Unpredictability may spice up a marriage, sure—but predictability can be comforting without being boring. For instance, when my husband and I go out to eat, we can predict with a pretty high degree of accuracy what each other will order. If we’re out for Asian food he’ll go for spicy and garlicky—and I’m going to want sticky chicken with sesame seeds.
Don’t Miss: Sweet & Sour Chicken and More Better-Than-Chinese-Takeout Recipes
The unpredictable part is that it turns out I can make sticky chicken we’ll both love at home (it’s so easy!). This EatingWell recipe for Oven-Barbecued Asian Chicken is everything we’re looking for. The sauce has fresh ginger and plenty of garlic and just enough...
read full post »TAGS: Budget meals, Dinner, Entertaining, Family meals, Food Blog, Wendy Ruopp
How many meals can you make with a corn tortilla? The outside-the-box cooks in the EatingWell Test Kitchen gave themselves the challenge of creating a few new dinners based on corn tortillas for the May/June 2013 issue of EatingWell Magazine. But they really outdid themselves with this new Chicken Taco Bowls recipe and guess where they found their inspiration? At the bottom of a muffin tin.

By flipping the muffin tin over and nestling a tortilla into the creases between four cups, they were able to turn softened tortillas into little bowls. They filled the bowls with an easy-to-whip-up filling of...
read full post »TAGS: Budget meals, Dinner, Family meals, Food Blog, Quick meals, Wendy Ruopp

Whether you enjoy smoothies for breakfast, a snack or even dessert, they’re a great way to increase your daily servings of fruits and vegetables. But depending on the ingredients they’re made with, smoothies can quickly turn into unhealthy calorie-bombs filled with sugar and saturated fat. And drinking too many high-calorie smoothies could counteract their health benefits and sabotage your efforts to stay—or get—slim.
Don't Miss: The Best & Worst Fast-Food Smoothies
The healthiest way to enjoy a smoothie is to make your own. Blending your own choice of ingredients assures you know how much of and what foods you are getting. Wondering how to make a smoothie? A good smoothie should contain a blend of...
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Juicing and smoothies are all the rage right now. While both can boost your fruit and vegetable intake (something most Americans need to do) and are great for getting a variety of produce into your diet, one is the better choice.
That’s the smoothie. Why? Juicing leaves behind a pulp—which contains fiber and nutrients that you end up tossing away—and thus you lose most of the benefits of whole fruits and vegetables. Blending produce into a smoothie, however, preserves fiber—and a smoothie can deliver an extra boost of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals because it often includes fruit skins and pith. If your smoothie includes yogurt or milk, you get some calcium too. Blending, however, introduces oxygen and sometimes heat, which will knock out a little vitamin C and some B vitamins. (No big deal really, as most of us get plenty of C and produce isn’...
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You know what the best part of cooking for one is? You don’t have to cater to anyone else’s dietary restrictions and YOU can make exactly what YOU want to eat. Sure, it may be a little tricky finding recipes for one or to find the inspiration to get out your pots and pans instead of ordering takeout. But with a few simple tips and easy recipes, you can make delicious meals for yourself without wasting food and save money by not eating out.
Recipes to Try: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Recipes for One
1. Avoid prepackaged foods
Everything from produce to spices comes in containers these days and the quantities these items are sold in are not always thrifty if you’re cooking for one. If you can, buy in bulk so...
TAGS: Budget meals, Cooking tips, Dinner, Food Blog, Hilary Meyer