Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

Carrot cake is one of those sneaky little desserts that make you believe you're being virtuous (it's got carrots!) but really, it's a calorie bomb. One generous slice of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting has around 650 calories. Carrots or no carrots, that's not a good deal for your figure (unless you have a few extra hours to spend at the gym). But that doesn't mean you have to write it off. With a few easy substitutions, you can make a delicious carrot cake that is actually good for you.

Don't Miss: 10 Cooking Secrets That Will Make Your Favorite Foods Healthier

At 342 calories per slice, EatingWell's healthy carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting comes in at nearly half the calories of a traditional version. Here's how we made carrot cake healthy:

1. Replace Some Oil with Buttermilk
Carrot cake is loaded with oil, which helps keep it moist and full of flavor. Although oil may not have as

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

I used to do my own taxes, but in the last few years, with the complications of kids in and out of college and so on, I (gratefully) handed everything over to a professional. I've just dropped off everything with her for last year's taxes--and immediately resolved to get our spending under control. Starting with grocery shopping. My idea of shopping within a budget is typically to ask the budget to look the other way. (After all, it doesn't want me to go without good bread and wine, does it?) Is it any wonder that now I'm afraid I'll be digging through the couch cushions to pay our taxes when I should have been saving money all along?

Don't Miss: 7-Day Budget-Friendly Dinner Plan & Shopping List

Staying within a grocery budget is a good exercise anytime of year, of course. This dinner recipe from the EatingWell Test Kitchen for no-chop stovetop Sausage & Peppers Baked Ziti helpfully watches the budget (and the clock) for you:

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

Slow cookers seem to have a season. They're used all fall and winter like a favorite down jacket, then tucked away once the crocuses start pushing up through the ground. But the best part about the slow cooker is that it's convenient. And, surely, convenience has no season. Why pack it away just because it's T-shirt weather?

Don't Miss: Spring Slow Cooker Recipes for Your Crock Pot

If you love your slow cooker and want to keep using it as often as possible, I suggest rethinking what you cook in it. Lighter dishes are what I'm in the mood for now. And because I want to spend less time in the kitchen and more time outside, I want crock pot recipes that let me skip precooking and browning ingredients before they go into the slow cooker. I just want to load up my slow cooker, press "Start" and forget it.

For the March/April issue of EatingWell magazine Carolyn Malcoun developed slow-cooker recipes with two goals in mind: keep it

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

If you have celiac-disease, gluten-sensitivity or for some other reason you're not eating gluten--the protein found in wheat, rye and barley--you probably know to steer clear of big, obvious offenders like bread, pasta and baked goods.

Related: 4 Easy Ways to Avoid Gluten

But there are also foods that are sometimes made with gluten-containing ingredients that you wouldn't necessarily expect to contain gluten. Here's a list of surprising foods that are not gluten-free--a must-read if you have celiac-disease, are eating gluten-free or cooking for someone who is.

• Bouillon cubes and broths
• Dairy substitutes, such as nondairy creamer
• Rice mixes
• Potato chips
• Hard candy
• Licorice
• Jelly beans
• Cold cuts
• Hot dogs
• Salami
• Sausage
• Communion wafers
• French fries
• Gravy
• Imitation fish
• Matzo
• Sauces
•

By Wendy Ruopp, Managing Editor of EatingWell

A few years ago we asked some of our favorite EatingWell contributors to share healthy breakfast recipes from their part of the world. Darina Allen--chef, cookbook author and director of the legendary Irish cooking school Ballymaloe in County Cork--sent us her recipe for Irish Soda Bread, with this letter:

"On Sunday morning I love to cook a huge Irish breakfast--rashers and sausage and some lovely fresh eggs from the "Palais de Poulets," our swanky sounding but rather ordinary hen house here at Ballymaloe…. Perhaps best of all, the meal is completed with fresh-baked Irish soda bread.
"While the kettle of spring water on our ancient Aga cooker is coming to the boil, I start by measuring out some flour for the soda bread, then go to the pantry for the jug of thick buttermilk from our Jersey cow. The bread is mixed in seconds in the beamy plastic washing-up bowl we keep for the purpose.
"Even though I've been making bread

By Gretel H. Schueller, Contributing Writer for EatingWell

There's nothing worse than meeting someone and realizing that your breath smells like your tuna lunch, stale coffee or worse. What you eat and poor oral hygiene are the two main causes of halitosis, or bad breath.

When you think about it, the mouth is a dirty worksite: more than 600 kinds of bacteria live in the average mouth. Many produce smelly gases as they digest the tiny food particles lodged between your teeth and on your tongue. Some of the most offensive gases produced by mouth bacteria are sulfur compounds, which are formed during the breakdown of proteins. Garlic and onion also contain many sulfur compounds. A proper oral-hygiene routine, which includes brushing, flossing, rinsing, tongue cleansing and regular visits to the dentist, is an important first step.

But even with good dental hygiene your breath can still stink. About $1 billion a year is spent on breath-freshening products like gum and mints.

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

Some of the things you do--or don't do--every day might be sabotaging your efforts to be healthier. As you read the list of daily habits, don't be too hard on yourself and expect that you'll change all of these at once. The key to success is to slowly integrate change into your life. And if you fall off the wagon occasionally, don't fret--it's more important that you get back on.

Unhealthy habit #1: Not drinking enough water.
Water accounts for 60 percent of our body so it's not too surprising that drinking water benefits your total body health. Staying hydrated helps to keep your memory sharp, your mood stable and your motivation intact. Keeping up with your fluids helps your skin stay supple, your body cool down when it's hot, allows your muscles and joints to work better and helps clean toxins from your body via your kidneys. So, how much water should you be drinking? The Institute of Medicine says

By Hilary Meyer, Associate Food Editor, EatingWell Magazine

French fries are a near perfect food. It's hard to improve upon perfect, but when we're talking sweet potato fries, the old classic may have found its rival. They're a little sweet plus they offer plenty of vitamin A and beta carotene- something a French fry doesn't. But none of that matters if they're swimming in fat and calories--which is an unfortunate reality for most things fried. At a restaurant, a small order of deep-fried sweet potato fries can set you back 260 calories and 13 grams of fat.

Luckily, making your own crispy sweet potato fries is easy to do in your oven, so you don't need a deep fryer. You'll save 122 calories and 11 grams of fat per serving when you "fry" them in your oven instead. Here are a few tips for making perfect crispy (!) sweet potato fries without burning:

1. Cut All Fries the Same Size
Whether you cut your fries into sticks or wedges, the pieces need to be the same size.