Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

By Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine

A few months ago, I took on an ambitious cooking project that made my wife scratch her head. It left our kitchen a mess and the entire house smelling like smoke; it took up an entire Saturday and, worst of all, it didn't even produce a viable meal! My poor spouse thought I was crazy: what had I gained from all that effort? But then she tasted the result.

I had created a thick, brown, butter-like paste called "beef extract"--a sort of bone-marrow jelly--by boiling beef stock into oblivion. It tasted amazing. It was earthy and deep--not salty, exactly, but with a hint of filet mignon, portobello mushrooms and homemade broth. It had a roundness and depth to it that filled your entire mouth the way the sound of a foghorn fills your chest. A teaspoon of it imparted an unspeakable savoriness to tomato sauces, added depth to stir-fries and transformed toast into a kind of crispy, hot drug. We couldn't get enough.

No-Bake Cherry CheesecakeBy Emily McKenna, Recipe Developer & Tester for EatingWell Magazine

This Memorial Day I'm hosting a picnic and each of my friends is going to bring a dish. I am in charge of dessert. Lucky for me it is cherry time-the few wonderful weeks in between spring and summer when fresh cherries are available at my farmers' market. (Sweet and tart cherries are also available year-round canned or frozen.)

Recipes to Try: Delicious Cherry Recipes including Dark Cherry Bundt Cake

I've already chosen my dessert-No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake Bars from our article about cherry season in the May/June issue of EatingWell Magazine. This recipe is part bar, part cherry pie and part cheesecake fused into a super-easy, no-bake dessert that will become your go-to for warm-weather picnicking. The best part? You don't need the oven! Here's the recipe:

More Recipes to Try: Greek Yogurt Cheesecake & More Healthy Cheesecake Recipes
Quick & Easy Fresh Fruit Desserts Ready in 15 Minutes or Less

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

Summer is around the corner and you know what that means--shedding layers, baring skin and wanting to look (and feel) your best. And there's good news. I've put together a 4-week plan that can help you lose that stubborn extra weight, while giving you healthy eating tools and strategies that you can keep using to continue and maintain your weight loss.

Here's your 4-week plan to slim down for summer:

Start off with EatingWell's 28-day meal plan for weight loss--depending on your daily calorie needs, you can healthfully lose up to 2 pounds a week on it. Using this meal plan takes the guesswork out of what to eat. Each of these days delivers meal ideas and recipes that will help you feel satisfied, while sticking to the calorie goal you need to lose weight. Then adopt one of the following new healthy behaviors each week. Follow the plan to a T or use it as a guide to healthy portions and

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

Can a healthy diet help you breathe easier? Some research says…yes. But there are also a lot of unproven dietary strategies touted help manage allergies and asthma. What works? What doesn't? Find out here. (Of course, if you have allergies or asthma, you should always follow the advice of your health-care provider.)

Snacking on fruit to prevent asthma? Worth a try! Eating fruit could lower your risk of asthma, according to Dutch researchers who tracked the asthma symptoms and diets of children from birth through eight years of age. They found those who ate more fruit throughout their childhood had lower rates of asthma. Researchers think the antioxidants in fruits and veggies could protect airways from damage, possibly reducing risk of asthma, which afflicts more than 8 percent of Americans. Other research has specifically found that apples, bananas and vitamin-C-rich fruits, such as citrus,

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

Water accounts for 60 percent of our body (or about 11 gallons or 92 pounds inside a 155-pound person) and is essential to every cell. So it's not to surprising that new research-reported on at the recent British Psychological Society Annual Conference in London-found that college students who brought water with them into an exam scored higher marks than their counterparts who didn't have water.

Unfortunately, the researchers didn't look into whether the students actually drank the water. Nor did they investigate the reasons behind the study findings. But the researchers hypothesized that drinking water could improve students' thinking and/or help students stay calm and quell their anxiety-both of which could hinder their test performance.

Their thinking makes sense to me: other research has suggested that staying hydrated keeps your memory sharp, your mood stable and your motivation intact. You can

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

Imagine a diet where you can eat anything you want. The catch? You only eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full. It's intuitive eating-a way of eating that helps people establish a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

I'd read a lot about intuitive eating from bloggers who've embraced the approach after years of dieting and said it had helped them to have a healthier relationship with food-they could eat what they wanted and still maintained a healthy weight. To learn more I interviewed Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D., the author of Intuitive Eating and one of the thought leaders on the subject for the May/June issue of EatingWell Magazine (read the full interview here).

As a registered dietitian and associate nutrition editor of EatingWell, intuitive eating makes a lot of sense to me-it's an inherently healthy way to eat. Rather than focusing on some sort of external sense

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Pork Chops are one of my favorite meats to grill. They're quick cooking and relatively cheap, but they haven't always been so well received. The popularity of pork took a nosedive in the 1970's because people were concerned about fat. To quell their fears, producers bred leaner pigs so the pork we're eating today is much healthier (has less fat) than the pork you could buy 30 years ago. But this healthier pork a double edge sword, especially when it comes to lean cuts of meat like pork chops-good in that it's healthier for us because its lower in fat, but bad in the flavor department. Fat helps meat stay juicy and flavorful when it's cooked. Is there away to enjoy juicy pork chops with less fat? Yes! Follow these simple tips for cooking juicy pork chops every time:

Ham & Cheese Breakfast CasseroleBy Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine

Brunch is one of life's simple pleasures. I love sitting with a few friends, enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee and savoring an omelet in the middle of the morning. The meal's versatile menu-sweet or savory-special drinks and sleepyhead-friendly timing make it perhaps the perfect meal. As The Simpsons once put it: "You'll love it! It's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end." So true!

But even something as wonderful as brunch is capable of being ruined. And since many people are gearing up to make delicious Mother's Day brunches, I thought I'd run down some of the most common mistakes people make to protect you from a midmorning brunch disaster.

Here are 5 of the most common brunch mistakes and how to avoid them:

1. You Overcook The Eggs-Even the most casual cooks can fry eggs decently-after all, it's usually just a matter of breaking a few into a