By replacing unhealthy foods with healthy alternatives in a recipe, you can cook healthy food, reduce fat, increase nutrients, lower calories and improve your diet. Here are 10 simple tips that you can use in the kitchen to make more healthy foods; lose the calories and fat, not the taste.

Risotto is one of those dishes that we all love to eat, but not many of us have the patience to make it often. It takes about 20 minutes of careful watching and every few minutes adding a half cup of hot stock to the rice, as the rice slowly absorbs the liquid it’s in. ……

Lets say you’ve lost all the weight you needed to loose. Now there is another challenge that faces us at this point…how can we maintain our new ideal body weight? ……

You can’t beat shrimp for a nutritious addition to your diet. Both the wild and organically farmed raised shrimp are nutrient-rich.  

And, for all you calorie conscious consumers, Shrimp is also a low calorie seafood, making it a “safe” item on your diet. Its rich in vitamin D, B-12 and selenium, a combination of nutrients rarely found in one food, especially in the American diet.

Many people don’t realize how shrimp’s low mercury levels make it safe for those who must pay attention to their exposure to mercury. The level is 1/10th of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Action Level for mercury in fish and shellfish.

There is however, one concern about shrimp that should be mentioned in the midst of all this praise. If some of you need to limit your cholesterol intake, shrimp does contain a higher cholesterol level. There are about 220 milligrams of cholesterol in four ounces of cooked shrimp. This could be an issue for some people.

All in all, however, shrimp is a very good addition to our diets.

I used the following healing tips to change my health, save my life, and then save the lives of my patients. ……

Melting chocolate is a simple task that can go so horribly wrong if you don’t know what you are doing.
We’ve found a video to help you conquer this task! ……

Other alternatives to avoid too much in between snacking are… ……

3-Vegetables and dips make healthy snacks

Vegetable crudités are some of the most healthy and easy snacks to prepare. Cut up small pieces of your favorite vegetables and enjoy them with a small amount of dip made with extra virgin olive oil or low-fat yogurt. I like the idea of a low-fat yogurt since it boosts up the protein content and increases the “holding power” of the snack. Bean dips would work in this exact same way, and are even higher in protein and fiber than dips made using yogurt. Small amounts of nut or seed butters-like almond butter or sesame seed butter (tahini)-would also help to build the fiber and protein content of a dip as well as bring small-to-moderate amounts of dietary fat into your snacks. From my perspective, when kept moderate, this added fat can be a good thing for slightly slowing the digestive process and stretching the snack’s impact. But it’s also important not to overdo things, and push your snack calories upward all the way to meal level.

Ideas for vegetable selection include (but are definitely not limited to) zucchini sticks, baby carrots, bell pepper slices, and cauliflower and broccoli florets. Even though it is not highly time-consuming to do the cutting and chopping of these vegetables yourself, you might want to consider the added convenience of pre-chopped and pre-sliced vegetables. Many stores offer organically grown, pre-cut vegetables that could provide just the right amount of extra convenience to get you going on some improved snack options. In any case, you’ll get a variety of nutrients from these vegetable-plus-dip combinations and have your appetite satisfied by a reasonable number of calories.

Thanks to George Mateljan for his timely tips on snacking!

There are many varieties of romaine lettuce found in the marketplace. All varieties of romaine lettuce are healthy and nourishing. ……

Today we share part 2 of our Hints and Tips for reducing your snacking. ……