sesame

The economy may be down in the dumps, but don't let that hold you back this Mother's Day. Rather than spending big bucks to dine out, have the whole gang — including your mom and the kids — celebrate the occasion by making dinner a budget-friendly activity that the entire family can enjoy.

This quick, healthy meal, which includes fiber-rich soba noodles and crunchy vegetables, packs a flavor punch with soy sauce, sesame seeds, and ginger. To bring the family together with an affordable yet enticing pan-Asian platter, read more

If you've never experimented with tofu before, consider doing so tonight. Think of tofu like chicken, it takes on the flavor of the other ingredients.

In this case, the supporting cast consists of soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and sesame seeds. Snow peas add a punch of green color and the textural element of crunch. Serve over white rice for a delicious vegetarian meal.

Get the recipe when you read more

Store-bought salad dressings are a wonderful ingredient to have on hand. Besides their original purpose, they make a great seasoning for a variety of dishes. In this recipe, an Asian-style sesame and ginger vinaigrette is tossed with chicken chunks and grated carrots. The deliciously textured combination is served inside lettuce cups. Topped with crunchy peanuts and fresh squeezed lime, this meal is so scrumptious no one will know you took help from a bottle! Learn the recipe and read more

I love making quick, Asian inspired dishes because usually they only involve cleaning one pan! For example, this recipe for a fragrant chicken dinner, cooks the meat, vegetables, and sauce all in the same pan. Each ingredient is sautéed individually before being tossed together with the sherry-sesame oil sauce. Served over a bed of steamed rice, this makes a hearty, delicious meal. To look at the recipe, read more

I'm always looking for new snacks to satisfy my crunchy-salty cravings. At the grocery store I recently came across these Lunberg Rice Chips, made by the folks that brought you rice cakes before the low carb phenomenon took off and rice cakes were banished to the back of the pantry. Their new chips are made with brown rice and corn, and they come in a ton of flavors. I like these better than rice cakes, but then again I am chip fanatic.

I tried the Sea Salt kind and the mix of brown rice and corn was really interesting - in a good way. I like how these chips are thick (perfect for dipping) and I could taste a hint of sesame which made them taste really unique. These chips will be making their way into my grocery cart again soon!!!

Want to see how they measure up nutritionally then read more

Crunchy, salty, tasty, and sometimes an accidental meal, I'd have to say that Garden of Eatin's Blue Corn Tortilla Chips are one of my favorite snacks.

They have a whole line of chips made out of blue corn such as regular, No Salt if you're watching your sodium intake, Red Hot Blues made with a hint of zingy cayenne pepper, Little Soy Blues made with toasted soybeans, Sesame Blues uniquely made with sesame seeds and Sunny Blues made with sunflower seeds.

You'll feel good dipping them into your hummus, knowing they're:

• Made With Organic Corn
• No Hydrogenated Oils
• No Artificial Flavors or Colors
• No Preservatives
• No Trans Fat
• Made With Expeller Pressed Oil
• Kosher Certified
• Cooked in Filtered Water

As far as snacks go, that's pretty good. And what else is great? They also make Yellow Corn Chips, Mini Corn Chips (great for kids), White Corn Chips, Red Corn Chips, and Taco Shells. They also have a line of Pita Chips and Microwave Popcorn. They really know how to snack.

Want to see my faves? Then read more