Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

By Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D. Associate Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

A new study--published in the August 2012 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research--helps explain why the size of our plates affects how much we're eating. Turns out, our behavior is directly influenced by what our eyes perceive, even when we know better. So, for example, you'll serve yourself--and eat--less on a 6-inch plate than a 9-inch plate because it looks more satisfying.

The color of your plates, table and tablecloth matters too: using light plates on dark tablecloths helps you eat less; doing the opposite (having dark plates on dark tableclothes) makes us take--and eat--more.

Must-Read: How Can I Lose Weight? 4 Secrets of Skinny People

Perhaps the most surprising of all is that even nutrition experts--people trained in food and calories--are duped. One of Wansink's previous studies involved his nutrition students and colleagues at an ice cream social. They were each randomly

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

In the summer I like to eat light, fresh meals, which means I have more than enough room for a tasty dessert. But I don't want to pile on a bunch of calories at the end of a meal. So I like to turn to my repertoire of super-easy low-calorie desserts. As long as they're not loaded with tons of cream, it's easy to make them delicious but still relatively slim. Here are some of my favorites.

Frozen Chocolate-Covered Bananas (pictured, see recipe below)
Kids will love dipping bananas in melted chocolate and rolling them in coconut to make this tasty frozen treat.
Calories per serving: 100

Watermelon Slush
Just whir up chunks of watermelon with ice, lime juice, water and a little sugar and you've got an amazing homemade take on a slurpee...but with only 48 calories! Add a little gin and this recipe will serve you well for cocktail hour.
Calories per serving: 48

Blueberries with Lemon Cream
This recipe is like an instant

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

I want to be better at saving money and one place I can start is with dinner. No, I'm not going to be serving my family ramen noodles every night. I'm still going to cook delicious, healthy dinners, but I'm going to be more savvy about the recipes I choose to make. To keep things simple (and cheap!) during the work week, I'll stick to recipes with only 5 ingredients (not including the bare essentials like oil, salt and pepper). AND I'm not going to spend more than $50. Is it Dinner Impossible? No! Check out my menu (and my shopping list) for the week. It comes out to just under $40 for main dishes, leaving me $10 for healthy sides like salad greens, broccoli and brown rice. Maybe I'll even be able to slip in a dessert.

Here are the recipes I'm making and how much they cost:

Monday: Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pimiento Cheese (see the recipe below) $6.69
Tuesday: Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter $11.80
Wednesday:

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

I love making ice cream at home, but have to say it's been a real wake-up call. Somehow mixing egg yolks with more heavy cream than I would ever fathom using in any other circumstance makes me acutely aware of how much fat and calories are in each tasty bite. So instead of packing away my ice cream maker for good, I've decided to start making lighter ice cream at home. There are a few tricks to making it taste good, including an unexpected secret ingredient that makes it taste almost as rich as the full-fat stuff. Here are my tips for making great lighter ice cream at home:

Don't Miss: Which Is Healthier: Ice Cream, Sorbet or Frozen Yogurt?

Recipes to Try: Healthy Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Frozen Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and More Lighter Frozen Dessert Recipes
Peach Frozen Yogurt and More Frozen Yogurt Recipes
Frozen Raspberry Pie and More Low-Calorie Ice Cream Pie and Frozen Dessert Recipes

1. Use

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

This summer, don't let the smoke from the backyard grill cloud your good judgment when considering health advice from friends and family. When it comes to health and natural remedies it's enticing to grab onto juicy half-truths and hearsay. Don't get me wrong--as with any good story, a nutrition myth can offer a valuable lesson. The most persistent nutrition myths are those that contain at least some truth. Here are 5 common summer health myths to watch out for--as reported in EatingWell Magazine:

Don't Miss: The 13 Biggest Nutrition & Food Myths Busted

1. Always wear sunblock. Thanks to our obsession with sunscreen--as well as a short list of vitamin-D-rich foods and hours spent indoors--three out of four Americans don't get enough vitamin D. While we once thought vitamin-D deficiency was only a problem for people living in northern latitudes, a 2010 Pediatrics study found that 56 percent of teens

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

A 15-minute no-bake chocolate pie? Yes, it is possible! We cut down on time by using a food processor to mix everything together. All you need to do is melt some chocolate chips, whiz them together with the secret ingredient, add a splash of maple syrup and a capful of vanilla, stir in raspberries and just 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and dump it all (decoratively, of course) in a graham cracker crust. (See below for the recipe.)

Don't Miss: No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake and More of Our Best Picnic Desserts

No one who takes a bite of the resulting luscious chocolate-ness will guess what the secret ingredient is that makes this pie so creamy and healthy. This chocolate raspberry pie gets an amazing smooth, rich, creamy texture from--wait for it--silken tofu. That means you don't have to use butter, heavy whipping cream or cream cheese found in many other, not-so-light pie recipes. This healthy swap can save you up to 200 calories

By Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine

It's already started: just the other day I ran into my neighbors as they were admiring their garden. "Looks like we've got a lot of zucchini coming in," one of them said. "Would you like some?"

Yes, I would. It seems like everyone has zucchini to offer this time of year--it's one of the most easy-to-grow garden veggies out there and a staple of supermarkets, farmers' markets and backyard gardens alike. Finding ways to use it all is one of summer's delicious challenges.

It's a challenge I'm always up for. Zukes have a mild, grassy flavor that pairs well with almost anything. They're great raw in salads, grilled, sautéed or stuffed. You can even cook the blossoms! At about 70¢ a pound this time of year, they're amazingly cheap too. While they are low in calories, just 15 calories in a 3/4-cup serving, they're rich in potassium, which promotes healthy blood pressure, as well as immunity-supporting vitamins C, A

By Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D. Associate Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

I'm on a big smoothie kick lately. Every morning, I've been blending up different variations of frozen fruit and skim milk or yogurt with a handful of walnuts. It's a refreshing breakfast on hot mornings that also happens to be nutritious.

Must-Try: 21 Quick & Healthy Smoothie Recipes
Related: Best & Worst Smoothies to Buy at Fast-Food Restaurants

As a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor of EatingWell Magazine, I've been thinking of ways to kick up the nutritional impact of my new favorite breakfast even more. Here are 6 health-packed ingredients to supercharge your smoothie:

Green tea
Really, what can green tea not do? The world's most popular beverage boasts cancer-fighting catechins. Those antioxidants may also help to boost your immunity. One more benefit? It may help to protect your skin from sun damage.

Silken tofu
Silken tofu is loaded with