Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

By Stacy Fraser, Test Kitchen Manager at EatingWell

While pasta salad is a crowd-pleaser at potlucks and picnics, traditional recipes typically weigh in at over 500 calories per serving. They also skimp on good, healthy ingredients like whole grains, crunchy vegetables, fresh herbs and lean protein. Here are our 5 secrets for making a healthier pasta salad that's full of flavor, plus 5 pasta salad recipes all under 315 calories per serving.

Don't Miss: See How to Make Garden Pasta Salad with Creamy Dressing That Cuts 350 Calories

1. Pick the Right Pasta
Whole-wheat pasta adds 2 grams of heart-healthy fiber per ounce of dry pasta versus white pasta. The amount of dry pasta to start with depends on the shape. To get 4 cups of cooked pasta, use 2 cups elbow macaroni, 2 1/2 cups shells, 3 cups bowties or fusilli. Cook pasta and drain (but don't rinse). Spread on a large baking sheet to cool.

Get our FREE Broccoli & Feta Pasta Salad Recipe How-To!

2. Load Up on

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Do you love pancakes but want to make a healthy pancake recipe for breakfast? Pancakes can be part of a healthy breakfast if you use a few tricks to make them a little better for you by adding whole grains and using low-fat dairy. They'll still be delicious and will be much healthier for you than a traditional stack of white-flour cakes smothered in butter and syrup. Here are our secrets for how to make healthy pancakes.

Don't Miss: See How to Cook Pancakes Perfectly

1. Use Whole-Wheat Flour to Boost Fiber
Most traditional pancake recipes call for white flour, which has a neutral flavor but doesn't offer much in the way of nutrition. To make healthy pancakes, use whole-wheat flour instead. Whole-wheat flour has 16 grams of fiber per cup compared to 3 grams of fiber in white flour. For milder flavor, you can use white whole-wheat flour, which is most similar to white flour with a slightly nutty flavor, but

By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Juicing and smoothies are all the rage right now. While both can boost your fruit and vegetable intake (something most Americans need to do) and are great for getting a variety of produce into your diet, one is the better choice.

That's the smoothie. Why? Juicing leaves behind a pulp--which contains fiber and nutrients that you end up tossing away--and thus you lose most of the benefits of whole fruits and vegetables. Blending produce into a smoothie, however, preserves fiber--and a smoothie can deliver an extra boost of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals because it often includes fruit skins and pith. If your smoothie includes yogurt or milk, you get some calcium too. Blending, however, introduces oxygen and sometimes heat, which will knock out a little vitamin C and some B vitamins. (No big deal really, as most of us get plenty of C and produce isn't a top source of the most sensitive B vitamins.) Add these 6

By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Eating a Mediterranean diet may lower your risk of heart attack, stroke and death from heart disease by up to 30 percent, according to a new, highly publicized study out of Spain, published in April 2013 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

When older adult participants (aged 55 to 80 years) were divided into one of three groups (Mediterranean diet with extra-virgin olive oil, Mediterranean diet with nuts or a control diet), those who followed either of the Mediterranean diets reaped the heart-protective benefits.

Don't Miss: 8 Ways to Follow the Mediterranean Diet for Better Health

You can start eating the Mediterranean diet today--and help your heart health--by adding these key foods (which were staples in the diet of the study participants following the Mediterranean diet) to your meals.

1. Olive oil. The study participants' main culinary fat was olive oil--they ate 4 or more daily

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

Does it ever occur to you to make Caesar salad at home? I never think of it until I'm at a restaurant and it suddenly looks like the best thing on the menu--especially with some grilled chicken on top (even if I have to pay extra for that).

With this recipe dreamed up by the EatingWell Test Kitchen, it's not just the chicken that's grilled--the romaine lettuce is too! (Another thing I'd never think of.) That lightly charred lettuce adds more delicious smokiness to the Caesar salad filling for this easy meal rolled up in a warmed spinach wrap.

New Recipes: Healthy Grilled Salad Recipes and More Unexpected Foods for the Grill

Because you can pick it up and eat it, this portable wrap makes a great lunch, too, or quick take-it-with-you dinner for an activity-filled evening.

Don't Miss: More Light Wraps & Sandwiches

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Wrap
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High Fiber Healthy Heart

By Stacy Fraser, Test Kitchen Manager at EatingWell

Whenever you're gathering family and friends, serving brunch is a great way to celebrate. And when you plan and make the meal ahead, you can enjoy the party along with your guests. This make-ahead brunch menu from the June issue of EatingWell Magazine, with recipes created by Silver Palate Cookbook author Julie Rosso, is perfect for Mother's Day or any occasion. Here's the menu and a planner to help you get organized and get your brunch ready ahead of time.

Menu:
Sunrise Bellini
Very Berry Fruit Salad
Pistachio Breakfast Sausage Patties
Prosciutto & Asparagus Strata
Pecan-Berry Coffee Cake

Make-Ahead Planner

Up To 3 Days Ahead:
• Make berry puree (Step 1) and lemon sauce (Step 2) for Very Berry Fruit Salad and refrigerate.

Up To 1 Day Ahead:
• Make Sunrise Bellini mix (Step 1) and refrigerate in an airtight container. Freeze-ahead instruction: Freeze airtight for up to 1 month;

By Breana Lai, M.P.H., R.D., Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

For many of us, the promise of a good cup of coffee gets us out of bed in the morning. Somehow, prying off the warm covers doesn't isn't so hard when I know there is a warm cup of coffee waiting. But coffee is very personal. Everyone has a choice coffee-brewing vessel, coffee style and coffee mug.

Whether you choose to brew your coffee in a single-cup brewer, an automatic coffee maker or a French press, keep in mind there are variables that can affect the quality of the coffee you make. There is a reason the coffee from your local coffee shop tastes better. The coffee is freshly brewed, the beans were just ground, the milk was just steamed and the machine costs as much as a small car.

Don't Miss: Recipes for Coffee Shop Drinks at Home

While we can't all have the fancy machine (and barista to make the coffee), we can take some lessons from coffee shops to brew a perfect cup of coffee at home. Here

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

Thai food is so flavorful and so full of healthful fresh vegetables--why don't I cook it at home more? Naomi Duguid's story "Thai Tonight" in the May/June 2013 issue of EatingWell Magazine helped me realize what I'm missing: a few easy-to-find Thai ingredients.

Don't Miss: 10 Essential Ingredients of Thai Cooking

I just need to slow down in the "Asian" aisle at the supermarket and add a jar of fish sauce and a jar of curry paste to my shopping cart along with a couple cans of "lite" coconut milk (so when I use one this week I still have one for the next time I need it).

Don't Miss: Easy Thai Recipes to Make at Home

With those ingredients in my pantry, the next time I run across a Thai recipe I want to make I won't have to regretfully turn the page--and I'll have what I need to make this amazing Vegetarian Thai Red Curry for dinner tonight!

Vegetarian Thai Red Curry
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Healthy Weight
Makes: 4 servings,