all of the ingredients together. I also am not a fan of the heavy use of cooking with grapeseed oil, which is filled with heat unstable polyunsaturated fats. The bottom line is that I may use a few recipes from the book, but they will be reserved for weekend dinners. I've decided that I should probably go to the bookstore to buy cookbooks from now on because if I had seen the recipes in advance, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

I liked seeing all the nutrition facts and tips amongst the recipes and tons of pictures. I like that just because it’s a short ingredient list or short instructions it doesn’t lack flavor. Some recipes are family favorites that are made healthier, which I love! I have shied away from some of my family favorites because the amount of butter or sugar. I will definitely try these. I also like the feel of the book. It seems like it will hold up in the kitchen.

My first ever review . . . THAT is how much I love this book. I have only tried a few recipes, so far. My kids really liked the pecan crusted chicken (so did I). We also enjoyed the pinto bean and avocado taquitos. And I have many other recipes saved that sound yummy . . . and easy. Few ingredients; all of them are easy to find. I think this book is perfect for busy moms that want to make sure their families are eating healthy. I would definitely recommend it!!!

My family of 2 adults, 2 preschoolers and a toddler has tried nearly a third of the recipes in this book, mostly the meatless mains and side dishes. There have only been 2 marked to never make again. A few have only been hits with the adults but most have been good for everyone. Some of the recipes are quite involved and have lots of prep work (plan ahead for chopping etc) but most are easily done in 30-45 minutes.

This is a really great cookbook. Makes cooking clean for a family a lot easier than I expected. My family loves hearty, fuss-free, comfort meals. Casseroles are a fave in my house. This book delivers. I'm so glad I found it! I own dozens of cookbooks and I use them all. This one has moved to the top of my go-to section!