An Air fryer is a countertop convection oven that cooks food by circulating hot air rapidly throughout its interior. Food cooks more quickly, and becomes crispy and golden brown without using a lot of oil. With an air fryer you can make crispy french fries with just a light spray of olive oil. Fried chicken? Same thing. Meatballs are another food that is traditionally fried in oil. I like to make turkey meatballs because they're leaner than typical Italian meatball meat (a co

Despite their healthfulness, I do not like eating main-course salads during the winter, especially not here in the frigid state of Kansas. Soups and stews are more to my liking. This recipe for Tuscan Vegetable Chicken Stew, which I adapted from The Recipe Critic, provides close to a day's worth of hearty vegetables. It also provides protein from chicken and white beans, making it a full meal. The recipe serves 6, which may be more than you need for one or two meals. That's n

If spinach isn't your thing, here's another recipe for egg bites, again from the NYT Cooking section, that features different optional vegetables and mix-ins. The NYT recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese; I cut it back to 1 cup to lower the fat, calories and WW Points. You can add bacon or sausage, which will minimally increase the calorie & WW Point count. Whatever your choices, these make great high-protein breakfasts or afternoon snacks. They keep in the fridge for

Egg bites are basically tiny frittatas baked in muffin tins. This recipe, from the NYT Cooking section, is mostly spinach and green onions held together by egg, cottage cheese and Parmesan. Frozen spinach is very good for you. It's packed with iron, calcium, folate and antioxidants. In fact, it’s often more nutritious than fresh spinach that's traveled many miles to the supermarket. The NYT recipe calls for two 10-oz. packages of frozen chopped spinach but I found that to be

This is the chicken breast recipe for those of us who are becoming tired of healthy, low-fat, diet-friendly (yawn) chicken breasts. Several factors contribute to its success: lemon-pepper seasoning, fresh lemon juice and butter. Yes, you read that right, butter. The recipe, adapted from the NYT Cooking section, calls for 3 Tbsp. of unsalted butter. The butter combines with fresh lemon juice to make a delectable sauce to serve over the chicken. I cut the butter down to 2 Tbsp.

According to knowledgeable food forecasters, the vegetable of 2026 will be cabbage, the lowly vegetable that in the 1950’s became famous (and infamous) as the main culprit in the Cabbage Soup Diet. The Cabbage Soup Diet became popular as a fast way to lose pounds. Most recipes included dry onion soup mix (high in sodium) and lots of chopped cabbage. Dieters were instructed to follow the diet for one week, during which they could eat as much soup as they wanted. I'm pretty sur