Wednesday, May 30, 2007

To compose a week of dinner menus for the 2007 Lean Plate Club Fit for Fun Family Challenge, we presented Alexandria nutritionist Robyn Webb with the same wish list that so many of you conscientious cooks can tick off automatically: Monday-through-Friday meals with less meat, more whole grains and lots of flavor; dishes that are healthful, easy and family-friendly (i.e., will Mikey eat it?). A different pasta, please, and chicken that has nothing to do with nuggets.

And our testers think she nailed it.

The Lean Plate Club Fit for Fun Family Challenge is a four-week program designed by Health section columnist Sally Squires to help you and your family get in shape for summer fun. (Whether you're a family unit of one or an extended clan of 100, it's never too late to join. Goals are posted at http://www.leanplateclub.com.) This week's mission: to shop for food as a family, then cook and eat together.

Webb, a cooking instructor whose usual clientele tends toward couples and singles, found the challenge fun. When we told her that one tester's teenage daughter is now a fan of sauteed zucchini and onions -- part of the Chicken Family Dinner -- it made her day. "People know what we know" about healthful eating, she said, speaking as a nutritionist of 24 years. "It's just getting them to do it."

Each menu has a little something extra: The bell pepper, garlic and cheese in the Greek Feta Chicken recipe, for instance, could be the basis of a meatless meal or be served with shrimp instead. You get the idea: more options.

-- Bonnie S. Benwick