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Other than my cat’s birthday, I don’t throw many parties. Most nights my husband and I are content with our quiet unsocial life and casual approach to dinner—it only has to please us. But since the holidays are here, I’ve got the urge to throw another leaf in my dining room table, get out the matching plates and invite people over for dinner.

Easy, fast and delicious: that’s my kind of entertaining. Here are a few fabulous easy quick dinners that are festive enough for a holiday dinner party:

I am a graduate of a university that is almost always near the top of the lists of binge-drinking schools. Needless to say, I’ve had my share of hangovers. and I’ve tried my share of hangover cures to help me get to class. One of my friends who was a nursing student told me that her professor swore by a bowl of chicken soup, a glass of milk and a Snickers bar to cure a hangover. (Everyone seems to have an opinion, right?

Last year’s food trend predictions were all tied to the struggling economy: cooking budget-friendly recipes at home, dining out on the cheap and shopping for bargain ingredients. This year, the trends on the National Restaurant Association’s list of the Top 20 Food Trends for 2010 suggest we’re making decisions based on our health and the environment.

My sister is trying to quit smoking for good. I know it’s really hard for her to kick the habit, so when I found out we were doing this piece in EatingWell Magazine that certain foods can help—or hurt—your chances of quitting, I knew I had to pass it on. Here’s the scoop:

According to a study out of Duke University, these 4 foods make cigarettes taste terrible:
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Dairy Products
• Noncarbonated beverages, such as water and fruit juice

We’ve finally reached the home stretch of the holiday season. There’s still too much holiday chaos to fully commit to my “healthier me” New Year’s resolution, but I’m ready to feel healthier and I do have a little black dress I have to get into for New Year’s…

As a nutrition editor, I read the health headlines daily. After just a few weeks (forget 12 months!) the news all starts to blur together. But there are a handful of health news stories that stuck in my memory because the information is so useful. Here’s a look back at EatingWell’s 10 top health stories of 2009:

As much as I love the parties, cocktails and delicious food on New Year's Eve, I look forward to New Years Day much more. Why? Because I've started a tradition of making a New Year's Day brunch for friends. I love crawling out of bed at my leisure, going straight to my kitchen to start cooking up some of my favorite brunch recipes (see this year's picks below) and sharing the first meal of a new year with people I love.

Here's my New Year's Day brunch menu:

I've made a New Year's resolution that I think I'm actually going to stick to this year—I'm going to eat healthier. I know that to make this work, I'll need to prepare meals that are packed with healthful ingredients that keep me satisfied—such as whole grains, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables—so that I'm not tempted to reach for junk food.

On Christmas Eve, one of my 5-year-old daughter Parker’s favorite things to do is put together a beautiful plate of cookies for Santa, complete with carrots for the reindeer and a glass of milk. A few days before Christmas, we spend an afternoon in the kitchen together baking delicious holiday cookies to give to friends, neighbors and the man in red.

At 19 months, my son Julian doesn’t know who Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob is, let alone request the yogurts adorned with their images—but I know that some of my friends who have older kids struggle with this very thing.