Most of us tend to think of lemonade as a seasonal beverage best kept for the warmest days, but lemonade is not just for the summer porch or sidewalk stand! The truth is that there’s absolutely no reason it can’t be a go-to cold drink in any season. Like most homemade things, do-it-yourself lemonade requires more time and effort than the store-bought instant or ready-made varieties. And like most homemade things, the payoff is much greater than the inconvenience of a few extra minutes’ work.

Some of the most significant benefits to making your own lemonade are that, unlike store-bought lemonade, you control the amount of sugar in it; unlike add-sugar instant drink mixes, the juice is natural and full of naturally sourced vitamin C; and unlike either, it’s fresh.

The one downside of this simple beverage of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, water and sugar is that it might take a lot of the sweet stuff to balance out the sour. But there are good alternatives to heaping on the sugar by shovelful. For example, one excellent way to cut both the tartness of lemons and the amount of sugar you add to your lemonade is to try a fruit-juice combo: mix two parts lemon juice with one part orange juice before diluting with water and adding any sugar.

The best way to avoid all the unwanted extras is to buy raw unsalted nuts and roast them at home on a baking pan in your oven.

 Make a Snack that’s as Good as Store-Bought

Advantages of Homemade Roasted Nuts

• Health. Not only do you control how much and what kind of oil the nuts are roasted in, but you can also control the salt content and eliminate additives, preservatives and flavor enhancers like MSG.
• Taste. Trust me, you’ll be able to tell the difference, and the extra effort will be worthwhile. 

 Disadvantages of DIY

• More labor-intensive. Obviously, doing-it-yourself roasted almonds, peanuts, cashews or other nuts is not as easy as buying the pre-roasted, pre-seasoned, ready-to-eat versions. It takes a bit of time—give yourself 45 minutes, including cooling time.
• Easy to burn. Nuts can go from the equivalent of medium rare to overdone in a matter of seconds, especially if you are using honey, barbecue sauce or other potentially sticky liquid flavorings. Don’t turn the oven up too high, keep an eye on them and turn them over more than once if necessary.

When the days get hot, it can be easy to reach for a soda or other convenient beverage that is similarly full of sugar or artificial sweeteners, not to mention other artificial ingredients. Try these instead—not only are they healthier for you, but they’ll also do a much better job at quenching your thirst and providing you with much-needed rehydration.

• Sparkling fruit juice. An awesome substitute for soda. All of the fizz, none of the sweeteners or sugar found in a can of soda—well, there’s sugar, but it’s naturally occurring fruit sugar, which is better for you than added refined sugars. Plus you get the juice’s nutritional benefits, which soda is devoid of.
• Chocolate banana smoothie. Crush 6 to 8 ice cubes in the blender. Add 1 banana and 2 cups chocolate milk (or 2 cups low-fat white milk and a couple spoonfuls of chocolate drink mix) and blend together. Calcium, potassium, protein, energy and more.
• Ice water with fruit. Forget the instant drink mix. Fruit adds a splash of color and taste without the sugar or dyes, and you won’t believe what a few apple, orange or pear slices floating in the pitcher (and in their glass) will do for anyone’s enthusiasm to drink not-so-plain old water. 

For many people, barbecuing is a seasonal pleasure associated with the warmth of the summer sun and the smell of fresh-cut grass. But for hard-core grillers, it’s a preferred cooking method all year round. Whether you’re a fair-weather barbecuer or a 365-day grilling aficionado, there are simple steps you can take to make your world-famous burgers just a bit more waist- and heart-friendly.

Sub your burger. Ground turkey or, better yet, soy-based ground “meat” are excellent alternatives to traditional ground beef. Not ready for a full-on swap out? Try substituting half, or even a mere third, of the beef in your recipe for a leaner-meat or meatless counterpart.

Be less refined. Go for a whole-wheat bun over a typical white bun. It’s more fiber, more taste and less boring.

Cut the cheese. You don’t have to cut it out entirely—what’s a cheeseburger without cheese, after all? To cut calories and artery-clogging saturated fat, skip processed American cheese slices and opt for either a reduced-fat version of cheddar, mozzarella or swiss, or a potently flavored full-fat cheese. (Stronger flavor means you can use less.)

Top wisely. Lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, banana peppers, grilled mushrooms…these are low-calorie toppings for your burger. Bacon isn’t.

Serve sides. Grill burgers on one half of your barbeque, and veggies like red peppers, zucchini, eggplant and portobello mushrooms on the other half. Prepare a green salad with an olive oil and vinegar dressing, a pasta salad with whole-wheat macaroni and low-fat mayo, or a slaw with shredded apple and lemon juice.

Quick Dinner Recipes

Making dinner can be tricky when you’re trying to balance your work, family life plus any evening social commitments that you may have. But that doesn’t mean that you have to order in for pizza yet again. With a little bit of for planning you can have a dinner that is healthier, more affordable and fast enough for you to make it to the soccer game without eating on the go.

One of the keys to having quick meals is to have the ingredients for the meals that you enjoy on hand and ready to go. Meat lovers can speed things up by divvying up their ground beef into quarters before freezing them. This allows them to thaw and cook much faster while helping to prevent freezer burn at the same time. If you need to put together a last minute meal, you can grab the meat from the freezer and be cooking in no time. Serving up burgers with a side garden salad is one of the simplest quick and easy dinner recipes around. You can switch up the beef with ground chicken or turkey for those who want to avoid red meat.

Healthy Dinner Recipes

Prefer vegetarian meals? How about pasta salad with blue cheese and tomato? Combine extra virgin olive oil with cider vinegar, garlic, marjoram, some cherry tomatoes, bow-tie pasta, arugula and of course crumbled blue cheese. With only 15 minutes to prepare, this qualifies as a fast meal providing that you have the necessary ingredients.

Simple dinner recipes can be the best, even if you need something to whip up for a small party. The key to most party dinner recipes is quantity and speed; you don’t want your guests waiting forever or not having enough to eat. Chopped vegetables with dip, specialty breads with dip and even chips and dip are party staples. You don’t want any of your guests to feel left out, so make sure that you always have an assortment of foods that appeal to both vegetarian and meat lovers alike.

Many people prefer easy breakfast recipes because it’s common for many to wake up hungry, so the easier and faster it is to make breakfast the better. Cooking breakfast recipes that are needlessly complicated can become irritating when people want to eat right away; in these instances quick breakfast recipes are best! Save your fancy recipe for a later brunch, or have some sort of an appetizer for those who just can’t wait for the main course.

Part of the reason why bacon and eggs or even the bowl of cereal have become breakfast mainstays over the years is because they’re so fast and easy to make. Adding some fresh fruit is a great way to zest up your breakfast making even that bland bowl of cornflakes more appealing with some banana or strawberry slices.

There are dozens of pancake recipes to suit just about any dietary requirement including some of the best low fat breakfast recipes around. Change up your from regular pancake recipe mix to buttermilk, buckwheat pancakes or whole wheat pancakes instead. If you want to try something slightly more exotic, how about gingerbread pancakes? They taste great and are easy to make by adding ginger, ground cinnamon and molasses to buttermilk pancake mix. To keep your pancakes free from fat, avoid using butter, but a little maple syrup is perfectly okay.

 If pancakes are too heavy for you, try switching over to French toast instead. You can make healthy French toast with egg whites and low fat milk to reduce 50 percent of the fat and as much as one third of the cholesterol than regular French toast.

Like colitis, Crohn’s disease  is an inflammatory disease of the digestive tract. But where colitis causes inflammation of the colon (the word colitis means “inflammation of the colon”), Crohn’s can affect any area of the gastrointestinal  (GI) tract (though it most often affects the colon and/or small intestine).

Diet does not play any role in causing Crohn’s disease, but it is probably not surprising that diet is one factor that can be extremely significant in the daily management of symptoms, especially during times of the painful flare-ups that those with Crohn’s continually suffer from.

Customizing a Crohn’s-Friendly Diet

One of the reasons that there is no such thing as the diet that is best for managing Crohn’s disease is that every person with the condition has a unique set of food triggers—foods that consistently aggravate their symptoms. That said, there are some foods that seem to be common triggers for many Crohn’s sufferers, and so while any diet for managing Crohn’s must be tweaked to suit the individual, using the dietary guidelines that have helped many others successfully manage their symptoms makes an excellent start.

Some dietary recommendations for people with Crohn’s disease don’t really differ from the recommendations for a healthy diet in general: to maintain a diet that is high in protein, to try and eat regular meals with snacks in between, and to avoid alcohol, saturated fats and fried foods.

However, some suggested food restrictions for Crohn’s may seem counterintuitive because they contradict the basic nutritional guidelines we have become so accustomed to. For example, most people with Crohn’s are encouraged to avoid whole grains and other high-fiber foods because they can cause irritation and discomfort.

Low Cholesterol Foods vs. Cholesterol Lowering Foods

A low cholesterol diet plan can consist of either low cholesterol foods or cholesterol lowering foods, or a combination of both.
Low cholesterol foods are foods that contain little or no cholesterol—lean meats (especially poultry), low- or non-fat dairy products and any plant-based foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes). Eating these foods helps limit the amount of dietary cholesterol you take in.

Cholesterol lowering foods are foods that actually help decrease the amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol in your blood. These foods may actually be high in fat, but the fat they contain is monounsaturated or polyunsaturated, which causes the liver to produce less LDL cholesterol and more high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol. Some cholesterol lowering foods are avocado, oatmeal, fish, nuts and olive oil.

Low Cholesterol Diet Recipes

There are many books, websites, classes and even TV shows dedicated to healthy eating, including low cholesterol recipes. You can even find entire low cholesterol diet menus. However, you don’t necessarily have to follow a strict meal plan to lower your cholesterol and keep it in a healthy range. You can make almost any meal low cholesterol by substituting animal-based food products, such as meat and dairy, with plant-based alternatives, like soy, tofu and vegetables. At the very least, ensure meat is lean and keep portions small—no more than 3 ounces (about the size of a deck of cards).

To keep your meal options open while still adhering to a low cholesterol diet, find or create a low cholesterol diet sheet to refer to when cooking or ordering meals out.

This sheet lists food groups/types down the left-hand margin and has three columns across the top: foods to eat regularly, foods to eat in moderation and foods to avoid or eat sparingly. For example, under the “meats” category, foods to eat regularly would include white fish and lean white meat like turkey or chicken. Foods to eat in moderation would include shellfish and lean ham, beef, pork and lamb. Finally, foods to avoid or eat sparingly would be caviar or roe and sausages, duck, meat pies and meat cuts with visible fat. For dairy, foods to eat regularly would be skim or low-fat milk and yogurt, as well as cottage cheese and egg whites. Foods to eat in moderation would include egg yolks and certain soft cheeses (camembert, parmesan), and foods to avoid would be whole milk, cream (including ice cream) and most hard cheeses.

Following this sheet will allow you to vary your meal selection and even eat at restaurants while still adhering to a heart-healthy diet.

There are many reasons why salmon should make regular appearances at your dinner table. For one thing, it’s really good for you: an excellent source of protein, salmon also provides you with omega-3 fatty acids (“good fats” with strong anti-inflammatory properties) and many essential nutrients, including magnesium, selenium, and vitamins B3, B6, B12 and D.

Second, salmon comes in many different forms—smoked or canned, fresh or frozen, skin on or removed—each with its own flavors, textures and variety of ideal uses in your meal menu.

Third, salmon can be complemented by so many flavors! It works with sauces and marinades, be they creamy or spicy, teriyaki or barbecue. It works with dry rubs specially made for it, and with some of those made for other meats. It works with a side of steamed vegetables or a fruit salsa. It works with nothing more complex than some lemon juice and the right fresh herbs.

Finally, salmon should be at the top of your list of meal protein choices because it can be cooked in many different ways, which means that, combined with its flexibility of flavor pairings, there are endless varieties of easy salmon recipes to discover and try out for yourself.

From smoked salmon recipes (some call for the pre-smoked kind, others not) to grilled salmon recipes (few fish can wear grill marks like salmon can!) to poached salmon recipes and even fried salmon recipes, you can find a lot of ways to make a fillet of salmon the star of the plate. And from sandwiches to pasta to fajitas to fish cakes, salmon can also be a tasty component of many other dishes. 

Also, because salmon is itself a lighter option than some other popular animal proteins, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding healthy and light salmon recipes to please any palate.

Dr. Atkins’ diet program has gone through several revisions since it was first published decades ago, but the basic idea of losing weight by reducing and counting carbohydrates, rather than by reducing fat and counting calories, has remained the same.

Have you prepared to start the Atkins diet by learning more about it through books and websites, but you’re still at a loss about what to eat, or how to prepare delicious meals that keep you within your carb limits? Atkins not only has a customized line of snack products and several cookbooks available that you can purchase, but you’ll find there are tons of resources online that provide Atkins diet recipes and ideas about how to keep your meals interesting and satisfying.
Weight Maintenance: Following the Atkins Diet for Life

The Atkins program clearly lays out the importance of having a long-term attitude toward weight loss: once you reach your goal weight, you can’t just go back to eating the way you used to, or go back to eating carbs without counting them, and expect to maintain that weight.

Fortunately, there are a lot of Atkins diet menu moderations and guidelines available to help you adapt your diet into a long-term Atkins eating plan for long-term weight stability. Many of the recommendations become less strict as you move through the phases of the Atkins diet. Wine and spirits are allowed in later stages, for example, and  your consumption of carbohydrates can increase as you experiment to find the right amount for you.

There is a bit of math involved with the Atkins diet. You have to calculate the “net carbohydrates” of any carbohydrate-containing food that you eat, and track your exact net carbohydrate intake each day. And the amount of net carbohydrates you’re allowed can vary depending on several factors, including which of the several phases of the diet you’re in.

However, people who have adopted the Atkins lifestyle and have successfully kept off the weight they lost say that continuing to see the right numbers on the scale is well worth tackling a few numbers in their daily diet.