Well I guess this link doesn't need much of an introduction. I saw this smoothie recipe on TV today and thought y'all might want to try it. Let me know how it works out for you!

Some random tips for you!

• Feeling tense? Make asparagus with dinner to help relieve your stress.
• Make a rule to have dinner with friends once a week.
• Create a habit of eating dinner 3 hours before going to bed most days of the week.
• Top 1/2 medium sized baked potato with salsa and 1/4 cup shredded low fat cheese for a hearty snack under 200 calories.
• Stick to good carb choices. Whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans are excellent sources.

In the July/August issue of Food Network magazine, they shared some AWESOME hot dog ideas. I'd like to share a few of the more delicious-sounding and unique ones with you :)

• Taco Dogs Wrap grilled halved hot dogs in grilled flour tortillas; top with shredded cheddar, lettuce, salsa and sour cream.
• Chimichanga Dogs Rub hot dogs with chili powder and wrap each in a flour tortilla. Dip in beaten eggs, then dredge in flour and deep-fry in 350 degree vegetable oil until golden; sprinkle with cheddar and bake at 375 degrees until the cheese melts. Top with salsa, sour cream and jalapenos.
• BLT Dogs Fry thick bacon strips until crisp, then fry hot dogs in the drippings. Serve on toasted buns with mayo, shredded lettuce, diced tomato and the bacon.
• French Poodles Melt sliced brie on grilled hot dogs; serve on sliced baguette and top with chopped cornichons and dijon mustard.
• Cuban Dogs Split griddled hot dogs in half lengthwise. Layer on sub rolls with sliced ham, dill pickles, yellow mustard and Swiss cheese. Cook in a panini press or buttered skillet flattening, until golden.
• Boston Terriers Saute 1 diced onion with 1/4 pound chopped bacon. Add 1 cup white beans, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon each brown sugar, mustard and cider vinegar; add hot dogs and simmer until thick. Serve on toasted buns.

Let me know if you try any of these!

Here are some fun food tips I got in an email recently.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster..

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
Spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste
Of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.
This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water.
Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such
As peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

The Worst Foods for your Cholesterol in America

Trans-Fattiest Soup
Schlotzky's Wisconsin Cheese Soup Bowl
5 g trans fat 460 calories 33 g fat (14 g saturated) 1,821 mg sodium
Schlotzky's Web site proudly claims "our soups are made with the highest quality ingredients and freshly cooked every day for optimum flavor." In the Bizzaro World of fast-food marketing, "high quality" translates into nearly a day's worth of sodium and twice your daily limit of trans fat. This dish has the dubious distinction of being one of the only soups we've ever seen with a significant trans-fat load. Even if you switched from the oversize bowl to a cup, you'd still take in 4 grams of the stuff. Our suspicion is that a decidedly low-quality cheese is to blame. Cheese has fat, of course, but only the cheap imitation stuff contains partially hydrogenated oil.
Eat This Instead!
Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup Cup
109 calories 5 g fat (2 g saturated, 0 g trans) 1,029 mg sodium

Trans-Fattiest Cold Treat
Dairy Queen Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard (large)
6.5 g trans fat 1,440 calories 67 g fat (33 g saturated) 165 g sugars
Not a single Blizzard, shake, or malt at Dairy Queen comes without trans fat - which is ridiculous, because most other ice cream and smoothie places manage to leave it out of their products. This Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard is terrifying on every nutritional level: It's the sugar equivalent of 6 packs of peanut M&Ms, the caloric equivalent of nearly 6 McDonald's hamburgers, and more than three times your daily limit of trans fat. Seek out relatives safety in DQ's line of soft serve sundaes.
Eat This Instead!
Hot Fudge Sundae (small)
300 calories 10 g fat (7 g saturated, 0 g trans) 37 g sugars

Here are some tips from the monthly wellness calendar from work!

• Don't eat in front of the TV today.
• Intentionally park in the farthest spot from the door while running errands today.
• Say "hello" to five people today.
• Remember to get three 8 oz servings of low fat dairy everyday.
• Visualize one medium fruit serving equal to a tennis ball.
• When you go out to lunch, choose a selection from the appetizer menu as your main dish.
• Mix one packet regular oatmeal with 1/2 sliced banana and a 1/2 cup strawberries for a breakfast under 200 calories.
• Wear hearing and eye protection while mowing the lawn.
• Cut up fruits and veggies right away and keep in containers that can be easily transported.
• Add some core strengthening exercises to your current exercise routine.
• Save more, spend less. Distinguish between your wants and needs.
• Make a vegetable you've never tried before for dinner tonight.
• Air-popped popcorn has 31 calories per cup. Reward yourself with a movie and low-fat popcorn tonight.
• Keep a calendar of the days you exercise. Try to fill up most of the week.
• Try eating foods today only found in a garden.
  

I really need a refresher on this part of the book (Eat This Not That: The Best & Worst Foods in America); it's called Conquer the Food Court - 5 savvy strategies for enlightened mall munching.

Be a Bargain Shopper
You spend countless hours comparing prices and hunting for bargains, so why drop that wall of prudence when you hit the food court? Instead, look around and see what calorie bargains you can find. Maybe the chicken noodle bread bowl isn't the best option when you can get the same soup from a real bowl somewhere else. And maybe you'll feel better about passing on the fried chicken drumstick when there's a grilled chicken breast just 200 feet away. Sure the food court is teeming with waistline-expanding temptations, but every temptation has a healthy substitution. You ust have to shop smart.

Shop It Off
It seems a little cruel how they insist on placing the sweet-tooth kiosk right in the middle of the mall, seducing shoppers with the enticing aromas of freshly made fudge, warm gooey brownies, and soft-baked cookies. How are you supposed to resist an allure like that? One battle at a time, that's how. Sail straight past the cookie counter without stopping and promise yourself that if the cravings persist, you'll double back and have your treat. Believe it or not, there's a good chance you'll forget all about it. A UK study found that chocolate cravings diminished by 12 percent for regular chocolate eaters after they walked for 15 minutes. That means so long as you keep moving, you'll keep your cravings at bay.

Carry a Water Bottle
This is a rule that can save you calories anytime, anywhere. That's because thirst is far too often confused with hunger. Your brain just does a lousy job differentiating between the two. Keep yourself hydrated and you'll be much better prepared to spend your time in the stores instead of the grub lines. And here's the really good part: Guzzling just 1 bottle of cold water will help you burn more calories while you shop. That's because, as German researchers discovered, 16 ounces of cold water can boost metabolism by 24 percent for a full 90 minutes. Swing by the beverage vending machine as you enter the mall and then sip away as you shop.

Pack a Snack
The mall's selection of snacks is lackluster at best; think French fries, pretzels, muffins, and other quick-fix carbs. The irony is you'll probably need a small snack to help you make it through the day without racing to the nearest deep fryer. A study at Florida State University found that men with low blood sugar (i.e., men who went too long without a snack) performed the worst on tests that evaluate self-control, which means they're liable to make bad decisions in the food court. So what's the key to a good snack? Protein. French researchers found that a high-protein snack eaten 4 hours after lunch delayed the desire to eat dinner by 60 minutes. That will put off your hunger long enough for you to make your final purchases and head home for a real meal. Try stuffing into your purse or pocket a bag of nuts, jerky, or a protein bar. We like Odwala's Super Protein.

Plan for a Small Dinner
Sometimes your defenses flop and you find yourself bellied up to an oversize plate of noodles and fried chicken covered in a murky brown sauce of dubious oriental origin. It's okay; don't panic. you might have one more chance to salvage your day. When Boston researchers tried to pin down the cause of weight gain, they looked at the eating habits of adolescents. As it turns out, both "lean" and "overweight" subjects overate in the food court. What set the two groups apart was the amount of food consumed the rest of the day; the lean students cut back no ther meals, while the overweight students continued to eat full-size portions. Why does this matter? Because it's not the number of calories consumed in one meal that makes or breaks your diet: It's total calories consumed over the course of the day. Compensate for your food-court blunder by cutting your normal dinner in half and you can fall asleep no bigger than when you woke up.