Healthy Eating

This simple yet satisfying brunch or supper dish pairs eggs with a flavorful vegetable ragout. It makes a healthful alternative to traditional egg dishes, which typically include fatty bacon, sausage, cheese, or caloric potatoes. If you would like to make this dish ahead, prepare the ragout the day before and refrigerate. Just before serving time, reheat the stew and drop in the eggs. Or if you are cooking for one or two, you can reserve a portion the vegetable ragout to reheat and finish with eggs on subsequent days.

With Spring around the corner, it's a great time to get outside and re-energize your exercise routine. As you take to the trails to walk, run or bike, tuck one of these bars into your pocket for an energy-boosting treat. They provide slow-burning carbohydrates for refueling your body, as well as protein for muscle repair. The bars are easy to make-they dont even require baking-and taste so much better than any bars you can buy!

Turkey burgers (when made with ground turkey breast) are a healthy alternative to fatty beef burgers, but all too often they turn out dry and flavorless. Our solution is to add grated fresh apple to the lean turkey. Not only does this add moisture to the patties, the apple contributes a delicious sweet-tart flavor. Cider-glazed caramelized onions and a creamy mustard sauce provide the finishing touches to these burgers.

If you are looking for healthier alternatives to traditional meat-centered meals, turn to beans. They are a tasty, inexpensive source of plant protein, which also provide fiber and antioxidants. Wrapping seasoned black beans in a whole-wheat flour tortilla with a little cheese, yogurt and lots of fresh garnishes is an appealing way to prepare them. This recipe comes together in minutes, so it is ideal for a quick weeknight supper. If you are cooking for just one or two, the bean mixture can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and reheated to make subsequent meals.

Since 2007, 16 of the nations leading food and beverage companies have cut 6.4 trillion calories out of the American diet-equivalent to 78 daily calories per person. Thats the conclusion of a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which worked with the companies to help combat childhood obesity.

An enjoyable way to ensure that you are getting benefits of whole grain in your bread is to bake it yourself-at a fraction of the cost of bakery bread. Made with just a few basic ingredients, this dough develops a full wheaty flavor during its long slow rise. The trick to making 100% whole-wheat bread with an appealing moist, airy texture is to start by making a sponge (a loose mixture of flour, yeast and water) the day before baking. In addition, soaking a portion of the remaining whole-wheat flour in water overnight brings out its nutty flavor and helps build structure in the loaf, saving you kneading time.

In the chill of winter, comfort food is especially appealing. Here is an unconventional update of the perennial favorite, macaroni and cheese. Instead of the usual cream sauce, this recipe uses an easy sauce made with frozen squash, an excellent source of beta carotene, and low-fat milk. Surprising! Yes, but it works! Whole-grain fiber boosts fiber, while the delicious sweetness of caramelized onions complements the squash and cheese.

Eating a daily handful of nuts-about one ounce or three tablespoons-could reduce your risk of dying from the most common causes of death. Results from the largest study of its kind, following nearly 119,000 men and women for up to 24 years, show that regular consumers of any type of nuts were less likely to die from heart disease, cancer and lung disease or from all causes than non-nut eaters. As frequency of nut consumption went up, mortality risk dropped.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finds itself in the middle of the tussle over whether foods labeled as natural can contain genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. The Grocery Manufacturers Association is petitioning the agency to specifically authorize natural labeling on GMO products, such as those containing bioengineered corn, soy, canola or sugar. The trade association cited the proliferation of lawsuits challenging natural labeling, with 65 pending class-action cases across the country. At the same time, three federal judges presiding over such cases have asked the FDA to rule on whether GMO ingredients belong in natural foods.

When it comes to safe food handling for parties and other gatherings, Americans motto seems to be: Do as I say, not as I do.