After the busy holiday season, many of us say, "Ho, ho, ho" not only since we were jolly during the festivities, but because we feel as permanently rotund as Santa from all that feasting. Even though it may seem like a Herculean task, weight loss does not have to be a time-consuming affair filled with sophisticated homemade or packaged food...  More >>

Have some of your past dietary New Year's resolutions seemed to almost have swirled away and gotten crunched in the garbage disposal? "Superfoods" have gotten that moniker for a reason after much study and testing, and deserve a fate better than that. The ingredient you were probably missing, though, is time. The following solutions that cover nutrient-filled choices - like seafood, soy, fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole-grains - take just 10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare . More >>

Most of us have been taught not to "double dip" at parties. Once you've stuck that chip in the dip bowl, don't try to later steal a second bite using the same chip! However, when it comes to best utilizing your prep time for the gatherings on both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day that many busy party throwers' give (like an elegant adults' evening soiree to ring in the New Year and a casual family football-watching brunch the next day), it's precisely a double dip that'll do you good. More >>

Have you ever surprised your Christmas guests with a sweet gingerbread man waving from atop their rosemary-, thyme- and brown sugar-enhanced butternut squash soup or a broiled stuffed fig side dish that's brimming with Granny Smith apples, real bacon bits and brown sugar? Sound gourmet? More >>

Homemade foods have always been healthier than processed, prepared, or restaurant meals which are generally much higher in fat, salt and calories than home cooked foods.  Eating too much of these unhealthy foods can pack on the Holiday pounds and slow your kids down at school... More >>

If you love the socializing and stories that serve as side dishes to a holiday cookie exchange, but don't have the time to whip up the homemade delicacies yourself, you don't have to sit cookie-less on the sidelines.  More >>

Purchasing popular holiday culinary gifts in specialty stores or online often ends up not only with exotic fare, but exotic prices. Crafting homemade delicacies not only can drop the price tag significantly, but also ensures custom presents straight from the heart. When you strategize, as guided below , often even such thoughtful and mouthwatering items - like gourmet hot chocolate mixes, an expert pie-making set or one-of-a-kind fruity centerpieces that Spaniards swear promise a New Year of good luck - can be put together quicker than it would require you to sort between choices at the store in the seasonal rush. More >>

Eat like a royal family on the at-home budget, not of the emperor, but his cooking staff. It's easy with these three-course weeknight menus (appetizers, entrees, and healthy desserts) that include everything from an all-in-one soup 'n' sandwich in a snap creatively prepared with fresh herb-added tomato soup and grilled cheese "croutons," or cost-conscious veggie burgers that "Mama Mia" would be proud of with their tasty additions of fresh Italian herbs, vegetables, low-fat cheese and antioxidant-filled tomato dipping sauce. More >>

The three-course weeknight menus (appetizers, entrees, and healthy desserts) include everything from Middle-Eastern-inspired favorites to a cranberry-juice-sweetened pureed chili soup perfect for chilly nights! Some of the entrees, like easy 'burgers' prepared from store-bought falafel mix, are vegetarian. Most of the main dishes that aren't, like a turkey and mashed sweet potato-carrot casserole, also feature produce, seamlessly blended with the meat, poultry, or seafood, to amp up the nutrition quotient. Even decadent desserts are created with your family's health in mind, although they probably will never realize that when they are feasting on custom-made treats, like sugar-free chocolate sandwich cookies topped with store-bought pumpkin butter, whipped cream and walnuts. More >>

Cooking can be easy, nutritious, inexpensive, fun - and fast - as these menus of split-second family-friendly sensations prove. They take just  10 seconds each to read and are almost that quick to prepare . The meals are delicious proof that everyone has time for tasty home cooking and, more importantly, the healthy family time around the kitchen table that goes along with it! More >>