Avocados

During pregnancy, women will end up carrying a good amount of extra weight. While a third of the weight gained will come from the baby, the other two thirds come from the changes that happen in your body while you're pregnant. Losing this extra weight can prove to be difficul ...more

Ingredients 1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro leaves 3 plum tomatoes, cored, halved and seeded 2 cloves garlic, peeled 2 medium jalapeño peppers, stemmed, quartered and seeded 2 green onions (include 2 inches of green), cut in 1-inch lengths 6 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and ...more

Ingredients: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves 1 medium garlic clove, peeled, quartered 1 small scallion, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/2 small green chili, seeded and quartered 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt 2 tablespoons fresh lemon ...more

Ingredients 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves 1 medium garlic clove, peeled, quartered 1 small scallion, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces 1/2 small green chili, seeded and quartered 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt 2 tablespoons fresh lemon ...more

Are you hungry? One of the great things about Los Angeles is the abundance of food. I'm not just talking about restaurants. You need to get out of your car, and walk around your neighborhood. You could make a great meal just from what you find out on the streets. It's free, a ...more

Pumpkin carving and decorating is a favorite October pastime. After you've carved an amazing design or face into a pumpkin or two, you want to show it off through your window or set it out on your porch for the neighbors to see. But, without knowing the tricks to save your ho ...more

Running out of any shower necessity is just a temporary annoyance, but it always seems worse when it's an empty can of shaving cream or gel. Sure, you could dry shave or use whatever liquid toiletry item is in hands reach, but if you want a truly smooth shave without irritatio ...more

It's always the snack you're most looking forward to that ends up being moldy when you open the fridge to grab it. Always. That slice of leftover pizza or chunk of cheese you've been thinking about all day? We've all been there. What separates us is how we choose to deal with ...more

Who would have thought that dryer sheets can be a quick remedy for super-staticky flyaway hair? But it's true. It's all about the positive charges in the sheets and their ability to neutralize electron buildup. And that's not the only surprising quick fix for hair problems tha ...more

Without a doubt, sushi is one of my favorite foods—dainty and delectable, while also fun to make. So let's get started with maki rolls, aka makizushi, probably the most iconic form of sushi. You know, the one filled with rice and your standard sushi ingredients, rolled up in a ...more

The spice selection at Trader Joe's is both inexpensive and truly top-notch. According to their site, they deal with some of the highest-quality spice manufacturers in the world and, in working with them directly, they eliminate hidden costs spent on promotions, brand-building ...more

Fresh salsa is so tasty. Who can resist the robust mix of spices, the mouth-watering heat of jalapeños, and the juiciness of fresh tomatoes? Alas, I don't always make my own and have to get the pre-made stuff. However, there are ways to fix jarred, canned, and bottled salsas ...more

Like most people who cook in a small kitchen, I'm very wary of adding anything to my drawers and cabinets unless I'm sure it's going to be essential to my cooking arsenal or that it can be used in multiple ways. Enter the potato ricer. Yes, it looks like a giant garlic press. ...more

No summer season would be complete without potato salad, an essential side dish. The flavors and textures of a simple potato salad can be totally satisfying as is, but add in a few items and you can have a dish that is absolutely extraordinary. Here, we'll cover the basics of ...more

Now that the Super Bowl is over, you might find that you have an econo-sized bag or two of opened potato chips slowly going stale in your pantry. After all, there are only so many bowls of Buffalo Chicken Pizza Beer Dip you can eat with 'em—and you definitely don't want them t ...more

The octopus is famous for its bulbous head, enormous eyes, and four pairs of long arms. The stuff of legends and nightmares, octopi have been featured in stories, artwork, and meals galore. But how do you eat this distinctive looking, bilaterally symmetrical sea creature? Her ...more

Tofu has been a staple food in Asia for over 2,000 years, but due to the health craze of recent years, it's enjoyed a surge of popularity in the Western world. Derived from the milk of soy beans and typically coagulated by calcium or magnesium salts, tofu can be found in consi ...more

Pickles come in all shapes, sizes, and names (gherkins in the UK, cornichons in France). There are even crazy flavors such as koolickles—dill pickles soaked in a mixture of Kool-Aid and brine, an American South favorite. Whatever sort of pickle tickles your fancy, you can coun ...more

For foods that encompass both tastiness and convenience, it's hard to beat boxed mac and cheese. Mac and cheese in a box takes 15 minutes to make, dirties only one dish, requires no skill, costs only two bucks, and is, despite all of the above, wildly delicious. Yet it can get ...more

Okay, so you've read our guide on how to make the perfect poached egg. Maybe you've also read our tutorials on making great hard-boiled eggs and even scrambled hard-boiled eggs. Now comes the question: what's next? Well, it's time to look at what accompanies the egg. You can' ...more

We love shredded chicken in our tacos, casseroles, quesadillas, salads, sandwiches... okay, we just love shredded chicken. What we don't love is the actual process of shredding it. Don't Miss: Save Money by Breaking Down Your Own Chicken Often, we use the ol' forks method o ...more

A carefully constructed frittata is one of the culinary world's perfect wonders. It's inexpensive to create, can be made with all sorts of leftovers, and is outstanding to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. However, frittatas can go downhill fast and come out spongy, tastele ...more

This is a refreshing spring update on your classic hamburger slider. Instead of using a ground beef patty, I am using shrimp tempura. This recipe calls for fresh truffles, but fresh truffles are hard to come by so feel free to use truffle oil (it is much more affordable and wh ...more

Home cooks are often quite intimidated when trying to reproduce the delicious ethnic dishes they enjoy at various restaurants. Thankfully, there are definite flavor profiles and spice/seasoning/herb combos that are very specific to various regional cuisines and cultures; with ...more

I recently wrote about fast food fakeouts you can make at home, but people cannot live off fast food alone. Sometimes you need to step up your game a little and enjoy the fare at a popular chain restaurant with a bit more variety to its menu. Don't Miss: Check Out These 5-St ...more

Like most food lovers, I adore sushi. And like anyone who is a living, breathing human being, I'm a pretty big fan of sriracha sauce. I guess you can see where this is going. Yes, sriracha sushi, which I've decided is my new favorite thing. I discovered how to make sriracha s ...more

Many of the beauty products you buy at drug and department stores are loaded with potentially toxic ingredients like parabens, while their active ingredients are made of things like glycolic, lactic, malic, and alpha hydroxy acids and retinoids, which are all derived from food ...more

"You can even eat the dishes," claims the song "The Candy Man Can" from 1971's Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The idea of edible cups, even back then, grabbed my attention—any kid would much prefer to eat her dish instead of clean it afterward, of course! Don't Miss: ...more

At this point, you probably think that you've read everything there is to read about different ways to prepare eggs. There are the usual ways (scrambled, soft-boiled, hard-boiled/steamed/baked, sunny-side up, poached, the "overs") and the more unusual ways (in clouds, crispy p ...more

It should come as no surprise that, according to Details Magazine, nearly half of all people who make New Year's resolutions pledge to lose weight, eat healthier, and/or get fit. There are innumerable companies out there that are ready and willing to take advantage of this mom ...more

Eggs bring life to almost any dish. Toast with avocado? Put an egg on it. The same old salad you eat for lunch everyday? Put an egg on it. Stir fry leftovers? Put an egg on it. Don't Miss: How to Make Heavenly 'Eggs in Clouds' Better yet, put a crispy battered poached egg o ...more

"The best season for food is the worst season for cooking." These words, spoken by food blogger Dave Klopfenstein of Dave's Kitchen, couldn't be more true. As spring turns into summer, farmer's markets and grocery stores are loaded with fresh, juicy fruits and vegetables—but ...more

We've heard of putting French fries on a slice of cheese pizza; after all, two fast-food favorites together are almost always better than one by itself. But French fries used as the crust of a pizza in lieu of traditional dough? That's an entirely different ball game. Don't Mi ...more

Store-bought marinades and sauces have an ability to jazz up the simplest items. But after a while, those favorite tastes seem a bit repetitive and mundane, and that got us to experimenting with different add-ins to make our marinades stand out. Fruits, herbs, spices—all of th ...more

You may have enjoyed Nutella-covered toast or Nutella-covered banana slices in the past, but you haven't really enjoyed the full potential of Nutella's hazel-nutty, chocolatey goodness until 've had Nutella-covered bacon for breakfast. Here are other unusual ways to enjoy you ...more

What You Will Need. Tortilla ( Any kind will do. Adjust to your taste.) Avocado Sour Cream ( I used a different kind.) Salt Jalapenos in a can Chicken Breast ( Cooked and torn into small pieces) It tastes better when the meat is cold. Cooking Oil Cook the Tortilla Pour cook ...more

I used to brag that I could make a swan out of an apple, but chicks don't dig swans—they dig roses. So now I'm going to brag about making apple roses, because you would, too, if you could get them to look like this: Now that's an apple tart that will win the ladies over. (And ...more

You can put spices in a scramble or fry an egg in bacon fat, so why poach eggs in just plain water? Water doesn't add any flavor whatsoever, so you're wasting a valuable opportunity to give your poached eggs more oomph—an extra important step if you're not frying your poached ...more

I always have several sheets of puff pastry in my freezer. It's unlike any other pastry dough: the layers of butter let out steam when the dough bakes (hence, the "puff" in puff pastry). The dough's flakiness perfectly compliments sweet and savory dishes, which makes it a tota ...more

The next time you are craving sushi, how about making it yourself? All you need is some sushi rice (you CAN use leftover white rice, but this would taste better), sheets of nori (seaweed), a sushi rolling mat and your favorite sushi ingredients. Do the classic California roll ...more

If you're a sushi lover but not an expert sushi maker, you can still enjoy the flavors of sushi rolls at home with these deconstructed sushi dishes. These are good not just for those challenged when it comes to rolling techniques, but also for people on special diets or who h ...more

If you're gluten-free, on a diet, or just cutting the carbs like me, eating a sandwich can be a dangerous game. There are traditional alternatives such as lettuce or egg wraps, but they have their drawbacks: they can't hold as many ingredients, they can be lack flavor when raw ...more

Seaweed isn't just for rolling sushi anymore. The food science world is introducing chefs and home cooks to dulse (rhymes with pulse), kale's wacky seaweed cousin that tastes surprisingly like bacon and may even be the next big superfood. Bacon and dulse seaweed have three ve ...more

Fast food is a guilty pleasure in which we all indulge. When you're short on time and long on hunger, being able to whiz through the drive-thru or run 'in and out' of a fast food joint can be a real lifesaver. But sometimes you crave those good-but-not-so-good-for-you goodies ...more

We're all for heaping piles of shredded cheese on our tacos, but what if all that cheese could actually be the taco shell instead? Since this was perhaps one of the more profound food questions we've had in a while, we wasted no time getting to the kitchen and tackling this ch ...more

Even the most unadventurous eaters can usually be coaxed to take a bite of an exotic fruit (except, perhaps, the notoriously stinky durian). After all, fruit is sweet, juicy, and filled with natural sugars. Don't Miss: Bite into Black Sapote, the Chocolate Pudding Fruit So d ...more