cooking

The other day I popped into Trader Joe's for the usual essentials, and I immediately zeroed in on a new product — prewashed, precut kale in a bag — heavenly!

I'm not a big pre-packaged kind of girl, but Trader Joe's always offers a variety of bagged lettuces, and veggies, sliced, diced, washed, and ready for eating. What's great about kale is you can do so much with it and it is full of powerful immune-boosting antioxidants. What I do now is take the entire bag of kale and make delicious baked kale chips. Buying washed and already cut vegetables is a great way to cut your cooking and prep time in half. Even if you can't find the kinds of vegetables you want already bagged and ready to go (or maybe the bagged versions aren't fresh where you live), set aside 20 minutes, once or twice a week to wash, cut, peel, and store a variety of veggies. The next time you need a snack, you can grab some cut up peppers over a handful of cookies!

Another helpful time-saving tip is to stock up on canned legumes like chickpeas, kidney beans, and lentils and different bean-based soups. Beans come packed with protein, magnesium, potassium, foliate, and fiber; they fill you up quickly; require little preparation to use; and you can instantly add them to various recipes to make a dish more hearty. Here are some filling bean recipes to get you started.

Source: aMichiganMom

Readers, fuzzles wants your advice! She loves food and cooking, but needs to cut down on the salt. "What are your favorite low sodium products and tricks for a tasty lower sodium diet?" she asks. "I've had to get serious about this issue!"

We couldn't agree more. Just like sugar, salt has snuck its way into our diets in every way possible, so we've been watching our sodium intake, too. FitSugar has plenty of suggestions, like avoiding any foods that include salt as one of the first five ingredients, avoiding soda and sport drinks, and opting for low-sodium products. Personally, I try to stay away from anything in a can that I can obtain fresh, like vegetables or beans; those typically have tons of added sodium.

Did I miss anything? How do you cut down on your salt intake when cooking and dining out?

Readers, myhousemd needs our help. She recently uploaded a serving question to the community. She asks: "What is the cheapest and easiest way to feed 100+ people? It is for a service event that I am organizing on my area."

Although we don't know what time of day the food is going to be served, I recommend that she do a giant taco salad with lettuce, beans, rice, shredded cheese, tomatoes, olives, and tortilla chips with a salsa-based dressing. It's hearty, healthy, and since there's no protein, affordable.

What do you think she should make? Share your ideas in the comments below!

When I used to fantasize about my dream home, I would picture a massive sunken living room where everyone would congregate and socialize. But now that I'm getting wiser older, my visions have shifted from having my living room be the focal point of the house, to making my kitchen the "it zone" where everyone wants to gather.

The thing is, I'm a decent cook and I enjoy whipping up new dishes. But what keeps me in the kitchen is the fact that I make my kitchen fun. Home cooked meals are cheaper than dining out, and they are often healthier and taste better too. These are the very reasons why I focus on making my kitchen a place that I enjoy spending time in. And not only that, but I make sure the cooking process is exciting, too. Here are a few of my tips for making it fun to cook nutritious meals at home.

1. Grab a buddy Having a friend or family member join you in the kitchen is always a treat. Put your sous chef to work by having them chop up veggies or wash some lettuce. This way it'll be a team effort and your healthy dinner will be finished before you make it through your first glass of wine!

Find out what else you can do to make cooking in the kitchen fun.

Did you know that it's the powerful Indian spice turmeric that gives curry dishes that nice bold yellow hue? Turmeric not only adds to the aesthetic of Indian dishes, but it is also a powerful healing aid. The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, works in a very similar way to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. For thousands of years, people in China and India have been using the spice to treat inflammatory ailments and as an antiseptic for cuts and burns, both in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Today, people continue to use this spice to reduce inflammation and accelerate muscle repair after heavy exercise.

To keep learning about turmeric's medicinal attributes and to find out what everyday dishes you can easily add turmeric to, just read more

I'll be the first to admit that I really enjoy cooking on the weekends. It's more relaxed than cooking during the week because there's time to experiment with new recipes and exciting ingredients. Since tomorrow is the Super Bowl, there's a chance you may be making something for game day, but if you're not watching, you could be whipping up something else. A brunch dish? A comforting pot of soup? A celebratory Chinese New Year spread? Whatever it is, I want to hear about it! What items are you cooking this weekend?

• Are the men in your life cooking more? — YumSugar
• 20 shocking breakup statistics — YourTango
• 15 dos and don'ts of really good sex — Em & Lo
• Number cruncher asks: how many sex partners is too many? — The Frisky
• Five apps to aid couples in conception — LilSugar
• Why husbands often don't see divorce coming — Huffington Post
• How to pick up a guy at a Super Bowl party — Betty Confidential
• What date do you wish you could do over again? — Glamour
• Makeup and the morning after — The Hairpin