Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

I've been pretty busy this summer and I'm happy to report that the one thing that hasn't suffered at home are my healthy home-cooked dinners. My secret? Some ultra-quick dinner recipes and a little bit of planning. I can be out and about all day and still have dinner on the table in 20 minutes or le

Are these summer-food myths fact or fiction? Take our quiz to find out how food-smart you are and get delicious summer recipes!

For years I've been eating the Mediterranean way, packing my diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, "good" oils like olive oil, whole grains, nuts and fish. In May I got to eat this way in an actual Mediterranean country-Tunisia!

I enjoyed the delicious local cuisine, which includes couscous, lamb, grilled seafood and lots of fresh veggies. Many of the dishes are prepared with olive oil- a staple in Mediterranean cooking. On my travels I learned about the process of turning olives into olive oil and sampled several different oils. They were light and pungent, and I bought a can of my favorite olive oil to enjoy when I got home. I've used it in some of these delicious Mediterranean recipes. Try them and taste Tunisia for yourself!

Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip (see recipe below) - This roasted eggplant and feta dip gets a kick from a fresh chile pepper and cayenne pepper. Serve with toasted pita crisps or as a sandwich spread.

Tunisian Spiced Lamb Chops & Chard -

I love biting into a wedge of sweet summer watermelon and letting the juice dribble down my chin. (I've been known to compete in seed-spitting contests with my friends, too.)

Pouring milk over a bowl of a sugar-laden cereal may be a quick breakfast option, but it isn't satisfying, at least not to me. I know because for years that was my breakfast. By early afternoon the sugar jolt from the morning had worn off and I was tired and hungry. Then out came the bag of potato chips. These days my healthy breakfast recipes aren't heavy on the sugar. They're still fast, but are full of satisfying, healthy ingredients like fiber-rich fruits and vegetables and lean protein. My healthy breakfasts keep me going until lunch time, so that bag of chips can stay in the vending machine.

Here are a few of my favorite breakfast recipes. They all take 15 minutes or less (except for the peanut energy bar which I make ahead for a grab-and-go option):

Egg & Salmon Sandwich - Smoked salmon and egg whites on a toasted whole-wheat English muffin is the perfect power breakfast. For a more substantial meal, pair it with a piece of fruit or a glass of 100% juice.

Peanut

To me, nothing says "it's summer" like ice cream-sundaes, sandwiches, even frozen yogurt. I have fond memories of summer vacation at the beach and riding bikes with my cousins to the nearby ice cream shop in the evenings. Back then I always ordered ice cream in a cone, but as I grew up I became an ice-cream-in-a-cup kind of girl. Why? I don't know-I probably thought it was less childish and more civilized. But I recently read that licking ice cream is more satisfying than eating with a spoon, so I'm going back to my childhood ways.

"Flavor in ice cream is released when the fat-which carries the flavor-is warmed to at least body temperature," explains Kay McMath, a food technologist for New Zealand's Massey University, in an article in the August issue of EatingWell magazine. When you lick ice cream it coats the tongue and fully warms the frozen treat. A spoon, on the other hand, insulates the ice cream. And then there's the psychological aspect of savoring the treat more slowly:

I was being interviewed for a radio show the other day and the host asked me about summer comfort foods-what to grill, what to bring to a party and of course, what's for dessert. I immediately suggested one of my absolute top picks for summertime comfort food recipes: Beer-Barbecued Chicken (see recipe below). The EatingWell test kitchen developed this recipe as a healthier version of the famous beer can chicken. If you're not familiar with that method, you basically stick a chicken on top of an open can of beer and stand the whole thing up on your grill over indirect heat to yield a moist flavorful chicken. Someone who called into the show said it's also known as "beer-butt chicken." I think I'll go with that name from now on!

Regardless of the name, our recipe makes the most juicy and succulent chicken. Our method doesn't involve a can so you can use a tasty micro brew instead of a less flavorful mass-produced beer. Yes, we can be a bit beer-snobby over here at EatingWell, but

While working on five new freezer-pop recipes in the EatingWell Test Kitchen, I was greeted by, "Mom, Mom, did you bring me another popsicle?" when I got home at the end of every day. My son Sawyer was our official under-5 taste-tester and he took his job seriously. Although his hands-down favorite was the Vanilla-Orange Freezer Pop, he gave high marks to all, except the coffee-flavored confection. Just one taste of the chocolaty Mocha Ice Pop and he declared, "This one's just for moms and dads." What Sawyer didn't know is that all the pops we developed are less than 90 calories each, so you can experience guilt-free pleasure when cooling off with one.

In addition to all the healthy Frozen Dessert Recipes we already have, we developed delicious recipes for Banana Pudding Pops, Watermelon-Blueberry Ice Pops and Mocha Ice Pops. But my favorite of the five pops we made this summer? The chocolate-raspberry yogurt pop. (The little beauty is pictured below.) Raspberry, after all, is