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In the Kitchen

  • Quit stressing over dressing

    All of you know by now that I’m a big fan of salads. If you read any number of my articles and if you cook from my books, you also know that I am not a big fan of commercial salad dressings.

    So what’s a Dinner Diva to do?

    Well, you can hardly eat a pile of green leaves on its own. I’m all for healthy eating and getting in those veggies, but all of us have our limits!

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  • Which foods to always eat organic and why

     LEANNE ELY CNC

    THE DINNER DIVA

    The word “organic” is on everyone’s lips these days, from choosing organic cotton bed sheets to buying organic fruits and veggies.

    I always reach for organic whenever I can, and I recommend you do the same. But, I do realize all of us don’t live in places where fresh organic produce and meats are readily available.

    If you don’t have the option to choose organic 100 percent of the time, you can only do so much.

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  • Making sense of carbs and starches

    LEANNE ELY CNC

    THE DINNER DIVA

     

    Everyone seems to be trying to cut back on carbs these days — including yours truly! Many of us trying to adopt a more Paleo-based diet have been weaning ourselves off carbs, or at the very least, eating them less frequently.

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  • Beat sugar cravings without breaking a sweat

    By LEANNE ELY CNC

    The Dinner Diva

    Breaking news! Sugar is not good for us! Bet you didn’t know that.

    I’m kidding, of course. Everyone knows sugar is the pits. “60 Minutes” recently did a big story on just how bad it is and how it even disrupts brain function.

    For some folks, this isn’t enough information. Some people are just plain hooked on the stuff. Did you know that sugar is as highly addictive as heroin? Maybe even more so?

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  • Pampering yourself can save you money

    THE FLY LADY

    Do you ever have one of those days when you just seem to be cursed? When adrenaline starts pumping through our veins for some reason our brains quit functioning. This is why we have so many accidents when we are in a hurry. I want you to think about the last time you got injured or something bad happened to you. Were you rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off?

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  • The art, craft of cooking

    The art and craft of cooking has been glorified in glossy magazines for years with beautiful shots of styled food, propped, positioned and perfectly lighted, sitting on a color coordinated plate.

    These gorgeous pictures set you mouth to drooling and your desire to cook right off the charts.

    In recent years, food bloggers have attempted the same thing with their step-by- step pictures of a recipe in progress, making your mouth drool and your need to chop, sauté and simmer intense.

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  • What’s in your closet?

    Our journey through life starts with our first breath and ends with our last one. Since our birth we have packed many bags for our trip. Our closets are filled to overflowing. Each time we open our closet door we have a conversation with those clothes.  If the truth be known we actually wear only a few items in our closet. Our clothes have a way of making us feel bad.

    Why do we do this to ourselves? Why can’t we just be happy with ourselves just like we were? We were trying to fit into an unrealistic picture that only stays with us for that fleeting moment.

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  • There’s simply nothing else like it

    LEANNE ELY

    THE DINNER DIVA

    This is the time of year when green thumbs and gardening novices alike storm the home improvement stores’ gardening section and attempt to start a vegetable garden. It’s an old tradition to plant a summer garden. And while it may seem a tad romantic to have a Martha Stewart styled vegetable garden, for many people it seems highly unattainable. And I think that’s a shame.

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  • Two minutes can create a miracle

    MARLA CILLEY

    THE FLY LADY

    What is it about two minutes? When we were told we had to do a two-minute speech it seemed too long.

    When we stand in front of a microwave waiting impatiently for something to heat up it seems like it is taking forever.

    When I tell someone to do just two minutes, I get that look of “What good is that going to do?”

    Well let me tell you two minutes can accomplish more than you can ever dream if you will just quit whining about what it won’t do and show yourself what it can do.

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  • Declare your independence

    In the United States of America we celebrate the anniversary of our Independence Day each Fourth of July. The other night a young new reporter said that this was the day we won the war for independence. I thought Robert and I were going to scream our heads off at the TV. We just looked at each other in shock.

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