Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

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

Want to give your workout a boost? Five key ingredients can give your body an extra edge when exercising--or recovering from your workout, as Joyce Hendley wrote about in the July/August issue of EatingWell Magazine. And as a bonus, she developed a homemade energy bar recipe that packs them all into a delicious, convenient bar to power your workout and help you refuel afterward. (Get the recipe for EatingWell Energy Bars and more Granola & Power Bars.)

Here are the 5 ingredients that can help power your next workout.

1. Peanuts
The most protein-rich nut of them all helps give our bar an egg's worth of quality protein.

Pre-workout: A little protein staves off hunger without overtaxing digestion.

Post-workout: Protein helps repair muscles and stokes your body's muscle-building machinery--especially when consumed within a half hour after exercising.

2. Brown Rice Cereal & Oats

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Grilled cheese seems like the perfect food. It's easy to make, has few ingredients and sports a crispy crust and a warm, gooey, cheesy center. What's not to love? How about the 410 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat per sandwich? I don't love that. Grilled cheese can attribute its high fat and calories to the butter spread on the outside of the bread to make it crispy and the copious amounts of cheese in the middle. Pair that with a couple of slices of plain white bread and you have a nutritional disaster.

But do you really need all of that to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich? No! Here are 5 secrets for how to make grilled cheese that saves calories and fat to boot.

Don't Miss: 10 Secrets to Healthier Cooking

1. Pick the right cheese: When it comes to grilled cheese, not all cheese is created equal. Some people love American cheese. It has superior melting qualities, but it falls short on flavor

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

When the weather got steamy this week, you can bet I made friends with an old summer standby: soft-serve frozen yogurt. Among the creamy frozen dessert choices, from frozen yogurt to super-premium ice cream, frozen yogurt is the healthiest option--5 ounces of frozen yogurt "costs" 120 calories, while the same amount of soft-serve ice cream has 220 calories. But if I pile on the wrong toppings I could nearly double the calorie total of my "healthy treat."

Make Your Own: Skinny Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Recipes
Easy 100-Calorie Freezer Pops

See how 10 popular frozen yogurt toppings stack up per tablespoon (about the size of a Ping-Pong ball) before your next treat:

Strawberries
Calories: 3
What else you get: Skin-firming vitamin C.

Pineapple
Calories: 5
What else you get: A burst of tropical flavor and some fiber.

Mango
Calories: 6
What else you

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

We're all starting to spend more time outdoors. And that warm summer sun feels oh-so-good--until I remember the damage it could be wreaking on my skin: 90% of skin aging is caused by the sun.

Protecting yourself from UV radiation can help prevent premature skin aging. Sunscreen is still the first line of defense against sun damage (experts say slather on an ounce--about a palmful--of SPF 30 or higher and re-apply every 2 hours). And there's more you can do--the latest research suggests that three beverages may also deliver nutrients that protect your skin--as reported by Hillary Gilson in EatingWell Magazine.

Related: 6 Anti-Aging Foods for Your Skin

Green Tea. New research in the Journal of Nutrition gives us one more reason to sip this super drink. Women who drank 4 cups of green tea per day for 12 weeks lowered their risk of sunburn by 25 percent, plus their skin density and

By Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine

Sweet corn is one of summer's simplest, purest pleasures. A fresh-picked ear, grilled to caramelized perfection and lightly buttered, offers incredible, complex sweetness, an intoxicating texture and plenty of nutrition benefits to boot.

But many people have convinced themselves that sweet corn is bad. That's a shame. It's easy to take a few real nuggets of fact and use them to come to a distorted conclusion about this super-delicious summer veggie.

New Study Results: Is high-fructose corn syrup really worse for you than sugar?

In Barry Estabrook's feature in the July/August issue of EatingWell, "Sweet Summer Corn," he set the record straight about this misunderstood vegetable. Here are some of the biggest myths about corn that he dispels:

Myth #1: Most sweet corn is genetically modified.
Truth: A lot of people mix up "sweet corn," the vegetable you buy to eat, and "field corn"-the virtually

By Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine

I think one of the biggest obstacles people have in getting creative with their grill is not understanding the incredible range of foods that can be cooked on it. Hot dogs and burgers are great, but they only scratch the surface of what a grill can do. One of the tastiest things I ever cooked on a grill wasn't even meat! Last summer, as part of a weekend grilling spectacular, my friends and I seared big, flat watermelon "steaks" on the grill. The results tasted great. The heat toned down the fruit's natural sweetness, allowing the other nuances of its flavor to shine. There was a nice caramelized char all along the grill lines and a pervasive smokiness throughout. We served it with mozzarella cheese and some balsamic vinegar--fantastic!

To help inspire your backyard creativity, I thought I'd list 8 delicious, unexpected foods you can cook on the grill.

1. Artichokes: Artichokes are most often served steamed,

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

This summer, I'm all about sticking to my budget. Unfortunately some of my favorite meats to grill are on the expensive side. Beef tenderloin runs around $15 per pound--even chicken breast is expensive at around $6.50 per pound. I wanted to see if I can set a limit and not spend more than $6 per pound for anything that lands on my grill.

Don't Miss: 12 Secrets to Spending Less at the Grocery Store

Will I be left with anything that's still worth eating? Yes! Here are 5 of the best, healthy, budget-friendly cuts of meat to grill all summer long.

Don't Miss: EatingWell's 13 Best Grilling Tips

1. Bone-in Chicken Thighs and Drumsticks: Chicken thighs and drumsticks run around $2.50 per pound and they're AWESOME on the grill. Dark meat is not only less expensive than white meat, but it's a little more forgiving when you cook it. White meat tends to dry out if you overcook it, but chicken thighs and drumsticks

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

Potlucks and BBQs tend to conjure up images of hot dogs, hamburgers and perfectly cooked grilled chicken in my mind. But we all know it's your relative's famous salad recipe that gets everyone coming back for second helpings. Salads are great dish to bring to get-togethers: you can prepare them the night before and cut down on prep time by buying precut vegetables. Here are 5 of EatingWell's best potluck recipes to try:

Three-Bean Salad
Most three-bean salads contain large amounts of sugar, whereas ours uses a minimal amount--only 1 tablespoon! With just one serving you'll get almost a quarter of your daily fiber requirement, making this dish not only tasty but also healthy.

Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground