I’m a big fan of the sweet and salty combination.

Chocolate covered pretzels? Delish.

Sweet and salty granola bars? I could live off ’em.

Anything sea salt and caramel-flavored? Yes, please!

Turns out the combination works great even outside the realm of snacks and desserts, like in this vegetarian main dish recipe: Couscous and Feta Stuffed Peppers. The saltiness of the feta cheese is complemented by the sweetness of the dried apricots.

At 45 minutes, the cook time is pretty significant for a weeknight meal, so I usually cook the couscous and mix it with the other fillings the night before. Then I just have to stuff the peppers and pop them in the oven the day of.

Also, depending on the size of your peppers, you might have leftovers of the couscous mixture. I love it on top of baby spinach for lunch the next day! More →

Summer cookouts are upon us, and that means we all need a quick, easy, go-to dish to contribute to the food table.

This one has been my stand-by for years, and it’s guaranteed to be a hit, both for you and the other party-goers. It requires no cooking—just a lot of chopping—and ingredients can be added, subtracted, and substituted at will.

It can also be served in a variety of ways, depending on the situation. Plopped on top of crushed tortilla chips, it becomes a delicious taco salad meal. Or serve it next to the chips as a dip. You could also wrap it in a tortilla, or just dig into it with a fork as is.

It’ll be yummy no matter what, I promise! More →

We’ve all been there: You fill your weekdays with fresh veggies and exercise sessions, only to spend your weekend eating fried food while sitting on the couch watching episode after episode of The Walking Dead.

Sticking to healthy habits seems a lot more difficult on Saturday and Sunday, doesn’t it?

Not surprisingly, new research shows that people tend to think about their health more at the beginning of the week than at the end.

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, analyzed weekly patterns in health-related Google searches. Researchers found that searches for health topics were 30 percent more frequent at the beginning of the week. More →

Confession: Last week I kind of pigged out.

I was facing a case of the “blahs” and, despite my commitment to overcoming emotional eating, I indulged in too many cookies and too few exercise sessions.

When I finally snapped out of it, I did what I always do when I want to look and feel healthier in a flash: I drank a ton of water.

128 ounces in 12 hours, to be exact.

Almost immediately I felt healthier and more energized. All that water made me feel stronger, both physically and mentally.

The benefits of drinking water are no secret. Indeed, water sometimes seems like a magic bullet for health—it increases our energy, regulates our appetite, improves our skin, aids in digestion, and helps us feel refreshed.

It might not be a cure-all, but it certainly does a lot of good.

Not a big fan of guzzling H2O? Struggling to finish those eight glasses a day? Try one or two of these tips. More →

When my stomach rumbles around 3:00pm, I often struggle to reach for an apple instead of a cookie.

Despite knowing the advantages of choosing a piece of fruit over a baked good, I’m still tempted by the call of a Snickerdoodle.

The solution, I’ve recently learned, could simply be to turn my frowns upside down.

Researchers from the University of Arizona have discovered that when it comes to healthy eating, your attitude matters as much as what’s on your plate. Their new study, which was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, found that women who are more optimistic about life are also more successful at adopting healthier eating habits.

Today I’m over at No Sweat discussing this link between healthy eating and a sunny disposition, plus offering some strategies that anyone—optimist or pessimist—can use to improve their diet. Check it out!

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you think your outlook on life affects your eating habits? 

If you’ve ever gone cross-eyed trying to read a nutrition label on your food, you’re in luck.

In February, the Food and Drug Administration unveiled some significant changes to the labels that are intended to reduce confusion about what’s healthy and what isn’t.

The proposed changes—which are the first significant ones in over twenty years— were presented by First Lady Michelle Obama, who said, “Our guiding principle here is very simple: that you as a parent and a consumer should be able to walk into your local grocery store, pick up an item off the shelf, and be able to tell whether it’s good for your family.” More →

My toddler is beginning to test the waters of his independence, and subsequently I’ve been reading up on the most effective discipline techniques for the under-two population.

A common theme is to label the behavior as negative but not the child.

It’s the difference between saying, “Throwing  food on the floor is bad!” versus “You’re a bad boy!” The first focuses on the undesirable action without negatively labeling my son as a person.

Turns out that technique is as effective with a patient as it is with my toddler.

Research from the University of California, San Diego has found that leaving the doctor’s office feeling guilty and ashamed is incredibly common. A 2009 survey found that over 50 percent of people have experienced shame based on a conversation with their doctor. More →