With the Superbowl coming up, I thought I’d hunt online for some Superbowl recipes that you can serve during the big game. So what are your plans? Are you staying home by yourself, having people over, attending a party? No matter what your plans are, the day will be much improved with some of these Superbowl treats.

When I think of football food, a few things come to mind - chili, nachos, pizza … but if you know me by now, you understand that I always search for the best. So, I thought I’d share some recipe websites that feature tasty looking Superbowl recipes.

These Superbowl party recipes all come from sources that I’ve consistently had success with. I am tired of following recipes that will end in disaster and unfortunately, I seldom trust a recipe that wasn’t written by a professional.Don’t get me wrong. Home cooks have some great dishes, but I’m tired of being halfway through and realizing that the cook forgot to include an ingredient in the list, or the instructions aren’t clear.

Anyway, here’s the list:

• iVillage Big Game recipes 

• Superbowl Recipes at Epicuriuous.com

• Football recipes on About.com 

Can you think of some that I’ve missed? Feel free to share by putting them in the comments.

The Superbowl is coming up! For most people that means gathering with friends and watching the game while eating your favorite football foods. For me, football food means:

• Chili
• Guacamole
•  Nachos
• Various junk foods

But as you know, I am on a quest to eat healthier. The good news is that all of the favorite foods have low fat ingredients. Here are some ideas:

•  Serve a veggie platter
• Make chili with ground turkey, or serve a vegetarian version.
• Guacamole is a good choice as is. Here’s my recipe .
• Serve lower fat nacho chips.
• Make nachos from low fat cheese.

I have more ideas on how to eat healthy at a Superbowl part over at eHow.

It’s been a while since I’ve given myself a new assignment concerning my weight loss efforts. I took up running again and almost instantly my appetite seems to have been cut in half. One thing that I still have a problem with is eating too late. I eat dinner too late, and then I often have dessert around 10 o’clock. (I made an apple pie the other day.)

So, that’s the thing I will be working on. I think part of the problem is that I do a lot of work at night and it’s easy to mindlessly munch. Plus, my office is right next to the kitchen. So I am making a pact. When I sit by my desk I will prevent mindless munching by drinking tea. Some teas I will have on call:

• Ginger
• Caramel Rooibus
• Green Tea
• Chamomile Tea
• Mint blend (made from peppermint and spearmint)

Those are flavorful and satisfying so drinking them instead of eating should do the trick. I wrote more about it here .

My mind changes all the time as to which dishes I like to prepare. Most of the things I cook are quick and easy - things I can throw together in twenty minutes or so if I want a good meal. And since I rarely buy packaged meals anymore, advanced planning is essential if I want to eat well. Right now, these are the meals I’ve been enjoying, plus the ingredients I need:

• Spaghetti tonno - canned tuna, preferably from Italy, capers, tomato sauce, garlic and onion]

• English muffin pizzas - whole wheat english muffins, tomato sauce, meltable cheese

• Oatmeal - old fashioned or 1 min quick oats, flax seeds, honey, cinnamon, almonds, and raisins

• Soup - making soup is a hassle. I buy the boxed soups from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods

• Omelets - My favorite combo right now includes mushrooms, garlic, capers, and oregano

With those ingredients in my pantry I know I am only 20-30 minutes away from having a nice, satisfying meal. This is also a good weight loss strategy because it prevents you from eating out when there’s nothing in the house.

Make a list of 5-10 dishes that you love to prepare and eat and then make sure the ingredients are always available. For me, my list changes about every two weeks or so. This week it’s spaghetti tonno. Next week I may prefer spaghetti puttanesca or spaghetti with asparagus. It all depends. Right now, I happen to be craving tuna.

As you may or may not know, I am the Herbal Medicine Expert at eHow. Everything I write there has to do with herbal medicine in some way. Today, I thought I’d share with you some of my recipe articles. Not everything about herbal medicine has to do with having and fixing ailments. I use herbs, even medicinal herbs, in cooking all the time.

So, I thought I’d share with you some of my recipes. Most of them involve making tea blends and punches but I do have at least one smoothie recipe.

My Recipe Articles on eHow

• Healthy Version of Russian Tea 

• Sparkling Green Tea Punch Recipe 

• Ginger Tea Recipe 

• Spicy Hot Chocolate Recipe 

•  Energizing Spearmint Tea Recipe

• Flower Petal Mint Tea

• Herbal Fruit Smoothie Recipe 

• Ginger Mango Green Tea Recipe

I have more. I’ll share them some other time because I don’t want to give you an overwhelming list.

So, you’ve been “good” all week. You eat balanced meals, healthy snacks, and exercise. That’s the Utopian formula of a great lifestyle that will lead to balance and weight loss. But you know what? It’s no fun to always be “on”. Sometimes you just need to have a day where you don’t worry about what you eat.

Even the Body for Life plan says to eat whatever you want one day a week. The only rule is - if you buy chips, cookies, etc and eat them on Sunday, through them away so they aren’t around on Monday. Most people report that after a while, they don’t even desire the junk. Even still, it’s nice to have one night a week where you can kick back and relax.

For someone like me, the one day to “eat whatever” may result in me baking. Today I plan on making apple crisp with some apples I need to use.  I won’t make my full fat version. I’ll scale back on the butter and use some olive oil mixed with a tiny amount of butter instead. I’ll post the results of the healthier apple crisp if it actually tastes good. If you don’t see a recipe - well then you’ll know why.

There are certain spices that seem to go together. When I make a mushroom saute I automatically reach for either thyme or oregano. There’s something woodsy and strong about mushrooms that perfectly compliments pungent flavor of those two spices. A pinch of red pepper never hurts. I don’t like a lot of heat, I just like to feel it on my tongue.

Dill and Parsley and Eggs

When I make scrambled eggs, sometimes I desire the flavor of dill. Dried dill doesn’t seem to do it - it needs to be fresh or else I may not bother. I will use the dried in a pinch, especially if I really want something green on the plate, sitting on top of the eggs. I just love the way they look. Dill works best if I put a little cream in the eggs as I scramble them. Otherwise, I seem to favor parsley.

Cinnamon and Cranberry and Chocolate

What about savory things? I am surprised at how wonderful things like warm cranberry juice and rosehips tea taste with a pinch of cinnamon. The contrast between the ascerbic nature of the cranberry and the rosehips and the sweet, warm quality of the cinnamon makes for a nice punch.

In fact, cinnamon improves a wide array of hot beverages. Hot chocolate (maybe with a dash of rum), capuccino with cinnamon sugar dusted on top, even green tea. I learned that cinnamon also helps control the blood sugar.

Carrots and Nutmeg - Tastes  Classic

I bit into a carrot the other day and noticed the distinct nutmeg flavor of the root. Next time I make roasted carrots, I’ll grate some nutmeg root on top. I bet it wil be killer. I always pair nutmeg with orange colored vegetables like squash and pumpkin. Ever have cream of pumpkin soup garnished with a scrape of freshly grated nutmeg? Sublime.

Pairing Wine and Spices

I think of pairing spices with food the same way I pair wine with the complete meal. It’s all about synergy and balance. Which herbs or spices will enhance the flavor of the dish? Some are classic. Some are surprising. Tomatoe and basil. Ginger and chocolate. Rice and kelp seasoning. Red pepper and hot chocolate. Rose petals and vanilla stirred into a white cake mix.

It’s the use of these spices that awakens the creative chef in me.

We’ve been blessed with sunny weather up until this week. Now it’s raining, and cold. I finally get to wear my new sweater from Christmas (70 degree days don’t inspire that kind of wardrobe) and I found a soup recipe I’ve been excited to try all day.

That got me thinking about soup. If I had my way, I’d have soup three meals a day. A big enough bowl with the right ingredients can be a great low calorie, well balanced meal. And anyone who’s been on a weight loss plan knows that soup can be your greatest ally. A broth based cup of soup before a meal can help cut your calorie intake.

The soup I am going to try is a healthier version of the classis split pea soup. I found it in the Winter 2009 edition of Clean Eating Magazine, one of my favorite publications at the moment. Clean eating is all about eating good, healthy food and dropping pounds or maintaining your weight while you do.

It’s not hard to eat well when there’s good food around. For me, weight loss success has a lot to do with my options. If I turn my weight loss efforts into a culinary adventure, it is a strong motivator for me to stick with it. Buckwheat pancakes and fruit compote for breakfast. Lentil soup, a piece of crusty bread, and a small salad for lunch. Snacking on fruit, hummus, tzatziki, whole grain crackers, peanut butter.

There are so many healthy food options, who would even desire to eat junk?

I used to think that coffee was part of a good food diet, same with chocolate. But I’ve elminated caffeine because of my adrenal glands and I miss neither.  My endocrine system, I’ve decided, is currently out of balance and is hurting my efforts to lose pounds.

So how am I doing? The scale is, quite literarly, stuck. I’ve lost a few pounds and now I can’t tell if my weight is haywire again because of my hormones or if those few pounds of weight loss have stuck. Meanwhile, I am still working on building my healthy habits.

I watch a lot of cooking shows. In fact, I learn most of my cooking technique by watching others. It started with my mom and grandmother and continues with cooking programing and the rare chance I get to observe cooks in action, like I did this weekend at Trattoria Grappolo in Santa Ynez, CA.

Anyway, I thought I’d give you a list of the cooking shows that continue to bring me joy. Most of these are on Public Television, but some are on the Food Network as well.

• Everyday Italian - Food Network

• Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello - Food Network

• Lydia’s Table - Public Television

• America’s Test Kitchen - Public Television

• Fast Food with Jacques Pepin - Public Television

There was a time when I watched the food network all the time. Now, I only watch a few select shows, and not every day. Instead, I’ve discovered the cooking shows on public television which are all unique and entertaining in their own way.