The Cleaner Plate Club: the dirt on creating nutritious family meals

I'm going to admit it to the world right here, right now...I'm not a good cook. I can follow a recipe, sure, but I lack the imagination it takes to create wonderful, fulfilling meals. I struggle to even come up with meal ideas before I head to the grocery store each week, and the number of meals in our rotation is woefully thin. Luckily, we like to snack, so we get lots of variety into our diet that way. A goal of mine, though, is to learn to cook better, more delicious, more nutritious meals for my family using more whole foods, and not have to relearn everything I already know about cooking to do it.

So when I came across The Cleaner Plate Club, I cheered. Here's a mom trying to do exactly what I've been struggling to do. Ali, the blog's owner, says, "...all I'm looking for is a decent meal -- preferably one that my kids will eat." Though her blog is pretty new, already she's covered a few topics near and dear to my heart: fair trade goods, chemicals in foods (especially those marketed to children...I'm looking at you, Golden Arches), and food safety. She also plans to pass along recipes that are both easy to prepare and have passed her panel of tough experts (her kids). Her posts are full of useful links; check out this one where Jamie Oliver teaches a group of children how chicken nuggets are made. (Warning..don't watch that while you're eating lunch!)

What about you? Are there any food and nutrition blogs you check out on a regular basis? If so, leave a link to them here so we can go and check them out.