Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

Meatloaf is a standard in my mom's cooking repertoire. When I was a kid she made it often for dinner, using "meatloaf mix," an inexpensive blend of ground beef, pork and veal. Her meatloaf (like all meatloaves) was true comfort food-easy to make, delicious and satisfying.

What's not to love? Well, not much really except that "meatloaf mixes" are usually higher in saturated fat than is healthy. And her meatloaf was bound with white bread-which is a missed opportunity to add healthy whole grains.

These days meatloaf isn't just good home-cooking, it's been popping up on the menus of trendy restaurants across the country. I don't make my mom's "original" meatloaf at home, but I do make healthier versions, like this meatloaf recipe from our new cookbook, Comfort Foods Made Healthy.

This recipe uses one of my all-time favorite makeover ingredients, bulgur. Bulgur is great because you can add it in place of some ground beef in things like burgers, meatloaf, meatballs or

We've gotten our first frost already in Vermont so it's definitely fall. This week when I picked up fresh produce from my community-supported agriculture (CSA) share, my booty was full of beets, carrots, winter squash and onions. You can definitely tell what season it is from each week's pick-up. I rushed home to make my favorite soup: curried carrot (see recipe below). Its bright orange color brightens any dreary fall day, and it freezes beautifully so I always make an enormous batch for nights I don't feel like cooking.

An e-mail from a friend in Georgia, detailing her perfect late-summer meal, got me wondering what's in season around the country.

Here's a taste of what is in season around the rest of the U.S.:

South: Pecans, collard greens, melon and okra.
Recipe to try: Collard greens are one of my favorites-a super-nutritious yet mild-tasting dark leafy green. In this recipe for BBQ Baked Beans & Sausage, a hint of molasses balances the slight bitterness of

Blue eyes. Butch Cassidy. Salad dressing. That's the way most people will remember Paul Newman. A Westport neighbor. A great dad. Homemade marshmallows. Those are some of the things that stick in my mind.

In an interview Paul's daughter Nell Newman did with EatingWell Magazine last fall, she shared her own childhood memories.
"It was crazy with all the traveling for movies but when they were home, my parents each cooked their own specialties," Nell said. "Mom did all the birthday cakes and made breakfast, Dad did the burgers, steaks, corn and salad, of course. I'll also never forget Dad making marshmallows from scratch. God knows how he did it, but there's love for you!"

The interview was done by Kathy Oberman of K2 Catering in Westport, Connecticut, a mutual friend of Nell and mine. Kathy, who often cooks for the Newmans, sat down with Nell to hear the story of the famous all-organic Thanksgiving dinner Nell served her family in 1992 (which helped Nell launch Newman's

It's hard to escape the biggest news in the country: the economy's struggling. At a personal level, the nation's financial woes may have you figuring out where you can cut costs. Cooking at home instead of eating out is an easy way to save money, particularly if you focus your meals around cheaper ingredients.

So forget take-out. Try these 5 easy recipes for budget-friendly meals at home. Or check out our "Cheap Eats" ideas for more than 100 EatingWell recipes that utilize some inexpensive, but nutritious, items from the grocery store. Browse these suggestions for recipes to help you save money and make an easy, budget-friendly dinner tonight.

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Brown Rice

Our version of sweet & sour chicken is just as satisfying as the classic Chinese takeout favorite, but without all the extra sugar, salt and saturated fat. This recipe is flexible enough to accommodate your favorite vegetables; just be sure to cut them into similar-size pieces so they'll all

This week we've officially entered fall, but there is still bountiful produce in season. I welcome the start of fall and the new variety of nutritious fruits and vegetables-apples, potatoes, Brussels sprouts and root vegetables, such as carrots (see a few recipes below). One of the ways I celebrate this time of year is to let these in-season fruits and vegetables star in fabulous fall recipes.

Crisp apples are a good source of soluble fiber and potassium and are delicious in sweet and savory dishes. What better way to taste fall than to make an apple pie? Give it a try this weekend with EatingWell's easy Deep-Dish Apple Pie recipe.

This recipe uses whole-wheat pastry flour to add a bit more fiber to the healthy crust. We lowered the fat by replacing some of the butter with canola oil. To achieve a juicy filling with plenty of tender bits of apple, we combine two types of tart-sweet apples, then precook part of the filling before adding it to the pie shell to avoid that

Cravings, bloating and at least one unexplained emotional breakdown-for me that trifecta of events means it's that time of the month. It's then (and usually only then) that I reach for ibuprofen to take the edge off. I've never been a big fan of pills-I'd rather tough it out or take a more natural approach-but sometimes a girl needs a little help.

Since I generally just think of saffron as the spice that lends a golden hue to paella, you can imagine how thrilled I was to read about saffron's potential role in relieving premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and depression in EatingWell's October 2008 issue. Not only is saffron a natural remedy, but the science supporting it looks promising. Even better: although saffron is among the most expensive spices, a little goes a long way when it comes to PMS relief.

Two interesting facts from author Joyce Hendley's piece:

• In a study at Iran's Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 50 women with PMS received two

Apple ConfitCould I eat only local foods for a day? That's the question I asked myself when I read about the Eat Local Challenge happening this fall in northern Vermont. You may have heard about this trend-the challenges are happening in regions all across the U.S.

Eat Local challenges started several years ago when a radio producer and her friends in the San Francisco area decided to spend one month eating only foods produced within 100 miles of their homes. (My "localvore" group has a Marco Polo provision, which allows the use of "salt and spices that sailors could carry in their pockets for 6 months while at sea," and for 5 wild-card foods-hello, coffee!)

My fiancé, Dan, thought I was a little crazy when I signed us up for a week of local eating. But I want to see if we can take it to the next level, so we compromised and we're going to try it for a day.

Here is my day-long menu of EatingWell recipes that I've decided to adapt with locally produced ingredients.

BREAKFAST: I

I grew up loving broccoli, unlike a certain president who banned broccoli in the White House nearly 20 years ago. Even 10 tons of broccoli sent by California farmers couldn't change George H.W. Bush's mind.

Too bad, all those folks at the White House were missing out. A nutrient powerhouse, broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins C, K and A, as well as folate and fiber. But the nutrition benefits don't stop there: it's also a very good source of manganese, potassium, magnesium and protein.

Need more reasons to eat broccoli? Research suggests that broccoli (and the rest of the cruciferous family) may help prevent some types of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. Plus, broccoli contains a certain pectin fiber called calcium pectate, which may help lower blood cholesterol.

Here are my 5 favorite not-boring broccoli side dishes from the EatingWell Test Kitchen.

1. Mediterranean Roasted Broccoli & Tomatoes

The day this recipe was