Blog Posts by The Editors of EatingWell Magazine

I'm one of those people who lives to eat. Luckily, I've been able to keep any unwanted extra pounds at bay thanks, in part, to my passion for running and also, in part, to my commitment to eating as many fruits and vegetables a day as possible.

My love of food (it's an obsession, actually, according to this quiz: Are you obsessed with food?) is so great that for years I've been dreading the day my metabolism hits the brakes and slows down. Metabolism slows by 1 to 2 percent each decade after age 30, and that's just around the corner for me.

But a slower metabolism is most marked in one's sixties and beyond. Why? There's a significant decrease in muscle in your sixties, particularly in women. And since muscle is a calorie-burning powerhouse, muscle loss equals fewer calories burned.

So while the aging-metabolism situation isn't as imminent as I'd assumed, I'm determined to age gracefully (I love these 7 Foods to Keep You Young) and outsmart any weight gain by preserving

I love farmers' markets and try to make them a part of my week. But I never really thought about all the reasons why they are so healthy until I read the new EatingWell in Season: The Farmers' Market Cookbook and began making its recipes. In this new book, Dr. Preston Maring tells how he convinced Kaiser Permanente hospitals up and down the West Coast to set up farmers' markets in their parking lots. Dr. Maring says, "Shopping and eating from your farmers' market is the single best thing you can do for your health." He also outlines 7 other reasons why you should shop at farmers' markets, including:

1. Get Inspired: Wondering what to do with all that fresh rhubarb? Farmers' markets inspire me to make new recipes, like Spice-Rubbed Game Hens with Rhubarb-Date Chutney or some of my other spring recipe favorites.

2. Follow a Better Diet: One Kaiser employee started shopping at the farmers' market and lost 63 pounds in six months. Here's how he did it.

3. Learn How to Cook

After a long day of work, it's easy to let healthy eating slide. I would much prefer to go out to dinner than come home and start worrying about what to make for dinner. But I've found a secret to making quick, easy and healthy weeknight meals: I plan ahead. On Sunday, I make a list of meals for the week, I shop for them all at once, and post my menu on the fridge to stay on track. It's a lot harder to justify a restaurant meal when all my ingredients for a healthy, home-cooked dinner that can be done quickly are right in front of me.

Here is what's on the menu this week:

Monday: Steak & Potato Kebabs with Creamy Cilantro Sauce (recipe below)-Steak kebabs get a Southwestern spin with poblano peppers and a creamy sauce spiked with cilantro, chile powder, cumin and vinegar. The potatoes are partially cooked in the microwave before putting them on the grill so they're done at the same time as faster-cooking steak, peppers and onions. Serve with: Green salad and Spanish rice.

I love strong flavors and plenty of heat. So Sichuan food, known for its spices, is one of my favorite Chinese regional cuisines. Kung Pao Chicken is one of the most well-known Sichuan dishes. It is super-popular on most American Chinese menus. But there's no reason to wait until you go out to enjoy this dish. You can make it at home in just 30 minutes.

And when you make Chinese food yourself you can keep it healthy with less oil and soy sauce. Plus you can bump up the amount of vegetables in it. A combination of broccoli and peppers is delicious. To cut down on prep time I like to use broccoli crowns, which are the tops of the bunches, with the stalks cut off. Most supermarkets sell broccoli crowns and although crowns are more expensive than entire bunches, there is considerably less waste. Tofu makes a delicious stand-in for chicken in Kung Pao Tofu (recipe below) because it soaks up tons of flavor from the sauce.

Here are recipes for healthy versions of Chinese dishes

I don't drink milk. In fact, I can't remember the last time I tried to choke down a glass. (It was probably shortly after seeing some super-fit athlete or gorgeous model sporting a milk mustache in a glossy ad. That kind of marketing really works on me...) And, only making matters worse, I'm really inconsistent when it comes to taking calcium supplements.

I know that dairy foods are the best sources of calcium-and if I don't get enough calcium in my diet, my body will draw it from "banked" stores in my bones-but there's only so much yogurt and cottage cheese a girl can eat.

So, to keep my bones strong, I offset my not-so-healthy habits with these bone-strengthening ones:

1. "Stress" your skeleton (in a good way). Anything that gets your blood pumping is good for your heart and overall health, but weight-bearing physical activities, such as walking, jogging, lifting weights and playing racquet sports, are best for keeping bones strong. When you jump, run or lift a weight,

This weekend, the farmers' market in my town is starting up and I absolutely cannot wait! I love shopping the market for fruits and vegetables that represent all colors of the rainbow. A colorful variety means that my shopping bag looks super pretty-but it also means that I'm packing in tons of good nutrients. In the new, yummy EatingWell in Season: The Farmers' Market Cookbook, Dr. Preston Maring says nature saturates foods with bright hues to highlight their nutritional benefits. Anthocyanins make blueberries blue and may help to keep your mind sharp. Tomatoes get their ruby hue from lycopene, a compound that may help prevent breast cancer. Here's the vibrant variety I'll be looking for all summer long with some delicious recipes from EatingWell in Season: The Farmers' Market Cookbook.

Red: Red foods, such as tomatoes, watermelon and red bell peppers, contain lycopene, a phytochemical that may help protect against prostate and breast cancers. Red bells give sweet flavor to

My mother has a real sweet tooth. When I look for Mother's Day brunch recipes, I try to keep that in mind, but I don't want to go overboard. This year, I think I have the perfect menu to satisfy her love of sweets. She's the one who taught me the importance of moderation, so this mix of sweet and sa

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo-olé! We're way too busy this week to throw a proper dinner party on a Tuesday night. Plus it's a "school night," so we're just going to have friends over for a low-key margarita and chips-and-salsa party on our deck. It's a good excuse to get together and unwind after work. And since most salsas taste better with age, I can make them tonight. (And if you do have time to throw a dinner party, check out our Healthy Mexican Recipe Collection!)

My favorite salsa is Salsa Rojo (recipe below). It's a homemade version of the tomato salsa served at taco stands and burrito joints everywhere. Try it with all your favorite Mexican foods-it even works as enchilada sauce.

Tomato & Green Olive Salsa is a zesty spin on standard tomato salsa that includes sliced green olives and hot pepper relish. Serve as a dip with toasted pita chips or spoon over grilled fish or chicken.

Try Watermelon Salsa with tortilla chips as a refreshing alternative to a